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Old Mar 25, 2020, 08:55 AM
quietlylost quietlylost is offline
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Member Since: Mar 2020
Location: Michigan
Posts: 126
You're an advocate for your own care. It's good to keep setting limits about what you're comfortable with and what you're not. If doctors keep pushing things, it's okay to push back. You can also ask them specific questions about why they're so insistent or why they don't think that your own assessment of not being depressed is accurate. Sometimes they can do screening tools like the PHQ-9 to assess for current depressive symptoms, in addition to their interview. A lot of times, though, doctors tend to view other challenges we face (i.e. reactivity, inattention, anxiety) as something that must be medicate or must be related to depression.

There's not a lot of evidence out there that genetic testing is actually useful yet. It's more of a fad. I'm not sure the company that your doctor uses, but it's unlikely that they're keeping the genetic information on file and using it to profile you or your family. They should offer informed consent documentation prior to taking the test that would help clarify that. It's okay to refuse stuff like that. Sometimes you may have to comply with things like drug testing for certain medications, but genetic testing isn't a law required part of care.

Bottom line, keep speaking up for what you want and what you don't. If the providers aren't hearing that, it may be worth a conversation about changing to someone else. It can also be helpful to weigh out for yourself, "What's the harm of taking the medication, and what's the potential benefit?" Sometimes there's a chance that the medication won't do anything but also that it might help in some area (i.e. sleep, anxiety) so it can be worth at least trying something. Other times there's too much downside so it doesn't even make sense to walk down that road.

Good luck whatever you decide!
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