[Lost71]

Hi everyone

I have a friend who is bipolar but stopped taking meds coz of bad experiences with them.

Thing is she's definitely coming up for a crisis again, but still refuses to go back on meds.

Is there anything else (alternative treatments maybe) she can do to help herself? Or anything I can do to help her?

Thanks to anyone who's taken time to read this.

Peace,
Julia
xox

[Berries]

meds or hospital (where they will put her on meds) that's about it. sorry

[thinker22]

She needs to be on different meds or a different dose, but not off them completely. That almost always leads to immediate disaster. Meds + exercise + therapy are the only proven treatments for bipolar, and meds are key because you can't accomplish much in the other two if you're extremely depressed or jumping out of your skin and impulsive.

Diet (such as taking B vitamins, E, D3, and omega fatty acids) can help to improve the effects of the above, but they've not been proven to do the trick in any medical studies (in terms of instead of meds).

Hope your friend won't have to go to the hospital, but it's likely if she doesn't get back to the psych doc and get her meds reevaluated and go back on them. You can tell your friend that I had a bad experience (extreme depression and wanting to sleep all day) on seroquel. Now I'm on abilify and feeling much better. I'm manic, sure, but once they adjust my meds correctly, I'll just feel good and normal...not out of control or despondent.

We're all here if you need to talk in the future.

[Lost71]

Originally Posted by Berries

meds or hospital (where they will put her on meds) that's about it. sorry

Thanks for the reply, Berries, guess I'll have to talk to her about meds.

[Lost71]

Originally Posted by thinker22

She needs to be on different meds or a different dose, but not off them completely. That almost always leads to immediate disaster. Meds + exercise + therapy are the only proven treatments for bipolar, and meds are key because you can't accomplish much in the other two if you're extremely depressed or jumping out of your skin and impulsive.

Diet (such as taking B vitamins, E, D3, and omega fatty acids) can help to improve the effects of the above, but they've not been proven to do the trick in any medical studies (in terms of instead of meds).

Hope your friend won't have to go to the hospital, but it's likely if she doesn't get back to the psych doc and get her meds reevaluated and go back on them. You can tell your friend that I had a bad experience (extreme depression and wanting to sleep all day) on seroquel. Now I'm on abilify and feeling much better. I'm manic, sure, but once they adjust my meds correctly, I'll just feel good and normal...not out of control or despondent.

We're all here if you need to talk in the future.

Thanks for al that information, thinker, it's a big help.

Peace,
Julia
xox

[Berries]

Originally Posted by Lost71

Thanks for the reply, Berries, guess I'll have to talk to her about meds.

It is just a sad fact of life for Bipolars. We need our meds. We can sometimes go without for a while, but eventually an episode will occur and they get so bad that often, without meds and therapy, we attempt and/or suicide.

No one likes taking meds and having to go to the doc all the time for the rest of ones life. It is difficult to find the right combo of meds. They take a long time to start working. The side effects suck. It is a mess.

But as the alternative is suffering, not being able to function socially and at work and often death, meds and therapy are a good option.

Best Wishes for your friend and it is very wonderful of you to be such a good friend to her.