Brain waves, quantitative EEGs, psych meds, er … other stuff
Brain Waves Predict Depression Meds
Andrew F. Leuchter, M.D., is a UCLA professor of psychiatry and Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, in the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the UCLA. “Odds are the first medicine you choose for a patient is not going to be the one that is going to get them all the way to well,” says Dr. Leuchter. “So what we really need is a more intelligent way to choose medications and customize it so that we find the right drug for the right patient.”
Using quantitative EEG, a non-invasive computerized measurement of brain wave patterns, researchers discovered that specific changes in brain-wave activity precede clinical changes brought on by medication. “So we can, within 10 or 15 minutes, record enough brain activity that we can get a good assessment of how a patient’s doing on a medication, and it’s something that is practical enough and can be done in any doctor’s office,” says Dr. Leuchter.
They record the EEG before the start of treatment and then record a second EEG at the end of the first week of treatment. At this point, doctors can see how that individual’s brain is responding to the antidepressant. “If they show the right signal we can say with a pretty good degree of certainty that is the right medication,” he says. More than just helping get the right medication, the process can help encourage a patient to stick with their prescribed treatment. Within days, rather than weeks or months, the doctor and patient can feel more secure about the treatment plan. This technique also could slash the time and costs needed to develop and research new antidepressants, according to researchers.
I think this sounds good. I’m pro-brain-waves.
liz | 1:18 PM | Uncategorized
Clearing the air
Since I’ve been doing more videos, my blog numbers have gone up and the number of subscribers to my YouTube channel have also increased. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I’m glad to bring more people to this site because I really do think it has useful information and can be sort of fun, too. It seems like a logical extension of my work as a journalist and columnist who began her career writing about mental health. I feel like it fits together with my goals.
As for the videos, though, I’m still struggling to figure out what I’m doing. The last video I made was very opinionated, but based on years of experience dealing with mental health issues. I felt confident that I wasn’t saying anything I didn’t believe. The only sentence I regret using is “it’s not your choice.” Of course it’s your choice. That was ill-phrased.
The “funny” videos I made prior to that were enjoyable to make, and built my self-esteem. It’s helpful to see yourself through other eyes. But I realized they weren’t contributing to the betterment of the world. They were self-indulgent.
As for the ECT videos, the response is mixed. Herb of VNS Depression wrote to me today saying he was very disturbed by my ECT video in which I used the second-person singular to describe what happened to me when I had ECT 10 years ago. I agree that by saying “you” it might’ve seemed like I was implying that everyone has the same experience. In fact, I was only talking about me, but by saying “you,” I was able to avoid the trauma of telling the story again. As a literary device, it’s possible to use the second person to indicate the first-person. But YouTube isn’t a literary forum, so misunderstandings are possible.
I find that the responses to the videos make me feel more vulnerable, and I have to keep asking myself why I’m doing them. What’s the point? How am I helping others? How can I create a mission for the videos that meaningfully incorporates social justice? It’s very difficult. I’m using a young medium—an often stupidly employed medium—to try to develop serious dialogue. Is that even realistic? Maybe not.
liz | 11:25 AM | Uncategorized
My skepticism returns
Despite my feelings about the New York Times piece we were talking about yesterday, the below article in an Australian newspaper is exactly the kind of thing that makes me suspicious about diagnosing kids with mental illnesses traditionally associated with adults.
Preschool bad habits hint at mental illness
liz | 3:03 PM | Uncategorized
Seroquel for bipolar?
My fellow mental-health blogger Philip Dawdy has written a great deal over the years about big pharma and the use (and misuse, primarily) of atypical antipsychotics. Now he’s written about the fact that Astra Zeneca got approval to market Seroquel as a medication for bipolar disorder, and I’ve offered a couple comments. I’m torn about the FDA’s decision, so I’m trying to puzzle out my own opinions via Furious Seasons, Dawdy’s excellent blog. I think we’re having a good dialogue over there, and I’d encourage you to join in.
And speaking of bad Seroquel marketing, what’s up with this stupid ad? At first I thought the guy on the left was a sailor. But I guess the guy on the right is psyched that he can finally learn to bake a cake and get paid for it. The joys of meds!
liz | 12:12 PM | Uncategorized
Good fences make good neighbors?
A couple in Brazoria, Ore., wants to turn their house into a recovery residence for people with bipolar disorder. They have three empty bedrooms, and a lot of room in their hearts. Their neighbors—who obviously don’t want crazy people in the ’hood—are trying to stop them and the case has gone to court.
Ruling stalls home for bipolar patients
liz | 11:20 AM | Uncategorized
Women: Eat your veggies
But you’ll wanna be careful about that bagged spinach.
Vegetables linked to good mental health
liz | 10:40 AM | Uncategorized
NOLA Contending
Thanks to Stephen Cornell for sending me this link. The article, from the New Orleans Times-Picayune is the story of a journalist who, after Katrina, sinks into a depression—an illness he’d previously derided. From Chris Rose’s piece:
For all of my adult life, when I gave it thought — which wasn’t very often — I regarded the concepts of depression and anxiety as pretty much a load of hooey.
I never accorded any credibility to the idea that such conditions were medical in nature. Nothing scientific about it. You get sick, get fired, fall in love, get laid, buy a new pair of shoes, join a gym, get religion, seasons change — whatever; you go with the flow, dust yourself off, get back in the game. I thought anti-depressants were for desperate housewives and fragile poets.
I no longer feel that way. Not since I fell down the rabbit hole myself and enough hands reached down to pull me out.
One of those hands belonged to a psychiatrist holding a prescription for anti-depressants. I took it. And it changed my life.
Maybe saved my life.
This is the story of one journey — my journey — to the edge of the post-Katrina abyss, and back again. It is a story with a happy ending — at least so far.
liz | 3:46 PM | Uncategorized
Read John McManamy!
John McManamy has come out with a book that I think is really remarkable. It’s called Living Well With Depression and Bipolar Disorder: What Your Doctor Doesn’t Tell You … That You Need to Know, and the promise of that title is amply fulfilled. I’m reading it now, and there’s so much great information—from science to economics to holistic healthcare and everything in between. McManamy presents it all without being judgmental or pushing an agenda. His only agenda—and this has been true of him for years—seems to be to help people like you and me. The fact that this book was written by someone who struggles with a mental illness will be an inspiration to everyone who reads it. I highly highly highly recommend it!
liz | 12:24 PM | Uncategorized
Haley’s problem
The front page of yesterday’s New York Times featured a very sad story of a family grappling with their 10-year-old’s mental illness. Initially, when I saw that her diagnosis was bipolar disorder, OCD, generalized panic disorder and Tourette’s, I thought that seemed a little ridiculous. My skepticism was consistent with my overall concern that children are being overdiagnosed and overmedicated. And I always wonder: How is it possible to determine what’s typical kid behavior and what’s constitutes a pathology that we traditionally associate with adults?
But this article is a real eye-opener. Get beyond your initial cynicism, and you see parents who’ve done everything they possibly could to understand what’s happening with their child. it’s easy to judge them, they say, or offer solutions. But these people have tried everything, and they grapple with a kind of chaos it’s hard to understand when you’re not pulled into it day after day. It’s a heartbreaking story, and I don’t think I’ll ever be as quick to dismiss childhood mental illness now that I’ve read it.
Living with Love, Chaos and Haley
[Photograph by Nicole Bengiveno/New York Times]
liz | 11:00 AM | Uncategorized
Reasonable accommodations?
Last week we were talking a bit about how to get back into work after a period away. I mentioned “reasonable accommodations,” the ADA buzz words that compel your employers to make certain arrangements so that your illness doesn’t keep you out of the workforce. Laura writes:
Maybe you could comment on what you think some reasonable accommodations in the workplace for bipolar diagnosed individuals are. Years ago, I brought in a light box to help with SAD aspects and eyebrows raised, but they let me have it at my desk (in a snotty law firm). Eventually, I realized it was making me agitated and hostile, so I quit using it. Nonetheless, year after year, I would deteriorate about this time of year. My psychiatrist and a sleep neurologist both wrote letters to my employer requesting that I be moved from a cubicle to an office with light. They refused. They felt that allowing me to use my lunch hour to attend doctor appointments and to occassionally adjust my coming in/departing time by 30 or 60 minutes were more than enough accommodations. I’m curious as to what other people have asked for and received which helps to work in an office environment.
liz | 10:44 AM | Uncategorized
