treatment issues Archives - Page 8 of 19 - Natasha Tracy Bipolar Expert

What I Know about EMPowerplus by Truehope that You Don’t

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 17, 2013

(Prereading: What is EMPowerplus by Truehope and Why am I Taking EMPowerplus?)

I’ve ordered EMPowerplus by Truehope now, and so, as a buyer, I know a few things that you can’t find out on their public site.

The Experience of Buying EMPowerplus by Truehope

The experience of buying EMPowerplus is exactly what you would think it would be – you go online and you buy it. There is one difference though, and that difference is that someone calls you to follow-up.

The morning after I ordered the product, the Truehope follow-up person called and started asking me personal questions and confirming information I had already given them. Then she asked my diagnosis. I hesitated as I don’t really think it’s any of her business, but then said, “bipolar.” Then she asked me what medications I was on. I told her I was on several and I didn’t want to enumerate them. She said something along the lines of, “our support staff can’t help you if they don’t have a full picture.” I asked her what her qualifications were to be asking such questions and she said that she simply, “set up the file.” Then I asked her what qualifications those support staff have. She said, “they’re educated on the product.”

In other words, the follow-up person has zero qualifications and the support people who will be counselling you have zero qualifications also. (This is true, by the way, it’s just a call center.) And she wants me to hand over my personal, medical information to these people. I don’t think so.

Why Take the Alternative Treatment EMPowerplus for Bipolar?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 10, 2013

(Preread: What is EMPowerplus by Truehope?)

I’m not doing well. I haven’t been doing well for a long time. It’s quite simple really, every day I fight the bipolar and at the moment, the bipolar is winning.

And when this happens I know what I have to do. I know I have to find an effective treatment. In my 15 years of being treated for bipolar disorder, I can tell you what pulls me out of a depression: medication. Nothing else ever has. Ever. I’ve done everything (believe me) and nothing works except finding the right bipolar medication. I know people don’t want to believe this, but it’s true.

But unfortunately for me, we’re out of bipolar meds. My doctor is out of ideas. I have no good ideas either. If I wanted a drug, my doctor would give it to me, but there’s simply nothing to want because there’s nothing with any evidence behind it that I haven’t tried. And there’s no combination (or combination of combinations) that I haven’t been on. Really.

And the other night I was in my apartment, suicidal as you please, and I desperately decided to try this EMPowerplus stuff. Because, according to some anecdotal evidence and case studies, it appears to have worked for a few people.

Truehope and the Bipolar “Treatment” EMPowerplus

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 9, 2013

I have been wanting to write about the Truehope people (makers of EMPowerplus) for years but I haven’t because, well, I didn’t have anything nice to say, so I didn’t say anything at all. I knew that any critique I made of these people would be met with a slew of hate mail and, really, I get enough of that already.

But now I’m ready to go and at the bottom I’ll tell you why.

A Bipolar Life Without Medication – a Possibility?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Dec 2, 2013

As people who read this bipolar blog know, I’m on medication, lots of it, actually. Nevertheless, many people (philosophically, even me) wish to be medication-free. I’m the first one to say this usually isn’t possible; however, today I’m talking with CEO and Medical Director Dr. Kim Dennis from Timberline Knolls (a sponsor) about bipolar disorder without medication.

What Types of Therapies are Taught to People with Bipolar at Treatment Centers Plus More

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Oct 24, 2013

Today’s article is another in the series on inpatient treatment facilities. These questions have been answered by the staff at Timberline Knolls – the Bipolar Burble blog’s new sponsor. These questions were submitted by readers and cover bipolar treatments, length of stay, mental illness life skills, and use of discipline.

Frequently Asked Questions about Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment Facilities

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Oct 13, 2013

Today marks the start of a few articles I’ll be writing about private inpatient psychiatric treatment facilities. This is thanks to our new sponsor, Timberline Knolls. The highly-trained staff at their facility have agreed to answer my, and your, questions about inpatient treatment facilities. Today we’ll be talking about the basics of inpatient treatment facilities including services offered, intake, what professionals are there and what it’s like to stay in a residential treatment facility.

Should People with Bipolar be Forced to Take Medication?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 23, 2013

I have written before that you can sort of, a little bit, manage bipolar disorder without medication. There are a few proven treatment strategies that do work to manage bipolar disorder and keep you out of the prescription line at the pharmacy.

Nevertheless, I’m still a big believer in medication. I believe that if your life is out-of-control because of bipolar disorder, then medication is probably the best thing for you. I believe that if you’re in pain because of bipolar disorder, then you should be seeing a psychiatrist. I believe that if your functionality is compromised by a disordered brain, then you should be looking at a medical solution.

But does this mean that people with uncontrolled bipolar disorder should be forced to take medication?

Hope for Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Depression

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 17, 2013

Recently, I wrote a piece for PsychCentral that outlined some recommendations for treatment-resistant bipolar disorder. This piece talked about first-line and second-line agents for the treatment of bipolar disorder but I wanted to delve a little further into the novel agents that are now being studied for the treatment of bipolar depression. These are medications that are not typically used to treat bipolar disorder, work in new ways and show promise in recent studies. This is cutting edge and if you’re treatment-resistant this is an area that can offer you hope.

Why Are Novel Agents Needed in the Treatment of Bipolar Depression?

The reason why this piece is about unusual bipolar depression medication and not medication for mania is because the medications we have for mania are quite effective for most people. It is the bipolar depression that, typically, is very hard to treat. Additionally the two Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved bipolar depression treatments (quetiapine and an olanzapine/fluoxetine combination) tend to carry very serious side effects like weight gain, risk of diabetes including diabetic ketoacidosis and others. We also know that most people with bipolar disorder spend vastly more time in a depressed state than in a manic state.

According to Dr. Prakash Masand, CEO and founder of Global Medical Education, “Less than 30% of bipolar patients achieve remission that is maintained long term. There are great unmet needs in the treatment of bipolar depression. Innovative approaches are needed rather than ‘me-too’ agents that offer little incremental benefit.”

Dr. Masand notes the following are new, novel agents that look promising in the treatment of bipolar depression.

Why Failure is a Step Towards Success, Change is Hard

Posted by Natasha Tracy | May 2, 2013

Recently a friend of mine tried to make a change – she tried to stop smoking. Unfortunately, that attempt only lasted a few days.

Many people, of course, have been in that situation. Many people have tried to make a change and have found themselves less than completely successful. But what I told my friend is that she didn’t fail, she simply hadn’t succeeded – yet.

And so, I would consider her attempt a type of success. I would consider it an intention of success. I would consider it an approximation of success. I would consider it to be a step forward that ultimately will lead to success.