Ignorant people

Tonight I went with my bro and his ex, we'll call her Jill, to her brothers house for thanksgiving after party. I don't drink so I was the DD. Let me just say that my brothers ex is also bipolar which makes this even more stupid. So we're all sitting around having adult convo and the subject of my brothers ex wife came up and how she was bipolar (yea you may wonder why my bro surrounds himself with so many bipolar chicks. Poor guy lol). Well Jill, a rather mouthy drunk, yells "no she was REALLY bipolar! She was on seroquel!!!" I just shook my head. How can a fellow bipolar be so damn ignorant?! I didn't say anything because most of what this girl says is obnoxious and the fact that she was drunk made it that much worse. I just shot her a look like "wtf!?" And I've been on and off seroquel for years. If there weren't strangers around I would of said something but I wasn't comfortable adding my dirty laundry in front of them.

Also, I had to go to my Gyno the other day because whenever I get off of birth control, my periods stop. So I'm telling him my med list and his eyebrows go up and ask if I'm bipolar. I said yes. He handed me a sheet to go get my blood drawn and says "now come back next week when the results are in so we can see how bad these meds messed you up". And waved his hand in a motion like telling me to get lost. I'm a medical assistant and I actually find that drs other than pdocs even treat us different. That's why I hate telling them what meds I'm on. Because I know they are going to treat me different. No I did not say ALL docs do this. But they're out there!

Dx: BP2, PTSD, bulimia/anorexia
Risperdal 4mg
Trileptal 300mgs
Buspar 45mgs
Ativan 1mg PRN
Vyvance 70mgs PRN

The first is just urgh, but the second one... I don't find it ignorant. On contrary, I find it enlightened that some doctor does not pretend these meds are not made of angel farts and can actually have negative impact on your body. Maybe he did not express himself the best way, but I think it's reasonable to want a blood test first.

The doctor should have kept that opinion to himself. I'm pretty sure any medication can potentionally have a negative impact on your body, not just medications for mood disorders.

"no she was REALLY bipolar! She was on seroquel!!!" is odd since I've been prescribed seroquel several times and Im not diagnosed with bipolar. I had it for a sleep aid and anxiety I think. I also find it irritating when doctors treat me differently when they see the history of mental illness, dismiss symptoms to it etc.

I'm going to guess by his reaction he sees people coming in all the time over medicated. I am not saying you are just that it's common practice to throw meds at every issue and he has probably seen the damage
That being said I think he could have approached it in a better way. He is a doctor so thy are suppose to give you their opinion on health but he was rude about it

See this is the thing. Giving a heavy duty drug for sleep problems is bad practice and is what this doctor is referring to

It's interesting because my doc actually wants to work with my pdoc so nothing gets screwed up when it comes to meds. She didn't seem to come across as treating me differently, just concerned about my total medical care. I do get treated differently for some of my other mental illnesses, but that's for another forum.

What your SIL said really hurts - especially if she knew your own health situation. As for your doctor, I am really ticked with how he handled what may have been a valid concern. My doc and pdocs all work together. I just wish everyone's were on the same damn page.

I'm sure we've all sat there fuming at times when people mention and discuss mental health as a joke or in negative terms. Even worse when they have been disclosed to about our health. My brother is really bad for it which really concerns me. Not only am I bipolar but his step daughter is psychizophrenic.

"now come back next week when the results are in so we can see how bad these meds messed you up".

That is a really ignorant thing to say. Stupid doctor.
Mind you my doctor told me that she 'doesn't believe in depression' and all you need to do is 'think happy thoughts'

You'd think by now people especially doctors would be more enlightened.

thanks for sharing this.

When I encounter a doctor I am meeting for the first time, they tend to talk to me like I am a ticking time bomb, they talk to me like I am 2 years old. They can be very insenitive, they have even acted threatned by my presence. It hurts. It always leaves me feeling like I am "nothing, a bad person, a scary crazy person".

As for "Jill", sounds like she not only suffers with Bipolar but perhaps BPD also.

I agree with you entirely and I'm sorry that happened to you. How belittling. I know this is different but I am inclined to wonder sometimes when people throw around the word though. A good friend of mine was here and he said well, I am a manic depressive. I felt inclined to tell him that I am in fact, also bipolar, but was too skeptical that he was just throwing that word out there. He probably is actually bipolar and it was probably just in my head, but still, I was too afraid to admit my illness to him in fear of judgement.

As for your doctor, that is ridiculous and I'm sorry that happened to you!

I agree. It was good health practice to run blood work. I hope he would do so to patiences on medical meds too. But the comment was out of line and prejudice.....as a doc he should be educated to have better knowledge. My grandmother takes a lot of medical meds and many of them have side effects. They require regular blood work.

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I get the same from the special ed teachers and my FRIENDS (supposedly). They use "bipolar" as a derogatory word. I just remind them I AM bipolar! They usually don't know what to say. It becomes quite "funny" that they do it not realizing how insulting it is to use a serious mental illness (that keeps me from living a normal life) as a demeaning thing.

I have learned not so give a s@&@! about what they think. (okay, it's hard but I try). My true friends don't do it- it's the insensitive jerks who do.

Keep your head up!