Diagnosing Kids as Bipolar

[Bry]

Just curious if any of you have been following this new trend.
I got 60 Minutes a few months back and they where interviewing the doctor who has been pushing this new movement to diagnosis kids as being bipolar.

Traditionally bipolar diagnosis has been reserved for people in middle age, but this doctor (psychiatrist) "redefined" the requirements to allow for the diagnosis in young kids.

Now this comes out: Free Preview - WSJ.com

Just curious if anybody else has been following this and what your thoughts are.


Bry

 

[Vedic]

That link didn't work for me.

 

[DrBdan]

Link worked for me, however it linked to a preview of an article titled "Harvard Researchers Fail To Report Drug Payments", nothing related to being bipolar.

Personally I feel that a lot of psychiatrists are too quick to try to expand definitions of disorders and try to diagnose everyone as having something wrong with them. I don't really have any knowledge of bipolar disorders so I can't really give an informed opinion on this (though this is sherdog so...)

 

[cheath]

I didn't see that episode nor read the thread, but it could be trouble. APA has it's problems, but for the most part is quite sound. If this guy has stumbled onto some objective, replicable evidence that he thinks APA should review and consider, more power to him. If it's some quack going off on his own tangent, I'm sure his professional board will reprimand him.

You should never "push" for anyone to be wrongfully labeled with anything, much less bipolar disorder. The medical treatments for it are can often be heavy in comparison with other mental disorders.

 

[Bry]

I found the article on Google, I guess if you link to it WSJ wants you to join.

The link between bipolar and the article is that the leading psychiatrist in the bipolar debate is one of the named.
Quote:
Dr. Biederman is a controversial figure whose research on childhood bipolar disorder is criticized by some for leading to a huge number of young children being placed on powerful and potentially dangerous medications.

Try this link and scroll down: Google News - Health

The article is "Harvard Researches Fail to Report Drug Payments."

Bry

 

[B3rserk3R]

He is calling for a national reporting system in which drug companies disclose payments to doctors.

I think this is a great idea, especially if made available to the public. I think people have a write to know if a doctor has any vested interests in writing a ******.

 

[Revok]

Bipolar children. Are you fucking kidding me?

 

[Bry]

Yea if I remember correctly they have diagnosised 1 million kids as bipolar.
I will see if I can find some info on this and link it.

Bry

 

[Bry]

Here is a link talking about the problem and the rise in diagnosis.
Study: Surge In Bipolar Diagnoses In Kids, New Analysis Suggests Huge Increase But Experts Question Whether It's Real - CBS News

Bry

 

[B3rserk3R]

Bi-polar is the new ADD?

 

[cheath]

Bipolar disorder can in fact occur in childhood, however given the normal ups and downs that children can go through it is very difficult to accurately diagnose, and may often be misdiagnosed (which is a HUGE problem with ADD/ADHD but that's another rant).

And doctors will often prescribe pill X instead of Y because they have a good relationship with the drug rep for drug X who comes to visit them every couple months and takes them out to a nice dinner. Keep in mind, general doctors don't have time to keep up on cutting edge medical breakthroughs. They're often informed about new medicines by drug reps. But then again, in my opinion you shouldn't be going to a general doctor for anything except a general illness anyway!

 

[N-do]

You should never "push" for anyone to be wrongfully labeled with anything, much less bipolar disorder. The medical treatments for it are can often be heavy in comparison with other mental disorders.

I suppose heavy would also mean expensive, hence the profit motive, with the doctor collecting a commision on the meds.

I remember when I was a kid(and I'm only 30) kids weren't diagnosed with ADHD either, now it seems like every other kid suddenly has this "disease" requiring daily medication. It's a magic pill culture these days.

Don't want to discipline your kid and provide them with a structured environment, then why don't you just medicate them into submission, your doctor gets a cut of the proceeds so he'll be more than happy to write the prescription.

 

[DrBdan]

After reading this post I was browsing a blog and came across this article...

Bi-polar

It appears that he's basically saying that psychiatrists are changing their diagnosis from schizoaffective disorder to bi-polar depression and it's all really just a change in labeling. Interesting read at the very least.

On a side note, how is this related to D/S?

 

[Ziltoid]

Great...inject some more stuff into our kids. All for the money. I have been trying to read up more on Autism since I think my youngest one (gonna be 2 yrs) might have a slight case, im not sure. The more I read about ADD, ADHD, autism...studies point towards vaccinations for kids...this might be causing so many problems more than ever it seems. Though its not certain and more studies need to be conducted. Crazy shit though.

 

[Vedic]

I have read the same, and seen it quite a bit. Autism is better treated by diet more so than any drug.

 

[Ziltoid]

I have read the same, and seen it quite a bit. Autism is better treated by diet more so than any drug.

Yup. I just read an article from JB. It was about a kid who had epilepsy and how he wanted to first treat the kid by fixing his diet. It was actually Keto diet. The Dr made it to be that it would be impossible and medication was the way to go, lol! A shame. But yeah...Im looking into some flavorless fish oils to get for my youngest one. I was reading about fish oils can help autism along with ADD and the others. Does anyone know how many mg's or grams of fish oil a young one would need to take? Thanks!

 

[Vedic]

Go Paleo for autism, best move you can make.

 

[Vedic]

double:icon_chee

 

[Ziltoid]

Ah yes. Paleo. I was thinking that too. Im actually eating some way like that. I stay low on carbs and high protein, high fats. Thanks Vedic!

 

[Vedic]

There is a lot of research lately into it. I can't stand the woman really, but Jenny mcCarthy did it with her son, and the turn around was miraculous.