Posted by Andre Allard on September 1, 2001, at 1:17:52
In reply to Doc doesn't like cocktails, posted by Kathleen6674 on August 31, 2001, at 9:47:27
I come across it all the time - inadequate dosages when disorder is not improving. My last hospital stay, which lasted four weeks, I began getting involved with other patients med regimen. I found that almost half the inpatients were not improving because they were stuck with a pdoc who was either young and inexperienced, from the old school and was way past their time or a conservative geek that titrated dosages twice a year and came to work late every day because they had to walk their twenty year old child to university, making sure that they get there safe and that they looked twice before crossing the road. I could not believe how many inpatients were suffering because their pdoc was an idiot. In some cases my sister (she is five) could have done a better job.
In my experience, out of the four pdocs I have been followed by over the past three years, only one was good to me, treated me with adequate dosages and actually helped me with my problems. That is the sad truth. And this problem is not only in psychiatry. When I was at college I saw the school doctor on a regular basis. He was semi-retired and I swear to God he must have been a 120. He was so old and out of date that he had not heard of any of the medications that I had been on or was currently taking. This includes the likes of celexa, paxil, effexor, trazadone, olanzapine, xanax. That is rediculous!
One day, while I was getting my perscription filled and explaining to the 180 year old doctor what SSRI meant, I asked him why he didn't know anything. His answer was "And you are here to teach me!" I said, "Sir, you havn't even heard of any of the medications I have taken. The newer antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed meds today and you don't know anything about them." To summarize what he said next he kicked my ass out of his office and told me never to come back.
If I could give you one peice of advice it would be to learn all that you can about your illness and psychopharmacology so that you can treat yourself.
Good luck!
poster:Andre Allard
thread:77066
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010828/msgs/77220.html