Overdiagnosis?

Sawfish said:
Do you think that the current societal trend is to try to find a medical/psychological pigeonhole for anything that is not subjectively satisfactory?

And that this results in a lot of questionable diagnoses?
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"subjectively satisfactory?" For whom - and for what specifically?
 

i think i get it @Sawfish... but it seems more like a feedback loop of chemical signals if taken from a systems perspective.

first one gets the feeling something is off, this daily occurrence brings you down, the treatment provided doesn't seem like much of a relief, different meds are cycled with limited results if not outright disastrous... and the diagnostic churn over time seems futile. the experts evade answers only offering remote possibilities because they're most likely limited to the acceptable treatments because that's really all they "know". so they say it's all in your head...

...well it's not.
 
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Sawfish said:
Do you think that the current societal trend is to try to find a medical/psychological pigeonhole for anything that is not subjectively satisfactory?

And that this results in a lot of questionable diagnoses?
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Do you mean "for anyone who is not behaving 'normally'..." ?

Anyway, when a gov't pays for medical services and treatment with tax dollars, they do rely excessively on pigeon-holing, and while that makes the system easier, it does contribute to misdiagnoses. IMO
 
multimodAL said:
i think i get it @Sawfish... but it seems more like a feedback loop of chemical signals if taken from a systems perspective.

first one gets the feeling something is off, this daily occurrence brings you down, the treatment provided doesn't seem like much of a relief, different meds are cycled with limited results if not outright disastrous... and the diagnostic churn over time seems futile. the experts evade answers only offering probably possibilities because they're most likely limited to the acceptable treatments because that's really all they "know". so they say it's all in your head...

...well it's not.
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Doctors might wonder if a patient's medical problem is psychological, but I'd bet a million Nuthins that not one single actual doctor has ever said "Pffft, it's all in his head."

Doctors don't even pretend to know everything about the human body, especially where it comes to physiology, quantum-level stuff, and mental health. They openly admit it. They're still studying, still discovering, and they discover something new all the time. And they don't evade answers, they don't have all the answers, they're still looking for them. Meanwhile everyone's just going to have to settle for theories, all of which are based on evidence and the most reliable data available.
 
Considering there is currently an adderall shortage a drug used for attention span issues there are over or misdiagnosis. I know teachers who admit drugs like adderall are being used for baby sitting by parents or even teachers who can't deal with certain kids and behaviors.
 
Pepper said:
That answered nothing :ROFLMAO:
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Tell me what you want. I'm not intending to evade questions, but I *thought* answered with examples of things that an individual might feel was not right and that these were subjective (unmeasurable, untestable) rather than objective (there are detectable and measurable symptoms).

Tell me what you want rather than implying dishonesty or evasion. I'll try to come up with it.
 
WhatInThe said:
Considering there is currently an adderall shortage a drug used for attention span issues there are over or misdiagnosis. I know teachers who admit drugs like adderall are being used for baby sitting by parents or even teachers who can't deal with certain kids and behaviors.
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Is that what we're talking about here?

There was public out-cry about this decades ago, and doctors agreed over-prescribing was going on. Laws were put in place, and school board regulations.

Is over-prescribing and misdiagnosing still a problem, or are children showing signs of too many toxins in their systems? There have been studies.
 
Murrmurr said:
Do you mean "for anyone who is not behaving 'normally'..." ?

Anyway, when a gov't pays for medical services and treatment with tax dollars, they do rely excessively on pigeon-holing, and while that makes the system easier, it does contribute to misdiagnoses. IMO
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More like anyone who feels that they are not feeling normal.

That's the subjective part.
 
Murrmurr said:
Sorry, I didn't understand your questions. And I still don't...I think.
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OK, it must be my way of explaining...

A person finds that they are not happy in life. There is no definitive measurable condition, all physical tests show normality yet the person reports they are miserable, unable to work or function.

With nothing other than the consistent complaint the patient expects/hopes for a treatment, and the doctor prescribes medication.

Do people here think that this is increasing?
 
@Sawfish - Are you saying that when people see a doctor and they say "I don't feel normal," that the doctor just throws some baseless diagnosis out there and then writes a Rx? Like, the doctor doesn't run tests and ask questions and refer to the PD?

I believe doctors make as reasonable a diagnosis as they can, but "I don't feel normal" isn't a lot to go on.
 
Sawfish said:
OK, it must be my way of explaining...

A person finds that they are not happy in life. There is no definitive measurable condition, all physical tests show normality yet the person reports they are miserable, unable to work or function.

With nothing other than the consistent complaint the patient expects/hopes for a treatment, and the doctor prescribes medication.

Do people here think that this is increasing?
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Ok, got it.

If there's an increase in that type of complaint, then Yes.
 
Murrmurr said:
@Sawfish - Are you saying that when people see a doctor and they say "I don't feel normal," that the doctor just throws some baseless diagnosis out there and then writes a Rx? Like, the doctor doesn't run tests and ask questions and refer to the PD?

I believe doctors make as reasonable a diagnosis as they can, but "I don't feel normal" isn't a lot to go on.
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No, they'll have trouble getting out of bed, they won't want to deal with personal interactions, stuff like that.

Just like you said, essentially, no doctor would say/think "it's all in their head", nor would most patients probably say "I don't feel normal" and leave it at that.
 
Sawfish said:
OK, it must be my way of explaining...

A person finds that they are not happy in life. There is no definitive measurable condition, all physical tests show normality yet the person reports they are miserable, unable to work or function.

With nothing other than the consistent complaint the patient expects/hopes for a treatment, and the doctor prescribes medication.

Do people here think that this is increasing?
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I don't know if it is increasing, but human malaise has always been with us. Due to mass communication this is more obvious as more & more of us contribute to the dialogue.
 
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