my grandmother was bipolar. never officially diagnosed but she spent part of her life in and out of hospitals. i know the symptoms, i live them...and she did too. except she lived in a world of "lock them up, watch them drool and throw away the key." what has changed? not much. doctors & pharma companies still continue to throw pills at us and expect us to take them. with little research. and most importantly no long term research. quite scary. but i take them. oh yes, i take them to stay out of trouble. and i deal with the crap side effects. it seems the difference between today and say, 1960, would be patients are talking. we have support groups. families are beginning to understand. but there is still that stigma.

the insurance companies, pharma companies, doctors and government need to held accountable. sure, there are some trying, but most sit back and count their money. pondering, should i buy the new lexus or the new saab? i will hopefully live to see a real breakthrough. until that day i will continue to do the things i do to live a productive life. i am fortunate for 3 reasons:
a) i can afford insurance
b) i have the support of friends and
c) i'm stubborn enough to not let this beat me. so many aren't.

Kim and Philip,

You guys keep implying that pharma companies and doctors are on the same page, that the two are basically synomonous when it comes to medication.

But is that really how it works? Should doctors and pharma companies really be clumped into the same group?

As I see it, doctors aren't making any more or less money whether they prescribe meds or not. It's not like they write out a prescription and all of a sudden they can get paid another 90 bucks an hour.

With pharma companies it's different: Their profits do actually increase when more meds are dispastched.

So, I understand the ganging up on pharma compnies, but doctors...? Why should MDs start getting yelled at when there is no actual benefit for them when it comes to prescribing medication?

Where am I off?

Gwen- I was 13 when I saw my psychiatrist. I'm 32. I can't recall how many doctors I've seen over the years. But I can recall how many doctors sit back, prescribe and do not listen. I'm paying them...good money, a lot of money. I'm not the patient that goes in for meds and leaves 10 mins later. I'm vocal- I'm completely open and honest. I do my research. This past June I found a new doc, she diagnosed me bipolar. This was no surprise. She prescribed Seroquel-she did warn me "this may raise your blood sugar and you should get your sugar tested regularly." I said- well, this won't work. My maternal grandmother was diabetic, died from the disease. My father is diabetic, I don't feel safe going on this med. I also voiced my concern about the drowsiness the drug leads to- I work, on occasion I must wake up at 4am, etc. I can't afford to lose a job over a med. She convinced me. I was desperate- but she was clearly not listening to me. 4 months later I dropped the Seroquel, I don't need to explain why. I've had a therapist fall asleep on me. I've never once felt comfortable and understood. Not one doctor has been sympathetic with my frustrations regarding switching from med A to med B to med E. Not one. And not only do I expect some form of sympathy- I expect an answer. Why? Why is this still a problem. We should be further along here. We should be doing more research. More long-term research. I've seen docs at the top of their field...There is simply no excuse for this. And please, you can only imagine how much money I've spent over the last 2 decades. Even with insurance. And don't get me started on insurance companies. My sister is an insurance agent. I know their dirty secrets. And back to the MDs, I am not a unique case. I'm a patient who wants to be taken seriously. If I had cancer, diabetes or high blood pressure, etc... believe me, they would have answers to my questions. They would be sympathetic. This is why I strongly believe doctors should also be held accountable.

Kim,

Wow, sounds like you've had it pretty tough. And you're absolutly correct -- doctors should be held accountable. No one has to right to cause others needless suffering. No one. Stay strong!