Posted by Penny on March 1, 2002, at 23:46:13
In reply to Re: To each his own...., posted by noa on February 24, 2002, at 16:43:46
Noa,
Wow. I'm new to this board and have been doing some catch-up reading on previous threads, and may I just say I completely agree with Dinah that you are right on the money. I'm continually amazed that anyone can look at something as complex as the human brain and think of it as completely a 'biological' entity.
There are so many things we don't know about life, not just about the brain but about all aspects of life. I'm a firm believer in modern medicine, but strongly feel that the area of mental health is one that needs a GREAT deal of improvement, as I'm sure most folks would agree! In addition to my own negative experiences with pdocs, I've seen my nine-year-old cousin hospitalized multiple times over the course of a year after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, only to be drugged until he was not even coherent. After visiting multiple doctors in multiple cities, his diagnosis was finally retracted (during his last hospitalization in a new hospital) and behavioral therapy has proven to be much more effective for him than medication.
I, myself, take two meds currently and have been on four or five (or six, depending on how you want to look at it!) and have been in therapy for two years. And the meds have gotten me out of depressive episodes, but the therapy has helped me survive the times that I was waiting for the meds to work!
Anyway, what I really wanted to say is that there ARE pdocs out there who see both sides of the story. I feel like I've finally found one who isn't just looking at the biological side, writing me a script and sending me out the door for another three months. He actually gives his patients his pager number, with different ways to page him depending on the urgency. And he has looked me in the eyes everytime I've seen him (three times so far) and encouraged me to page him WHENEVER I need to talk. He knows my therapist is on maternity leave and said he was glad I had had such strong support from her, but he wanted me to be able to find it at the clinic as well. Needless to say, I was shocked, but pleasantly!
Penny
poster:Penny
thread:18721
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020223/msgs/19089.html