Posted By: docktorb@aol.com @ 04/21/2008 12:23:59 PM
Comment: Heath Ledger was both over and undermedicated. His last interview was almost certain evidence of a cyclothymic/bipolar problem. It's strange to me that the psychiatry professor didn't say anything about that.
That would go against his antimedicine theory. Yes,too many medicines are being given, but in Heath Ledger's case the right medicine, a mood stabilizer, was not prscribed. A primary care doctor should know to screen for that, but with the government and insurance companies push for assembly line medicine, it's not surprising that it was missed. As a primary care physician, I frequuently am reluctant to send a patient to a psychiatrist as the commentator suggests. In our area they tend to add a medicine at every visit instead of changing to an effective one. Children are often on five or six medicines when the do better when changed to one mood stabilizer and perhaps an anti depressant.
It is possible that Ledger refused a mood stabilizer, opting for the bandaid treatment with valium like drugs. These give immediate relief but don't treat the underlying condition. Things usually get worse over the long haul as in Ledger's case. It's easy to see a desperate in amanic insomnia taking more and more drugs to get to sleep. Finally it's enough to puy you in a permanent sleep. As many as one in thirty people has bipolar or it's milder cousin, cyclothymic disorder. This is extremely common in actors and other creative people. They tend to be the movers and shakers of the world. Think Alexander the Great, Teddy Roosevelt,Ted Turner, Van Gogh, Jim Bakker. They get things done but are at risk of getting carried away. It's only a little exageration to say these people either become millionaires, go to prison, or both. It must be controled to get the maximum benefit without the harmful results. This does involve counseling, education, and yes, mood stabilizers at the lowest effective dose. A knowledgible primary care physician is essential to manageing this condition through it's fluctuating stages.


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