• The Dark Side 💕 Welcome Guest 💕
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads Urgent Hotlines
    Bereavement Mindfulness
    Suicide Support Anger Management
  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

Do you think I have a bad doctor?

masumune

masumune

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
Messages
125
Location
The 9th Circle
I've had the same doctor for 2 years now. When I had my first visit with her I liked her enough, I felt like I could trust her. Now though I kind of feel like she is a shitty doctor. I started seeing her for my debilitating panic/anxiety rage and depression. I had been in and out of hospitals and psych wards that whole year having multiple violent episodes in total I received 45 stitches in my arms that year cutting myself with a combat knife, suicide attempts attempting to O'D' and hang myself. I consulted with her about all of this and she assigned me to a therapist who was THE MAN, coolest guy ever. We had a lot in common and I could really relate to him he also genuinely cared about me. After some sessions he made up a report for my doctor to help her decide what medicine to start me with. Unfortuantley soon after I had to stop seeing him because my insurance stopped paying for therapists. She put me on the beta blocker propanalol (or whatever the fuck it's called) which was useless. I did what I was supposed to do I took it for a month and a half but still suffered from crushing anxiety and nearly ended back in the hospital a few times. So back to the drawing board she prescribed me zoloft which worked well for the depression at first but not the anxiety. She basically told me it had no real side effects and would greatly improve the quality of my life. Well in a way it did, but it came with the worst side effects from any med I have ever had. Sexual dysfunction, can't cum ever, total zombiefication no emotion towards anything at all, weight gain, and oh yea I have become totally addicted to it. I go a day without I get brain zaps, insomnia, EXTREME panic and disillusion, cold sweats, tremors, can't eat , can't walk. So I decided to make an appointment and see what my doctor had to say about all this. And her response to me suffering withdrawal effects was this "Well zoloft doesn't cause withdrawal effects of any kind, you can not be pshyically or mentally addicted whatsoever" in the most condescending tone I have ever heard. Then I told her about all the side effects I had while on the stuff and she said they were only temporary and basically made it sound like I was bitching about nothing. I told I wanted to try something new and wanted help weening off zoloft but instead she told me we should try putting on a higher dose of zoloft first. I agreed and have had all the same side effects but now to an even greater effect. I also said it wasn't working for my panic attacks and anxiety but she just told me that zoloft will fix my anxiety problems at this higher dose.
So the last year I have been on 200 mg of zoloft daily. I still have panic attacks weekly that I sometimes black out from and am still unable to hold down a job because of this.I am starting to doubt her ability as a physician. Would you find a new doctor or am I not giving her enough of a chance?
 
Last edited:
New doctor pronto. I would go into it but I hardly see the reason. You already know this is just not going to work out.
 
There are lots of caring doctors who won't make you feel this way. This one sounds shitty. I would find another
 
Unfortunately, a lot of doctors ignore the medical facts in order to sustain their medical philosophy.
 
Can you say kickbacks? I bet your doc's office is plastered in big poster ads for all kinds of drugs, provided free of charge by the caring drug companies who fund her glorious vacations. You're being used as another paying sucker for the holy grail of panaceas that SSRI/SNRI drugs represent. Cigarette addiction? Take this Effexor. Depressed? Take this Zoloft. Stressed out? Take this Prozac. Pfizer made a net income of $10 billion USD in 2011, and every dollar of it relies on doctors writing prescriptions.
 
Wasn't there legislation written to prevent the sort of conflict of interest that comes with kickbacks?
 
Being someone who has had to deal with very bad anxiety and OCD for most of my life, I will agree with what others have told you, switch doctors. If you aren't happy with the quality of care you are receiving, then it's very hard to benefit from it. You need someone that cares about YOU and not just rambling with you for 30mins and taking your money and writing out a Rx.

Be sure to keep us informed on how things progress and don't hesitate to PM me if you feel the need to talk more about it in private.
 
The biggest thing I look for in a doctor is that they listen to my input, consider it when deciding a course of treatment, and treat me with the respect that any adult is due. I know my body better than my doctor does. He or she may be able to diagnose a condition after I give them the proper symptoms and details, but I still know my body better. I know if I'm truly hurting, and if an ache is normal or not. They do not. And any doctor who doesn't take a patient's input seriously is not a worthwhile doctor, in my opinion. (there are obvious exceptions, sometimes it just isn't wise to consider a patient's input)
 
Find a new doctor. She listened to what you had to say about all the different side effects, yet she did the opposite of what she should have done and prescribed you a higher dose. If you felt these side effects and didn't like what they were doing to YOUR body than you should safely ween yourself off them. I was on Zoloft for about a year before I switched to Lexapro. Zoloft gave me the exact same side effects you are experiencing now. I got switched to Lexapro and it worked better in my opinion. Lexapro made me feel like less of a zombie and I had more control over my emotions and thoughts felt more vibrant, if that makes sense to you.

Personally, I don't recommend taking any kind of SSRI's. They have no proof of helping or curing long term depression, and do some crazy shit to the bodies serotonin receptors in the long run. Don't stop cold turkey though. I stopped 10mg Lexapro cold turkey and felt okay, didn't notice much but then again I was taking Oxycodone everyday as well so I may have just not noticed side effects. Either way, talk to your doctor and find out whats best for you. Oh, and get a new one!
 
As others have said, get a new doctor. I would highly recommend a psychiatrist rather than a general practitioner as well. They will be better trained with prescribing these types of meds and treating your condition.
 
J.Wallace said:
Find a new doctor. She listened to what you had to say about all the different side effects, yet she did the opposite of what she should have done and prescribed you a higher dose. If you felt these side effects and didn't like what they were doing to YOUR body than you should safely ween yourself off them. I was on Zoloft for about a year before I switched to Lexapro. Zoloft gave me the exact same side effects you are experiencing now. I got switched to Lexapro and it worked better in my opinion. Lexapro made me feel like less of a zombie and I had more control over my emotions and thoughts felt more vibrant, if that makes sense to you.

Personally, I don't recommend taking any kind of SSRI's. They have no proof of helping or curing long term depression, and do some crazy shit to the bodies serotonin receptors in the long run. Don't stop cold turkey though. I stopped 10mg Lexapro cold turkey and felt okay, didn't notice much but then again I was taking Oxycodone everyday as well so I may have just not noticed side effects. Either way, talk to your doctor and find out whats best for you. Oh, and get a new one!
Click to expand...

Thank you, I'll take yoru advice into consideration. I'll look into lexapro. And the "more vibrant" emotions makes perfect sense to me.
 
You went to a what I assume is a GP and she referred you to a specialist:

I consulted with her about all of this and she assigned me to a therapist who was THE MAN, coolest guy ever. We had a lot in common and I could really relate to him he also genuinely cared about me. After some sessions he made up a report for my doctor to help her decide what medicine to start me with. Unfortuantley soon after I had to stop seeing him because my insurance stopped paying for therapists.

She did her job and you should take on the insurance company's insane decision to yank reimbursement.

Insurance companies suck.
Good luck man...
 
it doesn't hurt to try what the doctors says but if its been awhile a few months and you still don't feel better and the doctor is unwilling to help you out by changing drugs I would find a new one. I have the same issue with mine, he won't listen to anything I say I asked him to prescribe me a anti depressant and he said no. I ask him to change drugs and he argues with me. Its like if I don't think its working then that should be enough for you. WTF do these doctors care so much. Its like they go out of there way to not help. It costs them nothing to write a fucking prescription but they won't do it. I told him I have crushing depression and asked him to give me something and he flat out said no I don't think so. :P fuck you budy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top