Posted by LostBoyinNC1 on July 29, 2002, at 0:13:37
In reply to Re: have not you posted this several times - oracle, posted by cybercafe on July 28, 2002, at 23:06:09
> Tests? I thought they could test for metabolites in blood, urine, CSF...
> ... i thought they could test your response to various drugs... (cortisol suppression test?) ...
>
> ... there is no one test that will tell them everything about you... but it can narrow things down...Really? I was told repeatedly that there are no tests available in psychiatry which could really aide diagnosis. The cortisol suppression test, thats also called the dex something or other suppression test does have some value and was used back in the eighties a lot. But its been since been proven to not be exact or as useful as originally hyped. I never had a psychiatrist offer it to me before, probably it costs too much.
I wish psychiatry would develop some real tests to improve accurate diagnosing. Its sorely needed. Of course there are a few purely psychological tests like the Rorsach test (inkblot test) which is used to rule out psychosis. However its what is known as a "projection" test and is a subjective test developed by psychologists, not by Medical Doctors. Its not a medical test and is not objective. There are also other psychology tests to test cognition, these are called "neuropsychological" tests. Psychiatrists sometimes order neuropsychological testing to rule out dementia in certain patients. But again they are psychology tests developed by psychologists and dont really tell a psychiatrist anything he already didnt know by just talking to the patient.
The functional neuroimaging technology is probably the closest thing to real medical testing psychiatry has ever developed. Yet its not being used at the clinical levels of psychiatry, only at the elite teaching hospitals involved in advanced research. The average mental patient never gets one of these scans and even then, they are not perfected yet.
Ive been going to a psychiatrist for almost five years now and have yet to have one real medical test ordered by a psychiatrist, other than a routine EKG with blood drawn for a standard physical. If you want to call that testing for psych illness, well be my guest.
poster:LostBoyinNC1
thread:113521
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020725/msgs/114101.html