Posted by jane d on March 4, 2004, at 23:09:21
In reply to New York Magazine, posted by Phamos818 on March 4, 2004, at 20:42:34
> Did any of you read the cover story in this week's New York Magazine? (it's available on www.nymetro.com) It pissed me off to no end, and I'm having trouble finding anyone who will discuss it with me in real life. Anyone else want to join me in irritation about the focus on "mild bipolar" as a fad diagnosis? yeuch.
Phamos,
I suspect that it is the diagnosis du jour unfortunately. For many of us it's just a new name for the same old symptoms and sometimes the same old treatment too. I hadn't realized Lamictal had been approved for bipolar though. I thought it was still being prescribed "off label". This alarms me. A nice expensive drug with years of patent protection ahead of it and now the salesmen can legally push doctors to find lots and lots of patients to prescribe it for. I suspect the boom in diagnoses is just beginning.The other suggestion, that people are diagnosed with bipolar who don't really have anything wrong with them, makes me a bit nervous too. I'm sure it happens but I don't know how often. I'm also sure there are people who should be diagnosed and who are told they should just "pull themselves together" and I worry that reducing one type of misdiagnosis will increase the other.
I'm sure I'm missing much of the significance but it's past my bedtime. Thanks for bringing up this article.
Jane
link to article: http://www.nymetro.com/nymetro/health/features/n_9986/index.html
poster:jane d
thread:320356
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040219/msgs/320433.html