A great website for taking/interpreting/learning about Mood Disorder Questionairs

[fed-up]

Remember, psychology/psychiatry is an art NOT a science

http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/MDQ.htm

I am following the links as the author suggests to understand the tests better and how/why they are scored/interpreted. Looks like it will take me at least a week to read the entire thing...


http://www.psycheducation.org/start/BPIntro.htm
Mood swings without "manic" episodes
Bipolar II --more than plain depression, but never delusional or psychotic

Says a reader:

"I found your site to be far more informative than anything I've been able to lay my hands on, even more so than the doctor that diagnosed me as Bipolar II....After reading your website, I am a little more comfortable with both the fit and the implications of the diagnosis."

edited to add that I have already commited a few cardinal sins with regards to communicating w/pdoc from the above site (and yes, Seroquel requires blood tests which were not suggested for me when she gave me the sample pack)
http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/doctalk.htm

Talking to Doctors

..snip

Third, they need to feel in charge. So don't tell them you've found something on the internet that:

changes your impression of your diagnosis;
suggests a different treatment approach might be a good idea;
indicates they've missed something, like a lab test they should have ordered; or
shows they don't know everything, and you're going to give them the internet link so they can brush up.

[Droopy]

1. One thing that a psychiatrist knows that a web site doesn't is you.

There's a lot of good information out there on the web. There's also a lot of misinformation and disinformation. The top web site for a Google search on schizoaffective disorder used to be an anti-medication site that actually mocked the symptoms of the illness.