I think what everyone is suggesting is that alcohol and marijuana alter brain chemistry just as psychotropic medications do. It isn't a question, in my view, of not being able to diagnose; it's a question of the patient's not being able to receive the full benefit of medications and psychotherapy unless the brain is clean of other drugs that alter perception and chemistry.

The same thing is true in alcoholism treatment. Alcohol acts on the opiate centers of the brain. Naltrexone blocks the ability of alcohol to reach the opiate zones, giving the patient a far better chance of overcoming alcohol addiction and having clarity of understanding and behavior.

It's also true in sugar addiction or in wheat addiction. Naltrexone will block the ability of exorphins to reach the opiate centers of the digestive system and the brain helping to stop the addiction which exorphins cause.

Removal of sugar in the person who has a sensitivity to it causes greater clarity and much better feeling tone (in the long run). When the mind is in a fog because of addictions it is probably possible to give a diagnosis, but I often wonder how many patients are improved in their psychiatric symptoms once mind-altering drugs have been removed from the system.

So many people write about this in their works. Dr. Kathleen DesMaissons, for one,
is a PhD in addictive nutrition, and she discusses the issues in both Potatoes, Not Prozac and Radiant Recovery. Other writers now include Dr. David Williams' new book Wheat Belly, in which he virtually blames exorphins on Schizophrenia, ADHD, and Bipolar illness, although he recognizes that much more research needs to be done.

Cases of schizophrenia have been cured with removal of wheat from the diet. ADHD is improved, and the wide moods swings of bipolar illness are alluded to in his work. I've mentioned before that I had read years ago one doctor's theory that bipolar patients have an extreme allergy to grains. (This was long before it was known that exorphins exert such a strong influence on the brain and digestive system, and those are not the exclusive areas of the system that contain opiate
centers.)

So, I think it's logical to conclude that alcohol, marijuana, and other "recreational drugs" alter brain chemistry, and the patient is better treated without the interference of these mood-altering drugs when being treated with psychotropic medications.

With a leap of imagination, I would suggest that it might even be possible that a few of those who are treated for psychiatric illnesses may turn out not to have such an illness at all once the brain has clarity and is free of "brain fog".

I have had such a variety of diagnoses that I can understand readily why Psychiatry is not an exact science at this point. From being told that I was cyclothymic, to bipolar I, to bipolar II, to "you don't need to see a psychiatrist", one begins to question if it might not be possible to learn and find solutions that make life much easier to manage without the use of psychotropic meds, or at least to take a minimum dose when appropriate.

It might be helpful to remove the illegal drugs on the market now when used abusively, although the FBI seems to think it's impossible to do that. They believe that it will reappear in other places each time they shut down one operation. (Not to mention that a possible tax for the government has been considered if making marijuana legal. )

Even a few of the legal ones might be better removed, as well, and that includes some psychotropic meds. So much depends on the individual's ability to resist addiction and knowledge of how drugs affect the body's health. Unfortunately, those who abuse drugs may be some who are least likely to remain independent of their use.

I must agree with those who take the view that a psychiatrist can best treat a
patient who comes to him/her free of drug use. (I wonder how many do.) And I
agree that the psychiatrist may diagnose even with mind-altering drugs in the system of a patient, but I think not many of them would encourage the continued use of illegal drugs for the patient.

We all choose our poison in a way, I suppose. And the same thing is true of
health. We all choose the route of health that we want to follow.