Posted by bleauberry on December 28, 2011, at 16:04:15
In reply to Bipolar negative symptoms?, posted by floatingbridge on December 27, 2011, at 10:49:18
I don't put much weight on the subtle names used in psychiatry because there is so much overlap between them and so much varying subjectivity in determining which name to use. Also, they are not very helpful in directing treatment. I think if anything they give us a rough place to start. I think a big mistake that is made throughout the industry is staying in that same vein they started in even when it isn't working For example assume we get a rough starting point by declaring something "bipolar"....but if 5 or 10 years later we have not made progress treating this monster as bipolar, then clearly it is not bipolar even though it looks like it....by staying married to the word "bipolar" in this example, the patient NEVER gets an opportunity to find out what it really is or what really works.
The whole topic of "negative" symptoms or "deficit" symptoms however offer some good clues. For example, we know right away that this is probably not a serotonin or GABA issue, and that either of those can worsen the symptoms. Once in a while we see paradoxical reactions where indeed a serotonin med or a gaba med perk someone right up into being reborn again, but that isn't very often. We know it is related to the circuits of norepinephrine and dopamine, and even to a greater extent the endorphins. We know this is a common thing that happens when the neurons are competing with toxins from pathogenic organisms or heavy metals. It is common in stressed adrenals.
So while maybe we can't know what exactly causes the negative symptoms or what treats them, we at least know the right doors to knock on when we go exploring. Bottom line, gotta look under all rocks even the ones not suspected, but the first line place to start includes ne, dopamine, and endorphins. We cannot predict the exact mechanism, for example whether it be agonism or antagonism or reuptake inhibition or maoi or stimulant or what. No way to know. Have to try them. But don't waste any time on anything that is primarily serotonin or gaba. Look into blood cleansing herbs and wide spectrum antimicrobial herbs. There are a lot of choices but you have to start somewhere and then keep going because sooner or later you will either purposefully or accidentally stumble onto something....but only if you are actually trying new stuff. Staying with the old stuff and the old strategy that aren't working robs one of their future by making many opportunities off limits.
That's how I see it anyway.
poster:bleauberry
thread:1005652
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20111226/msgs/1005726.html