|
2009
Jun – 1
7
10
26
30 December –
21
2008
September – 12
October – 28
November – 7
February – 10
March – 9
11 August –
10
11
13
2007
April – 1
5
10
11
14
19
24
26
May – 2
January – 1
2
5
8
13
15
22
30
February – 7
8
12
2006
December – 1
2
3
4
5
8
9
10
11
13
15
17
19
24
25
27
November – 19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Sunday – Taking a Break
November 26, 2006
My day off, but even so I prefer to leave you
with a thought. How many other commentators are this devoted
to their loyal readers?
A week or so ago I was browsing the generally obsolete
magazines in the waiting room of my doctor’s office when an
ad in some obscure medical journal caught my attention. It
was a teaser advertisement for a new bipolar disorder
medication.
I always try to stay abreast of psychotropic medications
because many of my readers send me questions about their
prescriptions. This particular drug is called aripiprazole
(market name Abilify), and is allegedly designed to treat
manic or mixed episodes in adults with bipolar disorder.
The thought provoking part of this advertisement was a
statement that, “Abilify may work by adjusting dopamine
activity, instead of completely blocking it and by adjusting
serotonin activity. However, the exact way any medicine for
bipolar disorder works is unknown."
This is choice. The manufacturer wants you to take Abilify
for a mental derailment, but the manufacturer does not know
how it works. That means your psychiatrist doesn’t know how
it works either.
It naturally follows that the psychiatrist would be hard
pressed to know if it even works at all. The diagnostic
guidelines for bipolar disorder are so open-ended to begin
with, how would any shrink know if the medication is working
or not? That is the nature of psychiatry.
So the next time you visit your shrink, ask him or her to
prove that you actually suffer from the diagnosed illness
and then demand to know how your psychotropic medication
works to fix your problem. In the case of bipolar disorder,
if you get a detailed and long-winded explanation, you may
assume your shrink is a liar, which means he could also have
lied about your diagnosis. Psychiatrists don’t earn a living
by telling prospective patients they are normal. Think about
that.
Hope you’re having a good weekend.
TOP
|
