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Will the industry ever stop with these 2rd grade level "information" mythology pages explaining addiction and mental illness ? At least this author admits it.
"There are no blood tests or scans that we can run, but I hope and believe we will be able to do so someday."
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In April 2003, researchers announced that the Human Genome Project had completed a high-quality sequence of essentially the entire human genome. This sequence closed the gaps from a working draft of the genome, which was published in 2001.
Even with endless millions in funding, super computers and the completion of the Human Genome Project no proof any mental disorder is genetic.
If anyone is going to come at me with twin studies, go for it. Been debunked already.
I'll bite.
The general risk of developing a serious mental health disorder in the general population is 2 percent. I had my DNA tested via genome scan. Mental health issues run throughout my mother's side of the family - serious mental health issues such as paranoid schizophrenia. Debilitating mental health problems - WITHOUT addictions involved, I might add (my brother was the outlier of the family in that regard). The company that tested my DNA had no idea about my mother's side of the family, or her mental health issues, or my brother's mental health issues. My DNA showed an 11 percent risk, not the usual 2 percent risk - not an alarming figure but about four or five times the average risk.
Now - I am 56 years old and have never been mentally ill, so I figure I'm probably out of the woods on that one, but my brother drew the joker I guess and he is seriously mentally ill now, and has been since his early twenties (prior to then, he seemed like a normal enough kid - as many people who suffer from schizophrenia are prior to the first episode, which is often in the early 20s).
It's schizophrenia that runs through my mom's family by the way. There is no doubt when a person is schizophrenic - it's a serious mental health diagnosis and it is debilitating and only responds to long term treatment via counseling and psychotropic drugs.
Anyway, so there IS some sort of genetic predisposition. Your quoted research is from 2003 by the way - fifteen years ago. There is a lot more understanding of genetics and there's been a lot more genetic research since then.
Quote:
In fact, a growing body of research has found that certain genes and gene variations are associated with mental disorders.
Quote:
One day, genetic research may make it possible to provide a more complete picture of a person’s risk of getting a particular mental disorder or to diagnose it, based on his or her genes. For example, recent NIMH-funded research has identified five major mental disorders—autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disease, schizophrenia, and major depression—that can share common genetic components. Studies have also found that specific gene variants are associated with a higher risk of certain disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia.
But since old information seems to be OK with you, this is from a study done by the World Health Organization in 2000:
Quote:
The concept of the causative gene has been replaced by that of genetic complexity, in which multiple genes act in concert with non-genetic factors to produce a risk of mental disorder. Discoveries in genetics and neuroscience can be expected to lead to better models that provide improved representation of the complexity of the brain and behaviour and the development of both. There are likely to be profound implications for clinical practice. The complex genetics of risk should reinvigorate research on the
epidemiology and classification of mental disorders and explain the complex patterns of disease transmission within families. Knowledge of the timing of the expression of risk genes during brain development and of their function should not only contribute to an understanding of gene action and the pathophysiology of disease but should also help to direct the search for modifiable environmental risk factors that convert risk into illness. The function of risk genes can only become comprehensible in the context of advances at the molecular, cellular and systems levels in neuroscience and the behavioural sciences. Genetics should yield new therapies aimed not just at symptoms but also at pathogenic processes, thus permitting the targeting of specific therapies to individual patients.
Anyway, I googled "mental health and genetic testing" and there are pages and pages of scholarly studies from reputable sources showing a definite link between genetics and mental health issues. Do we have a DNA test yet that can accurately diagnose a mental health issue? No, but we do have markers genetically. Does this mean I WILL eventually develop a mental health issue? No. Was my brother doomed? Who knows? Did his early and consistent use of illicit drugs (early teen years on) cause his mental health issues or was his drug usage the result of his mental health issues? All I know is that down through the generations on my mom's side of the family, in every generation, there are several people who struggle with debilitating mental health disorders, generally paranoid schizophrenia, and that's not the case on my dad's side. And I have an increased risk via increased numbers of genetic markers though like I said, I think I've escaped that particular hereditary curse in spite of being raised by a mentally ill mother. I would be interested in seeing my brother's DNA results but I doubt that will ever happen. He's too paranoid to participate. And I mean that seriously.
Hospice qualification is a doctor saying you have less than 6 months to live. It sounds in this case like they were able to save the person, but his post-surgical pain was that severe.
And doctors CAN write the order that says six months - no one knows how long someone is going to live.
There was an end in sight, it was temporary. Imagine the pain you felt the first day, staying with you 3 months after the surgery, 6 months, 6 years, all the time. Imagine your life. Imagine a drug that doesn't make the pain go away, but allows you to sit up for a meal with your family, to take a shower, to walk to the bathroom. Imagine that pill allows you some minimal quality of life, enough that you can stay alive and have some enjoyable moments, but then someone tells you that you can't have that pill anymore, because other people have problems from it. That you have to go back to 24 hour a day unimaginable pain, like it or not. The suicide rate has risen in recent years due to this, and it's not because people are too weak to cope without a crutch.
What percentage of the population has this terrible, ongoing, never-ending pain you describe, and why then don't they go on hospice or palliative care?
The general risk of developing a serious mental health disorder in the general population is 2 percent. I had my DNA tested via genome scan. Mental health issues run throughout my mother's side of the family - serious mental health issues such as paranoid schizophrenia. Debilitating mental health problems - WITHOUT addictions involved, I might add (my brother was the outlier of the family in that regard). The company that tested my DNA had no idea about my mother's side of the family, or her mental health issues, or my brother's mental health issues. My DNA showed an 11 percent risk, not the usual 2 percent risk - not an alarming figure but about four or five times the average risk.
Now - I am 56 years old and have never been mentally ill, so I figure I'm probably out of the woods on that one, but my brother drew the joker I guess and he is seriously mentally ill now, and has been since his early twenties (prior to then, he seemed like a normal enough kid - as many people who suffer from schizophrenia are prior to the first episode, which is often in the early 20s).
It's schizophrenia that runs through my mom's family by the way. There is no doubt when a person is schizophrenic - it's a serious mental health diagnosis and it is debilitating and only responds to long term treatment via counseling and psychotropic drugs.
Anyway, so there IS some sort of genetic predisposition. Your quoted research is from 2003 by the way - fifteen years ago. There is a lot more understanding of genetics and there's been a lot more genetic research since then.
Anyway, I googled "mental health and genetic testing" and there are pages and pages of scholarly studies from reputable sources showing a definite link between genetics and mental health issues. Do we have a DNA test yet that can accurately diagnose a mental health issue? No, but we do have markers genetically. Does this mean I WILL eventually develop a mental health issue? No. Was my brother doomed? Who knows? Did his early and consistent use of illicit drugs (early teen years on) cause his mental health issues or was his drug usage the result of his mental health issues? All I know is that down through the generations on my mom's side of the family, in every generation, there are several people who struggle with debilitating mental health disorders, generally paranoid schizophrenia, and that's not the case on my dad's side. And I have an increased risk via increased numbers of genetic markers though like I said, I think I've escaped that particular hereditary curse in spite of being raised by a mentally ill mother. I would be interested in seeing my brother's DNA results but I doubt that will ever happen. He's too paranoid to participate. And I mean that seriously.
Sadly, the OP doesn't care if you provide proof, strong links or life stories. The OP is convinced he/she knows more than anyone else on this subject. Of course, addicts can become obsessed with finding information to bolster their beliefs, especially if they can use that information as an excuse to continue to abuse their drug of choice. One thing I know from being married to an addict through 10 years of addiction is that they are master manipulators. The will work hard to convince you that the sky is orange, if that's what they want you to believe.
In first world countries one 'psychotic' episode and you spend the rest of your life in keep you sick psychiatric wasteland. I hate psychiatry with a passion. Brain butchers.
Got diabetes from their poison too. Get your kid away from them. Or brother excuse me.
No thanks - I've seen my brother off the treatment plan and on the treatment plan. He's much improved ON the treatment plan.
And he didn't have one psychotic episode before he was treated - he had multiple, and it was when he finally went on a felonious, violent rampage that he was FINALLY arrested, and sent into a treatment plan rather than jail as part of a plea bargain. He finally received the treatment he'd desperately needed for decades. However, I believe he has fallen off the plan at this point. I hope not but I think he has. Family members are reporting late night, rambling, manic phone calls and a significant weight loss and the last time that happened, he ended up breaking into a house, beating the people inside up, and then wandering around in the country wearing nothing but a T shirt.
My brother is absolutely impossible to be around or have a relationship with when he is off his medications and treatment plan. Now - he doesn't THINK he is - he thinks he's smart, charming, witty, productive, etc.
He has said for years now that the drug that controls his manic episodes and paranoia makes him feel "flat." Well, all I know is that he doesn't ACT flat when he's complying - he acts normal. It makes me wonder if normal doesn't feel good to people who love that manic feeling?
If the way I feel is "flat," then I guess I'm happy "flat." I feel peaceful, contented, and centered pretty much all the time, even in the midst of drama such as someone dying, or being seriously ill or whatever. That's not "flat," - it's at peace. There's a huge difference.
Meanwhile, my brother tells me that he's never shed a tear about our father's death, that he can't bear to think about it, that he has unpleasant, stressful dreams about dad, etc. Not me. I've sat in the middle of my floor bawling about my dad. I've raised my fist to the ceiling and yelled at my dad because things I discovered after his death made me mad. I cried at his deathbed, and at his funeral, and as I spread his ashes. But I'm at peace about it - not flat. And not manic. And not in denial. And not having stressful dreams about dad, or getting stressed out just thinking about him.
There is something physically wrong with my brother. I don't blame him for that. But he did tell me once, "There's a difference between being mentally ill, and being a jerk - being mentally ill doesn't give anyone the excuse to be a jerk." And I do believe that.
If a person has diabetes, or a heart condition, or whatever - as an adult it's their responsibility to live a lifestyle that is most conducive to their health, and to minimizing the effects of their physical challenges. It's the same thing with mental health issues. Some people comply, some refuse to comply. Some lung cancer patients are still smoking sitting next to their oxygen tank too. Oh well.
Sadly, the OP doesn't care if you provide proof, strong links or life stories. The OP is convinced he/she knows more than anyone else on this subject. Of course, addicts can become obsessed with finding information to bolster their beliefs, especially if they can use that information as an excuse to continue to abuse their drug of choice. One thing I know from being married to an addict through 10 years of addiction is that they are master manipulators. The will work hard to convince you that the sky is orange, if that's what they want you to believe.
No thanks - I've seen my brother off the treatment plan and on the treatment plan. He's much improved ON the treatment plan.
And he didn't have one psychotic episode before he was treated - he had multiple, and it was when he finally went on a felonious, violent rampage that he was FINALLY arrested, and sent into a treatment plan rather than jail as part of a plea bargain. He finally received the treatment he'd desperately needed for decades. However, I believe he has fallen off the plan at this point. I hope not but I think he has. Family members are reporting late night, rambling, manic phone calls and a significant weight loss and the last time that happened, he ended up breaking into a house, beating the people inside up, and then wandering around in the country wearing nothing but a T shirt.
My brother is absolutely impossible to be around or have a relationship with when he is off his medications and treatment plan. Now - he doesn't THINK he is - he thinks he's smart, charming, witty, productive, etc.
He has said for years now that the drug that controls his manic episodes and paranoia makes him feel "flat." Well, all I know is that he doesn't ACT flat when he's complying - he acts normal. It makes me wonder if normal doesn't feel good to people who love that manic feeling?
If the way I feel is "flat," then I guess I'm happy "flat." I feel peaceful, contented, and centered pretty much all the time, even in the midst of drama such as someone dying, or being seriously ill or whatever. That's not "flat," - it's at peace. There's a huge difference.
Meanwhile, my brother tells me that he's never shed a tear about our father's death, that he can't bear to think about it, that he has unpleasant, stressful dreams about dad, etc. Not me. I've sat in the middle of my floor bawling about my dad. I've raised my fist to the ceiling and yelled at my dad because things I discovered after his death made me mad. I cried at his deathbed, and at his funeral, and as I spread his ashes. But I'm at peace about it - not flat. And not manic. And not in denial. And not having stressful dreams about dad, or getting stressed out just thinking about him.
There is something physically wrong with my brother. I don't blame him for that. But he did tell me once, "There's a difference between being mentally ill, and being a jerk - being mentally ill doesn't give anyone the excuse to be a jerk." And I do believe that.
If a person has diabetes, or a heart condition, or whatever - as an adult it's their responsibility to live a lifestyle that is most conducive to their health, and to minimizing the effects of their physical challenges. It's the same thing with mental health issues. Some people comply, some refuse to comply. Some lung cancer patients are still smoking sitting next to their oxygen tank too. Oh well.
But your brother is a danger to others so he should be forced to comply or kept out of society.
But your brother is a danger to others so he should be forced to comply or kept out of society.
I agree. But he's finished his mandatory program and it's now voluntary. He's "done his time" so to speak. Mental health care in this country SUCKS. And maybe it sucks everywhere, I don't know. But it sure sucks here.
About all I can do is keep my personal boundaries in place, and not enable him. He doesn't stick around if he's not being enabled by someone. So at least he's not living around me anymore. He has gone on to other places, trying to manipulate other people. And now that he's not regularly tested and doesn't "have to" comply, he is drinking and doing drugs again, with or without his medications - I don't know but I know he can't mix all that.
He's been working on one of my sons lately - at least thankfully my son can see through it. It still makes me mad though. Oh well.
Me either; not a fan ... they make my face itch & Ibuprofen works better for me anyway. As a rule, though; I fill every script I’m handed & for any type of drug but especially antibiotics & pain medications. I store them high (as in out of sight),cool & dry.
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Can’t really put my finger on it as to why I’m “stockpiling” but between reading people’s experiences here & having an urgent care doctor tell me a few months ago that she wasn’t “allowed” to prescribe antibiotics? There is a certain level of mistrust.
It would be ironic if the “profile” turns out to be “ didn’t ask for them”.
I really need to not start a post at 2 am & fall asleep. The incomplete & unedited post above was sent compliments of Luke; who woke up & checked what time it was on the iPad.
My point was that I notice that it is those who need them the most that are being denied them.
I have had a similar experience with a medication I was prescribed in the past; a stimulant used for ADD that I had stopped taking when in between insurances some years ago. I tried to resume it last year but found providers were eyeing me suspiciously when I provided my history.
My diagnosis from years ago was from a well-known expert & doctor of Neuropsychiatry, who wrote, literally:
“The most profound case of ADD in an adult female that I have ever encountered”
This physician had asked my permission to use my history as a case discussed during his lectures, under an aka of course & these other doctors were looking at me like I was a criminal because the only medication that works; is a schedule II controlled substance. Like excuse the heck out of me.
I wondered; what might of happened if I pretended I knew nothing about my own status & let them arrive at their own conclusions?
Is the reason I can get opiates at the drop of a hat; because I never ask for them? Is the reason I can’t get Adderall to save my life because I do ask for it? Because my “profile” is the same no matter what.
I know there IS a screening protocol but I think physicians are disregarding it in favor of their own “spidey- sense” & we send up red flags just by asking for something.
One of the largest parts of the problem as I see it is that our physicians receive so very little education about addiction. They are nearly as ignorant about the condition as the average citizen.
It used to be taught and believed that people weren't as apt to get addicted if they were using addictive substances for a sound medical reason. Apparently we are now learning that only applies to the 85-90% of the population who doesn't have the genetic disposition to addiction.
I can tell anecdote upon anecdote about iatrogenic addiction. Medical staff also have a proclivity to the illness themselves for several reasons and this can skew their judgment about prescribing and general attitude about addictive drug use.
As goldenlove states, there is a lot of neurological stuff going on that explains the attractive and often fatal web. Fortunately research is growing by leaps and bounds and there is hope for a new growing understanding.
As someone who has guided many "normal citizens" through their first painful steps against denial at the beginning of recovery it is nearly impossible to convince a person who has become addicted through the medical method that the tremendous pain they feel when in withdrawal stages will get better. To them it means they must have their drug in order to live comfortably.
Even more complicated is that some of these folks, depending on the drug of choice, will suffer from the initial malady and the withdrawal symptoms for a year or sometimes longer. During this time they need lots of love and encouragement to try all the methods available to soothe their pain with alternative methods. It's a long and sometimes discouraging climb done often on faith alone. But I've seen people do it and it's a joy to see the gratitude that they have when they see that their hard work has born fruit.
(Now I'll step back against the wall and let you have at me with rotten fruit. LOL) I truly do understand that there are folks out there who can no longer survive without pain medication. I can't imagine how difficult that must be. But I also know that self-deception being a hallmark of the problem, there are far fewer of you than you think.
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I really need to not start a post at 2 am & fall asleep. The incomplete & unedited post above was sent compliments of Luke; who woke up & checked what time it was on the iPad.
