I will agree with that fact.. When a shrink prescribes me 800mgs of Seroquel a day amoung other other crap. Then you finally at the influence of a good friend (thank you Philip, I a forever going to listen to your tough love advice) goes and see's another shrink who changes your life with the right medication finds reality. It is truly beautiful.

Don't you guy's just thank the universe there are people out there like Philip for us?

Yes! I do! I LOVE Philip! He's SUCH a great friend! (Though for some odd reason, he hasn't been writing me back, which is just a touch annoying...)

Anyway, about patients taking their meds, I agree that 30 to 50 percent is WAY too low. That needs to change.

But just to consider another part of the equation, when it comes to other drugs for other medical disorders, isn't there also that not-working-all-of-the-time aspect? Isn't there also that side effect issue? Isn't it true that when someone has something like cancer or AIDS, there unfortunatley isn't a cure-all?

I don't know. It just seems like there is just a touch too much cynisism here. I mean, to put down people like Torey, who, JUST LIKE PHILIP, has decidated his whole life to helping people with mental illness... I don't know. Doesn't that seem a little harsh?

But then again, if people like us don't advicate for better treamtment, who will?

I start college in just a week!!! I move into the dorms in just five days!!! I've never lived on my own before. And I'm taking honors classes, and I'm afraid I'm not going to be the smartest one in the class... But I'm sure Mr. Dawdy over here has always been the smartest one in his freakin classes ;-) What did you say? You had a 3.96 average in all the classes you ever took in college? Yeah, well, if I don't fail, that'll be an accomplishment for me!!! I got really lousy grades at community college. But I know I'm capable cause I graduated valdictorian from my 8th grade class, plus I've done good on standerized tests... Anyway, I'll probably be rambling about this a lot...

I am bipolar and have not taken medicine since November 2005. The reason being is that I tried two that has made my hair fall out, given me sever IBS, and made me just sick to my stomach.

I also don't take the meds right now becaues I am in denial of what I have. I cannot seem to accept it and I am trying real hard to educate myself and come to terms with it. Its hard and a long road

I just emailed under "Betty Boop" I am now "Dream Writer" and you can easily find my blog by Dream Writer. Thanks.

betty boop-
IBS is awful, that alone has kept me off certain meds, and the ones the docs say treat it are guess what? antidepressants! yep. Life gets tricky regarding this category. Don't be too hard on yourself, remember you are not alone.

Gwen-
good luck in college, remember everyone walks with a degree (or high school diploma)no matter how high the GPA. You can be a 3.8, a 4.0 or a 2.5 and walk out with a Degree, and when you apply for a job, that Degree is the same piece of paper that the 4.0 next to you has on their wall. I hope to hear many "rambles" from you--per college excitement! I myself ramble too much, so with me, you always have a listening (or reading)ear. :)

Philip- I'm forever grateful for the support regarding my life in the last 7 months.Thank You.

Thanks, Stephany! How's your daughter doing?

I would really like to know more about this Torrey guy. Is he just another guy with a bunch of letters after his last name or does he have some REAL-LIFE experience with mental illness. Has he watched a loved one struggle, deal with the system and dedicate their life to their loved one, like Stephany.

Or has he suffered from a mental illness and worked on their issue only to get discriminated by society like Philip and I.

Or is he the guy who studies, makes observations and conclusions based upon after the fact and controlled environment evaluations?

Does anyone know enough about his background to answer these questions? I do not like to make snap judgements about people before I know all the facts but I do not like supposed 'experts' making statements unless they have been exposed to 'real life' situations. And I am not talking just in a hospital setting where drugs are readily avaliable.

Everyone here who has lived through this knows there are not enough letters in the alphabet (to put after our names) that can replace what we learn through the reality of our unique situations.

I heard from my shrink that anti-depressants are the worse medication bipolars can take. Why would someone put you on that? But then again, this is why I am having such a hard time accepting this illness because so much of what I read and what people tell me tend to contradict eachother.

I was on Depakote and Geodon. Awful!

Hi Angie,

Torrey has a sister with schizophrenia. Just like me and you and Philip and Stephany, he has personally dealt with the harshness of mental illness.

And thanks for bringing this up, Angie. I think it's important to note that just becuase someone has a bunch of letters after his or her name, that does not mean that he or she is removed or distanced from what is being advocated. It's really true. And my personal opinion about Torrey, is yes, he may be linked to a sketchy orginization, or yes, he may be coming up with theories that don't quite sound right, or anything else -- but that certainly does not make him evil or a bad person or unsincere. People make mistakes, and no one can please everyone. Torrey, in my opinion, is just like you and me in that he's trying to make the world a better place for those who suffer with mental illness.

And that's a beautiful thing.

Re:Torrey. He believes with passion, that his sister is schizophrenia from being exposed to the family cat.

His goal:

To make sure that anyone with bipolar or schizophrenia (he used the words in tandem when I saw him speak in Seattle)are medicated.
Why does he want mentally ill people medicated? you can see the media hype on his TAC site.

He wants a law passed, that basically wants us all medicated for FEAR we *could* *become* *an unmedicated danger to society*.

So, he speaks and has written countless books, deeming him per NAMI-Seattle's intro as a sought after special speaker. He has dedicated his life to this topic, that is for sure, and a side issue to what he wants in the end:

FORCED MEDICATION LAWS.
Knock,knock, it's the morning med team at your door making sure you pop the pills as to not become a danger to society.
That is Torrey's platform, built on the back "helping" with research.

He blended in quite nicely, in his speech, how Haldol is an anti-viral medication. I say nicely, for his benefit...basically it backs up his cat poop theory as well as keeps the public on a pretty nice antipsychotic (in his mind).

Making the world a better place would be to completely remove stigma producing media hype from the TAC pages.

Making thw world a better place would not to try and stomp on my rights as a human being to choose to take medication.

Dream Writer-
I was placed on antidepressants from the general pracitioner, though I've "educated" him over the years, he recently offered me another one.
I told him NO. They don't get it.
Prozac nearly killed me.
Regarding Depakote and Geodon:
Popular meds w/docs.
Geodon made one of my daughter's eyes so blurry she couldn't see.
Depakote left another daughter with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, confirmed by a specialist.

It is important to forge ahead with medication, though, if needed.

There will always be a side effect or anecdotal story that can scare us away from the medication.

What is imperative to understand, is that not all meds work for one person. That is the problem with psychiatric medications. What works for one can make another manic, or suicidal, etc.

Once on a medication, it's so important to chart how you feel on each dosage. It's the only way to see a pattern of good or bad response to the med.

Sometimes a tweak here or there of a dose can help adjust a med that was giving problems, etc.

3x5 cards work great for med watching.

Good luck, not only are you not alone, but in good company.

Well, we could look at medication side effects as a diversion to feeling crappy mentally.

Think about it, when we have diarhrea, headaches, shakes, blurry vision, nightmares, well, who can think about anything else.

I have to say I am not really being sarcastic here.

on that note, I like to look at it as the glass half or 30% full though. As negative or sarcastic as I may sound sometimes, I am the eternal optimist. That helps.