Misdiagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?
Causes of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers may include these medical conditions:
- The exact cause is still unable to be fully determined but the two main theories are:
- Biological factors - anomalies in the brain structure. This theory is supported by the fact that brain surgery can alleviate some cases.
- Serotonin theory - low levels of serotonin. This theory is supported by the fact that the use of medications to increase serotonin levels (SSRI's) can alleviate symptoms in OCD sufferers.
- The reality may well be that there is more than one cause and this coupled with environmental factors can trigger OCD
- More than half of patients suffer OCD as a life-long chronic condition with periods of exacerbation and improvement
- Patients who don't have any compulsive behaviors but work hard at suppressing their obsessive thoughts may become mentally exhausted or suffer from concentration problems
- more causes...»
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers: Medical Mistakes
Related medical mistakes may include:
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Common Misdiagnoses and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers
Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who
had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness
because he suffered from sudden inability to speak.
This was initially misdiagnosed as a "nervous breakdown" and other mental conditions.
He was later diagnosed as having had a stroke, and suffering from aphasia (inability to speak),
a well-known complication of stroke (or other brain conditions).
Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for
a patient to show mental decline to dementia.
Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,
such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease,
it can also occur from a side effect or interaction between multiple drugs
that the elderly patient may be taking.
There are also various other possible causes of dementia.
ADHD under-diagnosed in adults: Although the over-diagnoses of ADHD
in children is a well-known controversy, the reverse side related to adults.
Some adults can remain undiagnosed, and indeed the condition has usually been
overlooked throughout childhood.
There are as many as 8 million adults with ADHD in the USA (about 1 in 25 adults in the USA).
See misdiagnosis of ADHD or symptoms of ADHD.
Bipolar disorder misdiagosed as various conditions by primary physicians: Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder)
often fails to be diagnosed correctly by primary care physicians.
Many patients with bipolar seek help from their physician, rather than a psychiatrist
or psychologist.
See misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Eating disorders under-diagnosed in men: The typical patient with
an eating disorder is female.
The result is that men with eating disorders often fail to be diagnosed or
have a delayed diagnosis.
See misdiagnosis of eating disorders or symptoms of eating disorders.
Depression undiagnosed in teenagers: Serious bouts of depression can be
undiagnosed in teenagers.
The "normal" moodiness of teenagers can cause severe medical depression
to be overlooked.
See misdiagnosis of depression or symptoms of depression.
Undiagnosed anxiety disorders related to depression: Patients with depression (see symptoms of depression)
may also have undiagnosed anxiety disorders (see symptoms of anxiety disorders).
Failure to diagnose these anxiety disorders may worsen the depression.
See misdiagnosis of depression or misdiagnosis of anxiety disorders.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
- Brain & Neurological Disorders: Rare Types:
- Chronic Mental Health Disorders -- Rare Types:
- more rare diseases...»
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers
or confirming a diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- Checkers.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.