Smellslikesnow

What about insurance?

Having survived two house fires--in which one I had contents insurance, the other I didn't--I can't stress its value enough.

You might consider liability insurance, too.

How are high-functioning but self-destructive patients perceived?

I'm on the ADHD-Bipolar spectrum. Typical flashy type with histrionic and narcissistic traits. Often confused with BPD. Once I was in such a classically hypomanic state, the night nurse insisted the ER resident interview me. The resident entered the interview room awkwardly. I told him immediately he should enter any psychiatric-interview room defensively.

I've been managing my disorder for 23 years. I rarely, if ever, disclose my illness to friends, employers, and professors. I assume responsibility for my actions. However, I slip up sometimes. I abuse substances occasionally. Once every couple of years, I sink into a depressed impulsive state due to substance abuse resulting in lame-ass suicide attempts.

I wonder whether patients like me frustrate and confuse psychiatric professionals.

I had a two-level acdf with allograft and titanium instrumentation in May 2013.

It's an imperfect solution which could cause new problems in future.

Considering the radical shifts in medical research these last two decades, will patients like me benefit from our new medical and health-research paradigm in the coming decades? How can we insure existing patients with "inelegant" surgical results are considered and included in research trials?

Thank you.

Thank you!

Have you read Margaret Atwood's "Oryx & Crake" and "The Year of the Flood"? These books are the first two parts of her Madaddam trilogy. Madaddam, the final instalment, is out September 2013.

Atwood's dystopian trilogy features cultured meat and GM chickens (bred to have little brain function but huge breasts--sounds like Pamela Anderson, eh!)

I recommend that trilogy highly--you'll enjoy it, I'm sure!