So, let's pretend your government's medical board approved a new surgical procedure that cures bipolar. It involves removing a portion of your brain. (So I guess lobotomy. lol.) Would you do it?

Let's say it has a 90% success rate (i.e., there's a 10% chance it WON'T work, and you can even die). If all goes well, there will be NO side effects. You will be 100% cured, guaranteed.

As with any brain surgery, there's always the risk of hemorrhage (internal bleeding) and I suppose facial paralysis etc.. And again, death. But to reiterate, there's only a 10% chance that'll happen.

No, I don't think so. It's hard to believe that even any improved lobotomy wouldn't have some negative effects. Also, I think 10% chance of death is way too great. The only time getting a surgery with a 10% chance of death would be OK to me is if not having it brought more than a 10% chance of death. I guess the only other circumstance would be if my bipolar was so severely horrible that no medications eased it at all and I was more often in a state of severely low quality of life (i.e. catatonia, years long psychosis, or the like).

I believe that someday the likelihood of there being a cure (or greatly improved treatment) is high. I think it will more likely be a treatment that does not involve removing part of the brain. It will be far more sophisticated of a treatment than that.

[Nammu]

Nope, not even a 99.9% chance of success.

[Sometimes psychotic]

I suppose I already have....I personally feel it is my antipsychotic that is responsible for a loss of working memory, my working memory IQ is a solid 20 points lower than the rest of my IQ...it sucks but given that I has psychosis that was pretty severe associated with my bipolar I still feel it’s worth it.

No, I wouldn't.

[*Beth*]

I'm with SometimesPsychotic. The massive doses of Thorazine used to be called a "chemical lobotomy" and that makes sense, especially because of the high doses used back then.

I know without a doubt that my intelligence has plummeted after all the years of medication, even though with all the meds I've been on the doses haven't been extraordinarily high.

Anyway. A surgical lobotomy...there are times when I wished for one to stop the depressive rumination/anxiety/delusions. I fairly pleaded with my pdoc in November for ECT. I know that's not a lobotomy, but...yeah, I was desperate.

So to answer your question...there are definitely times when I would, yes. If there were no more med options and I was stuck with a dysphoric manic-depression (mixed) state, yes. I would take that chance. Because living in a hell on earth is not a way to live.

[Sunflower123]

Nope. I’ll just stick with what I have and hope new and improved treatments keep coming out.

[unaluna]

No effing way. They cant even get my eyeglass prescription right.

[scatterbrained04]

Uh...no, I'll pass on that

[tecomsin]

I would need more information in order to make the decision. Would it also solve my mental health problems that aren't only necessarily bipolar. If it would solve all my psychiatric problems, like for instance anxiety and sleep issues, that would be one thing.

It would also depend on what would happen the other 10% of the time. Would I be left a paraplegic for instance? What is the chance of that? What is the chance of other deleterious effects, specifically. Like what is the chance of death or permanent debilitating brain injury?

I would want to ask a lot more questions before i could decide.

I'm with tecomsin on this one. I wouldn't rule it out but I wouldn't agree to it readily.

[~Christina]

Nope nope nope.

But I know some people I wish that they would lol

Originally Posted by tecomsin

I would need more information in order to make the decision. Would it also solve my mental health problems that aren't only necessarily bipolar. If it would solve all my psychiatric problems, like for instance anxiety and sleep issues, that would be one thing.

It would also depend on what would happen the other 10% of the time. Would I be left a paraplegic for instance? What is the chance of that? What is the chance of other deleterious effects, specifically. Like what is the chance of death or permanent debilitating brain injury?

I would want to ask a lot more questions before i could decide.

Let's say the lobotomy did solve your other mental health problems too. Would you do it?

And let's say you do know the chance of paralysis, death, etc.. What is the most risk you would accept? For example, maybe you would accept "6% chance of paralysis, 2% chance of death, 2% brain injury"

[tecomsin]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

Let's say the lobotomy did solve your other mental health problems too. Would you do it?

And let's say you do know the chance of paralysis, death, etc.. What is the most risk you would accept? For example, maybe you would accept "6% chance of paralysis, 2% chance of death, 2% brain injury"

It's tempting. I would be so relieved to be free of bipolar. I see it nowadays as a curse and suffer a lot because of this mental disorder.

But no, I wouldn't accept 6% odds of being paralyzed.

There are a lot of surgeries that have a 2% chance of death associated with them either in the hospital or within 30 days of leaving, but people do it because the alternative is much worse.

[Moose72]

No. Leave my brain intact. I change it enough with meds.

[Wild Coyote]

No!!Way!!!😮

[fern46]

I don't think I would do it. I am pretty open to possibility and new advances, but I would most likely refuse this. The brain is fantastically complex and there is so much more to learn about how the various parts interact. Slicing out a chunk of the brain just seems too risky.

[Unrigged64072835]

Considering a lobotomy means severing connections in the prefrontal cortex, which affects cognitive ability...no thanks, my cognitive abilities have been affected enough with psych meds. I kinda need my brain.

[Wild Coyote]

Have you ever encountered anyone who has had a lobotomy?

I have, on several occasions. I have spent a lot of time with each one. I would never agree to a lobotomy.
I'd rather live with BP, PTSD, anxiety, Chronic Pain Syndrome, Psoriatic Arthritis, and... lots more (cannot list them all here).

Fharraige makes a great point!!! Hi Fharraige!

[Nammu]

There was a pdoc in the early 1900's who believed mental illness could be cured though avoiding bacteria. He pulled people's teeth, took out their intestines and stomach to "cure" them. Lots of them died from the surgery and malnutrition but people and their relatives were desperate and sought this guy out for a "cure"

[~Christina]

Originally Posted by Nammu

There was a pdoc in the early 1900's who believed mental illness could be cured though avoiding bacteria. He pulled people's teeth, took out their intestines and stomach to "cure" them. Lots of them died from the surgery and malnutrition but people and their relatives were desperate and sought this guy out for a "cure"

I remember reading about this years ago. Was fascinating, but terrifying!

[BeyondtheRainbow]

If my pdoc told me that the lobotomy was safe, that she recommended it and that it was my only option to manage my condition I would consider it. I trust that she wouldn't recommend something she didn't truly believe in and she's very careful.