Posted by ayuda on November 24, 2002, at 16:32:25
In reply to PoppyCock! » Squiggles, posted by Mr.Scott on November 24, 2002, at 16:10:37
Both of you are right -- there needs to be a mixture of trust and mistrust when you deal with any professional, whether it be a medical doctor, a shrink, a lawyer, or the mailman. You HAVE to trust your gut reactions. I've learned that is true in life, in general.
This is why I read the posts on this site for 2 weeks prior to becoming involved, and why I greatly appreciate the info I am getting here -- especially this spirited debate, which is a very enlightening one: I want all the info I can possible get.
Like I said in answer to Alan, it's not as simple for me to get a new doctor, I can't afford to go outside of the university's health system right now. Being a graduate student with health problems sucks -- but I can make it better, and make the system work more for me, if I get all the common sense info I can. But even people who can shop around for a responsive doctor should do the same. We all should be active participants in our health care -- it is really a matter of life and death.
Like I said in response to Dr. Dave, I don't like it that my doctor has seemingly bought into the b.s. about side effects and Lexapro. But if any of you knew me, you'd know that there is no one on this earth less likely to lie down and let a doctor (or anyone else for that matter) walk all over them -- doesn't get me to where I want to go in life. In fact, I infuriate doctors much more than they do me, because I always have my best interests, and only my best interests, in mind, and if they don't like that, they are going against their Hippocratic oath.
However, there are doctors who DO want to help -- my doc is sensitive to my problems, it's just that we've been going at this for a year now, and she is trying to find a med I can tolerate AND that will help the depression and anxiety. But she is also stuck with what is on the market -- and the crappy info she also gets.
So we are both searching around -- her in the semi-lighted world of psychiatry, my in the semi-lighted world of the internet (and my mom, the nurse, as a resource). I am just trying to "predict" the future of my s/e's here because I am getting frustrated with the process. That is my "type A" personality, I am impatient. If I'm going to experience the "depersonalization" -- and thanks for that term, JLM (and by the way, I'm a 37-yr-old woman) -- which is something I have to be prepared for, then we, my doctor and I, are back at square zero, because I will have gone through the best meds out there with no toleration for any of them.
Okay, back to the debate....
poster:ayuda
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021122/msgs/129083.html