Eyes wide open

I'm a simple person, extroverted and easygoing.  Usually. 

I have a few simple rules:
1.  Don't mess with me or my husband.
2.  Don't mess with my cats.
3.  Don't mess with my house or business. 
4.  Don't mess with my medication. 

Some people feel perfectly entitled to attack "big pharma" everytime they are feeling "small".  The companies are evil, they say.  The medications ineffective and toxic.  A far better "natural" remedy can be found....

You know why that makes me so angry?  Because I believed it for quite a while.  I really believed that the pharmaceutical company had "nothing" to offer me for my as-yet-unknown condition.  A "natural" supplement would be far better.  I spent hard-earned money on very expensive supplements, egged on by vitamin salesmen who broke every law on the books (The FDA says a vitamin or supplement cannot claim to "diagnose, cure, prevent, or treat", yet the salesmen told me it would do everything).  I got worse; and I gave up hope of any remedy.  I became suicidal. 

Suddenly, one fine day, I decided to ask for a prescription.  A few months later I'm set up with the prescriptions I needed: an antidepressant, an antipsychotic, and, praise God, a mood stabilizer.  Not only did they save my life, they gave me a quality of life I thought I'd never have.  I need my medication more than I need air; and they are not addictive. 

Fast forward several years: still sane after all these years.  Better than ever.  I've had a few changes on my lineup but my "team" is fantastic. 

Yes, I have side effects.  Yes, these are serious drugs.  Yes, they can cause serious problems.  Do I care?  No.  I walked into this eyes wide open; even if they kill me tomorrow I still had 8 years I never had before, and a far better quality than the rest of my life combined. 

My doctor says I'm set apart; in part because I take the medication as directed, in part because I continue to take it.  I'm only sane as long as I'm shoving pills in my mouth. 

The minute I stop this, I'm dead.  My illness is that bad. 

No one goes on like this about diabetes medication (which has a horrible track record, some of it).  No one goes on like this about heart medication, or anti-seizure drugs.  No one goes on like this about antibiotics, which kill thousands every year.  Because, after all, everyone knows you need them. 

Picking on mental illness drugs is just a cutaround way of picking on the mentally ill.