Posted by Racer on March 3, 2006, at 13:16:35
In reply to Legality question..., posted by willyee on March 2, 2006, at 17:05:31
Willyee, it's not worth working yourself up over this. It truly isn't. Chances are, if the drug you were on was working for you -- you yourself admit it isn't -- any new doctor would keep you on it. Sure, there are doctors who are idiotic enough to say, "I don't like that drug, so even though it's working great for you, I'm going to take you off of it." But you know what? You don't have to keep seeing those doctors. If a doctor tries to do that, you can say, "Thank you, and goodbye," and find yourself a new doctor. Really and truly, you can do that. It's within your rights.
In your situation, it sounds very much as though your anxiety is getting in your way right now. You're so afraid that someone would take you off MAOIs that you're overlooking the fact that this one ain't working for you. (Trust me -- I get nuts, too, that's why I'm here. I'm not trying to criticise you, just offer some hard-earned advice.) A really good doctor would work on gaining your trust, and would probably keep you on what you're comfortable with until he/she did so, before working to change to a drug regime that would improve your response. If you find one, let me know -- I'll move cross country to find that myself. A decent doctor, though, will still work with you to find something which is both effective and comfortable for you. That's the minimum standard of care, in my opinion. (And even that can be hard to find.)
The bottom line, though, Willyee, is that you are not trapped by what this one doctor said. Especially since she is leaving. If a doctor says, "I'm taking you off Parnate, and will not change my mind about that," you still have choices. You can fire that one, and find another. You can tell the doctor just what you've told us: "I'm afraid to do that, because I'm so destabilized now that I don't know what two weeks med free AND withdrawal from Parnate would do to me. I'm afraid it would send me over the edge." You could even have hysterics in the office, although I'm not sure what that would accomplish. But you're not without choices. And if you approach it from your own viewpoint, saying something like you're afraid of the other drugs, and why: "I have tried SSRIs in the past and they've never been helpful, so I'm afraid that Lexapro would also be a waste of time. Parnate worked well for me for [x] years, and now it seems to be pooping out. I would like to stick close to what has worked, rather than trying again things that have never worked." Don't you think most doctors would respect and respond to that?
poster:Racer
thread:615051
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060227/msgs/615435.html