Posted by Noa on November 8, 1999, at 18:39:00
In reply to Re: atypical depression -how typical?, posted by Scott L. Schofield on November 8, 1999, at 18:25:26
I think it is important to keep some perspective on the whole diagnosis thing. Diagnosis is just a way to organize one's thinking about a presentation of symptoms. Our understanding of all of these illness is still so rudimentary. Whether "atypical" depression is a stand alone category or is somehow akin to the depressions in the bipolar "family" is still up for grabs, and may never be answered, as it is also possible that different people's "atypical" presentations are of different types of underlying illness. Response to medication, I don't believe, is a good enough reason to confirm an absolute diagnosis because so many different problems are responding well to the same medications, and even people with similar presentations respond differently to the same medications.
Annie, it sounds like you feel your doctor is a reductionist in his thinking--everything is chalked up to hypomania, etc. That makes you feel he is dismissing your self advocacy efforts. I agree about the second opinion. Perhaps you would feel better with another doc. Or, bring it up with this doc--tell him how it makes you feel.
My pdoc, though far from perfect (I have issues with him today that I won't go into now) never presents his opinions as unequivocal. He shares his thinking with me and that the issues about atypical vs. soft bipolar signs is not currently resolvable. Again, despite some weaknesses he has, he has been supportive of my getting info online and elsewhere.
Hang in there Annie. I am struggling too, and sometimes feel the effort is futile, but we need to support each other and give each other encouragement to keep trying.
poster:Noa
thread:4802
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991108/msgs/14837.html