Hi, Curly,
I don't know about the insurance. That sounds like a scare tactic. In some states people with epilepsy are not allowed to drive based on information from a doctor.

When some one is first diagnosed they need to follow the pdoc's instructions. The pdoc does not know the patient's condition well enough yet to determine how safe they are at some level of mania verses full blown mania.
This is why people work to develop years long relationships with their pdocs -- so they and the pdoc can learn to trust them.

How long did you stay on the extra dose of Seroquel that you wanted to stop? It seems that if you were seeing the pdoc every week or two, he would have noticed you coming down from the mania and started lowering the dose.

In other words, SOMETIMES in the beginning of a relationship, being on too much medication is part of the process of coming back down out of mania. The pdoc does not want to cut the dose at the first sign of a normal mood. He wants to wait until he sees a new pattern emerging.

Pdoc's do have legal authority to put people in the hospitals. I guess you know that already.

M