Posted by Lorraine on June 28, 2001, at 10:45:23
In reply to Stigma: it will just never go away, will it?, posted by grapebubblegum on June 28, 2001, at 8:48:03
> Back to the present: the poster listed "What epilepsy is NOT,"
>
> "Epilepsy is NOT a mental disease."
>
> Of course I bristled a bit at that.Me too. I was talking with a woman with FMS and giving her some research that I had done on FMS (which I do not have) and I said something about the conditions being similar and how FMS is usually diagnosed depression first. She bristled a bit and said FMS is an immune disease. Well, la tee dah! An immune disease. In some camps there is a growing suspicion that depression is an immune disease. At least we know it affects the immune system--more heart attacks etc. Not to mention the retrovirus theories floating around. Or that FMS is really a neurological disease that affects the immune system. Really, what on earth are people arguing about with this stuff. We have a compromised immune system and brain in both instances. I have a friend who has MS and I am constantly comparing the two conditions. (Here, I know, there are BIG differences, but still a surprising amount of similarities.)
> But the irony is: with scientific breakthoughs cropping up so fast we can hardly keep up with them, are we not discovering that neurology and psychiatry and their respective "diseases" are far closer in etiology than we recently believed, after we stopped believing that they were co-morbid, through the use of public education campaigns like the posters which I have viewed my entire life? Again, I'm just a lil' ole layperson so pardon my massive ignorance. But I am getting the impression that neurology and psychiatry are kissing cousins.I happen to agree and think the medical profession is remarkably ignorant about all of this.
>
> I spoke briefly with a psychiatric nurse"What's up with all the neuroleptics for a psychiatric disorder?"Well, in my case, my QEEG showed subthreshold seizure activity--which is why an anti-convulsant was added to my regiem. I wonder if that is the case with others that take anti-convulsants. My QEEG also suggested that I had brain lesions, causing my neurofeedback clinic to question me extensively about the possibility of brain trauma--from car accidents etc. It's all a muddle at this point in medical history, but I believe that when the dust settles, we will KNOW what the brain/body deficiencies are and treat those instead of arguing over labels.
poster:Lorraine
thread:68223
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010625/msgs/68234.html