Psychiatrists are actually way down the list when it comes to pay for medical specialists. Also one would be extremely naive to believe that there is not substantial money to be made from pushing anti mainstream alternatives.
Iâm not making money from it. Maybe I should leave this site as people would rather ignore the facts than debate their worthinessâŚ
There are many that do though.
Donât leave. Some people see where you coming from. Give it a little time and you might get some more posts you might favor.
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I was going âNutsâ on just a lower dose of Risperdal - because I suffer from bipolar type 1 with psychotic features, I start going bonkers even if my mood shifts into mania - depression or a mixed episode.
Antipsychotics are effective for bipolar as well as schizophrenia - yeah I need the drugs, without them I would go ape â â â â batty - my moods would be everywhere and then I would be out of touch.
I texted my brother and his wife, my sister in law a text from Hell - it took me a while to write it out.
It was full of rage and insults - I wrote it out at 4 am and sent it to him during this time.
I still have no real clue as to why I was that angry - I cannot wait to switch to another antipsychotic - I will be on a therapeutic dose of the new med
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I love my meds and they keep me safe from the harm and terror of being sick with schizophrenia. I will always take my meds and be med compliant, no matter who is getting rich for no reason. I know what works for me and thatâs medsâŚ
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Iâm not against medication. Iâm against the lie that justifies it as the first thing for someone to reach for. If people understood that, like cancer, there are more possibilities it would just make me happier if more people were open-minded.
Medication is used so readily as a first measure, pills for every ills they say! Well, look at the open dialogue model in Western Lapland in Finland. They use a therapy first method, only 35% of people struggling with schizophrenia are on psychotropic medication. They are extremely successful with this treatment process, there is a documentary on youtube about this, and it goes more in depth about their methods.
Peter Breggin worked at a psych ward when he was 18, and worked with patients who were deemed âseverely mentally illâ and had a poor prognosis. He listened to what the patients had to say, offered advice, showed compassion, taught coping skills, etc. and according to him, all of them were discharged, and only a small percentage of them returned back to the ward.
Overall, when it comes to mental illness, therapy should be used first. There should be more somatic testing to rule out any physical abnormalities. Diagnoses shouldnât be made at the first appointment. And medication should be used as a last resort. When becoming stable, the dose should be lowered. If symptoms become more intense, return to the higher dosage obviously. Donât do polypharmacy of the same class. If the patient wants to get off the medication, taper off the dose with enough time between lowering the dose.
Iâm not a professional, but this should be common sense!
I read a blog where on the main page is the quote from the writer (Whoâs a psychiatrist):
If you want to get better, take a pill. If you want to get it right, face the truth.
Hey, if medication works for you, then great! But psychiatrists have to realize that they donât work for everyone, and they have to stop pushing the meds on people who are treatment resistant and donât respond to anything. Thank you for not giving up on me doc, but youâre being a bit pushy, and I think youâre on a power trip. Can you perhaps suggest some supplements, or other alternative treatments to see if that will help? Thank you doc.
Okay, enough ranting. Thanks for reading, take care!
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Your post has made me think.
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From your site:
âMy name is Kia and I somehow âknow thingsâ
I donât know where the information disclosed to me come from. I have absolutely no idea. But they somehow make sense and I thought I have to share them with everyone.â
I donât think youâre as cured as you think you are. You sound like youâre about to come down from the mountain waving stone tablets.
Do you? (Also from your siteâŚ)
It shouldnât matter that much, but I found out a few days ago that my official diagnosis is now Bipolar and ADHD. It matters to me because I think the label of schizophrenia brings stigma to those who carry it.
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Agreed. This is not science.
I think we should leave treating schizophrenia to medical doctors. I mean really.
I used to âknow thingsâ that I had to share with people. Then my psychiatrist helped get me stable on meds. I totally donât miss frothing at the mouth about aliens.
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I think as supposedly intelligent individuals we should avoid jumping to any solid conclusions as to its therapeutic worth based on the limited available evidence.
This of course implies there needs to be further testing to properly assess how good it is , and whether it helps psychosis across the board or a limited subset of those with psychosis.
If the latter it would still be a useful alternative but there would be the issue of fine tuning who might actually benefit from the approach
What one may want in terms of treatment doesnât necessarily gel with what actually helps one.
Perhaps alternative approaches should be more readily available for those who want to try them. If they work fine but if they donât then no more fighting and ranting against a more mainstream approach, which optimally will include medication and therapy.
The issue of what to do for/with those who respond neither to medication or therapy is a pertinent one. Perhaps a psychiatric form of palliative care with treatment only being applied when the individual is at direct risk to self or others.
This of course would necessitate better social care protocols.
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Without scientific basis, the diagnosis can be faked as seen in the Thud Experiment. If it can be faked, it means it can be abused by those in âAuthorityâ any time they want to indulge whatever motive they have. Itâs mostly for $$$ and control.
I like the idea of Open Dialogue. Itâs not tyrannical and it seems centered on the true well-being of the patients rather than the pockets of those who earn from these drugs.
Regarding the meds working for some, If youâve taken them long enough, the situation gets reversed. You became asymptomatic on meds and symptomatic off them (due to withdrawal effects and drug-induced brain damage which Psychiatrists call relapse - how convenient!) - good for the drug-makers and psychiatrists, bad for you IMHO.
Iâm not anti-psychiatry as well. I just see a big room for reform in the mental health sysmtem in the US and in my country.
Iâve experienced my own hell on these drugs, and medicating these children the same is just plain wrong.
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Very controversial and pertinent debate here.
I have wondered much of the same thoughts, and have struggled for the answers.
It seems psychiatry is a little bit about subjugation and a little bit of care.
a bit from both camps.
sigh, how do u have confidence when your mind is consumed with madness in a mad world that is fast becoming frought with chaos and fear.
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I think people should be given access to the treatment they initially prefer but accept changing tack if it doesnât work.
No one size fits all approach will work for everyone especially as schizophrenia is probably a umbrella term for a group of similar but different disorders.
There needs to be more choice and flexibility in terms of treatment but this is not what many opposed to mainstream psychiatry want. Instead they want to swap one highly dominant ,almost exclusive, approach for another highly dominant,almost exclusive,approach.
Ultimately what should matter is what helps at an individual level whilst ideally being the treatment approach that the individual feels most comfortable with.
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If I had to use a single word to describe the role of psychiatric medicine in my life it would be this: Empowering.
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For me, it would be My choice.
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DUDE that wasnât even my post on my blog. If you actually followed the link it was for another person with schizophreniaâs blog who I quoted and posted because I thought her blog was interesting. So youâre judging someone elseâs words because you find them suitable. http://somethoughts-1071.rhcloud.com/
My name isnât Kia.
And I have schizoaffective which is both Bipolar and Schizophrenia, but when my intake person wrote it down she said it was Bipolar and Adhd. The NEXT appointment the doctor said I had schizoaffective. SO WHICH is it? I donât even know myself thanks!
Thanks for taking EVERYTHING out of context.