4 ms·

Misdiagnosing bipolar disorder as a purely depressive disorder can have disastrous consequences, especially if prescribed antidepressants instead of mood stabil

Misdiagnosing bipolar disorder as a purely depressive disorder can have disastrous consequences, especially if prescribed antidepressants instead of mood stabilizers. [1] [1] https://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/news/20100601/bipolar-disorder-misdiagnosed-as-depression https://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/news/20100601/bipolar...

captainredbeard 5y ago
> disastrous consequences, especially if prescribed antidepressants Viewed differently, this speaks to the extreme dangers of psychiatric drugs. They should be a tool (vital!) of last resort but are often used as a frontline therapy.
- tediousdemise 5y ago
  I agree. It should go without saying that you only get one brain. Fundamentally, anything that modulates the brain should be used with extreme caution. Although the brain is remarkably resilient, sometimes drug-induced changes or side effects can be permanent. For some, this may come as relief, yet for others, they may find that the solution was worse than the problem. As they say, caveat emptor.
treeman79 5y ago
Everything is depression. Had major brain fog problems. But was generally happy and good natured. Spent years seeking help, at every stage was told it was depression. Turned out it was a horrible disease that was slowing killing me. I imagine a lot of “depressed” people have an underlying chronic condition that isn’t being addressed.
- anonymouse008 5y ago
  Mind sharing how one could go about testing for this condition? (This sounds a bit familiar)
  - treeman79 5y ago
    Genetic testing for clotting. Autoimmune work up. Spinal tap for pressure. Make a list every symptom, and what affects your symptoms. Take it to every kind of specialist. Then keep repeating. Take an advocate. I would explain stuff, could see they had mentally written me off. The wife would start bawling. This would wake them up, and they would dig further. A neuro-ophthalmologist was reading my list. Looked up and declared I had Sjogrens. He was right. Now he missed the clotting disorder. Then have a clot in your lungs. Then you get taken seriously. That’s when they found factor 5 Leiden. So between the two my body and mind were trashed.
    - spicybright 5y ago
      Crying wife is a good lifehack!

captainredbeard 5y ago

> disastrous consequences, especially if prescribed antidepressants Viewed differently, this speaks to the extreme dangers of psychiatric drugs. They should be a tool (vital!) of last resort but are often used as a frontline therapy.

tediousdemise 5y ago
I agree. It should go without saying that you only get one brain. Fundamentally, anything that modulates the brain should be used with extreme caution. Although the brain is remarkably resilient, sometimes drug-induced changes or side effects can be permanent. For some, this may come as relief, yet for others, they may find that the solution was worse than the problem. As they say, caveat emptor.

treeman79 5y ago

Everything is depression. Had major brain fog problems. But was generally happy and good natured. Spent years seeking help, at every stage was told it was depression. Turned out it was a horrible disease that was slowing killing me. I imagine a lot of “depressed” people have an underlying chronic condition that isn’t being addressed.

anonymouse008 5y ago
Mind sharing how one could go about testing for this condition? (This sounds a bit familiar)
- treeman79 5y ago
  Genetic testing for clotting. Autoimmune work up. Spinal tap for pressure. Make a list every symptom, and what affects your symptoms. Take it to every kind of specialist. Then keep repeating. Take an advocate. I would explain stuff, could see they had mentally written me off. The wife would start bawling. This would wake them up, and they would dig further. A neuro-ophthalmologist was reading my list. Looked up and declared I had Sjogrens. He was right. Now he missed the clotting disorder. Then have a clot in your lungs. Then you get taken seriously. That’s when they found factor 5 Leiden. So between the two my body and mind were trashed.
  - spicybright 5y ago
    Crying wife is a good lifehack!