Re: Re: OOopsie - Diagnosis for me

[Guest guest]

Becky Hall wrote:

> It also works with feeling very responsible about staying on the meds

regularly, not because I think their the only solution, but because they mean

that I can engage with the other solutions.

Great point, Becky. The meds are only one tool in your toolbox.

May I ask what medications you've been prescribed?

With bipolar disorder, it can sometimes take a lot of time and

trial-and-error to get the med cocktail just right for the patient.

And so many of the drugs have unpleasant side effects. I feel bad for

the folks whose financial circumstances don't permit them to use private

doctors, where they would have access to a wider variety of medications.

My late husband suffered from Bipolar II. Due to concerns about the

limitations and side-effects of the drugs typically used to treat this

disorder, his doctor prescribed Trileptal. I know several other folks

with bipolar disorder who have benefited from this medication as well,

as the side-effects are fewer. [This is an off-label use for the drug

though, as Trileptal was created as an anticonvulsant for patients with

epilepsy who experience seizures.]

All psychiatric drugs have pluses and minuses associated with them, not

to mention an abundance of lawsuits brought on behalf of dissatisfied

patients. Ultimately, it's all about risk assessment and balancing the

effects of the drug against those of living with the (untreated)

disorder itself.

Best,

~CJ

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" We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we

created them. " ~~ Albert Einstein