Posted by Tomatheus on February 29, 2016, at 1:00:30
In reply to Re: Hey everyone.. Newby here, posted by Fiftylager1 on February 28, 2016, at 23:45:00
Fiftylager1,
Thank you for taking the time to describe the symptoms that you've endured and the experiences that you've had with doctors and psychiatric medications. Without a doubt, bipolar disorder can be a difficult condition to live with. And I think that living with a mental health condition such as bipolar disorder can become a lot more complicated when the treatments that are prescribed and/or recommended don't produce the intended results, especially when this happens with one treatment after another. Not only do we the patients end up feeling disappointed and frustrated with the mental health system when the results of the treatments that are offered to us turn out to be quite different than what we were hoping for, but along the lines of what you pointed out, our family members, friends, and coworkers (if we have them) also end up becoming impatient, disappointed, and even resentful of us when we experience ongoing symptoms (or medication side effects) that might interfere with being able to living up to some of the expectations that those in our lives might have of us. When the treatment of a mental health condition doesn't go well, all of those close to the patient being treated end up being affected, and I think that this can have a tendency to intensify any feelings of helplessness that might already exist in the minds of us patients.
The search for solutions can definitely be challenging, to say the least, when a patient diagnosed with bipolar disorder or another mental health condition has not responded favorably to first and second-line treatments. One approach that some find to be helpful after (or even before) going through several medication trials with little to no success is to look beyond medications and psychiatry, sometimes as more of a means of adding to what mainstream psychiatry has to offer instead of being a means of replacing psychiatric care. Psychosocial treatment approaches, alternative treatments, and paying close attention to lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, and sleep can sometimes be of value in the management of mood disorders, even if such methods of managing mental health conditions don't necessarily lead to a reduction of symptoms in all patients. As the case is with psychiatric medications, other methods of managing mental health conditions are not necessarily going to be helpful for everyone who utilizes them, but I think that it can be beneficial to explore as many different approaches to treatment as possible to see if there might be some form of treatment that you might not have thought about that might somehow serve you well.
At any rate, I'd encourage you to take the approach or approaches to managing your condition that you feel would be best. I know that I didn't offer a whole lot of specifics in what I recommended in the above paragraph, but I definitely would keep looking for answers in any places where you think you might be able to find them.
Take care,
Tomatheus"Maybe someday
We'll figure all this out
We'll put an end to all our doubt
Try to find a way to just feel better now"- Rob Thomas
poster:Tomatheus
thread:1086405
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20160131/msgs/1086594.html