Incorrectly diagnosed and medicated

[tcam]

My husband, age 53, (who is not physically healthy;advanced CAD (7 Heart stents) heart damage from heart attacks/ diabetes etc) was incorrectly diagnosed as BiPolar II (He was seen by this person once prior to this diagnosis.)  He was prescibed Lithium, Depakote, Seroquel and eventually clonazepam at various dosages and combinations during a 5 week period.

I was in continuous contact with his "doctor" explaining how he was not getting better BUT worse.  My concerns were answered by an increase in dosages and additions to his list of medications.

His original symptoms of depression and insomnia escalated and was joined by severe mental confusion, tremors, disorientation, severe dizziness, slurred speach and finally severe and frequent panic attacks that mimicked heart attacks.

This onset of "side effects" prompted several emergency room visits (all of which, because of his coronary history, were initially focused as cardiac problems but unsubstantiated by test results.) He has since been hospitalized at a psychiatric hospital and determined to NOT be BiPolar at all. He was carefully and quickly weaned off all BiPolar meds.  

My question is WHAT KIND OF DAMAGE COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO HIM TAKING ALL OF THESE MEDS THAT HE DID NOT NEED?  I have noticed short term memory loss... can I expect more resulting damage?  

PS: He, rediagnosed with clinical depression and insomnia, now takes 30mg Lexapro in am and 50mg Trazodone w/5mg Ambien at bedtime.  He is doing wonderful.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I am glad to hear this good outcome after seeing a good psychiatrist. I don't think you should anticipate any long term effects other than the memory of this bad experience, which of course, will keep you alert to make sure it is not repeated.

[tcam]

Thank you for such a quick response as I have been worried for a few months now.

Luckily for him, he does not remember most of those 5 weeks especially not the last two.

Unfortunately, it is something I nor my two teenage daughters will ever forget.

The sad part of all of this is that this person will continue to practice.  

He was lucky enough to have a family that observed his severe decline, and he was able to get immediate and proper care. In the condition he was in, he would NOT have been able to seek help on his own.  He could not get off the couch and got to the point he would crawl to the bathroom only to wonder why he was there when he got there.

I can't help but wonder if this person has done this to others who might not have been so lucky!!

[hm05]

Yes, there are alot of quacks out there.  Trust me, I know, because my own mother had been a guinea pig for the shrink
she was seeing.  He would get TONS of free samples and just
throw different ones at her each week, depending on what her
complaints were with the former drug from the week before. This
guy knew NOTHING about the side effects or contraindications, prior to giving her a new pill, and false promises of hope for her condition.  I could have reached over and strangled this man, who in my opinion should have had
his degree revoked.  Once, when we were inquiring about the known effects of one of the drugs, as we had read the insert, which clearly said, do not mix with a heart med, that my mother happened to be on. This "professional"  had the "chutzpah" to say,
"Did you go to Harvard?" alluding to the fact that I obviously didn't.  What a complete ***-ole.  Just because
these shrinks have degrees, doesn't mean they have an ounce of
common sense or give two rats about your loved one.  To him, my
mother was just some crazy-nut.  To me she was a loving, wonderful mom, just desperate for help.  We are at the mercy of
these pumped up, fluffed up nit-wits, with expensive college
degrees signifying NOTHING. Do not despair, but do not think that a drug is the answer either.  Often times there are underlying issues with the health of the depressed person.  In my mom's case, there was an undetected lung cancer/tumor.  It took her getting admitted to a psych-hospital, for them to actual find it, on a chest x-ray, just by chance.  She recently died, due to the cancer.  It was terrible.  I feel so bad that no one listened to her cries for help, and once we did, seriously, it was a bit too late, for her.  
Be careful with the Ambien, it is HIGHLY addictive, and has
nasty side effects for some.  I wish you alot of luck.

[fullmergavin]

Though like everybody else here I dearly appreciate the advise offered to us by the competant professionals on this website, I would also be lying if I didn't admit to my outrage when you hear about these types of accounts.

I'm an amateur, but you're sitting there with (I'm assuming) a Type 1 diabetic, and the guy puts him on 4 different depressants at one time?! Common.

Don't be too quick to judge the doc though, ma'am. The vast majority of these Psychiatrists, with the exception of the one helping us out here of course, are off their rocker to begin with. 90% of them might not be sporting a bow tie, but you know pretty well that 90% of them would like to, you know, lol? Furthermore, I think that most of them have themselves loaded up on these things. The guy that prescribed this was probably on all of them himself and that's the reason he did it, lol. Have to keep a sense of humor about the white coats in order to keep the blood flowin'~.  

But that is an absolute shame. I don't believe in lawsuits, ma'am, but I tell you what I'd do-I'd go for his license. Find the state board and write them, tell them everything. Get his license and take a bad doctor off the streets. Save someone else, turn a wrong into something right. I'm not kidding about that, either. If you find the time, go for it.  

And I wouldn't be done with his Endo either. Where's the 24 urine on the Catecholomes? How about that? Where's the cortisol, the TSH, the ACTH blood test? A 24 hr on Serotonin? Where's the Homocysteine test?

Here's the problem with medicine-They look at the brain. Than they see the Hypothalmus, the Pituatory, the Thyroid, Thymus, and the adrenals. Any moron who could hit the broadside of a barn can look at the anatomy and walk away with a strong suspicion that the mind is in control of everything, and that's exactly what 95% of the incompetant ones are thinking when you walk into a doc's office, trust me.

What they have never answered, however, is what explains for the fact the adrenal cortex shoots a beam directly up to that pituatory gland. Digestion, metabolism, etc=liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, etc. And sitting on top of those kidneys we find those adrenals. And for the white coats-it works both ways with those adrenals, and you know it.

In the meantime, ma'am, I would suggest that you research all you can into the following conditions-Candidiasis, Asperigillosis, Celiac Sprue, and what might be the most relevant to your situation, one that is the most misdiagnosed psychiatric ailment of all, Pyoluria. But it's not a problem with the noggin. It's an inherited metabolic disorder that can be easily fixed. It develops under stress, but once it does it becomes a medical problem, not one of the noggin.

One way or the other, folks, it's all about the glycoproteins/monosaccharides, lipids, pyruvic acid, and Mycology (Microbial infection/fungal infection). Alternative medicine is about 9 mths away from pulling it all together, too, btw, so there's hope. For the first time in my life, I am probably willing to endorse the direction and efforts of the alternative medicine field over the approach of mainstream medicine. Too much exciting stuff at work on the other side, if you know what I mean.

Good luck to you and your husband, ma'am.

[prettypoison]

im so sorry to hear what you went through with your husband.  i read your post and got shivers down my spine.  even dealing with a bipolar II diagnosis, i cant even believe that he would put him on ALL of those medications.  Lithium AND Depakote AND Seroquel?  My GOD!  I am a bipolar1 with severe psychosis/dysphoric rage, and i dont take any of those medications (by choice) and im doing FINE and have been stable for over 6 months.

im just glad there is a happy ending.

all the best to you and your family.

XO

[batorama]

Why was he given lithium AND Depakote? They are used for the same thing: mood stabilizing. Depakote is usually only used when lithium isn't tolerated. And why would he start both of them at once? Normally only one is tried first to see it's effectiveness before anything else is added or changed. This takes 4 to 6 wks.

Scary. Very scary.

[Anything4Money]

Everyone on the planet he is prescribed psychiatric "medication" i.e. POISON is misdiagnosed


Earlier this year(2005) the American Psychiatric Association admitted that no chemical imbalance causing mental illness has ever been proven

MindFreedom Exposes Psychiatric Industry Lies

by Al Galves, PhD

With the hunger strike, MindFreedom threw down the gauntlet to biopsychiatry. The hunger strikers said, “Please provide us with scientific evidence that mental disorders are biologically based brain diseases. Prove that psychotropic drugs correct chemical imbalances in the brain. We are not going to eat solid food until we get evidence that meets the conventional standards of scientific truth.”

After a back and forth exchange of letters between the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the MindFreedom Scientific Panel, the APA issued a news release to defend themselves from the hunger strikers. The APA was forced to admit, “[B]rain science has not advanced to the point where scientists or clinicians can point to readily discernible pathologic lesions or genetic abnormalities that in and of themselves serve as reliable or predictive biomarkers of a given mental disorder or mental disorders as a group.”


When you go to your psychiatrist you might as well be going to your local witchdoctor for all the science its based on.It may well even be safer and cheaper for you in the long run!