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How the British NHS treat suicidal thoughts

Posted by Arthur Gibson on August 30, 2002, at 4:00:36

Thank you to everyone who replied to my "Varying the dose with PROZAC" post, which was largely about my suicidal thinking.

Everyone strongly recommended that I see another doctor immediately.

Unfortunately you do not realise how terrible the British NHS system and treatment regime is and how mean they are with expensive drugs.

I first went to my family doctors several months ago complaining about depression and serious suicidal plans and thinking. The doctor prescribed five Zopiclone (which I later found out were sleeping tablets!) and told me to take one every night until I recovered!!

Obviously this did not work and I got worse. I returned and the next doctor (you rarely see the same doctor twice over here) gave me a month's supply of valium. The patient's information leaflet said not to take valium alone for depression, but nevertheless I persevered and got even worse.

Finally my wife came to the doctors with me and told them that she had pulled me off the railway track herself and would they please give me some sensible treatment.

Only at that point did they give me seven YES SEVEN! PROZAC tablets!!

I returned a week later and told them that I was no better and they prescribed a further 28 PROZAC.

They gave me a suicide help line to call if I felt bad and another telephone number to call if I was actually on the track and they would "come out and pick me up".

A few days later I called the suicide line and they told me to stop being anxious and call my family doctor in the morning!!

I called the second suicide line and it was a "wrong number"!!

I pleaded with my family doctor to be refered to a psychiatrist, but he told me that this was not possible because they were all on holiday for six weeks in our area.

Do you get the picture of what its like over here in the UK?

The bottom line is that I did not increase my dose above 20mg/day, despite your advice and I have not seen a doctor, because only the idiots are available to be seen right now and the "good" two doctors are on holiday until next week. However the "good" ones would make you weep, the way they go on. The idiots would probably give me cough mixture.

Thankfully my suicidal thoughts are receeding and I cannot face the thought that if I killed myself I could never read the brilliant stuff that you people write on this board again, so I shall just have to keep on living!!

Thanks everyone for your support.

Arthur Gibson
(Its a "made up" name but not to worry)


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Psycho-Babble Medication | Framed

poster:Arthur Gibson thread:118193
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020829/msgs/118193.html