Am I bipolar?

My history has concluded that I am, although with a lot of counseling and now being off the meds for more than 5 months, I am wondering if I really am bipolar. How can I find out? I HATE taking meds. I am now exercising and eating well and feel that my moods are more stable than before.

How should I tell my psych that I am not taking my meds and what to get off?

How do I know what the best thing to do for myself is??

as there is no known cause for bipolar so it will be impossible to find out if you really have it.

regarding telling your doctor you've stopped taking meds.

why not just stop seeing this psychiatrist?

take a different approach, find someone to talk to outside the feild of psychiatry. do some research.

if you live in the US try this organisation, tell them your story and ask if there is any ethical or alternative therapists in your area?

MindFreedom Support Coalition International
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If I were you.Compare how you are with the Meds v Healthy lifestyle.Just tell the Psych you want to try an alternative approach
.I've never believed that Labels are a good thing,because I believe they make people out to be worse than they actually are.
I'm not saying they cannot be serious conditions,but once they label you with something like Bi-Polar,Depressed or Schizophrenic etc it seems like you have it forever and can be detremental to you making a full recovery and being "normal" again

One other thing.If you are going to withdraw from Meds after long term use,never go cold Turkey do it gradually by tapering down the dose,preferable with medical assistance.Your general Doc should help.Be wary of Psychiatrists who want you to remain on drugs
indefinately

Tha Evil Psychiatrist wrote:If you are going to withdraw from Meds after long term use,never go cold Turkey do it gradually by tapering down the dose,preferable with medical assistance.

I believe it is impossible to withdraw from Risperdal if you have taken a high dose(4mg) of it for about 18 months. I was on it for only 2.5 months and I feel something is damage. It has been 6 month now but hasn't gone away. I was wondering if I can SUE my psychiatrist. He told me it was safe taking it.

i'm going to move this to the bipolar thread, i think you will get more responses that way ...

Anonymous wrote:as there is no known cause for bipolar so it will be impossible to find out if you really have it.

regarding telling your doctor you've stopped taking meds.

why not just stop seeing this psychiatrist?

take a different approach, find someone to talk to outside the feild of psychiatry. do some research.

if you live in the US try this organisation, tell them your story and ask if there is any ethical or alternative therapists in your area?

MindFreedom Support Coalition International
*edit*

*edit*

bjorkbabe, it seems my post was edited, type mindfreedom into google and click on the contact page.

SUEHISASS wrote:

Tha Evil Psychiatrist wrote:If you are going to withdraw from Meds after long term use,never go cold Turkey do it gradually by tapering down the dose,preferable with medical assistance.

I believe it is impossible to withdraw from Risperdal if you have taken a high dose(4mg) of it for about 18 months. I was on it for only 2.5 months and I feel something is damage. It has been 6 month now but hasn't gone away. I was wondering if I can SUE my psychiatrist. He told me it was safe taking it.

http://www.monheit.com/risperdal/you_do.asp

http://www.sddefenselawyers.com/risperdal/

http://www.sddefenselawyers.com/risperdal/news.php

SUEHISASS wrote:

Tha Evil Psychiatrist wrote:If you are going to withdraw from Meds after long term use,never go cold Turkey do it gradually by tapering down the dose,preferable with medical assistance.

I believe it is impossible to withdraw from Risperdal if you have taken a high dose(4mg) of it for about 18 months. I was on it for only 2.5 months and I feel something is damage. It has been 6 month now but hasn't gone away. I was wondering if I can SUE my psychiatrist. He told me it was safe taking it.

It can be possible to withdraw from any medication too fast, especially psychotroipics; even if you weren't on it long. If you believe that you have had damage from this drug, see a Neurologist or get a different perspective from a new Psychiatrist.

It could be possible that this "damage" you feel is actually a long lasting affect caused by stopping, or an affect from a symptom of a difficulty. But again, I'd get more opinions before taking any actions like suing or trying a different medication.

Panic

SUEHISASS I

believe it is impossible to withdraw from Risperdal if you have taken a high dose(4mg) of it for about 18 months.

If you don't mind me asking.Why were you given it.If it is not severe Psychosis they should not be giving it.

I was given the crap for Insomnia
Now,on my last visit.I have said I can no longer trust you.
Not only are their patient skills appauling,they have been trying to give the wrong drugs.
I've been looking on this site for my reletaed problem.Moderate Agoraphobia and Anxiety.
It says Benzos are the best drugs for this condition.SSRi's can make Anxiety worse and if you have been prescribed Anti-Psychotics go and see another Psychiatrist.
They are prescribing anti-psychotics and ssri's.I'll print it out and stick it in their faces next time