doctors -- getting them to cooperate

[angie007]

I have always been full of praise for my doctor in the way he allowed me to taper

so slowly, and was full of encouragement, and really seemed like he was willing to

support me in my wd from Seroxat - that is up until today!!!!

 

I had a telephone appointment booked for 9am this morning, which never came.

I rang the surgery 3/4 times throughout the day enquiring as to why the call never came,

the last time i called was at 5.20pm.

Within a few minutes i had a call back from the receptionist with a message from my doctor,

Firstly, she tried to tell me that he tried to call me this morning, that, i know to be a LIE,

as i was sat here all morning with the phone waiting for the call, and wasted the rest of my

day waiting for a promised call too, that never came.

Then she asked " was it an ongoing problem - re seroxat wd? or a new problem"

I replied that it was in connection to an ongoing problem, and she said in that case

my doctor said " he had nothing to add".

sadly the call never came.

I wanted a full blood count carried out, plus vitamin tests, which now i wont get.

 

How sad, tha GSK have made it so difficult for victims of there drugs to obtain

the necessary help that they require.

Its bad enough that most - unless they live through what we have had to dont understand,

but to make it difficult to get medical care when you are sick from stopping there drugs

is the ultimate insult.

 

Tonight, i feel very let down, by GSK,Doctors, hospitals in fact everyone in the medial profession,

its an awful way to have to live, for a drug we took on trust, that had no wd, and have to live with symptoms

like this, that limit yur life, without, being able to get the help you need when your sick.

I feel like i been thrown onto the scrap heap, for having a syndrome that is not my fault.

[angie007]

Just an update, as i couldnt leave this as it was,-

 

i rang the Primary Care Trust Patient Liasion Services this morning,

and explained yesterdays problem, and they agreed that it was very wrong to

have been treated in this way, it will be dealt with by them today, andi will be

contacted later with the outcome.

 

Just couldnt sit on this allow them to treat me this way.

[Claudius]

How sad, tha GSK have made it so difficult for victims of there drugs to obtain

the necessary help that they require.

Its bad enough that most - unless they live through what we have had to dont understand,

but to make it difficult to get medical care when you are sick from stopping there drugs

is the ultimate insult.

 

Tonight, i feel very let down, by GSK,Doctors, hospitals in fact everyone in the medial profession,

its an awful way to have to live, for a drug we took on trust, that had no wd, and have to live with symptoms

like this, that limit yur life, without, being able to get the help you need when your sick.

I feel like i been thrown onto the scrap heap, for having a syndrome that is not my fault.

 

I fully hear you and cry with you. This is the biggest fraud in the world and I can compare this world-wide crime only with the Holocaust.

We have no choice than to hope for better times and take our health in our own hand from now, do not see doctors as well-doers or unfailible, and above all, stay away from psychiatry forever.

Wish you all further healing from this trauma. I still have confidence that healing is possible, also after a long time.

[stan]

i agree with Claudius,

 

i never had help from somebody, always alone,

i too stay away from psychiatrists and am very careful with doctors, internet is my friend

[Baxter]

Angie - sorry that dope wasted your day. And the person on the phone is not exactly up for service provider of the year either.

 

Nothing to add. Did your doc make the appointment?! I'm glad you complained.

 

hang in there.

[Gem]

Hi Angie

 

Sorry you went through this. This is really unprofessional, not to mention totally uncaring and disgusting!

 

I agree with the lack of medical care and understanding being the final insult.

 

Well done for ringing the Patient Liaison Service. I hope you get a good outcome.

[angie007]

HI,

Thanks guys for your support.

Well after making a complaint i got not one but two phone calls btoday,

one from the practise manager at the surgery, and one from the doctor himself.

 

I wanted to have a full blood count done, plus a full vitamin and nutrient test done,

as i had done some research for depletion of these essentials caused by paxil use,

I have posted the relevant information (does paxil/seroxat deplete this from the body thread).

He absolutely REFUSED to do any testing, saying i dont neeed it, and he will not feed

my anxiety by doing these tests. The anxiety is being caused by not knowing!!!!!!! and the use of paxil too.

 

He told me to keep my appointment on friday to see him, but frankly dont see the point, as there is little

left to say, but i have written to David Healy about my findings on what paxil depletes and if he

confirms i am right by email, i will be printing it off and attending on friday.

If he still refuses to do the testing with the email from David Healy, then i intend to get the

testing done privately, and if i am found to be depleted in any way, then he will be needing a lawyer,

as i will sue him, as i absolutely feel sure, that i am depleted by something essential in my body,

and NO , its not Paxil.

[Punarbhava]

i agree with Claudius,

 

i never had help from somebody, always alone,

i too stay away from psychiatrists and am very careful with doctors, internet is my friend

 

Stan........

 

 

I very much feel the same as you. BTW, very sorry you've had to endure WD mostly alone. It really adds another layer of trauma into the equation.

 

 

Angie,

 

Unfortunately, what you are experiencing is all too common re: no assistance nor understanding from the medical profession. I feel your pain since, I myself have experinced what you are going through.

 

 

If we're not willing to take any drugs, they pretty much have nothing to offer. One would think we'd be respected for getting off an addictive drug. Any other type of drug addict would be respected, assisted and even praised by the medical profession for being drug free.

 

But for those of us getting off prescriptions drugs.........well, we're treated with disregard, disdain, are disrespected and worse of all, our suffering in unacknowledged and most shockingly is denied.

 

 

Not only are we traumatized by the WD experience itself but also traumatized by not having any understanding or support from the medical system that got us into this mess to begin with.

 

 

 

Claudius, I completely agree with you.

 

 

I'm so sorry for all of us! Good news is: we ARE DRUG FREE. I Keep reminding myself of this. It's a huge accomplishment!! Healing can only be possible by being off the drug.

 

Punar

[angie007]

Pun,

 

Thankyou for your kind words and how right you are.

You know, the worst of this is, that in the 3yrs he has been my doctor

he has shown every sympathy and kindness, and has been very understanding

of the wd issues involved with this drug.

 

I got "used" to that standard of care, and wrote about it here,I considered

myself very very lucky to have an understanding doctor, i thought!

 

Prior to this, the last time i spoke to him he was as he has always been,

then he took a weeks vacation, monday was the start of me seeing doctors

for what they really are, legal drug pushers, with no respect or consideration

for our suffering.

 

I know and realise that there isnt anything they can offer us, only in the way of

more drugs, oh and i will go so far as to say right now, that, that is not an option

he has already told me, he will never prescribe me any meds in this category, no matter

how bad things might get, but reassurance and respect for there patients who are suffering

from the effects of a pharmaceutical cock up is too much to ask???

And they wonder why wd is stressful? and most of us are low and depressed.

now im off the drug, the attitude has changed.

No wonder we feel let down and alone - because its the TRUTH we have been and we are!!!

[angie007]

Stan,

 

I totally understand my friend, the only good thing to have

come from this whole mess, is the many good friends i have made while

i have been going through this, you guys were there, when no one else was,

and for that i am eternally grateful, i just couldnt do this without you all.

Thankyou.

[Altostrata]

angie, when you see him, you might very calmly say you want to find out if there is any physiological cause for your symptoms.

 

Everyone should have one of these checks made at some point in their lives.

 

If you are middle-aged, you may very well have a vitamin depletion of some kind.

 

However, personally I do think you are going overboard on the health anxiety front. I would rather see you taking walks more and Googling less.

[angie007]

Hi Alto,

 

Yes i will ask him and yes i am 52 and menopausal, does age have any correlation with wd?

 

As for the health anxiety that seems to have abated i had one bad week of that totally out of the blue,

and im so glad to have had a break from that.

I am walking every day now, and as for googling you will be pleased to hear i have stepped away from the google

button now lol.

[Altostrata]

LOL, ang, that was funny! Step away from the button!

 

Good to hear you're feeling a bit better. You may well be one of those who have only a few weeks of symptoms.

 

Yes, age is related to vitamin depletion and other imbalances. As we get older, our systems are not as good at absorbing nutrients. Also, it seems menopause can make symptoms more difficult.

 

I think you have a good case for getting a vitamin and mineral panel, if it hasn't been done before, and you are absolutely correct about testing for subclinical B12 deficiency, which doesn't show up in ordinary blood tests.

[Punarbhava]

Angie..........

 

 

the bright side to this equation is: Your doctor is NOT pushing you to take more drugs which is what most would do. In fact, most doctors become angry IF we refuse their advice, never mind when we refuse to comply with it. So, at least you don't have to deal with this particular aspect.

 

 

BTW, most of us deal with health anxiety in WD. It's a natural reaction when our bodies and minds are breaking down, malfunctioning etc.. Who wouldn't be anxious in such a situation? Added to the equation is the WD induced OCD, anxiety, ruminating etc.

 

 

The key is recognizing the health anxiety for what it is and not to feed into it but rather, to counteract via a variety of mental coping strategies. To be clear, these counteracting strategies do NOT eliminate health anxieties but rather, allow you to manage then and thus, prevent them from escalating. The name of the game is placing road blocks to each anxious thought.

 

 

It appears that your doctor does not know how to deal with your concerns and/or health anxiety and thus, instead tries to avoid dealing with it at all. I can understand how he's unqualified to do so however, it's not okay for him to ignore your calls or requests for standard testing.

 

He should be honoring the request for tests since, as Alto pointed out, these are reasonable requests. In regard to health anxiety management, he should be referring you to someone who is qualified to assist you during this time rather than judging/labelling, not to mention, dismissing you and feeling as if he's enabling the anxiousness by complying with your wishes for further testing.

 

It is his responsibility, as a doctor, to refer a patient to supportive resources available (eg. therapy) IF he is unqualified and/or unable to provide.

 

If he knows anything about psyche drug WD, he will be aware of WD induced anxieties/fears etc. and thus, should be more skillful in way of how he handles an anxious patient. Refusing to honour a patient's request will not reduce a patient's anxiety. In fact, it can have the opposite effect. His approach leaves much to be desired however, his unwillingness to prescribe more meds is admirable IMHO.

 

Anyway, good luck with all that is going on. Perhaps you can send your doctor a note expressing your gratitude for all of his support during your taper. This may allow him to relax any defenses he may have built at this time, and thus become more cooperative and supportive.

 

forgive me if my thoughts are a bit repetitive but I'm having a bit of a tough time today as I try to get caught up on things.

 

Punar

[angie007]

Well guys,

 

I just had to come back and give you all an update, as i was really upset about my doctors attitude by refusing to communicate

on the phone for medical advice - is that not his job!!!

And consequently cancelled the appointment, i later had a phone call from the surgery asking me to attend as the doc wanted to speak

to me, so reluctantly i did, but not before id confirmed my findings about vitamin and mineral deficiencies with David Healy.

 

Anyway, got to the surgery and he kept me waiting 45mins after my appointment time, ( which he often does to patients who suffer

with anxiety - he informed me of this some time ago) so i was anxious anyway as to how the appointment would go, after having had to report the guy, to get the medical advie i needed.But i managed to keep a grip on it, as i wanted to b taken seriously and not to

have the anxiety spiel thrown at me again.

So i get called in, where he asks me to take a seat, and he proceeds to inform me, that although i may see his attitude

" as being an old git ) his words not mine, he felt that being cruel to be kind was the right thing.

As he has many patients struggling with Seroxat wd, who spend a lot of time at the surgery, almost as if, they have traded the

drug and replaced it with doctor reassurance on a regular basis, happily, im not one of them.

 

He didnt ask what symptoms i had, no bp checks nothing, didnt even check my back pain, my ears nothing, although he does know

i have issues in those areas, he did however say, that there is no way i should ever have been prescribed that drug, i never

needed it, and it would be easy to prescribe further meds, but as he put it, " he is fighting for my long term heath unmedicated and natural, as opposed to short term health and medicated, so we sing from the same hymn sheet on that issue at least.

 

To my surprise, he actually offered to do the testing for me, and i proceeded to get the information from David Healy i had in my bag

regarding this, at which point he spotted a packet of cigarettes, and he said, " you worry about Seroxat damage, but seem unconcerned

about nicotine damage, ok guys, he had to have some at this point, ALTO you are going to love this one!!!!!

Ah yes, well we ALL KNOW the damage that nicotine can do , and i made the choice to smoke fully informed,

NOT SO with seroxat, ahh the non addictive wonder drug,my right to make a choice about what i ingest was taken away from me

by the lies and deceit of the drug companies whose drugs you prescribe to innocent victims, and when they have symptoms which are horrific, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO ADD!!!!!!

He really did have nothing to add at that point.

 

He then apologise for his attitude re- the phone call, to which i said, that i really had zero intention of bothering him again, and had the surgery not called me back requesting me to attend, i would not have been there anyway.

He said he had no idea how long any of this takes to get better, but he was certain i would make a full recovery,

to which i replied, that i was probably more informed than he was on this issue, and that my interpretaion of wd from these mind

bending drugs was, tha yes i do believe that things do improve with time, but i had serious doubts about 100% recovery, and i thought

that people suffered for that long, that they learned to cope better with the residual from their wonder drugs.

 

So yes im happy to say the tests are booked for thursday next week and a follow up appointment booked 2 weeks later to get results,

Im also happy to say, that as i had to wait 45 mins to see him, i made doubly sure that my appointment time ate into 20mins of his lunch hour - ahhh there is some justice in the world.

I intend to update here when results are back.

[angie007]

Pun,

 

Thankyou so much for your kind words of support, how right you are in knowing how things like this can ramp up anxiety badly,

and his attitude towards the initial request for this testing to be done, did little to alleviate the situation, in fact it had the opposite effect - as you smartly guessed it would, but hey, i get the testing done and had my say too, so im feeling a little better, although at the same tiome, feel very let down by the whole med profession, as do we all, and rightly so.

[Altostrata]

Well, angie, it sounds like he thought twice about the tests and decided there was justification for them, but he had to give you a bit of a hard time before he made a concession.

 

People are like that!

 

(He was right about the cigs, though.)

 

He does sound like a very good doctor, despite being cranky sometimes. Next time you need to see him, you should let him know how much you appreciate his support and his attitude toward your drug-free wellbeing.

 

You did a great job taking care of yourself, just in case there are vitamin or mineral problems as well as anxiety over withdrawal.

[angie007]

Well guys,

 

Here is the update on my recent blood tests.

I called the surgery today and asked if my blood results were back.

She said yes they were all normal, i then proceeded to ask about the MMA urine test for B12 deficiency, only to be told, that a MMA was never ordered

up by the doctor, just bloods.

i am furious that he has just "humoured " me, especially with the print off email from David Healy which i gave to him, and which specifically states

that B12 deficiency does NOT show on a routine blood test panel.