This is not of the quality you typically find here. Sorry.
Not sleeping. Waking multiple times during the night. That’s hypomania.
I’m sleeping too little, eating too little, producing too much and feeling too OK; that’s hypomania. It makes you brilliant and insightful and creative and magical. It also makes me completely fucked up.
There is so much to know about Seroquel, and really, you’re so right to be afraid.
Over the last week-and-a-half I’ve been writing at HealthyPlace about the full prescribing information for Seroquel. I’ve done this to make a point – the full prescribing information for Seroquel or any drug is a treasure trove of knowledge. The full prescribing information really let’s you know what you’re getting into bed with and in the case of Seroquel, you’re getting into bed with a very dangerous substance. (That’s OK. I mean really, the only people worth getting into bed with are dangerous.) And whenever you take a (psychotropic, psychiatric) medication it’s worth knowing the risks. Seriously. Like, really worth it. And the risks of taking a medication are laid out in black and white in the prescribing information.
I discuss Seroquel prescribing information section by section:
Part I: Drug stats and Seroquel warnings, dosage and indications
Part II: Seroquel warnings and precautions
Part III: Seroquel side-effects (adverse reactions)
And just to be clear, I’m not attacking Seroquel here. Seroquel just happens to be the highest grossing psychotropic medication and that’s why I picked it. Prescribing information and all its nastiness is available for any drug. I do think though, particularly everyone on an antipsychotic should look at its full prescribing information. I’m not suggesting these are bad medications, but what I am suggesting is that they are very dangerous and you need to be made aware of it before you stay on them for years.
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Recently I’ve come across several groups on Facebook and elsewhere that claim to be for the rights of the mentally ill. They talk about defending their rights through lawsuits, funding and online campaigns. They also support the banning of a doctor’s rights to give psychotropic medication without consent. These are either well-intentioned people with little grasp of logic or just plain anti-psychiatry nutjobs.
I admit, I fell for one of these groups on first glance. But upon further reflection and research I’ve come to the conclusion that at best, these people are well-intentioned with little grasp of logic, and at worst just plain anti-psychiatry nutjobs.
Read MoreOne of the things that happens because I write about bipolar disorder so much, is that people ask me a lot of questions about what they should do with their bipolar treatment. I understand this. People feel like they don’t know what to do. And often people just don’t have a good relationship with their doctor/psychiatrist.
The thing is, I can’t tell you what to do with your mental illness treatment. I can give you information, I can try to help, I can suggest reliable, mental health resources, but you have to make the treatment decision. It’s a scary thing I know. I still hate it myself.
And the people who have it the toughest are the ones who have just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder or another mental illness. So here’s what I suggest you do if you’ve just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
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I’ve been “living the bipolar lifestyle” for over a decade now, and due to my general obsession over all things factual, I’ve done lots and lots and lots of research on bipolar treatments. Lots of research on lots of psychotropic pharmaceuticals specifically, but I’ve looked at, and tried bipolar disorder treatments too. I’ve written about unusual mental illness treatments here from time to time but I decided to put together the top 5 list of bipolar / depression treatments you might not know about for HealthyPlace.
Included is:
It’s probably that I just didn’t get the chance to write about the last two. Sometimes I really mean to say something but I don’t get around to actually doing it. Anyway, you can check out the HealthyPlace article for more.
Read MoreA common question bipolars and depressives ask is about the duration of side-effects and delay for effective treatment. These are completely reasonable and understandable questions. unfortunately, the answers aren’t great...
Read MoreI’m not sure that remission is something we will all get to enjoy, as bipolars. And the remission from depression, the remission from hypomania, the remission from bipolar we do experience seems to be a very watered-down version of the lives we want, the lives we deserve and certainly the lives we’re promised by doctors and treatments. So if remission isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, what is remission in bipolar disorder?
Read MoreI have had two doctors give up on my bipolar disorder (mostly depression) treatment. One almost a decade ago, and one just a couple of months ago. I didn’t take the most recent doctor abandonment all that well, as I’ve mentioned. In fact, if I saw the woman today, I’d still want to call her a cunt. An unfeeling, malpracticing, cold-hearted cunt. It seems I’m still a little upset about it.
But regardless as to my personal feelings about this woman, I feel that a doctor dismissing a patient without referral, medication, treatment or care, is unacceptable. It leaves the ill person with few visible options outside of suicide. A depression, suicidal person with no options. Peachy. These doctors are killing people through their own ignorance.
So, what should you do if your doctor gives up on your treatment? (You know, other than call them nasty names online, which I heartily recommend. It’s cathartic. HealthyPlace isn’t a fan of such things, however.)
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When you think of mental illness, bipolar disorder, do you consider yourself to be bipolar or do you think of yourself as someone who has bipolar disorder? Just like: Bipolars have mood swings vs. people who suffer from bipolar disorder have mood swings. (I also think I’m crazy, and no, I don’t think “crazy” is derogatory necessarily.)
Personally, I say I’m bipolar all the time. I don’t have a problem with “being bipolar.” I know some people do dislike this concept for psychological reasons though, so on Breaking Bipolar there’s Are You Bipolar, Or Do You Have Bipolar Disorder?
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