The Vexing Quest for Diagnosis

Scott has Down's syndrome, and a mental illness that manifested in the mid-80s. He was hospitalized in a catatonic state, helped at Lafayette Clinic (closed by Engler) and since been variously diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, obsessive/compulsive disorder, and now Alzheimer's disease. The current psychiatrist told me he "treats all his Down's syndrome patients of his age for Alzheimer's." Okay. Being obsessive myself, I have struggled with getting a more thoughtful diagnosis. One mental health professional asked me "Why do you care? Dementia is dementia." We see commercials for medication Scott used to be on transform into medications for disorders that are being diagnosed more in the United States than anywhere else in the world. Significantly, the USA is the only country that allows direct advertising to consumers for prescription medications. "Ask your doctor." Abilify was a med Scott was taking for schizophrenia. Bristol-Myers Squibb's commercial now tells us to get Abilify as an add-on for bipolar and depression. I've written about Dr. Robert Spitzer who put the word disorder in the manual of psychiatry, thus inundating us with drug companies pushing diagnoses based on inventory of pharmaceuticals. Some have been prosecuted and fined for promoting off-label prescription sales. Our country has seen a 75% rise in diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder, with the highest increase in children, and women over 50. 0.8% of the population will be affected by bipolar I. Why do I know so many people personally who are being medicated for it? Found a pharmaceutical market analysis for US$million for bipolar disorder. Expect more diagnoses, more pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, I'll still try to help Scott have the best quality of life he deserves. I wish for you and yours a successful journey, too.

Target: Women and Seniors

Health care reform is getting interesting. If this was a movie, over the titles we'd hear the sound of thousands of boots marching, swords clanging on shields in the darkness. It's war, baby! Foley editors to your drums and weaponry!

Today's posts include more reports of ramped-up lobbying efforts, closeted and outed; "centrist" Senators' delay tactics; the closed-door committee wrangling to get stuff stuffed into the House and Senate versions of this screenplay.

Will health care reform be derailed by delaying a vote? No. Government hurried to bail out the "too big to fail" banks. Goldman Sachs did OK with the rush, but did we?

Jason Linkins reports that AP made up the $1.5 trillion price tag tied to the cost of health care reform. It's a fake number. It's a scary fake number. Salon.com grabbed the same fake number. How far will it spread? The plot thickens!

We can't get the right information to find out who the players are, and who's being paid to play, and who has taken their balls and left the building.

And we're counting on Congress to get it right?

Big Pharma is battling to make the 5-year moratorium for generics on patented pharmaceuticals become a 12-year grace period. Big Pharma is the only actor in this drama that I know is absolutely not on the side of the American people. Big Pharma is in its own pocket, jiggling its pieces of silver.

Big Pharma is undoubtedly fond of a man named Dr. Robert Spitzer, who, after applying the same

"camel = race car designed by committee"

mindset that is overtaking health care debate, added "disorder" to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Thus was created the obscenely profitable realm of new medications for new disorders, at an enormous price to the American people - both in the costs of medications for undiagnosed, but medicated disorders - and to the women and seniors who have undiagnosed complaints that are prescribed one medication after another, and then the resultant side effects drugged as well. We're not curing diseases with all this pharmacology. We're lining the pockets of the firms who are treating restless legs, bladder issues, flaccidus, stomach upsets, and allergies.

Hey AP: got any numbers of women over 55 who are being medicated for bipolar disorder?

In our health care reform movie, Big Pharma is the villain.

Any idea who the heroes are?