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I'm convinced there is no hope

3K views 26 replies 15 participants last post by  RockiNToM 
#1 ·
Ok, I've been quiet in regards to my treatment from doctors for a while because I was trying to see how things went etc.

Anyway, yesterday I saw a proper Psychiatrist, as I pleaded to my GP to refer me to someone who could specifically deal with my medications. So anyway, long story short, the psychiatrist I saw was no more knowledgeable than my GP.

I told the pychiatrist my history with anxiety and depression and he had access to my records of what medications I've been on and the types of therapy, but when I started talking about my experiences with SSRIs he wasn't very clued up on them at all. I asked him that given my vicious circles with SSRIs is there anything else I can try, like an older anti-depressant, and he said "I'm not sure, I don't use older anti-depressants at all. All I give my patients are SSRIs for anxiety disorders and depression" and so I talked about to him about how they worked, and the various doses, plus my experience with side-effects, and he just didn't know - he just didn't understand what I was talking about. He had to keep pulling out his book to remind himself how SSRIs worked. I felt like I was wasting my time, I mean my doctor is more competent than he was. In the end, he wanted me to try Fluoextine which I told him was the worst SSRI for my anxiety, so he didn't even listen to me properly. Anyway I said I didn't want it and left it at that.

Sigh, am I just totally surrounded by idiotic doctors? :|
 
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#2 ·
Geez, psychs are beginning to sound alot like Mortgage Brokers and Financial Advisers. They prob get kick backs from prescribing certain drugs anyway.

Best thing you can do is see another psych. Ask people from your area. Research the list of all practitioners in your region. Keep trying. Good luck.
 
#3 ·
wow, that really boggles the mind - that's what their JOB is, to know about that stuff. i'd file a complaint of some kind, if it's possible.
 
#4 ·
That's complete BS and I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

The only discussion there should have been was what older antidepressant you wanted to try. A doctor who refuses to prescibe something after all other options have been exhaused is just plan ignorant and shouldn't be practicing medicine because their patient's well-being isn't their top priotity.

Try to find a new doctor. If your insuance won't allow it, call them and explain the situation.

I had a similar experince sorta. Was on an antideprssant and Xanax from an old, stingy female pdoc. She acted like the Xanax was toxic, telling me to take "absolutely take no more than one a day!" and she was repulsed by the idea of me asking for a refill.

I swithed doctors, and so far he's written me a prescripton for everything that I've asked for.

You just gotta find the right doc, good luck.
 
#5 ·
Put in a complaint to the general medical council to get this idiot investigated.

What action can the GMC take?

Before the GMC can stop or limit a doctor's right to practise medicine, it needs evidence of impaired fitness to practise. This might be, for example, because they:

* have not kept their medical knowledge and skills up to date and are not competent;
* have taken advantage of their role as a doctor or have done something wrong;
* are too ill to work safely.
http://www.gmc-uk.org/concerns/making_a_complaint/a_patients_guide.asp
 
#6 ·
i think we know how these meds work because we take them. We know the known mechinisms and what behavior they are linked to in ourselves. These guys are just textbook idiots. I also hate doctors sometimes. I dont know whats goes through their little brains sometimes. You tell them "i know this will work" then they stare and somehow come up with some common medication you know wont work.
 
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#7 ·
I dunno if I'm just lucky or what but my doc knows ALL the meds and will let me try pretty much anything I want. He's prescribed phenelzine (Nardil) alone to people something like fifteen times in his career :D
youre lucky. My psychiatrist thinks drugs like Nardil are too dangerous. he graduated from USC and has over 30 yrs of experience but cant convince any docs in my area to give me the good stuff. whatever makes you happy.
 
#8 ·
The best thing to do is get a list of psychiatrists in your area and call around. Ask them if they have experience or specialize with social anxiety disorder. I've went to a ****e load of psychiatrists and most of them were just pill pushers and said really nothing to help me. It takes a while to find a genuine psychiatrist that doesn't just do it for the money and bonuses off of writing scripts and giving out free samples.

I remember long ago the first doctor I saw was a genuine guy, but I am very sensitive and at the time I didn't like what he was saying. He was one of those aggressive psychiatrists that told me literally "I need to get the **** out there and stop listening to what others tell me" At the time I felt like he was criticizing me and I didn't like it. I wouldnt mind going back to him now because I can handle criticism much better now.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the advice, I'm feeling a bit down about the whole experience still. I've been waiting to see someone more competent than my doctor for a long time, and when I finally get the chance, it's someone who is more incompetent than my doctor. It just puts me down and makes me feel like I am constantly surrounded by moronic people who don't know how or want to help me.

Already I've been looking for other psychiatrists but most of them are miles and miles away. Looks like this guy I saw was one of the only ones in my area, I suppose he probably feels like he can say and do what he wants. But I just got more of the impression he didn't know what he was talking about nor understand some of the things I brought forward. I felt annoyed when he had to keep reciting to his 'book' to understand what I was talking about.:roll
 
#11 ·
It's very frustrating and depressing that where I live, nearly all the doctors I've met with just have no clue about treating mental illness - or if they do, it's certainly not with anxiety or depression.

I've been browsing and searching for local psychiatrists and all of them are so far away, to trek that far and then probably have to pay privately at ridiculous rates, is not exactly something I'm in a position in to do.

There are however lots of psychologists in my area, but a psychologist doesn't deal with medication only therapy - which I have done the rounds of too many times to count.

All I want from a doctor, psychiatrist, whatever, is someone who can prescribe me something like Nardil or a tricyclic with maybe a benzo in combination. But everyone I speak to is pro SSRI and that's all they seem to want to use. When I mention the alternatives that exist that I would like to try, they simply say they are too old or are being phased out in favour of supposedly better SSRI/SNRI anti-depressants. But to them, it doesn't matter that on my records it shows all the SSRIs I've been on or the amount of therapy I've done over the years. In their minds I am the patient, they are the doctor and they know best, not!

So anyway, although I am pretty angry that a lot of SSRIs have not helped me that much, the first time I was on Paxil that did. I remember the experience while being on Paxil for the first time very euphoric for about 4-6months then it calmed down a bit. Then over time it gradually became less and less effective, which is why I had to go up to the maximum dose. It's just a shame the second time I tried paxil it stopped working. It was the only SSRI where I had such a good response, could it be worth the try again? There is one other SSRI I haven't tried yet, and that is Lexapro, maybe I'll give that a try first.
 
#14 ·
I think most of us here have came to a point where we became so frustrated with the medical profession that we decided to take research into our own hands, I think for example thats why so many people here are on say nardil. But in your case, since your doctors are too rigid to prescribe anything outside of the ssri/snri/mirtazapine spectrum, perhaps we can manipulate these medicines to your advantage. Reading over your medicine reports on "when your first medication fails.." yes it does appear that you reacted the best to paxil overall. As for lexparo, it's a faily clean drug, many people find it has less side effects than most SSRI's, personally if I were you and Drs wernt willing to prescribe anything else, then I'd ask for a combination of an SSRI (preferably paxil or lexapro) combined with mirtazapine or mianserin.

Also I know that Lyrica is now approved in the EU to treat GAD, if it's approved in the UK then that may be another option for you.
 
#12 ·
"the first time I was on Paxil that did. I remember the experience while being on Paxil for the first time very euphoric for about 4-6months then it calmed down a bit. Then over time it gradually became less and less effective, which is why I had to go up to the maximum dose. It's just a shame the second time I tried paxil it stopped working. It was the only SSRI where I had such a good response, could it be worth the try again?"

paxil worked great for my sa the first time i took it back in 2000 for 3 years-i went to loads of meet ups organised by another SA site and life was good..i slowly stopped taking it as i just kinda forgot as my new life had taken over...big mistake,a year later i felt old sa symptoms creeping back-went back on paxil and it was awful-side effects galore,the first time i never even knew i was taking it.
this is a common problem i have looked into and a site called seroxatmad says "poop out" is very common with this drug and it wont work a second time..some may be lucky.

mentioned this to my shrink a few months ago before he gave me nardil and he says the side effects from seroxat could very well be caused by it going generic since smithkline beecham has now lost the licence...i have tried generic clonazepam and the diff off that from roche is very apparant....my advise is if you are going to go back on seroxat ask for smithkline -u may get lucky-but nhs wants to save money so generics are all the rage

good luck!
 
#13 ·
Hi thanks Pete for sharing your experience. Your experience does very much sound like mine. I have also read about other SA sufferers experiencing good things with starting paxil for the first time, but not all.

You know you could be onto something with the generic forms, I remember one day I was suddenly given generic brands and from then on that's all I got. I think you're right in it possibly being a contributing factor. I certainly noticed a similar thing with Effexor and how I became ill when one day after a few months they started giving me this other brand. Very interesting.

Thanks
 
#15 ·
It's ashame u guys think doctors get kickbacks or bonuses for prescribing meds because it is simply not true. Yes some psychs are idiots but they aren't making money from the drug companies. They give samples becuz they want to give a med a chance b4 the patient gets a prescription or simply because they are free for the patient. Also, samples tend to be the newer ones. Yes, it is hard to get prescriptions for nardil, benzos, and older antidep because those are all potentially addictive or dangerous. The "best practices" or whatever Mr. Obama calls the protocals are temporary benzos with an ssri or snri. After that- your doc is going out on a limb. Everything prescribed as "off label", is addictive, has bad side effects, can be used for suicide is a risk for patient and doctor.
Docs like SSRI's because for the vast majority of people they work AND you can swallow quite a bunch in a suicide attempt and still live.

Only 20% of psych's do anything other than prescribe medication. Insurance doesn't
recognize the benefits of CBT for the most part and won't pay for it when it comes from a
psychiatrist and not a social worker or psychologist.

We have had some bad docs too but for the most part they are just trying to use the most innocuous medications that have a big potential to work. Unfortunately, social anxiety has to be one of the most resistant conditions to treat. It took us 2 years on various meds to find something that worked for my daughter. (and being a teen she is unable to take nardil, benzo's, and Paxil. Doctors don't make money off of meds, they make money by charging u an arm and a leg for their time.
 
#16 ·
It's ashame u guys think doctors get kickbacks or bonuses for prescribing meds because it is simply not true. Yes some psychs are idiots but they aren't making money from the drug companies.
I wish this was the case, unfortunately there are plenty of shady docs out there who have unethical practices for the purpose of icnreasing revenue. If you have the time, the following article is a good one to read...

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande
 
#17 ·
Sigh, am I just totally surrounded by idiotic doctors?
Yes some doctors are very incompetent sadly. I have had some problems myself and recently had a substitute psychiatrist lecture me about my medication and made me feel like what I was taking was not what I should be taking-that I should be on more medication and I said I could not tolerate anti-depressants.

I am not and will not go on anymore of those since I have been on and off SSRIs etc for 14 years. And I will not try MAOIs because i read up on them and I didn't like what I heard. Anti-anxiety med works good enough for me so and technically I am not extremely depressed right now.
 
#18 ·
Well, since this thread has been revived, I'll update and like to say I've given up. What's the point me bothering when everyone I speak to in both mental health and medicine can't give me professional help?

Looks like I'm going to be stuck with SSRI/SNRIs and or Mirtazapine as my choices for the rest of my life.
 
#26 ·
Just wanted to say to RockiNToM, I know pregabalin (Lyrica) is available in the UK for anxiety, but based on what you've said about Valium, I highly recommend you stay away from Lyrica as it is likely to affect cognition on a similar level.

Obviously different people have different reactions, but it is one of the most horrible drugs I have ever taken, and you shouldn't be fooled by its initial relaxing effects -- the depressive, Alzheimer-ish effects are not far behind. Maybe this is just me, but if I'm gonna lose a large part of my cognitive function, I want to feel good about it damnit! Everyone else I've known to take it despised it to a similar extent.

In my mind, Lyrica is Satan himself's drug-of-choice...
 
#24 ·
I was just thinking about this while I was on the train today (which I have to use to go visit a relative) and I was reminiscing about how I felt while doing this journey on SSRIs. I remember feeling dog tired on the train nearly falling asleep, then when my stop was coming up, I'd be experiencing surges of anxiety and wanting to puke - because the anxiety was escaping. Now I'm off SSRIs, I'm wide awake through the train journey, but experiencing consistant anxiety that is the same throughout and doesn't surge as much..

So it's like the SSRI kinda masks it a bit. It's still there, but hidden along with the extremely awful side-effects. It's actually interesting how the side-effects themselves allow you to forget the anxiety sometimes, therefore making you feel like you are better.

Blegh, what do I know.. lol
 
#25 ·
Move on to a new doctor;that is what I have done more then once when I felt the doc was not helping me.You need to do what is best for you.Besides its always good to have a second opinion on something so serious.
 
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