[Icare dixit]

Whose first med ever wasn't an antidepressant or a benzodiazepine? Have you always been on meds since then?

Do we (at least as taxpayers) pay for both the solution and the problem, the threat and the protection?

[rwwff]

First med... depakote.

I don't really understand the second question. Doctors can only treat to the symptoms they see; when someone goes in and says, "I'm depressed"; that's what they have to work with and it almost always turns out well.

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by rwwff

First med... depakote.

I don't really understand the second question. Doctors can only treat to the symptoms they see; when someone goes in and says, "I'm depressed"; that's what they have to work with and it almost always turns out well.

By "well", do you mean not manic or no longer depressed? I agree (probably) a majority won't experience mania. But that doesn't mean antidespressants don't cause problems.

[earthrider93]

I think our government probably doesn't do as much at preventing mood swings which require more and costly medications. I am on badgercare and I can only get generics. So no Latuda. Which means they pay a lot for me to stay in a psych unit.

[rwwff]

Originally Posted by Icare dixit

By "well", do you mean not manic or no longer depressed? I agree (probably) a majority won't experience mania. But that doesn't mean antidespressants don't cause problems.

I mean not manic and not depressed. They really do work for a very large number of people, exactly as the manufacturers say they will.

People that go manic, or can't find one that will work, those are the outliers, but they are also the people that have reason to be vocal about the failure of the options presented to them.

[raspberrytorte]

Originally Posted by earthrider93

I think our government probably doesn't do as much at preventing mood swings which require more and costly medications. I am on badgercare and I can only get generics. So no Latuda. Which means they pay a lot for me to stay in a psych unit.

I'm on badger care too and was able to get latuda. That's weird you can't get it too.

[Guiness187055]

xanax then zoloft

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by rwwff

I mean not manic and not depressed. They really do work for a very large number of people, exactly as the manufacturers say they will.

People that go manic, or can't find one that will work, those are the outliers, but they are also the people that have reason to be vocal about the failure of the options presented to them.

Most people seem to think they might work for others even though they don't work for them (not anymore). "Everyone's different, so it might work for you". Sounds familiar?

If it makes you weaker and it stops working after a few months and you depend on it because otherwise you'll feel worse than ever, it's dangerous, not a solution. Using benzos and antidepressants in exceptional circumstances, however, might prove to be a solution.

People like to believe it works, many convince themselves that it works even if it does not or that there's one particular med they just haven't tried yet which is a perfect match for them, because everyone's different.

Then again, no one here seems to struggle with depression.

[rwwff]

I don't think its fair to say that no one struggles with depression here; the board is full of posts indicating people in a depressive episode. But when you're depressed, you feel bad, and its easier to reach out for help (therapy/docs/hospital).

Manic is life wrecking, and can do it very quickly, and makes you want to avoid help and *DO* things. Fun, terrible, life changing things.

With D, you have time to get help, time to wait it out, time for a hospital to sit on you for a while, and then you can muddle along afterwards hopefully having escaped the depressed episode.

I don't think it is at all irrational to fear mania much more than depression. Even if both are bad and should be treated as doctor and patient might so choose.

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by Guiness187055

xanax then zoloft

Did it help or did it make things worse?

[Wonderfalls]

I though badger care went defunct when they introduced obamacare. My brother was no longer able to get it, which is sad because it was better. Is it an income thing?

[Icare dixit]

Does anyone think their BP could be med-induced? Any other external factors that may have caused it? None of this implies there isn't an underlying problem or that it was avoidable, just what the thing is you've done or experienced, even when it was caused by an underlying problem you were born with, that was the one thing needed to push you over the edge, another condition met. Causation is mostly fiction.

I think mine could be due to an addictive and destructive personality and me (consequently) messing with my circadian clock.

My first symptoms of classic BP happened around age 14. I had recently been violently attacked and worse. I went into a terrified agoraphobia followed by a classic manic episode. I had never been on meds which could have induced it or taken any drugs which could have caused it. Had I not been brutalized, would it never have expressed itself? This is the theory of epigenetics I believe. I just don't know the answer. The perpetrators are certainly responsible for some of my PTSD but BP? I don't know the answer. In my late teens I was given SSRI's and they caused mania....i should have been warned of this risk. Did they not know about it in the 90's? I have strong genetic predispositions towards mental illness but the study of epigenetics makes me wonder if they were always destined to express themselves. I'm over the blame game though, it doesn't help. I just know I have it and need to do my best to manage it I guess.