Why do people diagnosed with bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia or whatever take meds then die quickly?

Question

After some research lawyers have sued drug companies for wrongful death and such
I compare it to the equivalent of crack , only differnce is one is lega the othe ris not.

Answer 1

I don't know what area you are from but there have not been a lot of death caused by psych meds. I teach a class about livig with mental illness and I've seen a lot of people who have great results when taking meds as directed.

Can you give the name of the lawyers and the medications being researched? Thanks

Answer 2

I definately think there is a flaw in your theory that people who are diagnosed with bipolar or schizophrenia "or whatever" take meds and die quickly. Where else did you research, besides asking lawyers. You are aware of the reason medical treatment is as expensive as it is these days, right? About how there are LOTS of lawyers willing to convince patients that their doctors are incompetent and that the treatments they are receiving are dangerous, and they should sue those doctors? Yes, there are always risks when taking any kind of meds (even Tylenol), but most meds used for psychiatric problems are not "worse than taking crack cocaine". For certain psychiatric problems, yes, the anti-psychotic drugs given do have higher risks, but you must consider the fact that the people who take those drugs otherwise would be rotting away in some psych ward, labeled a lunatic. Perhaps they feel that being able to get a few decades of a healthy lifestyle is better than living to be eighty years old in a "home", unable to care for yourself, marry, hold a job, or have children. Before these "dangerous meds" were around, the treatment for virtually every psychiatric problem was ten times worse than the meds are now. They got shock therapy. Pretty much every mental illness was treated with shock therapy, which is definately much more dangerous, and not even close to as useful, as the anti-psychotic drugs are today. Did your lawyers tell you that the options, if you choose not to take the anti-psychotic drugs of today, are? You can have a debilitating illness, unable to care for yourself, hold a job, pay your bills, be in a relationship, have children, etc. You can spend most of your life in a home, and I'm telling you, those are not nice places to live in, even the good ones. Or you could be among the VERY small percentage of people who are able to live with their illness and still lead relatively healthy lives. I'd take the meds.

Answer 3

I work with people you described. most medicines are for seizures and other conditions that anyone might have.I have never heard of what you have posted concerning wrongful death. Now as recent as the 70's persons who were bi-polar or mentally handicapped in any way were treated as freaks and were drugged as a means to control them. Thank God we now know better. I dont have enough time to describe the lives they led in institutions. But the healthcare system has drastically improved and I believe that what you are talking about is isolated cases and probably happens less than you think. Yes I will concede that it may happen and probably has happened in the past but doctors just dont prescribe drugs for no reason.

Answer 4

Are you referring to anecdotal evidence or from indirect personal experience?

Neither of the drugs prescribed for bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia can inherently cause someone to die. Unless of course, they overdose. This is hardly the case either because doctors report that most patients stop taking their medication after their symptoms began to diminish, because of the medication.

Answer 5

Care to cite sources?
I'm sure I can find some sources somewhere that will show the percentage of medication-related deaths in bipolar patients; somehow, I doubt it's an overwhelming number.

Answer 6

I believe the medicine is overprescribed...people do not know how to deal with stress of life today...so, they pop a pill...

Or, they feel guilty for not spending enough time with their children...so, when the children act up or are hyper...instead of playing with them...the parents..gives them a ritalin to calm them down...

Answer 7

1.) Wrong section. Take it to Mental Health.

2.) Cite sources. I question the veracity of your claims.

Answer 8

I think you're quite delusional. Maybe YOU need to be on meds. I know plenty of people who take meds for such diseases, and they are still alive and kicking...and they are well past their middle age.

Answer 9

Apparently your research is biased. Care to provide proof?

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