Posted by letterbox on September 30, 2009, at 2:10:26
In reply to Re: Success Rate of Antidepressants And Theraphy » SLS, posted by sowhysosad on September 28, 2009, at 11:23:57
I agree with all of the above comments. It's so hard to find a good psychiatrist who can give you the right diagnosis and the right meds. A lot of psychiatrists from my experiences have been condescending and act like they hate their job and that I am a huge waste of their time. One psychiatrist told me I would be miserable for the rest of my life. His remedy was to take Paxil and go the the gym and build up some muscle (I am a slender woman). Those were his words, literally! He was convinced that there was just some abuse in my childhood when I told him there was a lot. He didn't hear me; he didn't want to. I took the Paxil and it didn't work for me. I had severe side effects and my panic attacks, anxiety and depression worsened. When I called to make another appointment, I was told he had closed my file and I couldn't get back in to see him without going on the waitlist. Nice. No wonder suicide rates are increasing!
So far my new pyschiatrist seems on the ball, yet she seems rushed, and she is. There is a huge shortage of psychiatrists and mental health practitioners in Canada - I don't know what it's like in the U.S.
The waiting list to see one here is six months to one year, and mosts GPs don't bother referring because it takes too long. And then those people who don't get referred may get poor treatment by the GPs who don't know a lot about these types of meds. My GP knew the basics but not a lot. When I had questions about medications, she had to keep leaving the room to look things up. She finally returned with this big book and looked up several different ones and read the details out loud to me slowly. Then she told me to come back so she could do some research. I knew more about some meds than she did. My GP was going to make me quit Effexor 225 mgs cold turkey, which is the worst thing you can do. Effexor is the most difficult med to get off of - the side effects are many and are very severe which can be life threatening in terms of suicide thoughts. When I told her that, she was baffled. I had done my research, why didn't she know this?
I really had to insist on seeing a psychiatrist. It's a good thing I did because I was lucky to get in immediately because my boss knew my psychiatrist. My psychiatrist would not take me off Effexor because she said my symptoms were to severe and that the side effects from the withdrawal could be dangerous.
There are huge gaps and stigmas in our mental health system. Something needs to be done. The Canadian Medical Association has put out publicity about mental health awareness and how it should be treated like any other disease such as diabetes. There should be no stigma or embarrassment because of it. Doctors and the general public should be more educated. Speaking of which, here in British Columbia, Canada, it Mental Illness Awareness Week from October 4-10 put on by the Canadian Mental Health Association. A lot of organizations are putting on presentations, lectures, public screenings, plays and films throughout B.C. to help increase awareness. Hopefully that will help. I found that over the years the awareness has increased but the amount of help has not.
Wow, they don't call this board Psycho-babble for nothing. I sure am babbling on and on. Thanks for reading.
poster:letterbox
thread:918637
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090921/msgs/919105.html