</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
PsyChris said:
Anyone that tells the physician what to give them is going to come under the looking glass.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">I disagree. My MD (PCP) takes a team approach to medicine and has told me that. She says the team is doctor-patient and that one solution does not fit all. She values my input and takes it into account. I really like this approach. I would not do well with a "top down", know-it-all sort of doc. I can read the medical literature quite well so doctors need to be knowledgable enough to explain their recommendations to me. If they balk, it tells me they don't have sufficient knowledge or that they don't respect patients. The "team" attitude is very respectful of the patient and I think does not compromise care. For example, when I needed help managing anxiety, and therapy was not enough, I researched the drug options and then talked with my doctor. She had recommendations, and I had other ideas, which I presented respectfully. (I wanted to try Buspar, and she wanted to prescribe an anti-depressant such as Lexapro for my anxiety.) She did some reading on Buspar, listened to my concerns about ADs, and prescribed a trial of Buspar for me. She also gave me a benzo for spot use to help with intense times, as she thought this would be beneficial. I respected her opinion on this and did get both benzo and Buspar prescriptions. I think this is a good example of the team approach. She did not have such a huge ego that she was unwilling to take patient input. Anyway, I do not see a patient wanting to give input to a doctor as in any way waving a red flag. Doctors should encourage that behavior, IMO, not become suspicious of their patients for taking an interest in their treatment. We are our own best advocates.