Posted by PC_Load_Letter on November 22, 2009, at 23:57:25
In reply to Re: you're right - your pdoc is a jackass » PC_Load_Letter, posted by Girlnterrupted78 on November 14, 2009, at 7:06:31
Glad to be able to help, though I'm sorry to hear that you have no other options right now. I shouldn't have assumed otherwise, and I hope things have improved since you last checked in. I'm in a similar position, actually.
The trick, I think, is to voice one's disagreements with the judgments and/or decisions of one's pdoc in as dispassionate a way as possible. They are much more likely to dismiss out of hand the objections of an overtly angry patient (we might be "crazy", you know), even if the patient's anger is entirely rational and justified. They themselves may be the one acting in an irrational manner, but they are also the ones in a position of power (the power of the prescription pad - an unconstitutional monopoly, in my opinion), and they know it.
It's a difficult and humiliating experience, being at the whim of a pdoc who is sometimes unable to avoid the temptation of arriving at a conveniently simple (though completely wrong and insulting) conclusion. Case in point: After describing my recent (admittedly unusual) very positive response to my very first dose of Lamictal, my pdoc's response was that it was a placebo effect. Very insulting. Studies indicate that the placebo effect is quite rare in people with TRD. I was actually expecting to feel extremely sick after taking my first dose of Lamictal, since that's exactly what happened when I tried it ten years earlier. But of course it was clearly a placebo effect. Sure. Whatever.
Anyway, I hope your pdoc has finally seen the error of his ways and that things are looking up for you.
> Thanks so much for the support and understanding of my situation.
>
> Unfortunately I cannot afford a different doctor. I have seen others in NYC, and this is by far the best. He's seeing me for free because I participated in a study at Columbia U/NY Psychiatric Institute, and part of the remuneration was 6 months of free treatment--so he's supposed to be very good at what he does, and he's getting grants in the millions to continue to do research on treatment-resistant depression, so just go figure.
>
> And so far he was good enough to get me out of depression after 7 years of trying with other doctors, he put me on Parnate after another doctor (a really bad one at that) had refused to, because he said "If Nardil failed, Parnate will too.."
>
> So he's supposed to be good. I just don't get his sudden change. I mean, why??? If he never said I was "too good" while I was on remission (or very close to remission) why then is he saying it now that the effects diminished and the symptoms are returning?
>
> I have no choice but to stick with him.. I just hope he won't drop me for dumping all the anger I have inside on him. I sent him two honest yet angry emails already, and he's responding professionally and telling me we will discuss this next time we meet.
>
> Thanks again
>
>
>
> > IMHO, your analysis of your doctor's words and actions is spot on, and your anger at his absurd reasoning is also completely understandable. His attempts to move the goalposts after the fact is beyond pathetic.
> >
> > None of the behavior you described sounds remotely like hypomania. It sounds like someone finally able to enjoy life after an extended period of time trapped in the prison of depression.
> >
> > Only an undeniably complete remission should be the goal. Happiness is not hypomania - it's how most people feel most of the time, and all of us stuck in the hellhole of depression deserve to feel that way too.
> >
> > I've been encountering similarly insulting behavior from my pdoc lately, and it's extremely disappointing and frustrating.
> >
> > I hope you're able to find someone more skilled and compassionate than this ninny. If you're in New York, you definitely have more options than those of us in flyover land. Best wishes.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > Thanks for your response, Philipa, but I'm looking for a response on the doctor's behavior rather than the effects of Parnate, which I am now familiar with.
> > >
> > > I would like to get comments on the doctor's behavior. The fact that he keeps telling me the initial effect of Parnate was "too good" as in, hypomanic. Even though he did not seem to think the same way WHILE the effects were taking place. In fact, as my post says, he even took me higher, to 70mgs, and later 80mgs of Parnate. So if he thought it was "too good", he was ok with it being "super good".
> > >
> > > Now that it lost some of its power, now he is claiming it was all "too good" and not what we want. The fact that he's in such a contradiction is what I find shocking and upsetting. I don't need a doctor to tell me that the single 2 times in my life I've felt truly happy have been "too good" and that I should be happy with "flat" or "halfway good", while at the same time contradicting himself in his behavior and actions--by increasing the dose despite his thinking it's too good. This doesn't make any sense and it's just infuriating me and causing me tons of emotional distress.
> > >
> > > Thanks
> >
> >
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poster:PC_Load_Letter
thread:923267
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091117/msgs/926643.html