You are lucky.

Most bipolar people can not live fully functional lives with out some sort of medication or psychiatric help, as in seeing a psychiatrist or therapist.

I hope your luck continues !
hugs

It's not always easy and it takes serious work but I too chose to be med free for many reasons.

I hope you continue to be able to journey through this life med free and glad you have found what works for you. Peace

I do hope you are able to handle your illness your way. Unfortunately there are laws that can come into play for those who are a danger off meds......weight gain is horrid and in my opinion a medical danger but the government does not consider it a reason to let a person in an episode stay off meds.

back in 07 I was in the state hospital with a woman seemed very stable to me...........she was court ordered refused her medications. They mandated her to the hospital ....I don't know the entire story as there had to be a big one for it to get that far. But for anyone reading this thread if you want to go this way be aware of your rights and the state and federal laws they CAN and DO court order medications under certain circumstances.

Psychiatric meds are not a choice. *sigh

I honestly don't know why I'm wasting my time here because people like you are uneducated on bipolar with self-serving statements and beliefs who generally don't listen. It sounds like you've made up your mind. There are varying degrees of bipolar. It's a spectrum just so you know.

It is upsetting to me for people like you to come on here and say that all of us with bipolar have a choice.

YOU may have a choice. All people don't. Please quit making blanket statements when you haven't walked in other's shoes. You clearly don't know.

I wouldn't tell you that YOU need to be on meds or not. I'm not a doctor.

And neither are you. Get it?

hi, I'm not sure what point you are making.

Of course psychiatric drugs are a choice unless you are being held down and injected or force fed.

I could choose to throw away my marriage, my job and my family relationships by not taking meds. I know that is the cost because that's what I lost and now have got back after diagnosis and going on meds. So my choice is to take meds. For others the choice might be between physical survival and meds. It's still a choice of course.

If you feel it's the best choice for you then fine - I wish you luck.

But if you are seeking to convert other people to that view that isn't likely to happen.

I've just noticed that a year or so ago you had doubts (with good reason) that you were actually bipolar.

So maybe the reason you do not need bipolar meds yourself is that you are not actually bipolar?

Unless something has happened in the last year to change your mind?

15 - 20 % of people with bipolar die each year. yes you can choose to be unmedicated just like a person with any disease can choose to be unmedicated and hey just hope for the best. medication has been around since time began be it herbal, homeopathic, conventional or whatever route is best for you but to dismiss it all is a bit like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. but that's just me. we have been fighting for long enough to get people to recognise bipolar as an actual disease and not something to 'work through' or 'get over'. the dopamine, noradrenaline and seratonin receptors are not working and need meds to function properly to save lives. research through many years has evidence to back this up. I didn't just pull it out of the air.

For me,there isn't any choice. If I don't take my meds,I get psychotic. I choose not to live life like that because it's more than a little scary.

Walked in.

Heavy Sigh!!!!

Eye roll.

Walked out.

These posts never do well here ds... We've had Scientologists that want to put their questionable nonsense onto mental illness and meds...It's great it works for you... We all do what we need to in order to be well...x

Hi DSF95,

Yes, in the end of the day it is an individual's own decision what they will or won't do. No one can force you to do something you don't want to do. I think doctors work to the best of their knowledge to help patients and do what is best for them, but not all doctors are like that. Some doctors are downright pill pushers and don't care about what the patient is feeling, they only want to be in and out as quick as possible. Hopefully, if you meet a good doctor they will walk you through the positives and negatives of any medication and help explain it to you better and how and when to take it. They should also be closely monitoring you and if it's causing a lot of stress and other negative side effects could hopefully switch you to a different medication that works better for you. I've found that when I have a doctor who is understanding and patient and doesn't increase the pills every time I see her and takes my concerns seriously that I am more likely to stay on the meds than someone who doesn't seem to care at all.

I've been off meds almost entirely for 4 years and I agree that I am doing better off of them then when I was on them. I've heard the same from other friends. Sometimes, especially in younger people, the meds can cause more severe depression and even suicidal impulses (it did for both me and my friend). BUT that being said, at least you know when you need to seek support. I hope you do well and wish you continued success.

@ Bicycle

didn't you also say that you weren't sure you were bipolar as well? That you've been ok since going on the pill? From what you said it seems highly likely you were not bipolar and this was a hormaonal issue misdiagnosed in your teens.

I think if any conclusion can be drawn from this it's that people who probably don't have bipolar are the ones that favour being meds free.

Certainly if I didn't have bipolar I wouldn't take them either.

That's now 3 people I know recently that haven't got bipolar who seem to be advocating not taking meds.

I don't understand dsf, the meds effect your varicose veins?

I think the bottom line is that people need to respect your choices and opinions. If you're not sure whether you're BP or not perhaps seek a second opinion from someone who is not going to label you after 10 minutes (like my PDoc did back in my teens). My PDoc told me as a 17 year old I wouldn't amount to anything because she thought I was BP. She said I would never be able to raise a family or get married or have a stable job because I wasn't stable and that the only way to keep me off the streets and out of jail was to take meds. Then the meds made me feel worse. I think meds are important for most people who are truly BP, but it's most important to have a doctor and/or therapist who can really understand you and try to hold you accountable to the meds and not make the meds sound like a death sentence. Otherwise, you're just going to keep resisting them. ALSO, there's a group on DS called "Other Than Med Bipolar". You may want to check them out. They may have some helpful hints and strategies for you.

I'm sorry that others on this thread can't be more sympathetic and understanding to you. Meds are one answer and an important answer if you are experience episodes, but definitely not the only answer. So check your alternatives. ALSO it's important to eat right, exercise, have good friends, see a counselor/therapist, make time for activities you enjoy, and maybe even see a homopathic doctor. I've heard from a few people that the homopath could help them more than a PDoc did. Though I never saw one myself so I don't really know if that's true or not. Anyways, hope you find the right answer for YOU. As long as you own the decision for yourself, it's important, but I don't think you're saying that everyone needs to follow suit, right? If you aren't saying that everyone with BP should go off of meds, then I think those that feel they have no choice and find the meds working for them should stay on them and let you do whatever it is that you want to do. After all, it's your life, not theirs.

sigh.

The title of the post is "psychiatric drugs can be a choice"

It's not "I chose not to take medication".

It seems as if most people are taking the post as suggesting it's about people with bipolar disorder in genral and not just the original poster - and that's what's getting a reaction.

Maybe it was an unfortunate choice of words and that wasn't what was meant.