MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'diagnoses'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:08:37 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4780387&cid=t_101757_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FgN8ti3FGolg%2F The new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) is scheduled to be released in May 2013. This recent Dana Foundation article points out the need of a fundamentally different approach based on the new ways researchers use to study and understand mental illness. The problem with the DSM-IV, our current shared diagnostic language, is that a large and growing body of evidence demonstrates that it does a poor job of capturing either clinical and biological realities. In the clinic, the limitations of the current DSM-IV approach can be illustrated in three salient areas: (1) the problem of comorbidity, (2) the widespread need for “not otherwise specific (NOS)” diagnoses, and (3) the arbitrariness of diagnostic thresholds. Whatever the ultimate approach to the DSM-5, ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4780387 Tue, 03 May 2011 18:18:02 +0100 4780387 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532209&cid=t_101757_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fa-third-place-in-healthcare-what-we-can-learn-from-starbucks%2F2011.02.28 Media reports on misdiagnosis continue to mount. A recent study on patients with Alzheimer’s found that half had been misdiagnosed. Half. Another headline blared “4 out of 10 patients being misdiagnosed.” The article encouraged patients to “see another doctor” if they are worried about their diagnosis. You know what it makes me think about? Starbucks. Why? Because the way Starbucks revolutionized coffee drinking shows a way forward for healthcare. Starbucks realized that since our lives focus on two places — home and work — most of us don’t have a “third place” to go. A place where we can be free of everyday distractions and take care of ourselves. Starbucks set out to create that “third place” by making its shops comfortable, inviting places. It works... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532209 Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:00:22 +0100 4532209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455266&cid=t_101757_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdoctor-who-attempted-to-have-whistleblowing-nurses-prosecuted-is-put-on-probation%2F2011.02.09 From an AP article in the Dallas-Fort Worth Star-Telegram: AUSTIN — Texas medical regulators on Friday placed on probation a West Texas doctor involved in the unsuccessful prosecution of two nurses who complained anonymously that the physician was unethical and risking patients’ health. The Texas Medical Board technically suspended Dr. Rolando G. Arafiles Jr. but allowed him to continue to practice medicine while on probation for four years if he completes additional training. The board also said Arafiles must be monitored by another physician and submit patient medical and billing records for review. The monitor will report his or her findings to the board. In the mediated order signed in Austin, the board concluded that Arafiles failed to treat emergency room patients properly, did... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455266 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:00:20 +0100 4455266 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4055716&cid=t_101757_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-relative-unimportance-of-diagnosis-in-psychiatry%2F2010.10.11 Look, he came back! Guest blogger Mitchell Newmark, M.D., put on his armor and came to blog with us again. The Relative Unimportance of Diagnosis In Psychiatry As we will soon be witness to the emergence of DSM-V, the new rule book for psychiatric diagnosis, I am reminded of all the pitfalls of diagnosis in psychiatry. In other fields of medicine, diagnosis is based primarily on etiology, with objective findings, rather than on symptoms alone, as it is in psychiatry. When you go to your internist with stomach pain, there’s an endoscopy to look for ulcers, a sonogram to look for gall stones, a blood test to look for hepatitis. But in psychiatry, there is no CT scan to check for bipolar disorder, no blood test to assess if the patient has schizophrenia, no spinal tap to check for major de... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4055716 Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:00:00 +0100 4055716 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3678643&cid=t_101757_136_f&fid=35303&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assertivepatient.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fon-the-couch-with-john-wayne.html I remember watching John Wayne movies with my dad when I was a kid. These were mostly Wayne's WWII movies, which my father, who was born in 1922, really liked. Later, my generation rather scorned Wayne, mostly for his conservative political views, and I never saw his 1968 pro-Vietnam War movie, The Green Berets. But I loved True Grit, which he made only a year later.I don't remember ever watching any of Wayne's old cowboy movies from the 1930s, but I've made up for lost time in the past two days. I think I watched a total of six of these on Hulu last night and then this afternoon, and I can say with some authority that they were all the same. Wayne was always the hero (sometimes he rode a white horse, sometimes he wore a white hat). The mixture of technology and... The Assertive Cancer Patient blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3678643 Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:59:05 +0100 3678643 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3505115&cid=t_101757_137_f&fid=39091&url=http%3A%2F%2Falzheimmers.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fto-dr-joe.html Doc,I am having some problems with your posts. For me they are not simple enough. We with this disease really have problems with professional type language. This is not a complaint, just telling you my side when I read your posts. I know your site is for caregivers and to help them. But I know a few of us with AD that read your blog, they may also have this problem. I still consider you a friend, even is you are a shrink. That does not make you bad. My day today is, I sucked up my blog, brain is shrinking and so is my understanding of what I read or attempt to.God Bless You My Friend,Joehttp://living-with-alzhiemers.blogspot.com/ (Source: Caregiver Survival: I Hate Alzheimers) Caregiver Survival: I Hate Alzheimers blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3505115 Sun, 25 Apr 2010 19:27:00 +0100 3505115 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3122181&cid=t_101757_136_f&fid=35303&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assertivepatient.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fpublic-figures-breast-cancer.html In general, I don't like the way the press reports the cancer diagnoses of famous people.  I've written about this before, so no need to rehash it here, but this article gives a very interesting look back at breast cancer diagnoses among well-known women, more often than not political wives, including several first ladies.  The news hook for the story is the breast cancer diagnosis of Teresa Heinz, wife of 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry.  Read: Teresa Heinz Shares Breast Cancer Battle Read more: Celebrity Cancer Diagnoses Support this blog: @ Jeanne Sather 2009.  (Source: The Assertive Cancer Patient) The Assertive Cancer Patient blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3122181 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 23:10:25 +0100 3122181 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2800658&cid=t_101757_136_f&fid=35303&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assertivepatient.com%2F2009%2F09%2Fpatrick-swayze-dies-of-pancreatic-cancer.html I just saw the headlines about Patrick Swayze's death from pancreatic cancer, and all I can think about it how miserably the tabloids behaved during Swayze's illness--running photos of a gaunt Swayze in a wheelchair, reporting that the actor was at death's door shortly after he was diagnosed, and more. Pancreatic cancer is a tough cancer to treat--my father lived only six months from the time he was diagnosed with this type of cancer. That was more than 30 years ago, but the prognosis is often not much better today. Swayze lived 20 months--which shows how tough he was.I don't want to draw any lessons from Swayze's death, because that's one of my soapboxes: I think the media, both mainstream and the trash tabloids, are way over the line in their coverage ... The Assertive Cancer Patient blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2800658 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:47:58 +0100 2800658 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2796452&cid=t_101757_99_f&fid=35344&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzackarysholemberger.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F09%2Fmultiple-diagnoses-and-multiple.html I feel certain scruples about blogging about my new workplace (Johns Hopkins) - I suppose that's a good thing. I like it, is what I'll say to start. The patients are different. Half of them are very well educated and knowledgeable about their conditions, bringing in lists of diagnoses.The question I try to address - well, the question I haven't addressed yet, but would like to, is: do these long lists of diagnoses serve a purpose?I mean, there are lists and there are lists. Let's sayList 1. Diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, depression, tobacco useList 2. Cervicalgia, autonomic dysfunction, benign prostatic hyperplasia, degenerative disk diseaseList 1 is more than the sum of its parts, and list 2 - not so much. Which doesn't mean the problems in list 2 are minor (every one ha... Zackary Sholem Berger blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2796452 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:40:00 +0100 2796452 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2660926&cid=t_101757_136_f&fid=35303&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assertivepatient.com%2F2009%2F07%2Fcorazon-aquino-dies-of-colon-cancer.html I was working as a journalist in Tokyo when Corazon Aquino--the widow of an opposition leader gunned down by Dictator Marcos--led a "people power" revolt in 1986 that swept her into the presidency, and I've been a fan ever since.So I was saddened to read that Aquino has died of colon cancer, the same disease that killed my older brother. She was 76. I never got to go to the Philippines to cover Aquino, or the fall from grace of the Marcoses, whose regime was propped up by the United States for decades. "Better the dictator you know ..." seems to have been the U.S. government's attitude toward Marcos. The hottest ticket in town was the tour of Imelda Marcos' shoe closet, and I remember listening in envy to stories told by the Tokyo-based reporters... The Assertive Cancer Patient blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2660926 Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:14:08 +0100 2660926 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2326691&cid=t_101757_136_f&fid=35303&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assertivepatient.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fleave-patrick-swayze-alone.html I'm not going to buy a copy of the National Enquirer in order to show you the picture the rag has on its cover--supposedly a 100-or-so pound Patrick Swayze ... but I am going to take a few minutes here to voice my outrage. I'm not surprised. I admit that. Every time I think these rags have hit a new low, they go even lower.  But it hurts me all the way down to my bones that the National Enquirer would do this. Leave the poor guy alone! @ Jeanne Sather 2009.   (Source: The Assertive Cancer Patient) The Assertive Cancer Patient blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2326691 Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:17:56 +0100 2326691 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2172726&cid=t_101757_136_f&fid=35303&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assertivepatient.com%2F2009%2F02%2Fmy-reply-to-patrick-swayze.html I sent this e-mail to this address, which was at the bottom of the piece in the Washington Post: swayzewashingtonpost@gmail.comHi--I couldn't disagree more with Patrick Swayze's (I assume Patrick is not receiving this e-mail personally) contributed editorial in the Washington Post asking Congress (and the rest of us, since it's our money) to give $10 billion to the NIH right now. That money could be better spent making sure that the people who are already battling cancer in this country have access to the cancer treatments that already exist. That means: **Better health insurance coverage at a reasonable cost that is available to people who are already sick **Programs to help people with inadequate medical insurance get the drugs they need (Medicare coverage i... The Assertive Cancer Patient blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2172726 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:13:50 +0100 2172726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2150872&cid=t_101757_88_f&fid=35612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheknifeman.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F02%2Fquantum-of-time.html The shortest unit of time measurable; thetime between before I told you the diagnosis, and the time after I've told you.Everything changes, all at once. Right now, that moment feels like it's lasting forever, but when you look back, you'll realise, it really didn't take any time at all.I saw her, sitting on the trolly, twirling her hair; maybe this gesture belied her nerves. She had an idea something wasn't right: that's what drove her to the ED, late on this cold, unforgiving night. We all agredd and ordered up the CT, a big dose of rays for one so young, but the history demanded it. Cried out for it.Maybe we knew before, but the scan and its report spelled it out. Once written, can't be taken back.I looked from the report to you, surrounded by family; all waiting.And I'm glad you weren't... The KnifeMan blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2150872 Sun, 01 Feb 2009 23:53:00 +0100 2150872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2128796&cid=t_101757_136_f&fid=35303&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assertivepatient.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fted-kennedy-terminal-cancer-or-incurable-cancer.html When Senator Ted Kennedy was first diagnosed with a brain tumor last year, I didn't read beyond the headlines. Why?The headlines told me all I wanted to know, and I knew if I read further, I'd just get mad. The way the mainstream press reports the cancer diagnoses of famous people makes me very angry, and I get especially angry at the people who chime in with advice for the famous person with cancer, as Rush Limbaugh did when Elizabeth Edwards' cancer came back. (See: Rush Limbaugh and Elizabeth Edwards)But then, after Kennedy suffered a seizure at the inauguration, I confess, I read some of the stories, and that made me wonder why Kennedy was being treated with chemotherapy. (See: Ted Kennedy: One Thing Is Bugging Me) We've answered that question, I think... The Assertive Cancer Patient blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2128796 Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:24:29 +0100 2128796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2121454&cid=t_101757_136_f&fid=35303&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assertivepatient.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fted-kennedy-one-thing-is-bugging-me.html My general attitude toward celebrities who are diagnosed with cancer is that the media should just leave them alone, and not take the opportunity to tell us, and them, and the rest of the world, how these celebrities SHOULD handle their cancer.See my post on Elizabeth Edwards, and you'll see what I mean.Having said that, the news yesterday that Senator Ted Kennedy collapsed at the inauguration certainly caught my attention. And I couldn't help worrying about him. But then, as I'm reading the news reports, I read that Kennedy, who was diagnosed last spring with a brain tumor, was treated with surgery, radiation, and CHEMOTHERAPY. The question that is bugging me is, "Why chemo?" Because I've always been told that chemo doesn't work for brain tumors, whethe... The Assertive Cancer Patient blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2121454 Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:31:57 +0100 2121454 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1516384&cid=t_101757_136_f&fid=35303&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assertivepatient.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fabigal-alliance.html The Abigail Alliance has a really good contributed editorial in the Wall Street Journal. It was written by Steven Walker (who had responded to my questions about the ASCO controversy, see below) and Ronald Trowbridge. The piece uses Senator Kennedy's brain cancer diagnosis as a news hook, a strategy that I am opposed to, but as a former mainstream journalist I know how essential that news hook is. It says, in part: "Most people receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis die before the most promising treatments in the pipeline reach them. Why? Because those tragic events occur on the wrong side of the magical moment when someone at the FDA puts an approval letter on a fax machine declaring the drug they needed – and never got – is 'safe and effective.'" Read the entire story: How t... The Assertive Cancer Patient blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1516384 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:33:01 +0100 1516384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1512135&cid=t_101757_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F06%2F12%2Fare-diagnoses-too-inclusive%2F Christopher Lane has an excellent article in yesterday’s The Boston Globe about the murky line between normal shyness and something called social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia). The article examines the difficulty in telling “normal behavior” from something that’s diagnosable as a mental disorder, and rightfully picks on this disorder as a prime example of the blurred line. But first Lane drives a dagger into what passes for science on social anxiety disorder: The Society of Nuclear Medicine has been touting a new study that suggests we’re one step closer to solving the riddle of social anxiety disorder. Researchers believe the origins of the disorder are biological. […] Once you start calling fear of criticism a psychiatric disorder, ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1512135 Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:54:05 +0100 1512135 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1481832&cid=t_101757_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F05%2F31%2Fbipolar-overdiagnosis-are-you-swayed%2F An excerpt from my book review on the new book by the Brafman brothers, Sway, in bookstores shortly: The one place the authors don’t really sway me is their attempt to explain why bipolar disorder is diagnosed so much more often than it was a decade ago. Unmentioned by the authors is the fact that many other mental disorder diagnoses have also experienced a significant increase in their use from a decade ago. They link the increase to two factors – the modern diagnostic system put into use in 1980 with the publication of the DSM-III, which “broadened” the bipolar diagnosis; and pharmaceutical advertising in the 1990s. Left out of this explanation are some of the reasons proffered by the actual researchers of the study (Moreno et. al, 2007). So what did the researchers who actual... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1481832 Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:35:30 +0100 1481832 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1450329&cid=t_101757_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fdoom-gloom-and-despondency.html When I received the first evaluation of my son, I was a little gloomy. I remember three things distinctly. Firstly, it started off well enough with something like ‘he is a good looking happy faced child……’ ahhh……but then went downhill at a rapid pace. What followed was a laundry list of deficits. Truth be told, it doesn’t matter what euphemisms they use, deficits equates to ‘bits to fix.’ That was the second bit. The third bit was the value laden phrase ‘window of opportunity.’ I was left with the distinct impression that in our case, the boat had left the harbour, sunk and was now moldering away as an old abandoned shipwreck, but then some of us are terminal pessimists. To read more click "here."If you like what you read, send it to someone in 'need.' (Source: Whit... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1450329 Sat, 17 May 2008 20:29:00 +0100 1450329 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1423152&cid=t_101757_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F05%2F06%2Fslipshod-diagnoses-and-one-mans-journey%2F One of the biggest problems facing the mental health system today is slipshod diagnoses — diagnoses made too quickly, without obtaining enough information, and checking for reasonable alternative diagnoses. Professionals sometimes complain that they are overworked and need to make a diagnosis quickly in order to be reimbursed for the interview. I say that’s rubbish and puts people’s lives in jeopardy, in pursuit of quick treatment, quick payment, and quickly moving onto the next patient. Don’t get me wrong — most mental health professionals take their time, explore rule-out diagnoses, and always seek to ensure the person in front of them really fits the diagnostic picture for a given disorder. But as we reported today, bipolar disorder may be overdiagnosed in... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1423152 Tue, 06 May 2008 15:07:07 +0100 1423152 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1176064&cid=t_101757_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbolt.net%2F2008%2F01%2F24%2Fmedical-googler-or-cyberchondriac%2F                                                                 Cyberchondriac (sy bur KA WN dree ak) n. - a person who imagines they have a particular disease because their symptoms match those listed on an Internet health site. You’re spending an extraordinary amount of time on the internet seeking out information on medical conditions, digging yourself deeper and deeper in into the abyss. Does that make you a medical googler or a cyberchondriac? Here’s a clue - do you feel better or worse at the end of your search? A medical googler, such as myself who seeks out medical information for the purpose of writing will feel great at the end of the search. Having found something interesting and informative to to write a... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1176064 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:15:29 +0100 1176064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1139757&cid=t_101757_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F01%2F09%2Fwhy-would-you-lie-to-your-therapist%2F I talk to a lot of people who have mental health issues. A week doesn’t go by that I don’t meet someone new who tells me a piece of their life story, and I glimpse at the desperation that eats them up inside. The desperation is usually for things we all hope for — a better life, a life not feeling this way. A life more “normal.” But after talking to people over all these years, I still can’t wrap my head around people who tell me they lie to their therapists. I just don’t get it. I take my car into the mechanic. I tell him what’s wrong with my car, or more specifically, the odd noises or strange odors coming from my car, because honestly, I have no idea what’s wrong with my car. Those symptoms lead the mechanic to have a few hunches ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1139757 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:06:40 +0100 1139757 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=638283&cid=t_101757_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fmere-fly-on-wall.html Warning – ear wigging is dangerous [probably offensive] One year ago......A few years ago, I began to understand the camaraderie of parents, especially mothers with children on the spectrum. Initially I had thought I was the only person on the planet………then I learned that there were so many other people in a similar floatation device.I sit in the waiting room at occupational therapy. Two mothers are in mid discussion. The terminology they use, indicates that they are up with the hunt. [translation = done their research] I try not to listen as they chat with each other, but there is only 3 feet of carpet tiles between us.“So what’s his Rx, if you don’t mind me asking?” [translation = diagnoses]“Not at all. He has sensory integration disorder and dysgraphia…..of course!�... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=638283 Fri, 25 May 2007 02:51:00 +0100 638283 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=620594&cid=t_101757_140_f&fid=35450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fofflabel.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2F21-ways-to-be-subthreshold-bipolar.html (with apologies to Paul Simon)"The problem is all inside your head", he said to meThe answer is easy - you just take it orallyI'd like to help you in your quest for normalityFor there are 21 ways to be subthreshold bipolarHave you increased your goal-directed activity?Are you subject to distractibility?Engaged in an unrestrained buying spree?There are 21 ways to be subthreshold bipolarYou been flat on your back, JackMaking grand plans, StanCheatin' on your boy, RoyWell, listen to meHop on the shortbusWe don't need to discuss muchJust drop this off at the pharmacyAnd get yourself freeHe said that your pleasure-seeking can cause you so much painI wish there was something I could do to calm you down againI said that's diagnostic bracket creep and I am not insaneIn any of your 21 waysHe said I... Off-Label blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=620594 Sat, 12 May 2007 07:58:00 +0100 620594 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=573184&cid=t_101757_140_f&fid=35450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fofflabel.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fcombinatorics-of-bpd.html I was going to write a serious post responding to the issues raised by Polly in her comment on my previous post and in a subsequent post of her own, but as threatened, the language is leaving me - not via disintegrative psychosis as first suggested, but a sad and sorry case of simple schizophrenia, yet another condition I didn't know I had until yesterday. I was going to discuss the diversity inherent in the concept of BPD, and of those diagnosed with BPD, which is something I'd normally do in qualitative terms - and assuming the near certainty of achieving a full remission, I will no doubt get around to doing so soon. But in the meantime, given my 'inability to meet the demands of society', I present the following 'impoverished' observations and analysis.From DSM-IV, the criteria for Bord... Off-Label blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=573184 Thu, 26 Apr 2007 08:55:00 +0100 573184 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=568712&cid=t_101757_140_f&fid=35450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fofflabel.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fstigma-wrapped-in-history-inside.html Polly at Polarcoaster has designed herself a cute 'Bipolar Princess' t-shirt (click here for a photo). She writes 'I don’t know if I’ll ever wear it outside of my apartment or my friends’ apartment, since it’s like wearing something that says “LOOK AT ME! I’M AN ATTENTION WHORE!”'I might be wrong here, but this seems to imply that the stigma of being perceived as an attention whore is greater than the stigma of being diagnosed with bipolar. Which leads me to ponder... how many people in the broad consumer/ex-user/psych survivor community (hereon referenced as c/s/x for brevity) would be prepared to publicly sport a t-shirt proclaiming 'Borderline Personality' or 'I Hate You, Don't Leave Me', especially in a context where a lot of people would understand the reference?Now, I k... Off-Label blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=568712 Wed, 25 Apr 2007 01:51:00 +0100 568712 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=560014&cid=t_101757_140_f&fid=35450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fofflabel.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Facronymphomania-pharmacopoetica.html Firstly, a big hat tip to Stephany, who originally alerted me to this wonderful parody of a self-help website . Someone has clearly put a lot of effort into maintaining a detailed, intricate catalogue of the many types of juvenile misbehaviour that warrant heavy-duty psychopharmacological intervention, as well as updating it regularly with witty 'posts', supposedly by parents of children who are "oppositional, defiant and resistant to parenting".The mystery author skilfully satirises identity politics, skewering those who insist on constructing their conceptions of themselves and their offspring purely around the limited (and limiting) notions of saint, martyr, patient, manipulator or victim, by accompanying each 'post' with a 'signature'. The 'signature' lists the diagnoses and medication... Off-Label blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=560014 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 03:22:00 +0100 560014 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=552007&cid=t_101757_140_f&fid=35450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fofflabel.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fcomplicated-vs-uncomplicated-and-some.html Furious Seasons recently reported the publication of a paper in the Archives of General Psychiatry, in which the authors argue, based on epidemiological data, that the current practice of disqualifying the recently bereaved from a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder should be extended to people who have recently suffered other types of losses, which would result in a reduction of the currently accepted lifetime prevalence rate of Major Depressive Disorder by 25%. This has caused quite a splash, resulting in media coverage in the New York Times, much blog commentary and mass mail-outs to every critical psychiatry / consumer group email list. (And for the non-mathematicians out there, saying that the 'official' lifetime prevalence of depression should be cut by 25% is equivalent to saying... Off-Label blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=552007 Fri, 06 Apr 2007 07:19:00 +0100 552007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=552012&cid=t_101757_140_f&fid=35450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fofflabel.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fspitzer-dummies.html For those interested in what Robert Spitzer actually said about the (over)diagnosis of ADD and ADHD in the BBC2 documentary The Trap: The Lonely Robot, a brief excerpt (including the still below) was featured on last Monday night's episode of the (Australian) ABC's Media Watch. Briefly, it got about that Spitzer, the "Godfather" of the ADD diagnosis, had claimed that 20%-30% of children suffering from ADD/ADHD had been misdiagnosed, and that there was really nothing wrong with them at all. This was repeated in newspapers and email lists all round the world until Spitzer's apparent recantation was revealed as an artifact of some selective editing of the documentary footage, together with the overzealousness of some journalists who demonstrated the same disregard for fact-checking and contex... Off-Label blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=552012 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:17:00 +0100 552012 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=552028&cid=t_101757_140_f&fid=35450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fofflabel.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fbipolar-child-paradigm.html Pretty much flat on my back thanks to Zoloft withdrawal - will try and post something a bit more substantial soon.Meanwhile, in view of the debate and interest that the so-called 'Bipolar Child Paradigm' has aroused, I'd be very interested to hear directly from those who experienced severe depressive episodes and/or behaviour that approximates the current DSM definition of mania for adults, between the ages of 5 and 12. By implication, I'm interested to hear from people who had these experiences as children in the '70s, '80s and early '90s, that is well before the explosion of interest in diagnosing the condition in children.And what position am I taking, at least initially? I believe that it is quite possible for children in this age group to suffer severe depression as well as episodes o... Off-Label blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=552028 Sat, 24 Mar 2007 08:53:00 +0100 552028 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=552026&cid=t_101757_140_f&fid=35450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fofflabel.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Ftolstoy-at-opera.html Bipolar Blast has recently featured a couple of posts describing the phenomena of depersonalisation and derealisation, symptoms that have been traditionally associated with panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, mood disorders... and withdrawal from psychiatric drugs. It's something I'm riding the waves of now as I plunge headlong into Zoloft withdrawal. I feel a bit like Marty McFly playing the guitar in Back to the Future, weakening as he watches himself fade from a family photograph as his existential inevitability appears more and more doubtful.But as Bipolar Blast reader Michael points out, derealisation and depersonalisation can been seen as strategies as well as symptoms.Sometimes I can (and do) even deliberately trigger such states at times when I'm feeling overwhelmed by ... Off-Label blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=552026 Tue, 20 Mar 2007 01:02:00 +0100 552026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=478730&cid=t_101757_87_f&fid=34865&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecancerblog.com%2F2007%2F03%2F15%2Fthought-for-the-day-the-burden-of-cancer%2F Filed under: All Cancers, Research, Daily news, Thought for the DayThere are many burdens that come with cancer. But there is one burden gaining in strength as we age. It's become a topic of recent study and appeared Tuesday in the online Journal of Oncology Practice.Think about this:The graying of America will grow the number of cancer patients and survivors 55 percent by the year 2020. And some believe doctors might not be able to cope with the increasing burden.It's the increase in cancer diagnoses, the growth in the number of Americans over the age of 65, and higher cancer survival rates due to early detection and better treatments that together will cause a shortage of doctors and nurses to care for so many sick people. In addition, more than half of medical oncologists are older than... The Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=478730 Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0100 478730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=552024&cid=t_101757_140_f&fid=35450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fofflabel.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fnewsflash-teenagers-are-fked.html Furious Seasons has a link to an op-ed article from the Boston Globe criticising the over-diagnosis of bipolar disorder, ADD, etc, in children. To quote from the article:It is outrageous when an adolescent is diagnosed as bipolar. One doesn't need to be a developmental psychologist to realize that the stage of adolescence is potentially the most tumultuous in the human life cycle. Yes, teenagers will be moody and emotional. Yes, adolescents can become seriously out of control, psychotic, and even suicidal. Utilizing a psychosocial road map, a solid psychodiagnostic evaluation can look beneath the surface and analyze the complexity of internal and external pressures, ranging from academic and social to family, physical, and sexual concerns.But all of these pressures are part of normal human... Off-Label blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=552024 Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:21:00 +0100 552024 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=488351&cid=t_101757_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fmothers-intuition-beam-me-up-scottie.html I hurtle around the kitchen preparing breakfast and starting laundry. I remind myself that we do not ‘start’ laundry, as laundry is always there, a feature of human existence, never finished. I spill a little Borax by accident, my newest, latest and bestest solution to laundry and hard water, but I’m not a ‘believer’ yet. The science of laundry is beyond me, as is the science of IQ tests. I am glad that IQ tests are unsatisfactory when it comes to autistic children. I swig down a mug of cold Green tea, which is supposed to be good for me, my ‘medicine,’ before the caffeine fix. I pause as light creeps into the kitchen and nip to the window, open it a crack to let in chill air. The road is deserted, I am completely alone. I remember clever experts and acknowledge that many par... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=488351 Thu, 08 Mar 2007 20:08:00 +0100 488351 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=552022&cid=t_101757_140_f&fid=35450&url=http%3A%2F%2Fofflabel.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F01%2Fyoull-get-better-as-long-as-you-dont.html If you're relatively young, female, and had repeated admissions to psychiatric wards or hospitals, it's quite likely that you've attracted the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) at some point. In theory, BPD is diagnosed on the basis of exhibiting at least five out of the following nine symptoms, which form "a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts": 1. frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5. 2. a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation 3. ident... Off-Label blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=552022 Sun, 21 Jan 2007 04:36:00 +0100 552022