You know Oprah always has shows that make me cry, but today's show really got me down. A mother who had some mental health issues strangled her 6 year old son to death. It was so heartbreaking to hear her tell the story of how it happened. And that she had been hearing voices and just snapped. Later the doctors realized she was bi-polar. I wonder if the doctor that treated her before should be sued, because he did not correctly diagnos her and she was not on the right medication.
Had she been on bi-polar meds, she probably wouldn't have killed her gorgeous little boy!
This is why I hate doctors, they want to give you a quick solution to a problem without running tests. I've had insomnia for years and went to a string of docs who wanted to say lose weight, exercise more, don't drink caffeine, or they put me on an anti-depressent.
I'm not over weight, I do exercise and I had given up caffeine, and I'm not depressed, just tired!
I just wonder when the mother's kill their children this way, if they don't for a second realize they could stop and call for help.
Doctors don't usually give a shit about getting to the bottom of a health problem, just masking the symptoms with pharmaceuticals. Then the real problem can fester and get worse, symptoms increase into other areas and more drugs are given.
And speaking of Oprah, I saw a headline in a rag at the grocery store line up yesterday that read Oprah had some dire disease that was making her fat again. Then there was a large, unflattering pic of her. What's that about?
It's called celebutainment. Aka, we're going to make crap up, people with "curious minds" will want to find out and buy our piece of crap for lots of money.
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I dont know a lot about things like bi-polar but I know of a lot of people who have it that the doctors didnt catch it right away..I dont think you cant detect it by drawing blood.
well maybe you can't detect it by drawing blood, but a good doctor would have listened to all the symptoms or whatever they do. Obviously she finally got a doctor who diagnosed her, unfortunately it was too late.
That little boy was so cute! I just don't get, even when they are mental, how can you look into the eyes of the child you gave birth too and do something so horrible.
Can't you just walk away, or call someone.
I mean I believe this lady was very sorry for what she did. I just don't get it.
yeah I agree that a good doctor would detect it, but unfortunately there arent enough good doctors out there. I mean look at the woman who drowned her kids. A good doctor would have detected her mental problems too.
And I agree about not being able to look at my baby and hurt her, but there are chemical issues within your body. My brother is bi-polar and let me tell you without medication he is pretty bad. Same with my SIL. Its a crazy illness. I loved it when GH approached the disease with Sonny, it was good
I agree with the whole not enough good doctors. Even if they couldn't diagnose her clearly with bi-polar disorder, I would think that they could see that she was too disturbed to be caring for a child. A good doctor would have had her removed from such a high stress situation and put into a facility one would think.
I have a very close friend who is bi-polar, and she and her family have been through hell and back...
It's sometimes very difficult to get the medications regulated properly, even though both the doctor and the patient are trying to achieve that same goal.
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
I have a sister and an ex-husband who are bipolar. It is an extremely difficult disease to diagnose, treat and live with. Bipolar presents in so many different manners that it can be difficult to diagnose and control. Individuals cycle through the different phases at such different rates, and sometimes the highs and lows are not as extreme as in other episodes.
I believe that it can be difficult for physicians to catch if an individual does not follow through on regular therapy, where the doctor can monitor and observe the subtle, and not so subtle changes.
Having lived with it, I can only tell you that it is absolute hell on the individual, and those who are close to someone with bipolar.
if you had listened more closely you would have heard why bipolar is so difficult to dx. people who are bipolar do not go to the doc when they are in a manic state & don't report the mania to their docs. it's only when they are in the throws of the depressive state that they seek intervention. this leads to them being dx'd as depressed. they get prescribed antidepressants which then triggers manic cycles.....often viewed by loved ones as the person getting better so the cycle continues.
dx'ing psychiatric disorders & the appropriate meds for treatment is far more art than science. nothing in this field is clear cut & they are totally dependant on the patient being honest....and somewhat insightful....about their symptoms. depressive cycles are well reported. manic cycles are not. they feel on top of the world, like they have more control than ever before ~~~~~ tho they don't.
this is so not like presenting w/chest pains at the ER. bipolar is a disorder of great subtleties just like they were saying. even her two best friends said they did not recognize the mania for what it was.
every psychiatric disorder presents on a spectrum. symptoms range for mild to outrageous. if you listened to what maurice bernard was saying in spite of being on lithium for years & year & being considered pretty stable he still cycles given the right circumstances. he admitted to cycling during the bipolar SL on GH.....mild cycles, but cycles none the less.
i hate seeing people so quick to judge doctors for things that are truly not in their control.
kris
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an ABC soap fan since i was a teen. favorte hobby is reading mysteries & legal or medical procedural mysteries
well I've had alot of bad experiences with doctors who just seem to want to get you in and out of their office as quickly as possibly. And I still say if she had been diagnosed properly that boy would be alive. Or maybe her husband shouldn't have left her alone with the kids if she had been saying she was hearing voices or whatever. How many mother's need to kill their children in this country before someone starts taking mental illness seriously. Like if a person had cancer, it would be treated. Mental illness is often hidden because people are embarrassed to admit their feelings.
Kris thats actually the point I was trying to make in saying that diagnosing this disease isnt as easy as you would think. Its not like diagnosing a cold. And just because she was diagnosed properly doesnt mean that she would take her pills. My SIL goes off her pills all the time because she thinks that she is "better". As someone who suffers from depression I would only be worse if someone took my child from me. Lucky the military doesnt mess around the mental states of minds. They are already sending out messages for the Senior Sailors to keep an eye on Junior Sailors because tis the season for suicides.
As far as how many children need to die before this country takes notice. The same can be said for children that the court gives back to his abusive mom because "moms are better". Just last semester I took a psyche class and I can tell you that all mental illness are not cut and dry. YOu cant use the same symptoms for everyone.
And DAMN i missed Maurice, I wish I would have remembered to record it. I love when he tells his story
the woman admitted that she told NO ONE about the auditory hallucinations she was having. both her friends admitted that they had no idea. she did what so many people w/mental illness do....hide their symptoms. or don't even recognize them as such.
i think her doctors did the best they could w/the information they had available to them. the doc at the prison had so much more info available to him b/c she had already killed her son. sadly much dx'ing of mental illness only takes place after something catastrophic happens.
kris
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an ABC soap fan since i was a teen. favorte hobby is reading mysteries & legal or medical procedural mysteries
shelly, it's common for both those dx'd w/bipolar as well as schizophrenia to stop taking their meds b/c they feel better & believe they no longer need them. hell, maurice even has said, repeatedly, that after taking his meds for over a decade that he will toy w/the idea of stopping them......then his wife gives him the, "just try it, buster!" look lol.
mainly he spoke of how much he'd wanted to do the bipolar SL on GH but it ended up being tougher than he ever thought it would be. he started to spiral. had a very bad panic attack on a plane (hasn't flown since. it's been over a year now.). he said it was why they backed off the intensity of the story. it was getting way too intense for him & he was destabilizing. so even someone who takes his meds faithfully can still struggle w/instability.
tina, you need to find new doctors if you are getting the bum's rush.
kris
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an ABC soap fan since i was a teen. favorte hobby is reading mysteries & legal or medical procedural mysteries
