There may be some cases they are skipping doses of medications to control costs.
"I turned to what seemed like the safest thing, over-the-counter medications, to control a painful situation.
"The medications to control it are nasty drugs," said Dr. Mark W. Connolly, head of the heart surgery group at St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark.
Mr. Littleton, 49, testified last week that he suffered from bipolar disorder and was taking six medications to control the condition.
In addition to fat redistribution, lipodystrophy can also lead to high cholesterol, cardiovascular problems and diabetes, and many patients take lipid-lowering medications to control such metabolic complications.
He has suffered from depression for 30 years, he said, often taking two or three medications to control it.
In some studies subjects were allowed to take medications to control their blood pressure or cholesterol levels.
"It's not uncommon for a patient to require two or three medications to control blood pressure, two or three to control glucose and then if they need to lower cholesterol, that might mean eight different medications," Dr. Barrett said.
However, some symptoms may be treated through physical therapy, speech therapy, and the administration of medications to control anxiety or to alleviate depression.
Each time he had a reaction at home, I was able to reach Nadeau immediately, and she talked me through using various medications to control the reaction.
Medications to control aggression and other problem behaviors, particularly antipsychotics like olanzapine (trade name: Zyprexa), quetiapine (Seroquel) or risperidone (Risperdal), represent a last resort.
