These sorts of medicines generally are hell to withdraw from. He won’t be able to conceal them in basic, and he won’t be able to take them in secret. Either he’ll have to withdraw from the drug before going into basic, or he’ll have them confiscated when he arrives. When he goes into withdrawal (and he WILL), then he’ll be taken to the doctor, who will figure it out fairly quickly.
Even if medicated, a person with bipolar disease is just not as mentally stable as someone who doesn’t have that disease. And the armed forces need the fittest people to serve.
Back when my husband was in the Air Force, I couldn’t always get the medicines I needed from the base pharmacy, either because the base commander didn’t think that they were worth carrying or because of supply problems. Someone with bipolar disease can’t count on getting his medicine on time, every time, which is an excellent reason why he shouldn’t be in the service.
Are you a bi bolar? I really see your point if he can’t get his medicine that would be bad if he was abroud somewhere that could compromise him and his fellow soldier that depend on him. I just hate when someone can’t do what he really wants because of a condition beyond his control(like bipolar) but the welfare of his fellow soldiers that depend on him is totally important.
Seroquel is used as treatment for both Bipolar I and Bipolar II. Cite. It has been approved by the FDA for this purpose. Another cite.
Sorry, it just rankles my pedantic self when someone sees the word “antipsychotic” and automatically thinks, “schizophrenia.” I mean, I know the association’s there, but if you can google it and see “antipsychotic,” you can scroll down a little bit.
Ahem. Sorry. Pet peeve having been addressed, let’s go forward.
Mildest Bill, you say he hasn’t been to a doctor to be diagnosed bipolar; does he even have a prescription for that medication? If he doesn’t, why on earth is he taking it? If he does, what condition was he diagnosed with that they gave him Seroquel?
Assuming what you’ve said is accurate, and he hasn’t been to a doctor at all. … Seroquel can be abused; if he has it without a prescription, I can’t imagine he’d look good if he got caught with it. And, more importantly, if he doesn’t have a prescription, what in the heck is he doing taking brain candy? Seroquel isn’t an instant, risk-free happy pill; it can have some pretty heavy-duty side effects. Hell; it could be making him worse. Playing merry havok with brain chemistry is complicated enough when the professionals do it…
In other words, forget the military for right now. Get the kid to an actual doctor. And, really, that’s the mild version; my full answer would require an old-school Pit-style list of profane admonitions ;).
LOL and probably I would deserve those admonitions. He is a good kid but after knowing a bipolar for many years(my father and his sister heck even me to a point but I just get the depressions) I am almost 90% sure he is. He fits all the symptoms. The high sex drive, self medicating with drugs and alcohol, manic thoughts, need for little sleep, etc. He fits them all. Plus he pretty much wore out his welcome with all the family so he was fixing to be homeless so I got him a place to live only after he started the meds my sister gave him.
I know he should go to doctor but he keeps telling me he wants to go in the seal program or the navy in general so he can’t take it. I thought it would be better for him to take some his mom had then to be as whacky as he was. Its funny when they take them they like wake to reality and it freaks them out to seeing what a mess of their life they made.
With all the other drugs he tried I thought this one would be the best for him. But he really needs to see a professional instead of just someone like me with alot of laymans experience in it I agree.
No. The last thing a bipolar person can handle is a combination of being yelled at by a drill sergeant and access to firearms. Regardless if it’s medicated or not.
I’m being curt but way more polite than I would be if someone asked me this in real life. Because your actual question is something like, “Can a kid who isn’t quite sane be trusted with the lives of his fellow troops and random civilians when provided with heavy weaponry?” And the answer, again, is NO.
Weird. I was literally just looking up Seroquel for class…
According to my drug book (2010 Nursing Spectrum Drug Handbook), Seroquel may show up on a drug test if they’re including a tricyclic antidepressant screen. While it’s not *itself *a tricyclic antidepressant,
Now, I have no idea if the various branches of the military screen for tricyclic antidepressants, but they’re sometimes included in multi-panel urine screens (“pee tests”), so it’s entirely possible and noninvasive. He’s unlikely to know they’re looking for it until the test comes back (false) positive for tricyclic antidepressants and he’s got to explain himself.
You keep reiterating his desire to be in the SEAL Teams based upon his aggressiveness and physical conditioning, but realize that the selection process for SEAL, DEVGRU, and SWCC involved a large amount of psychological stress testing. The athleticism and physical endurance is important (although the entry standards for BUD/S are by no means world class) but the main purpose of INDOC is to place the candidate under extremes of psychological stress and stamina under a team environment to wash out anyone who can’t endure the near-abuse and constant stress without cracking. Other SpecFor selection courses, like the vaunted “Q” course for the Army’s 1 SOFD-D, have similar objectives. This is highly stressful for the most emotionally balanced person; it would be a disaster for an unmedicated bipolar sufferer. This just isn’t a realistic goal for 99.9% of the population, much less for someone with a significant mental illness.
Listen I agree with all ya’ll about he is probably not the best canidate for a SEAL position. For some reason he wants to be one. Why I have no idea I hate it when people yell at me. But I never want to squash someones dream. It seems like if he took his medicine and passed all the stress tests then I don’t thing being bipolar should keep him out. I mean if we supply fighter pilots with billion dollar jets we could provide a pill to somone willing to kill or die for this country in an intense program like that. Here is a list of famous people that are or rumored to be bi polar I think the list will surprise you.
Okay, so say he makes it through the SEAL training program. And he’s sent on a mission somewhere far, far away from a pharmacy for weeks on end. And then he’s taken prisoner by the enemy. And his meds run out. Do you really think that’s going to turn out well for him?
I don’t think it will matter then he’s already screwed. Those middle easterners cut your head off when you are prisoner of theirs bipolar will be the least of his problems then.
OK, so take out the “taken prisoner” part. What happens when he’s deployed and needs more meds? You can’t just ship those over in a care package; they check those things. Sooner or later, probably just when he needs them most, his medication will run out. Even if it was all above board and the navy let him in knowing he has bipolar and allows him to take his meds, supply lines get cut off. Shipments are delayed, or lost. There’s simply no way, in a combat situation, to make sure that he always has the medication he needs to function. And that’s why they don’t allow people with chronic illnesses requiring lifelong treatment into active service. It’s not a personal attack against him, or even against mental illness. I’d be shocked if an insulin dependent diabetic was allowed in, for exactly the same reasons.
Did you look at the list? See all those occupations that ARE NOT military or indicative of the need to be responsible for another person’s life? They are nearly all artistic or athletic in some way - occupations that allow people to go off the deep end occasionally, or sometimes a lot, and still earn an income without endangering the lives of others. And it’s a rumored list.
I’ve known a couple of SEALs in my time, and dated a sharpshooter and a paratrooper. Sound mind and body required. Special Ops troops get dropped in the middle of NOWHERE for weeks and months at a time. There’s no Walgreens, there’s no UPS guy. The men I’ve known have stories about sleep deprivation and hallucinations from the work they were doing, there’s no place for someone who has the potential to become unstable, because the nature of the work makes the normal brains unstable for a time.
It’s time to nip this guy’s dream in the bud. He’s never getting in. Trying to help him is worse than shady.
I come from a family with a lot of military personnel in it, besides the friends and past lovers I’ve had who are/were military. I don’t take this kind of stuff lightly. People who have done Special Ops work come home scarred, mentally and physically. I can’t imagine what might have happened to any of them if they had someone in the field with them who went “off their meds”. It’s unfathomable to me, and unconscionable that anyone would even entertain the idea.
Bipolar person stepping in to say that FOR GOD’S SAKES YOU DO NOT WANT PEOPLE LIKE ME backing you up in military situations when we’re off our meds. Things like “how can I kill myself” go through our heads. Things like “what does it matter who lives and who dies? it’s all hopeless”… AND WORSE. DO NOT encourage a bipolar person to enter a job that requires them to be responsible for their own and other people’s lives under extreme pressure. That’s TORTURE and has no good outcome whatsoever. I’m on good medication now but my god… when I wasn’t… well shit there are people on this very board who can recall some of my collapses. It’s NOT PRETTY and it should NOT mean someone’s LIFE!
I have been diagnosed with clinical depression/PTSD, and I’ve taken a few of the antidepressants on the market. If he can’t get his medication, that’s not just “bad”, it’s disastrous, for him and the people around him.
Look, when I was younger, I wanted to be a pilot. I had excellent reflexes, and I think I could have been a good pilot. However, I’m extremely nearsighted. Guess what? Military pilots (and I couldn’t afford private flying lessons) must have pretty decent uncorrected vision. So I didn’t qualify.
The military doesn’t really care about the personal problems of its members. It requires a certain fitness, both physical and mental, of all its members. Your nephew is not mentally fit. No amount of wanting or medication is going to make him fit.
I’m quite worried about him, because he DOES need to be under a doctor’s care, and he needs therapy, not just drugs. He needs to learn how to cope with his disease, how to tell if he’s getting worse, and he also needs to be monitored, because these drugs DO have some serious side effects.
Even if he didn’t have bipolar disease, his aggressiveness is not necessarily a good thing for a SEAL. Military members MUST be able to restrain themselves, they can’t just run amok.
In my opinion, the above paired with the fair certainty of Bipolar disorder (your nephew needs to go to a doctor. Self-medicating is dangerous, as is self-diagnosis) creates one of the LAST combinations of traits we need in the Armed Forces. Liking to fight is a very different animal than fighting because it is sometimes necessary. No Soldier, Marine, Airman, or Seaman I have ever known ENJOYED the fact that it was at times required of them to hurt others, or take a life. These are last resort - in defense of your life or others’ - occurrences.
Missed edit:
Should he have the chance to find out? Of course, and that goes for any profession or goal he has. There is no ‘magic pill’, though. All illnesses and conditions take a fair amount of understanding and effort to keep under control. No drug will ‘fix’ him, should he turn out to have Bipolar disorder, he’ll have it for the rest of his life, and it takes a great deal of personal responsibility to maintain control of yourself, with or without the assistance of drugs.
His greatest challenge is himself right now. The last thing he needs is a brand new enviroment, a room filled with testosterone and covering lies and deceit. Bipolars tend to make themselves known pretty quick in a crowd. Wooooo Woooo Look at Meeeee! Hey Why Isn’t Everyone Looking AT MEEEEE! Woooooooo! You’re all ASSHOLES and EVERY HATES ME!!!1111!!!
If he’s burned through all these friendships and relationships at this stage of his life, the military isn’t some bandaid to fix his personal life. It will probably send him deeper into his own personal volcano-tornado. And then he’ll get a dishonorable discharge and IT WON’T BE HIS FAULT. EVER. ever.
He needs to get head straight. Getting his RX from someone other than a DR. is no way to get his life on the right path.
