Posted by Ritch on May 6, 2002, at 11:40:53
In reply to Re: Are Meds over prescribed ? Ritch.. , posted by rainbowlight on May 6, 2002, at 1:49:50
> Wow, Rich, your post really made me think. I believe it starts with the drug companies. They put the commercials out that make the drugs look like candy. A person who is suffering in their life with depression may feel unable to "fix" their "life" problems, they see the commercial, run to their doctor who then prescribes the drug the patient wants that was seen on the commercial. They end up hating the way the meds make them feel, which in turn, like you said, makes them want their old selves back. They stop the med, return to their old selves, and the cycle starts all over again. It happens everyday. I also see it on many forums on the net. I have had MANY pdocs ask me what med I WANT to be on! Not, what I SHOULD be on. Very scary stuff! I do believe it is a cop-out for some too. They can conveniently blame all the problems they don't feel like fixing on a "mental disorder" they might not even have. I think it gives the rest of us who really DO have mental disorders a bad name. I believe that in General the mental health system in our country is a mess. Personally, in my area, and I live in a very largely populated area of the US that we only have like 2 psychiatric hospitals available, they are very overcrowded and the conditions are less than ideal. You have to beg to get in to get some help, and you have to convince your insurance company that you DO need help so they will pay for it, as if you weren't already stressed out enough! LOL! Well, sorry for the rant, you must have stirred something in me! LOL! You have some great questions!
Hi Rainbowlight- thanks for putting your 2cents in. Both "sides" have good arguments, which of course clouds things all the more-but that is what makes it interesting. The part about your doctor asking you what YOU would like to take being scary can also have a very scary flipside. What if your pdoc is very conservative and will not prescribe "off-label", doesn't like polypharmacy, etc, and is not allowing you to realize a potential benefit from new "experimental" medicines because he/she thinks it isn't worth the time (thinks they are most likely ineffective-not worth the hassle-rightly or wrongly)? There *could* be a med you haven't tried that would dramatically improve your symptoms that you haven't tried yet.... So, the 'flip' of that one is: Are we (patient or doctor!) using medication to *avoid* therapy (because we are afraid of it or because it doesn't work!)? Or possibly, are we at a "good as it gets" place, and either we or our pdoc can't see it-so if we can't see it-then we don't ever really begin to *accept* the situation and then work on the non-medication issues,,,,,,"we never get there". I think we are starting to get *there* right now, mainly because there has been a lapse in the amt. of new psych drugs becoming available. We are just coming out from under the avalanche of newer antidepressants/anticonvulsants that have popped up in the last decade and beginning to survey things a little closer. Opinion-wise, I still believe it was a mistake to let RX drugs be advertised on TV. I think it would have been best to let doctors make the judgements (pdocs and GP's), and cross your fingers the doctors you see are reading thier journals (IOW, give a damn) and keeping up with all the research on the medications they have available to prescribe. There is a lot more information on the net than you can get on the tube. Unfortunately, if you can't read well (or just don't want to!), you are going to "listen" to your information and that puts you at a disadvantage. Interesting what you say about being run through the ringer to get help and getting help to pay for psych troubles. It has always been like this. Mental illness is looked at generally as a chronic character flaw, and nobody wants to pay somebody money to beat a dead horse. That is sad, but I am afraid that is more accurate than people would like to admit.Mitch
poster:Ritch
thread:104929
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020503/msgs/105269.html