just wondering, a question for all - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

wackytoposthere · 11-08-2003, 01:31 AM

Just wondering about this, I see many of you are taking more then one
prescription, example: lithium, clonipin, paxil and trazadone at a time. Do ever question your doctors on why so many drugs and have you done any research on the drugs themselves to see if they are harmful to you? There's a lot of drugs that should only be used for a limited time.

How many of you rely on insurance to pay for your prescription?

We have a book "Worst Pills Best Pills" which is now 10 years old, they put newer books out every few years, but because we don't use prescription, we haven't bought any newer books. It was funny 6 or 7 years ago my wife went to the doctor to get a prescription on the recommendation of her therapist.
I made a list of all the pills on the Do not use list and the limited use list, and I told her to refuse any prescription on that list. She said the doctor looked at the list and said, the first 15 prescriptions on the list were the most prescribed. She ended up with prozac, which she only took for 2 months, because of the side effects.

There's a Homeopathy remedy I give my wife when her sadness is at it's worst.
It's called Aurum Metallicum and it's for: sadness and longs to die. I also give her herbs that support her bodies systems example: nervous and circulation.
Were in the process of tring Gaba 750mg 3times a day and Magnesium 200 mg 2 times a day. It will probaly take 3 to 4 weeks before we see if it help her mood swings, thoughts about life. We don't have health insurance, so that's why we rely on alternative treatments.

2SarniesShort · 11-08-2003, 02:03 AM

Just because something occurs naturally does not make it safe eg hemlock, digitalis.
The reason so many side effects are known about with "conventional" drugs is that the drug companies have taken the time ( and money) to test them properly. They know the optimium dosage, the lethal dose etc.
Just because no side effects are known about with a herbal remedy doesn't mean they don't exist. just means no one looked.

the advantage of prescription drugs is that the side effects are known about recorded, and the doctor can watch out for them. he can test your liver function etc. Mistakes do happen occassonally, but generally i trust in the medics.

there are a lot of people (who often wear brightly coloured clothes) who are cashing in on the "natural" remedies who know nothing of brain chemistry or drug interactons. Some natural remedies are dangerous, (for instance i was sold raspberry leaf tea when 12 weeks pregnant (causes miscarriage)), some of which are ineffective, and some of which actually work. ( but at what dose and with what long term side effects ?????))

many conventional drugs are derived from natural sources: peniciilin, digitalin, aspirin. Given the choice between taking a known dose of aspirin in convenient pill form and ripping some bark off a willow tree to make a foul tasting tea (whilst hoping that the concentration of salicylic acid in this particular tree isn't so high as to cause kidney failure) I'd plump for the "commercial" product every time.

*music23* · 11-08-2003, 08:08 AM

There was a time when I was on 10 different medications. I really resent being on so many. Luckily now I am down to five. It still feels like a lot though. My insurance does cover the drugs luckily. However, it barely covers the psych appointments, if at all. It pays for 50% of 12 appointments per year at what they consider a reasonable charge, 110 dollars. Too bad my psych charges 200 dollars for 45 minutes! Crazy, huh.
Kristina

u2fran · 11-08-2003, 10:44 PM

I have been on alot of different medications in the past, but for 15 years now I just take lithobid, ativan, and sonata. In the past I didn't trust some doctors because I had some terrible side effects and actually became manic because of zoloft. I read about all the possible side effects and interactions of meds that have been suggested to me, and I haven't tried any new meds for a long time. I am on medical which is the same as medicaid and I can only get precription lithium because I can't afford the organic lithium that is supposed to be safer. The ativan I take is so habit forming that I sometimes wonder why I still use it. I get insomnia without it. Even though I am very depressed I won't take antidepressents because I'm afraid of getting manic. Anyway, alot of precriptions aren't all that safe, but if the person is monitored with blood tests, and is on the right dosage, and the results in helping the person are better than the side effects, some doctors think that is ok.IZE=1][/SIZE]

wobbly · 11-09-2003, 11:57 AM

I just have to add my 2 cents here...
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Aurum Metallicum Latin for "metallic gold"? (there goes my intelligent BP brain again!) I know gold injections are sometimes given to people with rheumatoid arthritis, but only as a last resort. Can you explain how and why gold would be considered helpful for suicidal people.
I am not trying to start an argument here, but I have a hard time believing in homeopathy. Modern conventional medicine does people a lot of good--our knowledge of and ability to treat disease has come a LONG way. I for one would be dead (if not due to BP, then to my thyroid disease) if this were not so. If I have to take a gamble on something to help me, it'll be something tested and proven. Not that I trust the drug companies implicitly, but I have a great psychiatrist that I do trust to find the right meds for me. To prevent suicidal thoughts rather than try to play catch-up with them.
Just my rambling thoughts.