My Support Forums - View Single Post

Elysium · Feb 14, 2010, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonegael

Elysium.... uuhm... I think that's what their doing with me.... You see, I've been told we bipolars shouldn't have kids because we are bad parents. Hey! I'm so drugged, maybe that's why the smile won't leave my face!

That's awful!!!

It's so difficult to be a child who has issues and has been diagnosed with disorders. I'm not trying to say that it's all the parents, nor am I intending to say that there aren't kids out there that do require treatment and medication....

But this is what I'm talking about. I don't feel there is enough assessment and investigation into the environment that some children are in before a label is slapped upon them and they begin getting medicated. And I don't see an effort being made to help educate the parents in how to better cope with their children who have disorders, before jumping on the med bandwagon.

There's a term that I hear often as a Nurse and that is "There is as much poison in that pill as there is medicine." Don't know who coined the phrase...but it rings in my ears.

One example...let's take a medication called Amiodarone. This is a medication that people take to help their heart and prevent irregular heart rhythms. It's a great medication for those who NEED it. It helps keep them alive. However...research has shown that people who take this medication long term develop Pulmonary Fibrosis, which is where the lung tissue becomes stiff and non-pliable and won't stretch like it needs to to get in oxygen and get out carbon dioxide. This insufficiency leads to pulmonary hypertension which then leads to heart failure. So, it helps there heart but long term it can also lead to death.

Now, I am NOT encouraging people to stop taking their meds. NO WAY...stay on your meds. What I am encouraging is for people to talk with their caregivers and their physicians about these issues if you feel this could be an issue. Even if you are a child...you still have a voice. It's okay to ask questions and to ask for answers.

And who ever tells anyone that folks with Bi-Polar, or any disorder should not have children...because they'd make bad parents, is smoking some serious crack!!

Yes, parenting becomes more of a challenge for the parent because they are managing their disorder and managing a family at the same time, and for some that MAY be too much, but not for all. And it's not about being a bad parent, it's about what one person is able to manage in their lives. If you have a mental disorder, and you are able to manage it well and you have a good support network, I don't think a family should be out of reach.

Some may say "Well...what if there's a relapse?" Well...what if there is a relapse? You deal with it. You work hard and do what you can to help yourself and your family understand the issues and you use your support network and you move forward. The same could be said for someone who had Diabetes, or Heart Disease. What if their diseases relapsed. Should we now tell them they shouldn't have children, because "What If?"

It's not about being a good or bad parent, it's about how a parent chooses to behave and cope with their own issues and environment.

That's my point. Let's look at the whole picture...not just point the fingers at the kids.