I was discriminated against for having bipolar, what should I do?

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- According to this, http://www.mentalhealthcare.org.uk/media/downloads/accident_and_emergency.pdf Researchers think health professionals sometimes erroneously assume that an individual’s mental health problem is responsible for their physical complaints – that professionals misinterpret some of the physical symptoms as symptoms of the mental illness. Researchers call this ‘diagnostic overshadowing’, you
Doctors and nurses said it could be difficult to find out about physical symptoms and take
a medical history if someone found it hard to communicate or relay information because of their mental health problem or the side effects of medication. Taking a history and pinpointing the real problem was easier if a relative or friend came to casualty with them.

Yes doctors & nurses in A&E haven't been trained to deal with mental health problems, & generally understand little about them they are there to diagnose physical health problems as quickly as possible , I know how you feel, feeling the like the mad one who the doctors won't listen too, I've had problems with my bladder & kidney for a while now it took me almost 10 visits to doctors & even A&E to get treated because every time I went and saw I'd had previous depression & ocd on medical files they would say "ooo it must be stress" when you stop worrying it will go away. Hopefully some sort of mental health training will be made mandatory for all doctors & nurses, considering a large proportion of those in hospital are elderly & 1in5 people over 80 have dementia and 1in3 over the age of 90, the number of times I've seen a dementia patient falling out of bed, being ignored, crying etc it's shocking really,
I don't think you should complain too much most likely he hasn't had much training into how to handle mental health sensitively he perhaps wanted to calm you down so used the saline as a kinda placebo although he should have told you & not your mum, I don't think your treatment was meant maliciously just a lot of doctors generally don't know. Maybe you could talk to PALS and raise your concerns this is a big problem in the mental health world & we need more people standing up & raising awareness, a lot of people in a mental health crisis end up in A&E and how they are treated there can affect treatment.

Also I'd like to point out your meds don't sound correct are you seeing a psychiatrist & mental health team? Generally Bipolar is treated using mood stabilisers (Lithium Carbonate, Anti Psychotics etc) & not just standard anti-depressants.

Reply 81

Tyrion_Lannister

Original post by Geena-

Sorry to bump, but if you have Bipolar (any type) you should not be taking Citalopram, its an anti-depressant not an antipsychotic and only makes the condition worse. You need to double check with your doctor your diagnosis because no doctor with any kind of sense would prescribe Citalopram to a Bipolar.

Certain people with bipolar can be fine on just antidepressants - it depends on the individual.

Reply 82

Geena-

Original post by Tyrion_Lannister

Certain people with bipolar can be fine on just antidepressants - it depends on the individual.

Not what every medical journal on the topic I've read says, anti-depressants (SSRI's and SNRI's) trigger hypomania. You wouldn't take just an antidepressant alone, you'd need to take a mood-stabilizing drug as well, such as Lithium or Lamictal, but even then that's risky in itself. Citaloprams main use is for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, so if that's what you're taking and you're Bipolar as you say, that's not going to help you at all in the long run. Not trying to be patronising, but I have a v close friend with Bipolar Disorder so I've been with her to all her counselling sessions/doctor sessions etc and spoke with multiple professionals on the issue.

Reply 83

Tyrion_Lannister

Original post by Geena-

Actually it only triggers hypo mania in a small percentage of patients. It's just riskier so most doctors don't like to try it. I'm bipolar 2 and have more issues with depression than mania hence I've been okay on this

There's no way Id take lithium, I know it helps some people but I don't want anything that makes me feel like a zombie

Reply 84

Geena-

Original post by Tyrion_Lannister

I must have mistaken you with somebody else, thought it was you posting in a thread moaning about being constantly hypermanic, my baaaad.

Reply 85

Tyrion_Lannister

Original post by Geena-

I must have mistaken you with somebody else, thought it was you posting in a thread moaning about being constantly hypermanic, my baaaad.

Ah no that wasn't me :tongue:

I don't get hypomanic very often, it's mainly depressive episodes.

Reply 86

Frank the Tankk

I hope you don't go through with this complaint. Yea, he broke confidentiality by phoning your mother but that's it. He definitely didn't discriminate against you as administering placebos is much more common than you'd think (In fact, a study shown 97% of Doctors have admitted to giving placebos). Perhaps it's not moral in some cases, but it made you feel better.

Reply 87

JC.

Original post by Tyrion_Lannister

1) He lied to me about what drugs he gave me

2) He breached my confidentiality, and consent

3) He assumed because I had bipolar, I was some sort of idiot

4) He didn't treat a panic attack appropriately

So yeah he did do something wrong