Posted by Ritch on October 10, 2004, at 11:27:01
In reply to mania from meds if not Bp?, posted by B2Chica on October 9, 2004, at 19:30:10
> if a person is NOT bipolar, would they still experience manic or ultra-rapid cycling 'episodes' from SSRI's or other AD?
> or is this a response that is only from those with sometype of bipolar?
>
>It depends on what psychiatrist you talk to. There is a controversy right now about "unipolar" vs. "bipolar" people. You have doctors that stick to the 'traditional' belief that mania that is brought on by drugs, substances, or medical conditions doesn't count and those people shouldn't be considered (and treated) as bipolar. That is the strict definition. But there are a lot of doctors who subscribe to the "bipolar spectrum" theory that all phenomena related to 'abnormal' elation and depression lies on a continuum and that distinctions of "unipolar" or "bipolar" are relative and that nearly all should be considered to have some degree (more or less) of bipolarity. I think it is an interesting idea, but what if psychiatrists starting treating a lot more depressives (recurrent unipolar depressives) as though they were bipolar .. and they weren't any better off or they were worse off in the long run? IOW, does witholding antidepressants (or minimizing them) and giving patients more "mood stabilizers" really improve their long run prognosis? I think that is the current argument that hasn't really been settled.
poster:Ritch
thread:400896
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041007/msgs/401167.html