Posted by Quintal on June 7, 2007, at 18:16:20
In reply to Re: The right to non-compliance » Quintal, posted by Squiggles on June 7, 2007, at 15:43:28
The examples you gave appear to have studied the rate of relapse among hospitalised Schizophrenics and those with severe bipolar disorder, which is a different population entirely to people being treated as outpatients for depression. I've never opposed the notion that medication and hospitalisation is often necessary for people who suffer from psychotic disorders. Those people are more vulnerable and the decision to withdraw from medication is much harder to balance. But surely there should be no question that people who present themselves voluntarily to doctors in the hope of treating emotional pain or anxiety (which is most of the people here) have an equal right to walk away and reject any treatment which is ineffective or makes their suffering worse if they so choose?
Taking a subtherapeutic dose of a drug is totally different to taking no drug at all. Looking at the cases where psychiatric patients have suddenly become suicidal or committed murders for example, have most often happened either at the beginning of treatment before the onset of therapeutic effect, during withdrawal, or after a sudden dose increase, not several months or years after quitting the drugs completely. But obviously if lithium helps you of course it makes perfect sense to keep on taking whatever dose keeps you stable.
Regarding drug companies, conspiracy theories and the present state of the human condition, I'm tempted to quote the old adages "There's nothing new under the sun" and "There's nowt as queer as folk". I was quite impressed by my psychiatrist's view after pressing him on the subject "Yes, we know that drug companies not only hide information from us - they also lie". It's not only patients that are angry at the corruption of Big Pharma and the regulatory bodies.
Q
poster:Quintal
thread:761591
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070604/msgs/761695.html