Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 894444

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Afew things

Posted by shasling on May 6, 2009, at 5:28:17

Here are a couple of thoughts i pondered the past few nights.

First most will agree that ssris and just about all anti depressants dont know exactly what they do or why they help.

When i sit back and think on this,im remeinded of a maniac.....would anyone feel confident having a maniac who opens your,shrugs and just replaces ot tweaks critical componets under the hood with hopes of fixing it?NO you expect your mechanic to be able to explain why he or she is doing what they are doing instead of using guess work on parts.


Sometimes this reminds me of meds and the common TRIAL AND ERROR thinking behind these current drugs.

How much more feelful should we be using meds that are admittedly unknown for the most part on how they work,instead we want to know what the med is doing,why its the best one for me and so on.

Now im not saying since this is the case id want my drug removed from the market,but i have to eat this way of thinking because it simply keeps me functional,but again im not happy we live in a age where medications on such a horrid disease isnt being work on more.

P.S My doc gave me paperwork on a place that does indeed test nuerutransmitters,im not home now so i can scan it,but this place usualy finds what chemical your in most of need of and work with your doc on meds that they believe are mmost designed to benifit you and to avoid playing med go round.

He is very very excitied i go to this place and aks me every reason as hes seen it work before.I do plan to go i have to find out the innsurance issue first.

 

Re: Afew things » shasling

Posted by SLS on May 6, 2009, at 6:44:26

In reply to Afew things, posted by shasling on May 6, 2009, at 5:28:17

> Here are a couple of thoughts i pondered the past few nights.
>
> First most will agree that ssris and just about all anti depressants dont know exactly what they do or why they help.
>
> When i sit back and think on this,im remeinded of a maniac.....would anyone feel confident having a maniac who opens your,shrugs and just replaces ot tweaks critical componets under the hood with hopes of fixing it?NO you expect your mechanic to be able to explain why he or she is doing what they are doing instead of using guess work on parts.
>
>
> Sometimes this reminds me of meds and the common TRIAL AND ERROR thinking behind these current drugs.
>
> How much more feelful should we be using meds that are admittedly unknown for the most part on how they work,instead we want to know what the med is doing,why its the best one for me and so on.
>
> Now im not saying since this is the case id want my drug removed from the market,but i have to eat this way of thinking because it simply keeps me functional,but again im not happy we live in a age where medications on such a horrid disease isnt being work on more.
>
> P.S My doc gave me paperwork on a place that does indeed test nuerutransmitters,im not home now so i can scan it,but this place usualy finds what chemical your in most of need of and work with your doc on meds that they believe are mmost designed to benifit you and to avoid playing med go round.
>
> He is very very excitied i go to this place and aks me every reason as hes seen it work before.I do plan to go i have to find out the innsurance issue first.


I am excited to here all about it. You never know from where answers will come. Have you also thought about the Amen Clinic? The use SPECT (single emmission positron tomography) to test for brain activity such that they report being able to design treatments around it. A lot of people think it's quackery. I remain open-minded.

Without going into detail, I think a good clinical psychiatrist who knows his psychopharmacology can develop their own protocols for sequentially trying drugs based on a patient's presentation and reaction to previous drug trials. Fundamentally, they are educated guesses that I believe have at least a somewhat better probably of working than choosing drugs at random. There are now a few rays of light to be found in the "black box".


- Scott

 

Re: Afew things

Posted by Phillipa on May 6, 2009, at 10:47:23

In reply to Re: Afew things » shasling, posted by SLS on May 6, 2009, at 6:44:26

Hey let me know where you're going seriously. Sounds hopeful. Love Phillipa

 

Re: Afew things

Posted by bleauberry on May 7, 2009, at 16:03:38

In reply to Afew things, posted by shasling on May 6, 2009, at 5:28:17


>
> P.S My doc gave me paperwork on a place that does indeed test nuerutransmitters,im not home now so i can scan it,but this place usualy finds what chemical your in most of need of and work with your doc on meds that they believe are mmost designed to benifit you and to avoid playing med go round.
>

I don't think neurotransmitter testing is very helpful. It doesn't show what is happening in the nervous system, only what is happening in the peripheral system. No information on genes, receptors, neuro levels in different regions of the brain, etc. And it is based on theory not fact.

There have been many studies done measuring neuros with fancy expensive lab equipment and measuring the genes, in order to try to see if prediction of an antidepressant would work. It doesn't. People who clearly have norepinephrine deficits may respond to either a norepinephrine med or a serotonin med at random without any apparent pattern or explanation.

The tests are attractive though in terms of hope for an answer. I had them done. Not useful at all to me or doc, but it was interesting table talk.

I do wish we could test every component to find out what is wrong. That would probably involve $20,000 covering everything from B vitamins to minerals to heavy metals to yeast to bacteria to dozens of genes to immune system markers to hormones and lots of stuff. Simply testing neurotransmitters in blood or urine doesn't really tell much of anything at all. At its very basic usage it doesn't even measure neurotransmitters in the brain, spinal cord, or nervous system.

When someone does show a low or high neurotransmitter in some test, the next important question is, why is it that way?


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