How Proper Diagnoses and Treatment Can Help People Who Are Suffering from Bipolar Disorder - Term Paper Example

How Proper Diagnoses And Treatment Can Help People Who Are Suffering From Bi-polar Disorder I. Introduction Bi-polar disorder ranks as the sixth leading causes of mental disability in the Untied States today (Rivas-Vazquez, Rafael A., Sheri L. Johnson, Gustavo J. Rey, Mark A. Blais, Ana Rivas-Vazquez (2002). People who are between the ages of 15 to 44 years old are the most affected by this disorder (Rivas-Vazquez, Rafael A., Sheri L. Johnson, Gustavo J. Rey, Mark A. Blais, Ana Rivas-Vazquez (2002). Since most people who are afflicted by this type of ailment are within their most productive age group, one estimate quoted that this type of diseases cost society about $45 billion annually in terms of lost working hours and decreased work productivity (Rivas-Vazquez, Rafael A., Sheri L. Johnson, Gustavo J. Rey, Mark A. Blais, Ana Rivas-Vazquez (2002). What is really very alarming about this type of mental disorder is that a lot of people who are afflicted with bi-polar disorder are prone to suicidal thoughts. In fact, about 19% of those who suffer from this disease are exposed to lifetime risk of suicide (Rivas-Vazquez, Rafael A., Sheri L. Johnson, Gustavo J. Rey, Mark A. Blais, Ana Rivas-Vazquez (2002). You see, bi-polar is a chronic disorder meaning it keeps coming back to haunt the sufferer. Bi-poplar disorder is one of the most common chronic and severe mental disorders that often go undiagnosed and untreated for a long time. A lot of people who are suffering from this type of ailment do not even know that they bi-polar disorder and they go through life without even getting treatment for this type of disorder. In most cases, people who have bi-polar disorder are diagnosed with depression (Supplement to The Journal of Family Practice (November 2007). Because of misdiagnosis and poor treatment, many people who are suffering from this disorder has to suffer through severe bouts of mental disturbances without even getting the right type of treatment. This situation can be quite detrimental to the mental state of the patient and may lead the patient to take some drastic measures, such as suicide, to end his or her suffering. Fortunately, this situation can be prevented. Although bi-polar disorder is a complex medical illness that involves the human brain, with proper diagnosis and treatment, a person who is suffering from this type of ailment can eventually recover from a severe episode of bi-polar disorder and lead a normal life. II. Nature of Bi-polar Disorder Bi-polar disorder is more commonly known as manic depression. Based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual that most psychiatrists use to diagnose mental disorders, the most reliable criteria for diagnosing this disorder are extreme episodes of mood elation and depression (Rivas-Vazquez, Rafael A., Sheri L. Johnson, Gustavo J. Rey, Mark A. Blais, Ana Rivas-Vazquez (2002). It may manifest itself in an irregular pattern of changes in the patients energy level and his or her thinking and mood pattern throughout his or her lifetime (Uebelacker Lisa A., Christopher G. Beevers Cynthia L. Battle and David Strong, Gabor I. Keitner, Christine E. Ryan, and David A. Solomon Ivan W. Miller (2006). The changes in the thoughts, moods and energy level of the patient may be dramatic or subtle depending on the event or condition that triggers the change (Uebelacker Lisa A., Christopher G. Beevers Cynthia L. Battle and David Strong, Gabor I. Keitner, Christine E. Ryan, and David A. Solomon Ivan W. Miller (2006). Moreover, since people perceive events and conditions differently, people who have bi-polar disorder may not respond to the same stimulus on the same manner. Since people who have bi-polar disorder do not have the same level of affliction and they do not respond to the same stimuli in the same manner, it is important to take each case of bi-polar disorder differently. Each case of bi-polar disorder should be treated in a different manner. To do this, a medical professional should take time to review the medical history of the patient before treating the patient. Observing the behavioral pattern of the patient is also very important. If the patient has only one episode of depression so far, it may be premature to conclude that he or she has bi-polar disorder. When the onset of the depression in gradual and the mode elevation of the patient are also infrequent, it may be difficult to accurately diagnosed the patient as suffering from bi-polar disorder. For good measure, it is important to take more time to ascertain the true condition of the patient at this point. Yes, this situation can pose some great challenges on the part of the family of the patient and on the part of the healthcare provider but this is the only way to effectively diagnose the person and then recommend for proper treatment. No, you cannot just give a patient any treatment without really conducting some in-depth study of what is wrong with the patient. Note that certain types of mental disorders like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), panic disorder, psychoactive substance abuse and the likes manifest symptoms such as changes in moods, though patterns and energy level (Uebelacker Lisa A., Christopher G. Beevers Cynthia L. Battle and David Strong, Gabor I. Keitner, Christine E. Ryan, and David A. Solomon Ivan W. Miller (2006). Moreover, there are certain types of medical ailments that also manifest more or less the same symptoms as bi-polar disorder. Lupus, hyperthyroidism, multiple sclerosis and even withdrawal from drugs can cause alternations in the moods and though patterns of a person (Uebelacker Lisa A., Christopher G. Beevers Cynthia L. Battle and David Strong, Gabor I. Keitner, Christine E. Ryan, and David A. Solomon Ivan W. Miller (2006). Medically induced mood changes should not be attributed to bi-polar disorder. These types of mode changes must be diagnosed separately as "mood disorder due to a general medical condition". In the same way, manic-like symptoms that results from physiological changes due to use of some types of drugs or toxins should not be lumped with bi-polar disorders. It is very important to distinguish these symptoms from each other. Note that wrong diagnoses can lead to wrong treatment. The combination of wrong diagnosis and wrong treatment can greatly endanger the life of the patient. In fact, wrong diagnosis can lead to more medical complications you need to be extra careful when determining the mental state of the patient. To avoid wrong diagnosis, there is a need to conduct a through study of the condition of the patient. Since there are different types of bi-polar disorder, it is important to correctly determine the type of bi-polar disorder that the patient is suffering from in order to give the proper treatment. There is a need to differentiate these things if you want to help the patient. Remember that the goal here is to help the patient live a normal life and the only way to do that is to address the core of the problem. Technically, bi-polar disorder is classified into four categories. Bi-polar disorder I involves more manic episodes with or without major episodes of depression (Uebelacker Lisa A., Christopher G. Beevers Cynthia L. Battle and David Strong, Gabor I. Keitner, Christine E. Ryan, and David A. Solomon Ivan W. Miller (2006). "Bipolar I disorder is a highly recurrent disorder, and it is estimated that at least 90% of individuals who exhibit a manic episode will go on to develop future episodes." (Rivas-Vazquez, Rafael A., Sheri L. Johnson, Gustavo J. Rey, Mark A. Blais, Ana Rivas-Vazquez (2002) On the other hand, Bi-polar II involves hypomania episodes with at least one case of major depression. In most cases, the onset of metal disturbances in Bi-polar disorder II is gradual making it more difficult for healthcare providers to diagnose the disease. People who experience hypomania which leads to increased productivity at work do will not take the incident as something that he or she should be alarmed about so they do not usually report such incident to their healthcare provider. This situation often makes diagnosis even more difficult. The third classification of bi-polar disorder is cyclothymia. To be diagnosed with cyclothymic disorder, a person must display several hypomanic episodes with some non-major depression in between. The low-grade cycling of moods in this type of bi-polar disorder appears to be part of the personality trait of the person. To be considered as a form of disorder, such low-grade cycling of moods must interfere with the persons ability to function well. The fourth classification of bi-polar disorder is Bipolar Disorder NOS (not otherwise specified). This is a catch all category for any bi-polar conditions that do not fit into the three previous categories. III. Treating Bi-polar Disorder Proper treatment of bi-polar disorder hinges on proper diagnosis. They key here is to address the source of the problem properly. "Patients respond differently to given medications—and in some cases, they don’t respond to any."( Harvard Health Letter (November 2007) Drugs dont actually cure bi-polar but it can control the symptoms (Harvard Health Letter (November 2007). Some drugs are more effective compared to other types of drugs in treating certain phases of bi-polar disorder. For instance, certain types of drugs are better suited for patients who are suffering from depression and some drugs are more effective in treating the manic phase of the disorder. Moreover, combining certain types of drugs to control the symptoms of bi-polar disorder achieve better effects compared to a single drug treatment. Patients who display severe mental disturbances are usually given combination of drugs to help them calm down (Harvard Health Letter (November 2007). Again, we cannot overly stress the importance of proper diagnosis as a precursor to proper treatment. Note that combining drugs to treat symptoms of mental disturbances can result to some severe side effects, thus, it is important to strike a balance between safety and comfort on the part of the patient. The most commonly used drug to treat the symptoms of bi-polar disorder is lithium. Lithium is good at calming mania and helps reduce the risk of suicide (Harvard Health Letter (November 2007). However, lithium can have some negative side effects on the patient that is why it very important to reach a balance between safety and comfort when giving lithium to patients with bi-polar disorder. Note that different people have different tolerance level when it comes to certain types of drugs like lithium. Some people have high tolerance to lithium while other people suffer from severe side effects like nausea, low thyroid level, weight gain, memory loss and others (Harvard Health Letter (November 2007). Other types of drugs that are often used to treat bi-polar disorder are anticonvulsants, antipsychotics and antidepressants. Originally, anticonvulsants were developed to treat seizures but later on, doctors found out that these types of drugs can help stabilize moods. The efficiency of anticonvulsants when it comes to control bi-polar disorder symptoms still remains debatable but since this drug has fewer side effects compared to lithium, many doctors prefer to give this drug to patients who display less severe symptoms of mental disturbance (Harvard Health Letter (November 2007). Another alternative to lithium are antipsychotic drugs. There are many types of antipsychotic drugs that are effective in treating both the manic depressive phases of many types of mental disorders including bi-polar disorder. While most antipsychotic drugs can help control the symptoms of bi-polar disorder, antidepressants may not have the same effect on the patient. According to a study conducted by Harvard University, antidepressants are not really effective in controlling the symptoms of bi-polar disorder (Harvard Health Letter (November 2007). Even when combined with other types of drugs, most antidepressants still do not have the desired effects on the patient. Aside from using drugs to control bi-polar disorder, various kinds of psychosocial treatment also work well some patients. In fact, some people are able to reign in their errant moods with certain types of psychosocial treatment (Harvard Health Letter (November 2007). IV. Conclusion Since there is are many forms of treatment for different phases of bi-polar disorder, proper diagnosis is indeed very crucial. Wrong diagnosis can exacerbate the problems of bi-polar disorder. Just come to think of it, it a patient is diagnosed of Bipolar II disorder instead of Bipolar I disorder; he or she could receive a higher dose of lithium than need. Since lithium can have some severe side effects on some people, the patient could suffer a lot of discomfort. To help a patient recover from a severe episode of by polar disorder, proper diagnosis and right treatment is imperative. References: 1. Harvard Health Letter (November 2007) Bipolar disorder retrieved from www.health.harvard.edu 2. Rivas-Vazquez, Rafael A., Sheri L. Johnson, Gustavo J. Rey, Mark A. Blais, Ana Rivas-Vazquez (2002) Current Treatments for Bipolar Disorder: A Review and Update for Psychologists Professional Psychology: Research and Practice Copyright 2002 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 2002, Vol. 33, No. 2, 212–223 3. Supplement to The Journal of Family Practice (November 2007) Defining the challenge: Recognizing and treating bipolar disorder wherever patients present 4. Uebelacker Lisa A., Christopher G. Beevers Cynthia L. Battle and David Strong, Gabor I. Keitner, Christine E. Ryan, and David A. Solomon Ivan W. Miller (2006) BRIEF REPORTS Family Functioning in Bipolar I Disorder Journal of Family Psychology American Psychological Association 2006, Vol. 20, No. 4, 701–704 Read More