Polypharmacy Treatment Requires As Much Faith As Science

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 18, 2011

As I’ve said, mental illness treatments often don’t work. And you have to keep trying treatment anyway. Because without doing anything new, you are condemned to being stuck in the same mental illness mire you are currently in.

But in all honesty, mental illness treatment requires faith. Trying psych med after failed psych med requires a belief that something will work in spite of the evidence to the contrary. It requires a belief that is not based on proof.

I hate that.

Why Aren’t Doctors More Honest With Patients in the Hospital?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 1, 2011

Inpatient Prescriptions of Antipsychotics

Yesterday I received this comment from Leah,

. . . At the mental health clinic [where] I stayed, they were really into prescribing low doses of Seroquel [quetiapine] for unipolar depression . . . after reading up on this stuff I became somewhat angry for the widely prescribed off-label use of these antipsychotics since side effects can be strong. Especially since I was not told. Do you maybe have any thoughts on this practice?

Thoughts? Yes. Far too many. Ask anyone.

I have, over and over, lamented about the lack of honesty and transparency in the doctor-patient relationship. Specifically, why is it doctors prescribe antipsychotics, often off label, without disclosing their risks? It’s happened to me many times. In the hospital may be a special case, however.

Money Through Lies – Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising

Posted by Natasha Tracy | May 23, 2011

Making You Want Something You Didn’t Know You Needed

I despise drug ads. No one should be interrupted from watching the season-finale of House only to have a picture of a highly unkempt woman on a couch quickly to be turned into vital young dream girl thanks to the latest wonder-pill. That is absolute poppycock.

But drug companies spent $4.2 billion in 2005 on direct-to-consumer advertising in the US.

Psychiatric Disorders in Children – Diagnosed and Medicated

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Apr 20, 2010

I have bipolar-disorder-type-II-ultradian-cycling. I diagnosed myself when I was 20 years old, and once I finally agreed to see a doctor, he agreed sometime thereafter. My diagnosis was fairly easy for me. I’m very self-aware and I could pick out discrete moods and swings. But as a 20-year-old, in university, using research, and having a fairly high IQ, this is not terribly surprising. If I were five-years-old, the picture would have been a little different.

Epidemic of Children Diagnosed with Mental Illness

There is an epidemic of children, as young as two, being diagnosed with psychiatric disorders in North American right now. It’s made the cover of Time magazine and countless articles have been written on the phenomenon.

So, Antipsychotics are Now Approved for Children

It was once thought that disorders like bipolar did not occur before adulthood, but thoughts on this seem to be changing as diagnoses go up and more drugs are approved for treatment of children.

Antipsychotics FDA-approved for use in children (under 18) is:

Quetiapine (Seroquel) – schizophrenia, ages 13-17; bipolar I, ages 10-17
Olanzapine (Zyprexa) – schizophrenia and bipolar I, ages 14-17
Risperidone (Risperdal) – schizophrenia, ages 13-17; bipolar mania, ages 10-17; autism, ages 5-16

And so on. And of course, doctors are free to prescribe any medication off label to children just like adults.