What was my Dr thinking?

[[La...]]

It continues to annoy me to no end that my Dr is so stressed and rushed that I know he doesnt have any idea my past history with benzos and does not even take the time to look it up.  We have to be our onw Drs on this journey. Last year when I suffered a severy injury to my shoulder and was in tremendous pain he asked me what I was doing for pain relief. I told him tylenol and he tried to push oxycodone on me OMG, I am so proud of myself for saying no, I did accept a long acting codeine which was ineffective so just stopped taking it after a couple of days. So,  I would have been taking two benzos and oxy, all prescribed by my Dr He also has not been able to give me good advice on the benzo taper, just to reduce it in huge amounts, dropping to 15 mg from 30 for a couple of weeks . So that is my rant this morning, patient, heal thyself. Ladygrace

[[...]]

It's frustrating how little most doctors know about benzos.  You're right, the patient needs to do his/her homework rather than blindly trust their doctor.  I think many of us can relate to your story.

[[Wi...]]

Hi Ladygrace

 

The truth is that the system is entirely broken and greed appears to rule. This includes doctors, pharmacutical co's, inusurance companies and regulatory agencies (FDA, etc).

 

You said "patient, heal thyself" which is SO true...I would only add "patient, advocate for thyself"

 

And please feel free to "rant" ANYTIME lol

 

WWWI

 

[[ji...]]

Every time I look at my stats and see I was on 6mg Kingpin I ask myself the same question. Then I look at the fact I drank heavily while on it and wonder why I'm still alive? Psych dr.s are no longer what they were. Mine told me flat out he can only see me 15 minutes, but 5 seems to do him just fine  . I'm very proud of you for not taking those Oxys  Our health care system is corrupt to say the least. Dr.s don't make the decisions anymore, the drug companies do. We live in a system where healthy individuals are worthless but so are dead ones, so they keep us in the limbo in between.

[[Wi...]]

My doctor required I see her every month for 1/2 hour.  Not that we accomplished anything.  Looking back now, it's abundantly clear that the fact that I paid $110 for a half hour and paid in cash seems to have been her only real motivator.  If I were on insurance it probably would have been 15 minutes (if that) every three months...ah well.  Thousands of dollars pissed away.  Whatcha gonna do?

[[Ho...]]

While I appreciate and share in the level of frustration with doctors and the FDA, I'd like to point out that, yes, some doctors make mistakes. Some doctors are better than others. However, statements like...

 

The truth is that the system is entirely broken and greed appears to rule. This includes doctors, pharmacutical co's, inusurance companies and regulatory agencies (FDA, etc).

 

Our health care system is corrupt to say the least. Dr.s don't make the decisions anymore, the drug companies do. We live in a system where healthy individuals are worthless but so are dead ones, so they keep us in the limbo in between.

 

..go against our Anti-doctor and Anti-psychiatrist Sentiments policy. Please see below:

Many of our members report negative experiences with doctors, psychiatrists, and the medical profession as a whole. While we do not wish to outlaw comments about how members feel let down and mistreated in their personal medical care, you do need to keep your feelings and comments in perspective.

 

Some of our members are vulnerable and might be rather suggestible when they arrive at this website and forum. Your comments might have undue and unintended results upon some of those reading them. Your own experiences with the medical profession are precisely this – your own experiences. It is the view of BenzoBuddies that it would be irresponsible for members to not seek or ignore medical advice from their doctors and psychiatrists. Of course, doctors do make mistakes, and there is much misinformation about the potential side and withdrawal effects of benzodiazepines, but if you are dissatisfied with your doctor, you should probably seek a second opinion from another doctor. Medical advice from your doctor should not be replaced by the suggestions of anonymous people on the Internet – this is plain common sense. You should discuss with your doctor any ideas and suggestions made by members of this forum and website.

 

Few of our members are medical professionals, but even their advice should be treated with due caution. Firstly, we do not screen our members, so there is no way of verifying their medical credentials. Secondly, they cannot know your full and true medical history, so cannot make sound 'diagnoses'. Thirdly, if you are skeptical of the medical profession and/or dissatisfied with the performance of your doctor or psychiatrist, how can medical advice from someone on the Internet be more trusted than the advice from a real-world and verifiable doctor? Your doctor is your medical caregiver, not BenzoBuddies or any other support website.

 

By suggesting that others should not trust doctors, psychiatrists and the medical profession as a whole, you potentially endanger other members and visitors to this forum. This is not an anti-doctor or anti-psychiatry website. Our members need their doctors, not only to supply them with prescriptions for benzodiazepines, but to meet their other medical needs too. In short, you are free to talk about the shortcomings in your own medical treatment, but make clear that you are talking about your personal experiences, and do not spread general anti-doctor or anti-psychiatrist sentiments. To do so is dangerous.

 

Posting personal experiences is fine (and might be considered therapeutic for some), but it is against the rules of use of the BenzoBuddies forum, Chatroom, Shoutbox and Personal Message system to post general anti-doctor or anti-psychiatrist comments.

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=13141.msg182823#msg182823

 

 

 

 

[[Sc...]]

Although several members have had negative experiences with their doctor(s), I will say that mine in recent years have only been positive.  Yes, I was originally prescribed Clonazepam at 16 years of age and never told the risks that come with it.  And yes, I was prescribed it again at 30 years of age and told I could "safely" take it my entire life w/ no ill effects....

 

BUT then I met my current GP, who told me that in NO way was I allowed to taper from it until I met with a Psychiatrist as she felt she was not educated enough in benzo w/d to help me.  She then referred me to a Psychiatrist who initially wanted me on an SSRI, but agreed to do CBT with me instead when I told her NO to all meds.  She assisted me w/ my taper and crossover to Diazepam (something she had never done before w/ any patient).  She accepted me with open arms when I came in to each appointment w/ new print-outs from the Ashton Manual.  And never once got bothered by my husband making suggestions as to how she should taper me off of Benzos.  She only smiled and said we were "unique".  She appreciated our kind boldness.  We never argued with her but instead were just open and honest - all while being polite.  She also stated that she would ONLY prescribe .25mg of Clonazepam to a patient - short term.  She said there is no need for someone to ever go up to 1mg like myself.  She considered that to be a "high dose".  She, in the end, was wonderful.  At times she fought me on things and she did push SSRI's a few times...but I never allowed it and she respected that. 

 

Then my GP tested me for everything under the sun in recent months to rule out any other possible issues, but said "my gut, after reading more into benzo w/d recently, is that this is all w/d related".  She took the time to read more! 

 

I have also been blessed w/ 2 wonderful pharmacists (from 2 separate pharmacies) who both educated me w/ the risks to coming off of them.  They knew it all!  They even took phone calls from me when I was panicking badly during my taper.  The one pharmacist (a very sweet woman) took 45 minutes to speak with me, calm me down and also made sure I was not home alone at the time.  Amazing!

 

I just wanted to take the time to say that not ALL doctors are uneducated or aloof when it comes to benzo w/d.  Sometimes we might have to educate them a bit, but I think the best we can do is stay grounded, polite, and go to our appointments with our own resources.  They can't deny what is written.  And even if they do deny it, perhaps they take those printouts after we leave, and take the time to look into things more so that future patients may have a better chance. 

 

 

[[La...]]

You are truly fortunate to find Dr and Pharm that have helped, I am not as lucky and it is very very hard to get another Dr in Canada but thats another story,the situation of our healthcare, I am very frustrated in my experience so far but I have one more pharmacist, the one that works with my Dr and goes over the patients med profile, that appointment is in March, I will be bringing all the info I have found on the withdrawal process and see what he can offer and if I fail at this taper  and all else fails, there is a pdoc about 1 and 1/2 hr from me that I will try to get a referal to as he is was on the benzo wise Dr list , possibly, if not already listed  you could add your Dr and pdoc to the list so others can benefit as they seem to be few and far betweeen. Ladygrace

[[sh...]]

I know what you mean- we have to be very careful these days- I wish there was a way to help people who are not in our situation but could easily be led into it- and I wish we could tell our doctors to study up on the effects theses meds are having and not rx them out to anyone- we have enough to worry about and we are paying them to fix us. Good for you to refuse the pain med!

[[pr...]]

Ladygrace, I share your frustration with doctors and pharmaceutical companies.  Out of respect for the policies of this forum I don't rant and rave nearly as much as I would like to.  :-)

 

I highly recommend the books Anatomy of an Epidemic and Mad In America by Robert Whitaker, for a good history of the development of psychiatric drugs and how they are promoted and how doctors are educated about them (primarily by the people who sell them).  This gave me a lot more understanding of the overall situation. 

 

Also, more respect for those doctors who in spite of the pressures otherwise, actually do a good job of helping their patients avoid using unnecessary drugs, and help them taper sensibly.