Posted by torchgrl on February 17, 2000, at 1:47:29
In reply to Patronizing Psychiatrists, posted by Vesper on February 17, 2000, at 0:48:07
Vesper, in defense of your doctor, Effexor *is* considered to be in a different class than the SSRIs like Prozac, Paxil etc., and does act differently in a lot of ways. But he/she probably should have been more cognizant of the problems you've had that were probably related to seratonin, and steered towards something completely different. Effexor does seem to be considered an incredibly effective drug in some circles, so that may be why your doctor wanted you to try it. I agree that it's frustrating when psychiatrists assume that you know absolutely nothing about the different medications available, even when you try to discuss. Although I've been pretty fortunate with this for the most part, I recently had an encounter with one who seemed to just want to ignore everything I said that indicated that I knew more than just what I saw on TV. I guess some of them aren't real "people" people, are more inclined towards the research side, so don't feel comfortable discussing meds to that degree. And many of them are probably used to most people not being involved in their treatment to that level. Still, it's not encouraging when you come up against that resistance...
As far as your therapist leaving, can you get them to refer you to someone else before they go? My therapist had to leave town suddenly last autumn due to her father's illness, which was real blow to me at the time, but she did give me a couple of referrals that she'd put some thought into. It was kind of hard to motivate to call, but I finally did, and I almost like my current therapist better than the original one. It's a lot easier to cope with this stuff when you're not trying to do it alone!
poster:torchgrl
thread:21971
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000209/msgs/21986.html