Hi, how\u2019s it going? Hope you are doing well.<\/p>\n
Someone commented to me about my email about medication and bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n
She wrote: \u201cWhile I agree with you 99% of what you\u2019ve shared, there is one piece that is not completely accurate. You can be compliant with your medication, meaning taking it regularly and as prescribed. Yet, bipolar disorder is a mystery in some ways. Even on your medication you can have an episode that throws you into mania or depression. While I will always advocate compliance, it\u2019s important to not that even doing the right thing all of the time doesn\u2019t guarantee you will always be stable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wow. I have to admit, she is 100% correct. Unfortunately, no matter what we do it is still possible for a relapse to occur. That\u2019s the problem with the doctors not knowing too much about bipolar disorder yet: They don\u2019t really know what will cure it or stop it.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not all just a guessing game, either. Scientists take a lot of time and calculations to study which medications will do what, and to what effectiveness. So by the time the medications get to us, there is a good chance that this one medication will help someone out tremendously.<\/p>\n
But, once again, she is right. Even if you are on the medication that is best for you, there is still no guarantee that you will never have another episode in your entire life. But here\u2019s the thing: Would you rather have a chance of going into an episode at some point, or the almost-guarantee of cycling through episodes on a regular basis?<\/p>\n
Medications still serve a valuable purpose. And it is still best practice to take your medications and to be compliant about the dosages and times of taking them. See, something can always go wrong. But it\u2019s much less likely to go that way when you are taking your medications than it is if you are not.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s kind of like gambling. You have one bet that is 75% likely to win, and another that is 15% likely to win. Which do you take? I\u2019d personally take the one that is 75% likely to win any day. It just makes sense. But it still doesn\u2019t guarantee that you\u2019ve got it. After all, there is that other 25% that\u2019s not in the 75%.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also a lot like the decision of whether to wear your seatbelt in your car. Sure, there\u2019s tickets to consider if you don\u2019t. But let\u2019s be realistic: there are much more important reasons to wear your seatbelt. Your life, for instance.<\/p>\n
Seatbelts have been known to save many people\u2019s lives in car accidents. But still you hear those stories of people who walked away after an accident when they weren\u2019t wearing their seatbelts. That is rare, by the way. Or you might hear those stories where someone actually gets hurt with the seatbelt on in a car accident.<\/p>\n
But you have to stop and think: Sure, they were still hut with the seatbelt on, but if it was that bad of a car accident that they were thrown into the seatbelt, then imagine where they would have been thrown without it.<\/p>\n
It is the same way with bipolar medications. It may not guarantee that you\u2019ll never have another episode in your entire life, but considering the odds that are up against you either way, it is still best practices to take them. Life is full of uncertainties, but when you can improve your chances, it is always a good thing to do so.<\/p>\n
Now, what are your thoughts on this?<\/p>\n
Well, I have to go!<\/p>\n
Your Friend,<\/p>\n
Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi, how\u2019s it going? Hope you are doing well.<\/p>\n
Someone commented to me about my email about medication and bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n
She wrote: \u201cWhile I agree with you 99% of what you\u2019ve shared, there is one piece that is not completely accurate. You can be compliant with your medication, meaning taking it regularly and as prescribed. Yet, bipolar disorder is a mystery in some ways. Even on your medication you can have an episode that throws you into mania or depression.<\/p>\n