Do you HAVE to be medicated?

GOOGLE SEARCH will answer just about every question if not every. Like BP and memory loss. Is medication needed for BP diagnoses. Will it get worse with age. So and so on. I have gone to Google many times, and sometimes even ask the same questions because I do not recall all the information, or even read all that's offered there. There are studies that have been done, and studies being done, but many questions concerning BP and other mental disorders still need research. One interesting part for me is BP and the stigma associated with it. High percent of people do have a stigma concerning any mental illness. It can effect getting a job, or housing. I see here many people just can not work, or find it very difficult. I do not tell anyone I have BP, except here.

well technically under the law u are Disabilities we been covered since 2008
Bipolar Disorder and the Americans with Disabilities Act | Psych Central

so once u have the job it takes alot more to have u removed ........and thanks this is something i did not think about i can offer to other person (u all get a cookie )

I have tried going without and my quality of life is better when medicated. I have severe delusions and I'm prone to impulsive, self destructive behaviors. While the meds I am on aren't fully stopping that, it does give me the ability to think about things and even at times stop myself before impulse takes over. I was an absolute mess without meds and I don't think I would ever go without them again.

Yeah ^^^ sounds great , but the ADA is all bark and no Bite..

If an employer wants to get rid of a MI employee , they can use a lame excuse like " Ooo you were 2 mins late coming back from lunch" or "Oooo you made X mistake last week.

"Most ( not all of course) all people that disclose or *gasp* need accomodations tend to lose there jobs a month or so down the road, always a lame reason that a company can legally get away with.

It would be nice to have someone/thing to help people from being treated unfairly , but ADA is a non working waste of tax payers dollars.

Sad but true.

When therapists start talking about medication they are leaving their zone of expertise. First of all, a diagnosis is no more than an educated guess. One of the top psychiatrists in my state gave a lecture where he said it takes him about 5 years of knowing a patient before he will say he is really sure about a diagnosis.

Bipolar Disorder is not a known thing like malaria or multiple sclerosis. It is a theoretical concept. Obviously, some people are prone to mood swings that seem abnormal. Why they get those mood swings is a good question that you could come up with different theories about. Saying they have bipolar disorder is one theory. It really doesn't tell you much. To say someone has mood swings because they have a mood disorder is not really saying much. It's like saying someone has a persistent rash because they have a chronic skin disorder. Basically it's circular thinking.

Supposedly, some people prone to mood swings have a better quality of life when they are treated with certain medications thought to reduce mood swings. So, if mood swings are ruining your quality of life, it seems sensible to try mediation to see if it helps. There is no guarantee that you, or anyone, is going to be helped by medication. It's just something to try and see what happens.

Therapists, because they are not doctors, tend to imagine that medicine is a way more exact science than it is. It's not, especially in the area of mental problems. We know diabetics have much better health, if they are treated with blood sugar lowering medications, like insulin and other things. For Type One diabetics, that's almost always true. For Type Two diabetics, some are best helped by changes in diet and level of exercise. Those changes sometimes make medication unnecessary.

It is not true that taking medication for mood swings is just like taking insulin for diabetes. With mood swings, we are on much shakier ground. We know exactly what insulin does. We don't know exactly how the meds used for mood swings work or who they'll work for. Also, the same med that seems to make one person feel a lot better, can actually make another person feel much worse. So it's pretty much trial and error.

For some people, just changing how they approach life (which therapy can help with) can greatly improve their lives. That's a good place to start.

I've had therapists say to me, "Maybe you should be on this med . . . or that med." Then when I've told the psychiatrist what the therapist has recommended, the pdoc has looked at me like he definitely doesn't need med suggestions from the therapist.

Your therapist's job is to help you find what in your approach to life is not working for you. You work with the therapist to try and develop better coping skills. Therapists who take a big interest in diagnostic labels and medication are really outside of their area of competence, IMHO.

Ditto the above. In a right to work state, an employer can end a work relationship with an employee at any time and without any justifiable reason. Reasons such as lack of work, or the elimination of position will allow an individual to obtain unemployment. However, that person has to start all over again. The laws are always stacked in favor of employers.

Health issues are very easy for an employer to railroad around. An employer can always find something to put down for a reason that looks good and covers up any medical reasons.

If the ADA was worth a shite, they would be up on capitol hill lobbying for worker's rights and better employment laws for people with mental illness.

I'm 55. When I was in my 20s and 30s sometimes I would go up to 3 years without meds. I'm bipolar so naturally there have been times where I felt I didn't need meds or just didn't want to take them. Looking back, the problem was that even though I would do well, if an event or circumstances came along that I didn't handle well, I would become manic or depressed. I had no med or meds in my system to help me combat the chemical imbalance. So it usually meant a stay in the hospital. I got married at 40 and that's one reason I started taking my meds religiously. I've got to much at stake to take chances with consequences of not taking meds. I would love not to take them, but ...
My medication trio that has worked well for 5 years now is:
Lithium - 300 mg. x 2 a day
Effexor xr - 150 mg. x 1 in a.m.
Wellbutrin sr 150 mg. x 2 in a.m.

I am a nurse and seeing as it is recorded on nurses registration record I feel I have to disclose it because they will find out when they check my registration records. I have done with two interviews now and the look on their faces was enough. The hospitals here require you to work all shifts. Working nights is dangerous for me as well as quick shifts

no the ADA makes them give any reason they are firing u in writing .........and like u said petty things like that for a excuse looks horrible

the whole point of AMA is lawsuits .........the great American pastime........it is a matter of using the word of law to your side and not backing down .......they use these tactics on ppl all the time ......so i feel no pity or guilt about using the same ones on them

for them to fire u it has to be something fire able not some cheap thing they could use against anyone ( aslong as u are under doctors if u are off meds and off the doctors then u are like anyone else not covered under AMA)......do your work well .....do the job title u were hired for at the hours u agreed on .......if something comes up and head issue wins a battle u are down for a few days your job is safe ........and if not u have a vacation coming for 5/7 years on their dime

you do 2 things 1 get the lawyer 2 report it to the local news ppl ........they made the game i just figured out some of the rules as they see them so applied it to my thinking ( the bad press alone will harm sales in any field and the rep for the biz ...........the lawsuit will get settled out of court and u both will be placed on gag order ....they will say u worked for them from this time to this time nothing else ....u can not talk about the case or any of the event it deals with along with what ever else u signed agreeing not to talk about if the work is important)
wrongful termination lawsuit

When I injured my back, I got convinced that I did it prior to obtaining employment with said employer. However, I had been at said employer for 1 and 1 half years already. With my paranoia, I didn't want to make waves and lose my job because I was in debt. So, my insurance and me footed the bill until I quit rehab because of the extra cost every week. I threatened the doctor's office that I would own them for notifying employer about my diagnosis without my permission. Aa few months down the road and I got really pissed dealing with the agony of a herniated disc. I called all the local tv lawyers and they all said call them back when they fired me. I was too scared to push it, and I loved working.

Fastforward 20 years. Disc no longer shows on an mri because arthur has completely eroded it, and we now know I'm bipolar. I don't have much left for success, as way too many people out of work probably not suffering mentally.

Why won't any of them groups give any advice, such as whether to reveal or not. If you don't they can get you for lying. If you do then you won't get hired. Why don't they go with and advocate with employers to help individuals with acquiring jobs?

Because their main interest is having a big, fancy Acronym name, helping when a big law suit comes up, so the CEO can make a few mil off of it and the donations. They certainly aren't lobbying for any better labor rights, at least not that I'm aware. They probably can't because big corps. won't donate because they don't want known mental ill individuals working for their corps.

To summarize : I guess being diagnosed with mental illness is like being a convicted felon when it comes to acquiring jobs. If if you adhere to the don't ask don't tell philosophy, well an employer will find out soon enough. At least for me they will. I will blow my top, or put up with someone downing me or picking at me until I threaten them like I normally do and wind up in a never ending repeating cycle.

Yes, you definitely shouldn't work nights or rotating shifts. Those are hard for "normal" people, but they are hell on bipolars. You are wise to avoid that.

I still have a nursing license but can't work anymore because I can no longer focus for very long or remember details, and of course that won't do when I'm holding peoples' lives in my (shaking) hands. And there IS discrimination against those of us with mental illnesses.....I lost my executive-level nursing job in May of 2013 because I had a mixed episode that I just could not hide, and my pdoc said I had to either go out on medical leave or be hospitalized. Three weeks later I came back and they fired me because I couldn't do the job without accommodations, and they decided it would be an "undue hardship" to the company to give me those accommodations.

The ADA is toothless---it didn't stop the company from letting me go, all they needed was some other excuse and they found one. Companies have offices full of lawyers who know the ways to get around the federal regulations, and we don't stand a chance against them. I suppose one can fight, but that involves still more lawyers and months or years of waiting, and most of us just aren't in positions where we have that kind of stamina.

So.....why did you have to disclose your illness to the Board of Nursing? I know most states have a question about mental illnesses on the license renewal application, but the fact that you have one shouldn't be visible to employers when they verify your license.

I never stay on meds for long. I use them to stabilize the most severe episodes then get off in a hurry.i rapid cycled in and out of hospitals this year ,took lithium for a couple weeks until they made me feel too down. I have been off for four days
Im confused about meds. The pdoc wants me on them but then again thy always push drugs
I just dont like them...but is that lack of insight or being smart!?

I'm fortunate to have a union backing me. People get their jobs back for some crazy crazy things at my job place. Normally getting all their back pay and overtime averaged in. Case in point lady just got her job back and a check for about 65k and 5 weeks vacation and she was high on the job... Technicality though and she ended up getting a year off work. Rediculous.. So I'd say your either going to have it one way or another but I'm pretty well covered

I personally think you do have to be medicated. You can go without them but things will but the crashes will be twice as bad and will make you even more miserable. Plus, therapy isn't meant to be forever so eventually you'll come off of it once you have a successful balance between therapy and meds.

Let me get it straight. Professionals might have written thousands and thousands prescriptions, but did they really work? Or did they just medicate the people into not being trouble anymore, but not really happy either?

Some of us here are members for YEARS. We probably know more about ourselves that our pdocs know. Do I trust human being more than a doctor connected to pharma? HELL YES.


TROLOLOLOLOLOLOL. 98% people are happy on hteir meds? Source? Pulledoutofmyass.com?

As for experts.... read this forum, or Icarus project to see how much the "experts" can hurt people. Trusting somebody just because they are a doctor is dumbest thing you can do. Not trusting people's experience, especially when they were sucessful (trust me the unmedicated people of this forum aren't just bitter..... we are doing hella well overall) is dumb too.

This! Totally agree

Yeah. Having an MI is like a target on your back. But here's the thing: the ADA says "reasonable accommodations." So basically an employer just has to have a reason why accommodations are unreasonable. You still need to be able to perform the job at a reasonable level.

Lets take the example of a blind man working in quality control. Lets say the job is testing the quality if shirts. He can test the durability but he can't check for blotches or color problems. So despite the work area having brail on everything etc. he can't actually do the job.

So with MI, employers just need to come up with reasons why frequent breaks, flexible schedule, or whatever else is unreasonable to a job. And there are lawyers who specialize in figuring out how to fire your bipolar or other MI employees and getting around the ADA.

So just be careful out there in the working world.

I'm not being critical...I just find it amusing how many times this topic has been discussed. The usual suspects suggest meds are unnecessary &, conversely, the same people insist that meds are a lifeline. I can predict the course of a thread just by reading its title.

nah, it's usually the noobs that are all "meds uber alles" and like to act all outraged and judge long term members as unstable, bitter and delusional.

I don't mind if somebody says what works for them.

But I am sick and tired of being call delusional for my stance.

I never stay on meds long but when I'm on them and happy I'm determined to take them. I cant stand the rollercoaster.

I choose medication. I haven't had any major episodes since they found the right meds for me (which was about 4 years ago, with the exception of changing Paxil to Pristiq). I am so thankful there is medication for BP. I got sick of living on the rollercoaster that was my life and then had a major mixed episode and that was it for me. Now I'm completely med compliant. I never want that to happen to me again.

I really hope your BP does not get so severe that you require meds. But I have heard that BP gets worse as we age, especially if it goes untreated.

Whatever you do decide, I wish the best for you. Take care.

I see big difference with medication and I am just too scared of letting depression conquer my life so bad as it usually does. So yes, I have too. Voices almost gone and mood swings are much less severe.

This ^^^