Posted by Lorraine on June 26, 2001, at 23:36:13
In reply to Does anybody know anything about this place?--help, posted by MB on June 26, 2001, at 22:42:56
> I think they are callng me tomorrow. Should I make an appointment? I need to know what to do. It's expensive, but would be worth it if I could get on the right meds! Does anybody have any experience with this place that does the SPECT scans?????
I'm sorry, I don't know anyone who has used them. I've read two of his books and like them quite a bit, but who knows things are still pretty experimental, I'd say. But, hey, I don't shy away from experimental. I'm doing neurofeedback at EEGSpectrum, which has a reputation for being one of the best places to do neurofeedback, which, like, scans, is just evolving.
I do see a neurologist who did a QEEG on me, performed a correlational analysis using a data base of 8,000 patients, and prescribed meds based on this. I really can't say if this was a useful approach. He told me that his data-base indicated that I should be on stimulants and mood stabilizers, which haven't really been fully satisfactory although I've had some response.
What I see Amen doing, especially in his latest book, which is on ADD is trying to use his scans to prescribe meds. In his book, he comes up with a number of different forms of ADD based on his scans. I think what he's really doing is saying that all of these DSM categories that we have been using are bumpkiss because they have no physiological underpinnings. That's what my pdoc says as well. I believe that these guys are onto something, but I don't know that they have enough experinece years or data behind them to make accurate predictions about med response.
Also, with my pdoc, it bothered me that once he took my QEEG and did his analysis, he never went back to see if his approach was affecting my brain waves the way he thought it should. The cost of redoing the QEEG was prohibitive so I declined that option. Then when I started doing this neurofeedback, they did a quick-and-dirty scan and I had them print it out so that I could take it to my pdoc. What it showed was that the "spiking" or subthreshold seizure activity that he had spotted originally was not being affected by the meds he prescribed. When I pointed this out to him, he said (you guessed it), "You're right!"
So--here's my long winded point--make sure that if he is prescribing meds based on scans that he has a way of getting feedback on his methodology without costing you and arm and a leg. I would also ask him a lot of questions before I committed, like: what is his success rate? can you talk with other patients who have your type of problems to see how happy they are?
poster:Lorraine
thread:67969
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010625/msgs/68036.html