What is it like to be Schizophrenic?

[Dogmaphobe]

I think my doctor at the time mentioned bipolar 3 - this was 25 years ago, so I'm hazy on the details. He was the one that put on lithium - and, long story short - it caused me to pass out when I was driving, totaled my car but fortunately hit no one.

Lithium can also cause weight gain.

If you are bipolar , could it be that your brother is schizoaffective rather than schizophrenic? Shizoaffective and bipolar are related.

 

[Coyote]

I think my doctor at the time mentioned bipolar 3 - this was 25 years ago, so I'm hazy on the details. He was the one that put on lithium - and, long story short - it caused me to pass out when I was driving, totaled my car but fortunately hit no one.

Lithium can also cause weight gain.

If you are bipolar , could it be that your brother is schizoaffective rather than schizophrenic? Shizoaffective and bipolar are related.

That's interesting...I'm pretty sure he's schizophrenic, he's a pretty classic case. But - I had a friend who was initially diagnosed bi-polar, and then eventually changed to shizoaffective. There must be a lot of overlap or uncertainty in the categories. Unfortunately I lost touch with her - she stopped taking medications, got a lot worse and cut off her friendships.

 

[Mindful]

Meds can be difficult to comply with because many have some pretty big side effects. Bipolar is particularly hard because the manic phase feels so good even though it's ultimately destructive

Just about every psychiatric med suppresses the libido. Always struck me as odd a medicine designed to alleviate symptoms of say depression would take people's one great joy.

It's a wicked trade off - in fact, one of the things my brother complained about.

Other than in life or death type situations, we should refrain from accepting recommendations by conflict-of-interest doctors to take psychiatric meds. While I'm no Scientologist, it's irrefutable that there's a huge conflict-of-interest in the psychiatric profession proscribing drugs without an empirical way of determining what's wrong with the patient. Without the drug Rx's a psychiatrist wont make any money. Would just end up being a psychologist (who can't proscribe meds unless also certified to do so.) But in a lot of the cases people just need counselling, not mind-altering medication.

Whole prescription methodology is based on whatever the patient tells the psychiatrist. But if the patient doesn't have the terminology to accurately relate their thoughts and feelings the psychaitrist can get an inaccurate picture of what's going on. Then they proscribe whatever the drug reps are pushing off on them int he hopes that a desireable result takes hold. But because they don't know for sure what the patient's problem is, they often proscribe the wrong drug, in the wrong dosage and the patient not noticing improvement stops taking them, stops going to the psychiatrist, or their actual problem gets worse.

The US is the most over-proscribed nation in the developed world. Don't see anything close in Europe countries where psychiatry is handled very differently. And when it seems just about every mass shooter "has mental problems" I think it's about time we face facts and quit defaulting to trusting US psychiatrists.

Ya great advice, lets ignore the doctors cause we are paranoid.

US psychiatrists, not doctors in general. European psychiatry doesn't push meds as its' default solution.

You made a good point: the patient telling the doctor how he or she feels, within the limits of their descriptive eloquence, resulting in an inaccurate diagnosis.

But from my point of view, being English, whenever I'm Stateside, I'm fascinated by the TV advertising for meds. (Don't have that sort of advertising in Europe) The list of side effects goes on for ages, and would put me off taking even aspirin. As for those Viagra ads. He'll do the housework, go sailing, walks on the beach. Smiling. Wonderful.

Don't know how I ended up in here, I was looking for somewhere to put history of the gym and homosexual connotations, originating in Ancient Greece.