Posted by Jim on May 29, 1999, at 23:10:15
In reply to Re: Menninger's diagnosis, posted by Dwight on May 29, 1999, at 1:04:21
> Jim, I was wondering if you've ever tried Nardil before. That can be great for Social Phobia. Also the Schizoid Personality Disorder and Avoidant personality disorders. If your main problem resides in the social spher, I wonder why they diagnosed use as schizoaffective. I thought that was more of a general emotional instability.
>
No, I've never tried an MAOI, and a doctor in Boston once recommended one for me in the mid-1980s. He was a several hour trip from where I was living at the time and I was afraid of the side effects of the MAOIs so I didn't try it, but other people I've met on the Net, including Elizabeth, have thought that I should try one, too, and I personally think it sounds like a good idea. I don't know what their reasons for diagnosing me as shizoaffective were, and I think the fact that I mentioned I was having suicidal thoughts might have had something to do with it. Maybe they wanted a strong diagnosis to convince my parents of the need to hospitalize me. I don't know. I mentioned that I'd have mild OCD symptoms, which he told me represented "magical thinking." I have to admit, I have been unstable emotionally during a lot of my life, but I've never felt that I've been out of touch with reality or anything like that, which, to me, anyway, is what the "schizo" part of schizoaffective implies. And I agree with the person who said that just because the hospital has a good recommendation doesn't mean that their always correct with their diagnosis. I think that's especially true in the field of psychiatry, where there are no obvious markers to determine what condition a person has. I don't like labels when it comes to psychiatry, and that's the reason why. I really have nothing against trying these newer neuroleptics, which have few side effects from what I understand, but I've seen at least a dozen psychiatrists during the last 30 years, most of them for periods of more than a year each, and none have recommended neuroleptics, except for one in Mexico who recommended a small dose of Zyprexa (2.5 mg/day) for social anxiety. I guess I'll follow Elizabeth's advice and give them a try, but I would like to know how they arrived at that diagnosis, and I'd like to know if any of the doctors there would consider trying me with an MAOI, like the doctor in Massachusetts recommended. Do MAOIs have any effect one way or the other on anxiety? Thanks for all the responses. They've been helfpul. It's hard to decide what to do. They want me to go into the hospital for 4 to 6 weeks and then to a "halfway" house, but have said, since I objected so strongly to the hospital, that I could start out in the "halfway" house. They've said they could monitor my meds more closely in the hospital, but I don't see why that has to be the case, even if it's the way their system is set up. I'd rather have daily ten minute appointments with a med doctor than pay the daily hospital bill. It really doesn't make sense, and I think part of it has to do with the fact that I expressed some suicidal thoughts, but when it comes down to it, I'm quite sure that I'm not going to commit suicide. I've made it through these 45 years, I can make it now. My fear is that they'll use the suicidal thoughts as an excuse to keep me locked up indefinitely. Does anyone know the law regarding that? Elizabeth?
poster:Jim
thread:6750
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990501/msgs/6811.html