Posts Tagged ‘Understanding’

Understanding Bipolar Disorder Codes – 18 Codes Demystified

You might have noticed that your physician keeps making notes when you go for consultation. While these notes are anyways not easily understood by the patient and the guardians, when it comes to the mental ailments, the codes are rather confusing.

The psychiatrists usually scribble some pre-defined codes in their records. Once you understand these codes, you and your caregiver would always better understand the current scenario and would be able to gauge through the pertinent actions that you can take up. These codes help you understand the ailment better and fight it back more effectively. Also the caregivers can draft a better way to take care of their patients suffering with Bipolar Disorders.

Usually in case of the mental disorders, the codes are unanimously arranged by the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). So, ‘DSM’ is the code used by the psychiatrists and other experts for all mental disorders.

When it comes to Bipolar Disorder, there are 3 important types of codes:
i. For the mood disorders
ii. For the substance influenced mood disorders
iii. Extensions of psychotic features

Mood Disorder Codes

There are varied code categories that fall under the term – codes for mood disorders. These are as follows:

1. 296.0x (F30.x)

When the patient undergoes one ‘manic episode.’ The patient has no history regarding major depressive episodes.

2. 296.40 (F31.0)

When a patient suffering with bipolar disorder experiences a ‘hypomanic episode’ and he/she had atleast 1 incident of manic and/or mixed episode.

3. 296.4x (F31.x)

The patients suffering with a current manic episode and have undergone a major manic, depressive and/or mixed episodes.

4. 296.6x (F31.6)

A patient suffering with Bipolar I Disorder and has often mixed episodes. Such patients must also have experienced some major manic, depressive, and/or mixed episodes.

5. 296.5x (F31.x)

A patient undergoing major depressive episodes and he/she has a history featuring manic and/or mixed episodes.

6. 296.7 (F31.9)
This code is given to the patients experiencing any of the episodes mentioned here:
manic, mixed, hypomanic and/or major depressive episodes. Alongside there is a criteria that the patient must have suffered from atleast 1 mixed and/or manic episode.

7. 296.89 (F31.8)

This code is given to a patient of Bipolar II Disorder who is either hypomanic or depressed. Another important criteria is that the patient must have gone through more than one attacks of major depressive episode and/or atleast 1 episode of hypomania. One important point to be noticed here is that there is no attack of manic and/or mixed episode.

Substance Induced Mood Disorder Codes

These codes are a must to be understood for the patients and there caregivers as the substance-induced mood disorder if not known, can cause major harm to the patients. These are triggers that control the patients’ temper so the preventive measures are a must. The measurable substances that can heighten mood disorders have been given a code by the mental health experts. While some are given as follows, for further information you can check the World Wide Web or the internet:

1. 291.8 (F10.8)

The doctors explain that patients whose mood disorders stimulate with the intake of alcohol fall under this code.

2. 292.84 (F14.8)

The cases of ingestion of cocaine fall under this code.

3. 292.84 (F18.8)

When inhalants arouse mood disorders this code is referred.

4. 292.84 (F13.8)

In case the sedatives stir up the patient’s mood disorder this code is referred.

Psychotic Features’ Code Extensions

These codes are primarily divided in to 2 major categories:
i. Severe with out psychotic episodes
ii. Severe with the psychotic episodes

Some of the codes are as follows:

1. 296.43 (F31.1)

A Bipolar I Disorder patient with most current manic episodes, severe with out psychotic episodes.

2. 296.44 (F31.2)

This code refers to the Bipolar I Disorder patients, severe with psychotic episodes.

3. 296.63

The patients having severe disorder with out psychotic episodes and suffering with Bipolar I Disorder and have experienced a current mixed episode.

5. 296.64

This code is referred to the patients having severe disorder and facing psychotic episodes.

6. 296.53 (F31.4)

The Bipolar I Disorder patients having lot of depressed episodes are referred with this code.

7. 296.54 (F31.5)

The Bipolar I Disorder patients having severe disorder with no psychotic episodes are referred with this code.

Understanding What Causes Phobias and Fears

Phobias are extreme reactions to ordinary things and events but if you have never had a phobia yourself, it can be difficult to understand when a friend or loved one develops an irrational fear of something.

Phobias appear bizarre to most people, and many sufferers, especially teens, are simply told to stop, even though their fear is out of their control. It is not difficult to see how a phobia sufferer could be suspected of acting out for attention. After all, most people never experience the level of fear that a phobia sufferer deals with when they have a phobic episode. Sufferers may know how strange they are acting, but are powerless to change their feelings because the fears are so irrational.

Understanding what a phobia sufferer goes through is important, so that you can relate to their experience and know what to do if they have a phobic response when you are around.

Although everyone is a little different, there are sets of physical reactions that go along with a phobic episode. Physical reactions include sweating, increased heart rate, nervousness, and some people can have a full-blown panic attack. Having a phobic reaction can be very confusing because the person reacts to something harmless as if it puts them in a life or death situation. A phobia sufferer may realize that their feelings are not justified, but they are still overtaken by feelings of panic and dread.

When you are under a lot of stress, your body experiences a biological process called the fight or flight response. This is basically the product of your brain perceiving a serious threat and adding adrenaline to your bloodstream, making you temporarily stronger, quicker, and more capable to act instinctively to overcome a potentially life threatening situation. The fight or flight response happens at various levels depending upon the perceived threat. Sometimes a little adrenaline is added to the bloodstream, while at other times your body is flooded with adrenaline.

Back in the times when our world was not so civilized, and they were continually struggling to survive, our ancient ancestors relied heavily on this response for their own survival. Even though the fight or flight response is not as important nowadays, it is a natural reaction that can be very useful, or harmful if it is triggered unnecessarily. This same response is responsible for reports of folks lifting very heavy objects off people and other extraordinary physical feats.

In wild animals, the fight or flight response is even more marked. For example, it is not uncommon for a deer that has been shot through both lungs and the heart to run the length of a football pitch, or for several miles as if these vital organs were not hit.

When somebody has a true phobia, these are the powerful feelings that they have to contend with, but rather than escaping an impending danger, they are reacting to a spider, snake, clown, or another stimulus that triggers their phobia. What is worse is that phobias strike in every day places such as work, school, or social occasions where the fight or flight response is very inappropriate.

There is a long list of different phobias, but most are the result of something from a person’s past or a fear that has been instilled in them. It makes no difference if the sufferer knows they are overreacting to a certain trigger, since they are powerless to stop their phobic reaction.

Treatment methods do exist, but a little bit of understanding goes a long way. Knowing more about phobias can only help if you know someone who if suffering from one.

Understanding the Meaning of Agoraphobia from an Ex-Sufferer

There are two things that are apparent when you start to seek a definition for agoraphobia and that is that, depending on where you look, there is more than just one definition. If we take a look in a dictionary, we will find that the interpretation given there is similar to the following: a disease which results in the sufferer being afraid of open or public spaces which, can result in the sufferer becoming housebound.

The second usual definition goes something like this: An anxiety disorder where the sufferer lives in fear of finding themselves in an embarrassing situation from which there is no escape. More advanced agoraphobics may, indeed, become confined to their home in order to avoid any such discomfort occurring whilst in public.

We can see that the result of being housebound is the same in both definitions, how the sufferer becomes housebound, though, is quite different. So, let’s compare both definitions to the real-life experiences of an agoraphobic.

I became an agoraphobic more than twenty years ago, following a series of panic attacks that occurred whilst I was travelling. At that time, my phobia was only connected to travel by any mode of transport that I chose: car, train, bus etc. but walking around outside posed no threat whatsoever. However, as the years progressed so did the severity of the condition and eventually, after around 18 years or so, I became totally housebound.

So, what is it that can make an agoraphobic’s life so limited? I’ll try to explain as best I can. But, if after reading this you can’t quite grasp the whole concept, don’t worry, most health professionals that I’ve consulted over the years couldn’t grasp it either.

As an agoraphobic, I lived in fear of when my next panic attack would strike. I was lucky, in one respect, in that I’ve never had a panic attack whilst within the confines of my home. However, I do know of other agoraphobics that do suffer them at home, sometimes quite frequently. For me, there was a fear bigger than the fear of having yet another panic attack and that was of having a massive panic attack that left me in a condition whereupon I could no longer stand up and walk or would result in some uncontrollable and embarrassing emotional outburst.

Knowing that certain situations could trigger my panic fuelled the second part of my condition. Being in heavy traffic made me feel very panicky and uncomfortable or standing still and not progressing forward on public transport had the same effect. So any thought of such an encounter brought on my “what if” syndrome. I’d be travelling down a road where the traffic was light and flowing freely when a thought such as: “I hope the traffic isn’t backed up at this or that road intersection” would enter my head and this would get me “what ifing”. “What if the traffic is backed up and we’re stuck there for twenty minutes and what if I have a panic attack and what if I can’t get to work and can’t get home?” This kind of thinking had just one outcome; it made me scared. And being scared and away from my safe zone just brought on my panic. This was one of the worst parts of my agoraphobia; me thinking my way into a panic attack.

Agoraphobia and its partners in crime, panic attacks and anxiety, stole everything that made my life good. But it didn’t stop there. It’s effects upon me altered the lives of my family and friends too. Having recovered from this nightmare existance, it’s only now that I can look back and see just how debilitating this condition truly is.