Posted by JohnL on February 1, 2000, at 14:11:18
In reply to Testing for ADHD and other disorders, posted by Janice on January 31, 2000, at 20:46:43
Personally I don't think testing is all that useful. Even if we come up with an accurate diagnosis, the cause of the problem can vary significantly. Is it serotonin? NE? Dopamine? Too much? Too little? Too unstable? I remember hearing of someone refractory to all the known treatments for anxiety, finally totally cured with a stimulant! A lot of people with ADHD do better on a serotonin antidepresant, others on a tricyclic, and yet others ironically on a benzo. Someone with dysthymia might get worse on an antidepressant, but respond nicely to a mood stabilizer or an antipsychotic or a stimulant.
There are just so many things that can go wrong and yet cause the same symptoms. So putting a label on the symptoms I don't think is all that helpful. It helps guide us in the right direction. But if that direction isn't working, we have to throw the label in the trash and try a different class of drugs. I've just seen too many times where a drug that should have worked didn't, and another unlikely drug did. The disease diagnosis was irrelevent. All that matters is what fixes whatever chemical imbalance is going on. I think testing is interesting for theoretical discussion, but only somewhat useful in guiding treatment.
poster:JohnL
thread:20252
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000128/msgs/20315.html