The Doctors Get Richer While We Get Sicker
With my very new realization of having bipolar, it has me thinking.
I am 42 and found out a year and a half ago I have bipolar. Throughout my life, I have had 11 surgeries (4 of them C-sections) but the others I believe were due to anxiety stemmed from bipolar.
I can’t even tell you how many times I have been seen by several different doctors and only 1 of them treated me for bipolar. And that was after I was baker acted and admitted to the hospital for attempted suicide. Why?
I slipped through the cracks.
Why is mental illness not recognized by doctors sooner? They had plenty of opportunities to refer out. Admittedly I had one doctor suggest it while she was treating me for severe depression after my complete hysterectomy 7 years ago and I chose to take what she gave instead of researching about me. I was relying on other people to take care of me and finally realized I needed to start taking care of myself and start asking questions. Looking for articles and asking others with the diagnosis of bipolar which is a lifelong disease and very challenging to manage.
Misdiagnosis happens pretty often. In my case, it was well over 30 years. Better late than never if you ask me.
The doctors get richer while we get sicker.
Doctors are paid to refer pharmaceutical drugs.
I have this fire inside me that’s dying to get out. I had to figure me out. Then once I did that I knew I couldn’t be the only one. So I decided to pause and started to reflect on my life. I looked at what I did and when I did it by doing a timeline of my life. I believe I have had bipolar since I was 7. Imagine living your whole life not knowing why you do the things you do and believing everyone else was experiencing the same thing. Pretty overwhelming huh? So what was I to do? I’ve learned that my superpower is writing. I have plenty of things to say. Why not start talking about something that matters? Is it a topic most people with bipolar are a bit timid in sharing they have such a disease? Many people are worried about what others think. I’ve really never had that problem. I have always walked to the beat of my own drum and given my opinion when it wasn’t necessarily wanted. Hindsight is 20/20. Not realizing that giving my opinion was due to impulsiveness which is a part of bipolar. Also realizing that this disease that I have will be with me forever. If I was to continue to take the meds the doctors continued to give me with all the side effects, the side effects alone could kill me. I am going to die at one point another, but I don’t want to die 20 years prior because of this disease like my mommy did.
I use a variety of natural healing modalities to take care of me at this point of my life. Is bipolar more challenging to manage than taking a pill given to you by a doctor? For me, the answer is yes, but I have always loved a challenge. I believe I am worth fighting for. Challenge accepted.
I lost my smile when I was on the medicine combination the doctor prescribed me to take after the diagnosis. I wanted my smile back.
So now that I know I have bipolar I can’t unknow it. I believe it is my duty to share what I’ve learned with others. If I don’t, who will?
#PauseReflectMoveForward
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