Do some BIPOLAR-1 people function without any medication or therapy?

4 Comments

1. tessamess67 says:

   June 1, 2010 at 9:29 am

   I’m bipolar…when I take my meds..things are good. So good that I think I’m cured and go off the meds.(My poor doc has to put up with this off and on). Anyways..in a month or two, off meds, I start feeling irritable for no reason. Then comes the paranoia and weird delusions. The hallucinations come and go, but I think I can deal. Then comes a time when I just can’t deal and ask my doc for my meds again. Just so I can feel relief. So, just letting you know, he might think he’s OK right now, but it will always come back. No matter how aware you are about the illness and symptoms, they always come back.
2. Mathieu says:

   June 1, 2010 at 10:02 am

   Aside from truly rare and completely bizarre situations then yes, everyone with Bipolar I needs to be on medications. Therapy is not always required. Therapy is very helpful but it does not need to be life long. It is reasonable for a person to be in therapy for a while then leave or only have a few sessions a year as “check ins” and if needed doing a few weeks of therapy as needed when things get worse can be good.

   Many people with Bipolar I will stop taking their medication because they think they are cured, everything is great, I don’t need it any more, or the side effects or terrible.

   Aside from having issues with side effects the other “reasons” to stop are terrible. People are better because they take their medication, it is not a cure it prevents most or all of the symptoms and allows many people to lead a functional life. When they stop the medications it is a set up for a disaster. He might be fine now or even for months (sometimes for years- very rare) but the mania will come back, the depression will return. And when things get really bad again he might end up requiring hospitalization and often it is not an ambulance taking a person to the hospital it is the police. And after every incident it can be harder to treat and can manifest in more severe ways.

   I can imagine the Seroquel was sedating, it is a very sedating drug. And 400 mg is not a small dose. Adding a drug like Provigil, a “wake promoting” drug might help. It is not like amphetamines but can greatly increase alertness and wakefulness.

   There are other drugs. Drugs like Abilify tends to be MUCH more mild. And there are completely different types of medications such as Lithium, anticonvulsants like Depakote, Tegretol, and Lamictal. These drugs tend to be much more tolerable. And often people take several medications, in some cases taking (for example) Tegretol and only 100-200 mg of Seroquel is sufficient. Or Lithium and a modest dose of Abilify. And often sleeping medication like Ambien or benzodiazepine like Clonazepam can be helpful but as both can be abused they are not recommended for people with ANY history of substance abuse or dependence.
3. Jan N says:

   June 1, 2010 at 10:41 am

   Look, 10 years ago, there was bipolar, chemical imbalance etc. And people lived and functioned – better than today.

   Can psychiatrists help you with antidepressants? Are there any cures in psychiatry today? How many people have been cured? What are your chances?
   Check it for yourself – hear it from interviewed psychiatrists.

   5 minutes video

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHu7Ik36128

   50 sec public announcement
   http://www.cchr.org/#/videos/prescription

   Is there any difference in how diagnosis are made in medicine and psychiatry?
   Check it for yourself. 2 minutes video.

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3JQ8OVHVWA&feature=channel_page

   Psychiatrists about their diagnostic manual and side effects
   http://www.cchr.org/#/videos/where-the-truth-lies
   —————
   Douglas Kennedy
   Award winning investigative reporter Douglas Kennedy appears on FOX News’ “Hannity’s America,” exposes the link between psychiatric drugs (antidepressants) and acts of violence and suicide.
   http://www.cchrint.org/videos/videos-we-like/fox_news1

   Fox News Big Story with Douglas Kennedy on how Big Pharma leaves out the bad studies and downplays the nasty side effects of their highly addictive drugs.
   http://www.cchrint.org/videos/videos-we-like/fox_news2

   FOX News’ Douglas Kennedy reports how Eli Lilly’s greedy marketing efforts cost it in a $1.42 billion lawsuit.
   http://www.cchrint.org/videos/videos-we-like/fox_news3
4. Chee Chum says:

   June 1, 2010 at 10:53 am

   Hell no. Take those meds.