Bipolar Disorder? NEVER Make This Mistake!

Hi,

Hope this day is the best for you!

Unfortunately, I have a real sad story for you today, because it has a real lesson in it for you and anyone else you know who has bipolar disorder.

I was in the gym talking to a kid who told me that basically the girl next to him has a drug problem.

He told me he’s brought it up to her, and he had said, “Are you still taking those medications?”

She told him she was, and then defended what she was doing by the fact that her doctor had prescribed them.

Here’s what happened:

This girl had gone online and looked up depression. (She felt she had depression, that’s why she had gone online.)

So she went to her regular doctor and asked for an antidepressant.

And he gave it to her!

No real tests. No background talk. In fact, he only spent 5 minutes with her.

Basically, he let her diagnose herself, and prescribed what she told him she should be prescribed!

To me, that is a horror story!

Taking prescription drugs and abusing them is being just as much a drug addict as if you were buying street drugs and abusing  them.

And don’t just take my opinion on that. Ask any “regular” person who is addicted to pain killers. Or even antidepressants, if they are used the wrong way.

Especially someone who might have bipolar disorder. Because antidepressants only treat HALF the disorder. What about the MANIC part of bipolar disorder. Remember, it used to be called manic-depression, or manic-depressive disorder before it was called bipolar disorder?

This girl diagnosed herself and basically prescribed her own medication, and the doctor went along with it!

That’s why in my courses/systems below, I provide a complete doctor finding system.

SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.bipolarparenting.com

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.survivebipolar.net

Now, this won’t stop you/your loved one from diagnosing yourself and “prescribing” your own medication, but it will help you find a good doctor who will diagnose you in the correct way.

WARNING:

One of the biggest problems (and I talk about this in my courses/systems) is that you go to support groups and one person will say how they went on this “super” medication, and how EVERYONE should take this same medication because it worked so great for them, and it’ll work so great for everyone else, too.

WRONG! Just because a certain medication works great for someone else, doesn’t mean it will do the same thing for your loved one.

Every person with bipolar disorder is different, and just because one medication works great for one person doesn’t mean it’s going to work great for your loved one.

You need to be able to trust your doctor and do what they say, knowing that they have your loved one’s best interests at heart. They know your loved one’s medications, and what works for them.

The main thing is that your loved one was properly diagnosed and properly prescribed.

Take warning from the story of the girl in the gym.

FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ME

Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/testimonials

David Oliver is the author of the shocking guide “Bipolar Disorder—The REAL Silent Killer.” Click Here to get FREE Information sent via email on how and why bipolar disorder kills.

  1. Hi David,
    That was a really sad story and there are so many Doctors who are like that and do not have the time to ask the appropriate questions and just to willing to write out a prescription and say goodbye.

    I am having a really good day today and not feelin as tired as I was.

    I was also surprised to learn that my daughter Clare has been in touch with your website, it seems we are both suffering from B.Disorder. and support each other alot. Although I didnt tell her until today my full diagnoses.

    Regards
    Prenny

  2. My wife has bi-polar disease . when her stress gets to her she rages uncontrollably at me. she says inflammatory and nasty things about me and everyone around her . she hits , breaks things , and screams for days . she is always telling me that i am mental and this is why she acts the way she does. she says I need to be on lithium and so i have gone and seen several therapists and a psychiatrist ; wihout exception each of them told me i am not the problem and that i don’t need medication . they compare my situation to a dog that has been kicked and flinches each time it sees its tormentor . when a loved one has bi-polar disease they are unable to accept that they are sick = they insist it must be the people around them who are crazy
    . which is why i recommend that significant others and family of a bi-polar person meet with a mental health professional . the insight they provide is stabilizing .

    at work no one will speak to her – not because they hate her – but because she creates work place problems with her comments which come from her perspective that all of them are out to get her .

    how does she cope with her obvious center of the storm existence ? she abuses her medications when she tears up the world around her so she can block out her personal responsibility . or she doesn’t take her medications because she is feeling high . this is the big problem in treating bi-polar people ; how does one get them to take their medications as prescribed ? – at the same time and the same dosage each day . the effect of medications has much in common with substance abuse ; the person tries to adjust the high so they avoid what has happened and to avoid the fact of their responsibility for the events which occur . talking to their psychiatrist is a big step towards resolving the situation but the habits of the bi-polar person are difficult to change . what i recommend is that the significant people in the bi-polars life realize they are not the cause but the support system which keeps that ill person functioning ; if the bi-polar will not take their medications as prescribed and engages in negative behaviors the significants should withdraw their support and wait [ you may have to leave the house with your children and this is difficult when you love someone ] …wait for them to realize they need you . the bi-polar person has a choice : to be sick and abusing the medications which results in problems they must face alone , or to begin taking their personal health seriously and to cooperate . in the interim the not sick people around them are able to process what peace and happiness contribute to life = there are 2 parties in the story and the significant people don’t have to endure a life which is entirely sorrow and regret .
    if the bi-polar fails to adjust or accept the positive elements of a healthy and happy life the course of events is clear ; they will be hospitalized and possibly placed in a controlled environment . you and yours still have a life which can be fulfilling .

    medications are a large portion of the treatment but how we interact and what we allow is important to gaining the stability necessary for the greater good .

  3. Tell me about it! And also, don’t you just LOVE those doctors that keeps ‘pushing’ the drugs on you that DON “T work.?

    I’ve can’t begin to tell you how long I’ve been fighting to get the help that my youngest son needed. It’s because of the clinic we went to that we’re at the point we are at now.

    It’s because of the clinic, that my youngest son could’ve died from and overdose from his meds and my oldest boy escaped from getting killed by his younger brother this month because they wouldn’t get off their butts and do anything after I warned them time after that something was going to happen.

    It did.

    I’m going to go now, because I’m still shaking so bad I can hardly write this.

  4. Dave, we went through the same thing with my daughter Pat. Finally she was so lucky as to land in the state hospital in Pueblo, Colorado. There the Doctor not only listened to her but he ordered blood tests. What he found was that the meds that pat were taking were causing her problems, heariing voices, seeing things that were not there, so he changed her to Zyprexa, and now 8 months later she is doing ok, no more voices or seeing things, and is planning to get out of debt, HOORAY!!

  5. I made the BIG mistake of asking my pDoc for Seroquel, because I had read on the Internet that my usual med, Zyprexa, had a class-action suit against it. After my shrink had weaned me off the Zyprexa by slowly increasing the Seroquel, I became a “zombie.”

    I couldn’t function during the day, and was fatigued and sleepy ALL the time. I couldn’t figure out WHY this was happening. It lasted for 3 months of not being able to function; I went back to my shrink, and we figured out it was the MEDS!! She proceeded to wean me off the Seroquel and back on the Zyprexa – and voila!! I became functional again!!

    One doesn’t realize how important the RIGHT medication IS until they try to SWITCH, and then the problems begin. Once you’re on a reliable med, STAY on it. Your doctor KNOWS what your system needs, and why you’re on a particular medication. DON’T make the mistake I did of diagnosing my OWN needs; this can only lead to trouble.

    BIG HUGS to all bipolar survivors and those who love us. May God bless you real good.

  6. it must be as upsetting to the person who has bipolar disorder as it is to the people around them….they know when they are feeling aggitated though and the people around them dont know what happened. when my daughter and i were sitting in the living room watching a movie at night we had no clue as to the crazed behavior that was about to happen….my now x came into the room screaming about money saving light bulbs and how i had regular ones in the lamps he took hot light bulbs out of the lamps of every room never flinching from being burned as we would have he was that angry after his attack he then went upstairs and left us with the light of the tv….. or he for no reason was going upstairs one day and backhanded a beta bowl that i had on a table breaking the bowl in millions of pieces the fish was floundering almost hit the cat and the screaming ..why the behavior from what i exerienced was not rational to come from upstairs to the downstairs to scare people because he was then upset and what had set him off no one was bothering him. at the end i truly thought i was going to hurt or kill me and that’s why i left he put his money in his own account i did not work we couldnt get groceries or things for the kids for school yet he would flaunt his new outfits …head to toe. i got to the point i wouldnt be on the stairs around him for fear he would push me. i had always gotten thru but one day he wanted our sons college money and a voice came thru i had never heard before that showed me he meant business i never felt safe around him again …to this day we are divorced and live 6 hours away from each other my daughter and i are still afraid of him and its been almost two years. his behavior didnt make sense it was very frightening… he would throw things and just miss us. he put a dot on the thermometer and told me if i turned up the heat he’d know and i’d be in trouble….. he traveled i always turned it up and then down when he was due home always afraid he’d come home early. i couldnt live in fear anymore it was consuming me , the fear of myself and the kids was way to much and had to stop. the fear is still there but we can watch tv in peace and we are much happier.

  7. I want to see if I can post something, anything…
    I couldn’t do it earlier. Is it planed?

  8. I want to thank you for all you do. I have been bi-polar most of my life. Being mis-diagnosed and inproperly medicated and treated for most of it also. I had horrible relations with family and could not keep friends. I was married and divored twice. Had 3 other failed relationships of 3yrs or longer. Then I met my husband. His family had an extensive knowlege and background with mental disorders and found me help I truly am greatful for. I am Happy, married and have a wonderful 2yr old son. I just recently found you on the internet and love to get my mailings every day! Not all apply to my life but I keep them for another day. These insights have helped my husband understand much more about me and the problems we deal with every day. All of those who feel you are out to get them and their money just need to find the right place for them and with the help of God and others like you they too will be able to lead a normal HAPPY life! Thank you!

  9. Dear David,

    I can relate both ways. When I was younger, I stopped taking my medication because I felt better & didn’t think I needed it any longer. Unfortunately, I wound right back in the psych. ward.

    Since then, 26yrs. now I had a friend who said I could fight my illness w/ my mind. I said, ” No, I’ve been there-done that. I know myself pretty well, and my therapist says the percentage is next to none as far as bi-polar sufferers who can do without their medication.

    Fredrich (Rick) Liebrich

  10. Dave; This happens far to often. Rather than being judgmental, express your informed opnion. There are 3 sides to every story; the Drs.; the young girls & the truth. Regards; Jim Blaha

  11. Bruce wanted to know how his wife could live in the center of chaos – it is easy when you know NO OTHER way of being. When I was first diagnosed and properly medicated I HATED the doctors with a passion because I was no longer manic. The energy I had was gone.

    I agree that the doctors do bare part of the blame but also so do HMO’s. They push doctors to see as many patients as possible because they only pay so much per patient. To make money the doctor has to rush through things. My older sister is a surgeon and she repeatedly bemoans the fact that she feels rushed by HMO’s.

    I have Bipolar. Two years ago when my baby sister was diagnosed at 17, I was stable on my medication and doing very well. She attempted suicide and landed in the hospital. Since I love my doctor, trust her completely and can work with her, I suggested that my sister see my doctor – at least the first time when she was released from the hospital. She was very scared – only a junior in high school – so Dad and I went with her. The doctor wanted to try her on some of the medication that I was on because while it worked for me – Bri and I have similar genetic structure. The doctor was hoping that because of the same genetic structure it would work. My sister is shorter and weighs less than me, so that did take some measure in the dosage our doctor prescribed. Bri is now stable and we are on the same medicines. The doctor believes they both work for us ONLY because we are of similar genetic make up.

    My husband and I are trying to have a baby, so that did take into consideration some of what the doctor is prescribing. I did talk to my doctor before hand, and she and I have a plan. SOME medicines can adversly effect a developing baby. I know I NEED my medicine but also know that I want a healthy child. So my ob, doctor and neurologogist (since I also have epilepsy) are working together. That is the key – to get every one to work together.

  12. Hi.
    I want just to say you some reasons I’ll unsubscribe.
    I don’t feel it’s my place here; in your park with BD, I mean.
    I’m looking for another kind of informations or motivation to go on.
    Bye-bye.

  13. Me again.
    Because I forgot to say thank you for the good things you did.
    Be sure you did and you do.
    Thank you.

  14. Gee, Dave!

    I thought you were going to tell a really sad, tragic story. I couldn’t find one here… I think you’re being melodramatic. The girl in the gym is like many tens of thousands of others whose antidepressants are prescribed by their family doctor. She may well be depressed, and the meds may help her. But, in any case, it really isn’t doing her great harm. And antidepressants are NON- addictive. They don’t make anyone feel “high” or “mellow”. There are different types of them, but the ones most commonly used now are SSRI’s, and they work by preventing the Serotonin in the brain from being blocked, so that nerve impulses can move about between brain nerve synapses.

    So, this girl is NOT “abusing” her antidepressants. They aren’t addictive, she may well be depressed, and her Dr. is licensed to prescribe them. Most of the time, antidepressants ARE prescribed by family doctors.

    I totally agree with you that ANY psychotropic drug should be prescribed by a psychiatrist, after a thorough psychiatric assessment. This type of Dr. is more likely to make the correct diagnosis, and knows the most about all the different meds used for people with mental illness. It’s sort of like, if you had a cardiac problem, you wouldn’t go to an obstetrician.
    Unfortunately, antidepressants are probably more often than not prescribed by family doctors. In the majority of the cases, the antidepressants are helpful and cause no side effects. That’s just the way it is in our society.

    Taking antidepressants when you’re bipolar, however, is much more tricky. Even if the bipolar patient is depressed, the antidepressant can precipitate a manic or hypomannic episode. There are special cases..

    One big problem is getting the correct diagnosis. Some family doctors do have a knowledge of psychiatry (they did a psych rotation in med school and in their residencies). Psychologists are trained in making diagnoses.
    But even for the qualified clinician, the patient can easily get diagnosed incorrectly as having major depression (I was treated for that for over 15 years before the correct diagnosis of bipolar disorder was made). Some bipolar survivors, like myself, do have infrequent and relatively mild hypomaice episodes which are easily missed because the patient’s main complaint is depression. The psychiatrist is still the one whose specialty is to know which meds should be given, they’re more familiar with the side effects, and, as is often the case for bipolars, they’re better able to know when more than one med is indicated and which meds work best together.

    I think that one of the biggest problems is TV and magazine advertising; drug companies should not be aiming their ads towards patients!! Hopefully the Dr. will only prescribe the medication if it’s indicated for the patient.The fact that the drug companies continue with their ad campaigns aimed at the public leads me to believe that it must be working, at least to some extent. That’s sad; the Dr. should prescribe meds only when he/she feels it is indicated, not just because the patient is demanding/requesting it.

  15. I agree with much of what was said in the previous post. In an ideal situation, anyone who thinks they may be suffering from depression can get good basic information from which to start on the Internet. The fact that you, Dave, have so much material on the Internet for people to explore shows that you know the Internet is a good way to market your products. So, going on the Internet to find information is not the problem.

    One of the problems is irresponsible use of the information that is available, failure to evaluate it, cross-check it, figure out what is well-researched versus what is hype. I agree that since the advent of drug companies being able to advertise their prescription drugs on TV, radio, the Internet and probably other media, there have probably been many more instances of people going to their family docs, saying they were depressed and asking for specific antidepressants. I believe that, just as a responsible family doc should refer a diabetic patient to an endocrinologist or internist for treatment and a cardiac patient to a cardiologist for treatment, a primary care doc should refer a person complaining of depression symptoms to a qualified psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist or other qualified doctor. A thorough psych evaluation takes at least an hour (well, ok, some of them have 50-minute hours) and should involve the taking of a thorough medical and family social history. The evaluator looks for indications that the depression could be caused by other factors e.g. the depressive phase of bipolar disorder. The family doc can refer to other docs like an endocrinologist to test for certain physical conditions that can also produce depression, such as hypothyroidism.

    In my humble and very unprofessional lay opinion, I think that any doc who talks to someone for five minutes and then gives her the drug she requests, whatever specialty, whatever drug, without having an extensive written history or conference with previous health care providers, is acting irresponsibly and should have his/her license revoked. I know that sounds harsh. Maybe it is. I know how it is to be waiting in a crowded waiting room of a walk-in clinic with a lot of other people, lots of women and crying babies, who can’t afford to go anywhere else, trying to get responsible treatment for a physical condition where I really did have a history of knowing what worked and, when I was finally seen by a harried, offhand and somewhat condescending doc, was refused the treatment I knew I needed and was given ineffective medicine which, though I protested vehemently, I ended up having no choice but to take. That was different though because in involved a chronic condition and I knew what had worked in the past and the doctor basically blew me off. But when a patient hears about a medication, like something for depression, whether it is at a support group, in an ad on TV or the Internet, from a family member, from a fellow patient, or even from a drug reference, that should not be the only thing the doc uses to determine whether or not to prescribe the medication.

    In reality, though I hate the situation, I do know of people who have been prescribed antidepressants first by their family physicians, particularly when the patient was also referred to a psychiatrist, psychiatric clinical nurse specialist, psychiatric nurse specialist who prescribes under the supervision of a doctor, or psychiatrist who specializes in mood disorders when the specialist couldn’t see the patient for three or more months and the patient was having difficulty functioning. Most antidepressants take quite a while before they actually kick in and start working. The tragedy would be if this girl was not followed up on and diagnosed correctly by specialists and something, like a successful suicide attempt, were to happen.

    Recently, Canada passed legislation prohibiting drug manufacturers from advertising prescription drugs on television. I think that as responsible citizens we should lobby our Congressmen, both at the state and national levels, to craft and pass similar legislation. While they’re at it, they ought to do the same for those annoying and ubiquitous ads for personal injury lawyers.

  16. i have been diagnosed with bi-polar dr. presribed lithium, i have heard so many horror stories i am scared to take it with my diabetese and all, feel like im loosing my mind what should i do????!!!!!

  17. My grandson is going to be 7 yrs. old, he has been diagnosed with bi-polar, I am concerned of the medicine he is on, he takes 200 mg. a day of Seroquel and 2 mg. of Guanfacine a day. Please let me know what you think…

  18. I have known for almost 30 years that I have bi-polar disorder and have mostly gone unmedicated by my own resolve with my family always picking up the constantly falling pieces of my life (Absolutly Wrecked). Two years ago I was at my PCP because I had just found out that I have had Hepatitis C for the past 25years and asked her for something for anxiety, at which she thought was a symptom of depression, and prescribed Celexa. I did not tell her about my bi-polar and started taking this medication, which threw me into a severe mixed state episode in which I almost died by my own hand (1 month hospital stay). Not only should we not self-diagnose or self-medicate, we should be in close contact with ALL of our doctors because of the potintially fatal outcomes of these drugs prescibed for bi-polar disorder. Although these drugs are not Schedule I, II, or even III it does not mean that they have fatal side effects or potential for abuse (Seroquel is being seriously abused in jails and prisons). My prescribed cocktail for my bi-polar is 900mg Lithium, 900mg Seroquel, 4800mg Neurontin, 15mg Remeron, 30mg Restaril, 120mg Propanolol.

  19. A modest house using a standard garden might be customized
    with flowers, roses or colorful bushes. There can be a
    lot of places on the body where it is possible to get pierced.
    Heat treatment, if done efficiently produces a permanent change in the light reflective
    properties with the impurities inside the diamond crystal.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *