Yep my first diagnosis was 2004 and from that point I was on the conveyor belt, the lab rat, the guinea pig - exactly as you say. It’s really quite awful to think about teenagers who labelled themselves as guinea pigs. I’m a writer and it’s quite confronting to go over my teenage poetry and stories and realize how young I was and already describing myself as a science experiment, lab rat etc.
Seroquel is horrible. I am obviously biased, I am glad if it has helped anyone reading. Everyone I knew on it put on at minimum 20kgs. Imo, it’s one that deserves a huge expose and discussion like adderal (or equivalent, we actually don’t have adderal here!) has.
I think, in my experience, young males were labeled as ADHD and/ or just “bad” kids whereas young females were depressed/anxious/bipolar and a little later borderline personality disorder and/or just “bad” kids. (Can I ask if your experience fit this?)
So the misdiagnoses go wide sadly and whilst medication absolutely has its place I do think it’s often too quickly prescribed. I think it should be the last resort, not the first! The shitty thing is that it’s also seen as part of the process so, as far as I know, there’s very little recourse to take around misdiagnosis for these kinds of conditions. Did you get any “justice” yourself?
My heart aches for us all honestly, who were diagnosed so young with any medical condition wrongly that has had long term effects. We deserved better and it’s one of the reasons I advocate for the next generation to receive the support (not just diagnosis or medication) that will give them the best chance at a fulfilling life. I work in disability, sorry this is long, I’m passionate about these discussions! Take care of yourself!
My experience definitely matches what you saw. I actually got expelled from a fancy private school because once they put me on ritalin at 7 years old, I started getting in fights, and they used that to attempt to paint me as the next Columbine shooter. That was what set off the whole cascade of antidepressants and antipsychotics that followed. Of course, nobody ever considered the idea that giving speed to a 7-year-old might have undesirable side effects, so they just kept acting like I was inherently a violent person (which I’m not). My parents still occasionally act like I’m a murderous psychopath to this day, even though the last time I ever got in a fight was 20 years ago and it was in self-defense.
Unfortunately, I never got justice. That shrink is still practicing, and from time to time I consider setting up an appointment to rub it in his face that I managed to do all the things he said I’d never be able to do. It’s not going to accomplish anything meaningful, though, so I always talk myself out of it.
Yep my first diagnosis was 2004 and from that point I was on the conveyor belt, the lab rat, the guinea pig - exactly as you say. It’s really quite awful to think about teenagers who labelled themselves as guinea pigs. I’m a writer and it’s quite confronting to go over my teenage poetry and stories and realize how young I was and already describing myself as a science experiment, lab rat etc.
Seroquel is horrible. I am obviously biased, I am glad if it has helped anyone reading. Everyone I knew on it put on at minimum 20kgs. Imo, it’s one that deserves a huge expose and discussion like adderal (or equivalent, we actually don’t have adderal here!) has.
I think, in my experience, young males were labeled as ADHD and/ or just “bad” kids whereas young females were depressed/anxious/bipolar and a little later borderline personality disorder and/or just “bad” kids. (Can I ask if your experience fit this?)
So the misdiagnoses go wide sadly and whilst medication absolutely has its place I do think it’s often too quickly prescribed. I think it should be the last resort, not the first! The shitty thing is that it’s also seen as part of the process so, as far as I know, there’s very little recourse to take around misdiagnosis for these kinds of conditions. Did you get any “justice” yourself?
My heart aches for us all honestly, who were diagnosed so young with any medical condition wrongly that has had long term effects. We deserved better and it’s one of the reasons I advocate for the next generation to receive the support (not just diagnosis or medication) that will give them the best chance at a fulfilling life. I work in disability, sorry this is long, I’m passionate about these discussions! Take care of yourself!
My experience definitely matches what you saw. I actually got expelled from a fancy private school because once they put me on ritalin at 7 years old, I started getting in fights, and they used that to attempt to paint me as the next Columbine shooter. That was what set off the whole cascade of antidepressants and antipsychotics that followed. Of course, nobody ever considered the idea that giving speed to a 7-year-old might have undesirable side effects, so they just kept acting like I was inherently a violent person (which I’m not). My parents still occasionally act like I’m a murderous psychopath to this day, even though the last time I ever got in a fight was 20 years ago and it was in self-defense.
Unfortunately, I never got justice. That shrink is still practicing, and from time to time I consider setting up an appointment to rub it in his face that I managed to do all the things he said I’d never be able to do. It’s not going to accomplish anything meaningful, though, so I always talk myself out of it.