This diagnosis sponsored by: Janssen Pharmaceutica (holder of Risperdal's patent)

"The number of American children and adolescents treated for bipolar disorder increased 40-fold from 1994 to 2003, researchers report today in the most comprehensive study of the controversial diagnosis.

Experts say the number has almost certainly risen further since 2003.

Many experts theorize that the jump reflects that doctors are more aggressively applying the diagnosis to children, and not that the incidence of the disorder has increased.

But the magnitude of the increase surprises many psychiatrists. They say it is likely to intensify the debate over the validity of the diagnosis, which has shaken child psychiatry.

Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme mood swings. Until relatively recently, it was thought to emerge almost exclusively in adulthood. But in the 1990s, psychiatrists began looking more closely for symptoms in younger patients.

Some experts say greater awareness, reflected in the increasing diagnoses, is letting youngsters with the disorder obtain the treatment they need.

Other experts say bipolar disorder is overdiagnosed. The term, the critics say, has become a catchall applied to almost any explosive, aggressive child.

After children are classified, the experts add, they are treated with powerful psychiatric drugs that have few proven benefits in children and potentially serious side effects like rapid weight gain.

In the study, researchers from New York, Maryland and Madrid analyzed a National Center for Health Statistics survey of office visits that focused on doctors in private or group practices. The researchers calculated the number of visits in which doctors recorded diagnoses of bipolar disorder and found that they increased, from 20,000 in 1994 to 800,000 in 2003, about 1 percent of the population under age 20.

The spread of the diagnosis is a boon to drug makers, some psychiatrists point out, because treatments typically include medications that can be three to five times more expensive than those for other disorders like depression or anxiety."

Full article:
Bipolar Illness Soars as a Diagnosis for the Young

I would recommend some form of law or force to keep the big pharma firms out of the medical schools and the psych schools.

The minute they started underwriting the process, the process of education became corrupted.

If med students were allowed to maintain their natural sense of optimism and idealism for as long as possible, without the kickbacks and bribes that doctors are seduced by, then maybe, just maybe, they would become the kind of doctors who don't throw pills at every patient they see.

I'm not convinced that bi-polar is a real disorder. Maybe it's just what we call a wide spectrum of other things for want of a better name or understanding.

Personally, I'd have a hard time (as an adolescent) telling the difference between bipolar disorder and, you know...

fucking puberty. Which sucks for everybody, near as I can tell.

THis, compounded by the fact that none of teh drugs used to "treat"(subjugate) the "illness" were approved or even tested for kids under the age of eighteen illustrates just how worthless human lives and minds are to the pharmacorps.

We're prescribing adult strength mind alterring drugs to elementary school-aged children.

It's no fucking wonder they're gunning eachother down in the halls. We reap what we sow.

Bipolar drugs are a deeply more sinister kind of toxin sac, most of the time.

quote:

Originally posted by Justy:
Personally, I'd have a hard time (as an adolescent) telling the difference between bipolar disorder and, you know...

fucking puberty. Which sucks for everybody, near as I can tell.

There is the general tendency in society to forget that a certain amount of pain (psychological and physical) almost always accompanies life changes (puberty being one of them). Probably only extreme cases require some external intervention.

if society had been drugging their difficult children in the 1800's, Einstien would have committed suicide at age 12.

quote:

Originally posted by Boogerhead:
if society had been drugging their difficult children in the 1800's, Einstien would have committed suicide at age 12.

Right. Many people who achieved great things were "troubled" kids in high school.

quote:

I would recommend some form of law or force to keep the big pharma firms out of the medical schools and the psych schools.

I think that by the end of this century, massively internetworked communications and databases will have rendered things like the medical schools and the psych schools far less pivotal than they are now.

I believe that the internet is going to massively select for intelligence/wisdom. Sadly, as is usually the case with Ma Nature, the selection process will be brutal and ruthless.

read just this morning that the US FDA approved risperidone (risperdal)for use in 10-17 year olds this month. according to new scientist it's the first schizophrenia med approved for american kids. they're also able to use it for short term treatment of bi-polar.

it's the new med my dad's on, btw. last one not only almost killed him, seems it and the other he was on may have been partially responsible for his behaviour for the last ten years. so far, the risperdal seems to be ok. so far.

The MA/pharm industrial complex seems to be doing a great job of late of discreitintg it main members (Docs/pharma) by granting too much leave to both.

I mean, docs DO prescribe this stuff like it's as harmless as candy.

quote:

Originally posted by misty:
read just this morning that the US FDA approved risperidone (risperdal)for use in 10-17 year olds this month. according to new scientist it's the first schizophrenia med approved for american kids. they're also able to use it for short term treatment of bi-polar.

it's the new med my dad's on, btw. last one not only almost killed him, seems it and the other he was on may have been partially responsible for his behaviour for the last ten years. so far, the risperdal seems to be ok. so far.

The timing of the approval is a little suspicious:

"Janssen's patent on Risperdal expires on December 29, 2007, opening the market for cheaper generic versions of the drug from other companies; however, Janssen will continue to have exclusive marketing rights until June 29, 2008, as the result of a pediatric extension."
Risperidone

So, they are pushing very hard to squeeze the last few bucks from their patent!

quote:

Originally posted by kenmeer livermaile:

quote:

I would recommend some form of law or force to keep the big pharma firms out of the medical schools and the psych schools.

I think that by the end of this century, massively internetworked communications and databases will have rendered things like the medical schools and the psych schools far less pivotal than they are now.

I believe that the internet is going to massively select for intelligence/wisdom. Sadly, as is usually the case with Ma Nature, the selection process will be brutal and ruthless.

I hope you are right kenmeer about the role of big pharma being diminished in the future. I'm just not automatically relieved by the notion of intelligence or mental health software deciding who gets ahead and who doesn't.

When my youngest was in grade school, his homeroom teacher kept insisting that he had ADD or ADHD or whatever. (she herself had a child at home with that diagnosis)

She complained all the time about his inattention in class. He was always "woolgathering".

The damned fool shut her filthy maw after he tied for first place in the city that year in the Terra Nova testing. He spent all the explanation time for each bank of questions screwing around, cleaning his nails, looking out the window, etc.

The teacher doing the testing thought he was going to have the lowest grades possible. As it turned out, only a few kids in the whole country had higher scores.

His homeroom teacher had been campaigning for the use of psych drugs to make him easier to handle.
I fought this tooth and nail. They never gave him any of that shit.

Later that year, his homeroom teacher half seriously strangled my boy in front of the rest of the class. It was upsetting to both him and me.

I very nearly lost it when I found out. It took me a dozen deep breathes to keep from breaking her nose for her. She was fired for this stuff and some other instances of weird behavior.

The upshot of this lil' story is that "the authorities" will hand out psych drugs just like candy for little or no reason. Fuckers can't be trusted.

quote:

Originally posted by limbojim:
When my youngest was in grade school, his homeroom teacher kept insisting that he had ADD or ADHD or whatever. (she herself had a child at home with that diagnosis)

She complained all the time about his inattention in class. He was always "woolgathering".

The damned fool shut her filthy maw after he tied for first place in the city that year in the Terra Nova testing. He spent all the explanation time for each bank of questions screwing around, cleaning his nails, looking out the window, etc.

The teacher doing the testing thought he was going to have the lowest grades possible. As it turned out, only a few kids in the whole country had higher scores.

His homeroom teacher had been campaigning for the use of psych drugs to make him easier to handle.
I fought this tooth and nail. They never gave him any of that shit.

Later that year, his homeroom teacher half seriously strangled my boy in front of the rest of the class. It was upsetting to both him and me.

I very nearly lost it when I found out. It took me a dozen deep breathes to keep from breaking her nose for her. She was fired for this stuff and some other instances of weird behavior.

The upshot of this lil' story is that "the authorities" will hand out psych drugs just like candy for little or no reason. Fuckers can't be trusted.

Looks like some teacher's ego got threatened somehow... Probably she was a lousy teacher... It makes me think of the teacher in Donnie Darko. Have you seen that?

quote:

Originally posted by Boogerhead:

Loved the evil rabbit costume in DD!

I love that film.

I think what doesn't seem to realised is that not all behaviour needs to be labelled. Human nature is such that we all exhibit different behaviours.. Only when it seriously interfers with one living a "worthwhile" life (I refuse to use the word normal, and worthwhile seems to be the current buzz word in mental health!) should it need "treating".

the sheer number of people I know who are suddenly claiming to have aspergers is getting ridiculous.. And the number of people who are blaming their normal ups and downs on bi-polar - or worse, blaming their mistakes on being bi-polar instead of taking responsibility for them.

Then, we get onto the whole issue of western society being seriously over medicated. There is now this expectation, not just in mental health, that ever minor ailment will be given a pill and all will be fine.

Why bother taking responsbility when you can label it..

Limbojim, congrats on your standing firm on with your child. As someone who spent a lot of time staring out the window bored in school your story really makes me appreciate the fact that I was lucky enough to have good teachers who understood the root cause of this boredom. I still remember the parent teacher conference where they tried to explain why even though I was bored, I still needed to be polite and not disturb the rest of the kids. It's unfortunate that your child had to suffer under this witch.
Now I did have a quick question because I was wondering how you would set it up, how do you separate the creator of the drugs (big pharma) from those who need to evaluate and be trained to use these drugs (med and psych schools)? I'm not being petty or difficult, I'm just curious about some real world suggestions, since it's early here and I can't think of a thing right now!