RE: PHEROMONES HAVE RUINED MY LIFE
10-29-2011 12:13 PM
Or better yet, a psychiatrist... ultimate is likely to be mentally ill: see below for a spot-on match of his symptoms... Panic disorder? Check.. Somatoform disorder? Check... Migraines? Check...
Can all of these be treated? Yes, with medication
Are pheromones the cause of his Illness? no! (read on)
MCS = multiple chemical sensitivity
Misdiagnosis
More than half of 56 people from one study about MCS instead had somatoform disorder[29] or panic disorder.[30] Other possible explanations include migraine, anxiety disorder, lupus, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome or other forms of orthostatic intolerance, hay fever and other allergies, hypercalcemia, hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue syndrome, or fibromyalgia. Sufferers may also have a tendency to "catastrophically misinterpret benign physical symptoms"[31] or simply a disturbingly acute sense of smell.[32]
Psychological
Several mechanisms for psychological etiology have been proposed, including theories based on stress, Pavlovian conditioning, or misdiagnoses of an underlying mental illness. Behavior exhibited by MCS sufferers may reflect broader sociological fears about industrial pollution.[33]
The distinction between physiological and psychological causes is often difficult to test,[3] and it is particularly challenging for MCS because substances used to test for sensitivity can often be detected by scent. Odor cues make double blind studies of MCS patients difficult, and scents might provoke a psychosomatic response.
Research by Dr Mariko Saito et al. from the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine at the University of Tokyo in 2005 found patients only experienced symptoms when they themselves initiated the challenge tests. When they were given random prompts, there was no difference between MCS patients and controls in terms of physical and psychologic symptoms.[34] Their conclusion was "MCS patients do not have either somatic or psychologic symptoms under chemical-free conditions, and symptoms may be provoked only when exposed to chemicals," although their results showed it was not the chemicals themselves that caused the symptoms.
A review of 37 provocation studies concluded "persons with MCS do react to chemical challenges; however, these responses occur when they can discern differences between active and sham substances, suggesting that the mechanism of action is not specific to the chemical itself and might be related to expectations and prior beliefs".[3]
The cause and existence of MCS are disputed. In particular, doctors disagree about whether symptoms are physiologically or psychologically generated, or both. United States courts and several medical organizations reject MCS as a physiological disease. An approach called clinical ecology attempts to treat the disease, but this work is controversial.[36] Critics charge:
MCS has never been clearly defined,
no scientifically plausible mechanism has been proposed for it,
no diagnostic tests have been substantiated,[37] and
not a single case has been scientifically validated.[38]
(This post was last modified: 10-29-2011 12:39 PM by Alpha Dream.)
|