Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 578545

Shown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT

Posted by iforgotmypassword on November 14, 2005, at 9:47:21

I am trying to decide which one I should go to. I am having no luck with finding out what my problem is and what solutions there are with doctors/psychologists/social workers i currently have access to, and my life just keeps ticking by and falling apart while I am dismissed and trivialized even more repeatedly. I gather that if I have a cognitive disorder it will show up on SPECT. It seems to very evidence based despite how berated it is by the medical community. I have strong suspicions that this is due to insurance companies making unfair pressures so that they do not have to cover another service, and so that psychiatrists and pyschologists can continue to monopolize how we look at psychiatric diagnoses and mental illnesses and keeping from sensible scientific from getting in the way of their subjective observations, biases, bloated egos, and protecting the DSM from needing to be rewritten and re-understood. that is just my opinion though. to me it truly appears that good information is being flushed down the toilet for no reason other than to maintain a status quo.

anyways i need to decide between two spect clinics (or possibly EEG and that wont help at all with diagnosis):

Dr. Amen
www.amenclinics.com
pros: well established, long history (presumably more useful experience with different disorders, larger database, they even have studies of lyme disease on the brain apparently), closer to where i live (at least for washington clinic), know someone whose place i can stay at
cons: services more expensive, you don't see dr. amen rather a doctor that is part of the amen clinics group, *seemingly older, poorer quality, poorer resolution equipment*

Dr. Klindt
www.braininspect.com
pros: seems to use a more up to date equipment *much* more impressive resolution wise, may consider wider range of diagnostic and treatment possibilities, you actually see him personally, website seems more professional, less uhh... sleazy seeming and less smarmy
cons: presumably less experience, less well known, even more difficult, maybe impossible, for followup, much farther from where i live, may have less idea of what to do when i get back to canada

then there's EEG that may give treatment reccomendations but no diagnostic clarity.

any input on where to put my money would be appreciated. thanx. :)

 

Re: Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT

Posted by jamestheyonger on November 14, 2005, at 11:17:10

In reply to Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT, posted by iforgotmypassword on November 14, 2005, at 9:47:21

http://www.braininspect.com/spect_faq.php:

4. WILL THE SPECT STUDY GIVE ME AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSES?
No. A SPECT study by itself will not give a diagnosis.

 

Re: Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT » iforgotmypassword

Posted by Iansf on November 14, 2005, at 12:30:58

In reply to Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT, posted by iforgotmypassword on November 14, 2005, at 9:47:21

The concern I have about SPECT scans and other similar approaches is that the testing doesn't take side effects into account. The tests may point the doctor to the most effective med or combination of meds for you in terms of reducing psychological symptoms, but they won't necessarily direct him to a regimen with side effects you can - or will - tolerate. You could spend a few thousand dollars, find effective meds and still be no better off because you can't actually live with the meds. If money weren't an issue of if my med history showed no significant problems from side effects, I would gladly pursue this option. Otherwise, I would think very carefully about it.

Also, I've seen posts from time to time from people who planned to get a brain SPECT. But I don't recall seeing posts from anyone who reported success. I may have missed such posts, or people who had success may not have come back to the board and reported on it. I don't know. At this point, all I've seen are positive reports from the clinnics who do the procedures and from some studies, which may or may not be reliable. I'd want FIRST-HAND feedback from clients and not clinics' reports of what clients purportedly said before moving ahead.

 

Re: Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT

Posted by iforgotmypassword on November 14, 2005, at 13:06:07

In reply to Re: Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT, posted by jamestheyonger on November 14, 2005, at 11:17:10

i have noted, i think two or three, instances of success regarding ADD diagnosis. one i recall him saying that he would not have been taken seriously anywhere else if it weren't for going to the amen clinic. this is just ADD though.

the problem is i am not being taken seriously about my problems functioning, and simply being told to go see a psychotherapist for god knows how long... i can't even participate properly in the sessions the way i function, think, feel(extremely numb) and talk now. doctors are now refusing to try actual effective medication with me, and i have lost all ability to goto school work, keep my personl hygeine, have clean clothes, keep my living space sanitary and safe (almost got evicted) complete simple simple tasks. it's impossible. this way if there is significant abnormality i think i may actually be able to find someone who won't just dismiss it and say that whatever personality disorder can cause all of this.

 

Re: Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT

Posted by jamestheyonger on November 14, 2005, at 13:48:09

In reply to Re: Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT, posted by iforgotmypassword on November 14, 2005, at 13:06:07

http://www.quackwatch.org/06ResearchProjects/amen.html

 

Re: Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT

Posted by iforgotmypassword on November 14, 2005, at 14:54:15

In reply to Re: Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT, posted by jamestheyonger on November 14, 2005, at 13:48:09

I read that, and that's just one MD. A lot MDs give the same treatment to the diagnoses and treatments of Chronic Lyme Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, etc. BTW, a psychologist at a HOSPITAL I was recently at tried a therapy with me that was based on EMDR, and I don't even have PSTD. No one was calling him a quack.

 

Re: Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT » iforgotmypassword

Posted by Iansf on November 15, 2005, at 11:39:36

In reply to Re: Dr. Amen or Dr. Klindt, SPECT, posted by iforgotmypassword on November 14, 2005, at 14:54:15

> I read that, and that's just one MD. A lot MDs give the same treatment to the diagnoses and treatments of Chronic Lyme Disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, etc. BTW, a psychologist at a HOSPITAL I was recently at tried a therapy with me that was based on EMDR, and I don't even have PSTD. No one was calling him a quack.>


It's true that the article was just one doctor's opinion, but she brought up some very valid points regarding the lack of evidence for the validity of the procedure. She didn't claim SPECT is ineffective, only that Dr. Amen has so far provided little evidence to back up his claims. She also pointed out the risk associated with having radioactive material injected into your body. Now, many other procedures also require injection of radioactive material, but it's still not something to be done without due consideration. As for the EMDR comment, she simply expressed skepticism because again that is a treatment whose efficacy is supported almost soley by anecdote, not rigorous research. I've definitely seen people who practice EMDR called "quacks." That doesn't mean they are quacks, just that some people believe they are. But then there are some very intelligent people who believe most forms of psychotherapy are essentially useless. The real issue is absence of scientific proof and whether you believe enough in something to pay for it even if it hasn't been proven. That's something only you can decide. But I do think it wise to take her report under advisement.


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