Parents lose custody of teen after seeking 2nd medical opinion; girl indefinitely detained in psych ward. - Natural Health Warriors

I have been following this case off and on since it hit the news, here is what I do not understand. Why has there not been an "independent" group of doctors formed to reexamine girl? And if it is mitochondrial disease, where are the genetic tests that support this diagnoses?

We all know that diagnoses of many illnesses, physical or mental, is a best guess; hell, it took almost 2 years to get a proper diagnoses in regards to my bipolar 5 months to confirm my diabetes. But my doctors and therapists didn't just say well it is 'X' and leave at that. As "symptoms" presented, and they got a clearer medical and psyche history my diagnoses as well as medications and therapy methods were tweaked accordingly. That took 18 months, stabilization from proper medications took another six. So how in the hell, after only 3 days,,,

That was before February, when Justina came down with the flu and was admitted to Boston Children’s Hospital to see her gastroenterologist, who had recently transferred from Tufts. A mere three days later, other doctors — primarily neurologist, Dr. Jurriaan Peters — dismissed her previous diagnosis of mitochondrial disease, and instead diagnosed her with somatoform disorder. This, in essence, changed her diagnosis from a physical condition to a stress-related mental illness – a psychiatric disorder that causes sufferers to feel pain, although there is no physical cause.

If one were to read between the lines, it is as if the "new" medical team and DCF is accusing the mother of Münchausen syndrome by proxy although no one has used that term,,,

Ironically, the Pelletiers say Boston Children’s accused them “overmedicalizing” their daughter before taking her from them and restricting their access to her. Yet, behind the scenes, the hospital called DCF immediately after Justina’s parents challenged the somatoform diagnosis, alleging that they had abused or neglected her.

“They were actually being accused of being too active in pursuing health care matters for their child,” West Hartford psychologist Dean Hokanson, who has worked with Justina for five years, told WTIC.

Somatoform Disorder? WTH, are we back in the late1800s early 1900s? Has Freud come back into vogue? The DSM IV-TR is clear in its diagnostic protocol. Again, three days is not an appropriate investigation,,,

B. Each one of the following criteria must have been met, with individual symptoms occurring at any time:

1. Four pain symptoms (related to different sites or functions); 
2. Two gastrointestinal symptoms (other than pain); 
3. One sexual symptom (other than pain);
4. One "pseudoneurological" symptom (not limited to pain). 

C. Either (1) or (2):

1. after appropriate investigation, each of the symptoms cannot be fully explained by a known general medical condition (GMC) or direct effects of a substance; 
2. when there is a related GMC, the physical complaints or resulting impairment are in excess of what would be expected from the history, physical examination, or laboratory findings."

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatoform_disorder#Diagnostic_criteria)

This case is really fubard and Children's Hospital and DCF need to be removed from the loop,,,

The Boston Globe report on Justina Pelletier’s case claims at least five instances of “unusually contentious cases over the last 18 months involving Children’s Hospital and the Department of Children and Families.” The DCF should be there to mediate between the two parties, but their lack of medical knowledge puts them at the mercy of the hospitals’ vastly larger experience pool. This would seemingly create a conflict of interest for the DCF when considering the allegations of medical abuse made by doctors and psychologists against parents and legal guardians.

For those that may remember, the young poet Mattie Stepanek had dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy a form of mitochondrial disease,,,

Parents lose custody of teen after seeking 2nd medical opinion; girl indefinitely detained in psych ward. - Natural Health Warriors