[sideblinded]

There is much controversy about FDA intentions and their connection with big Pharma Companies. We are led to believe that the FDA is looking out for our best interest but is that so? I admit that I have read others views about the apparent push that the FDA has to approve pharmaceuticals. Our local pdocs are the dispensers.

So the question is: Can we trust out pdocs? Are they pushing these meds to make money or are they giving good medicine?

Do you really trust your pdoc?

[jelly-bean]

I have never had a pdoc but I think it's a very important question and I would be interested in the answer.

[lozza89]

good question.

My first pdoc I thought could be trusted but she had me on a lot of meds - possibly over medicated but I never thought anything of it until I changed pdocs and he took me off a lot of stuff..

but my first pdoc I liked as she gave me time to talk and did therapy a bit too and gave me appropriate referrals when current therapy wasn't working.. i.e I was seeing a general counsellor and making progress but I just needed more support so she had me assessed and I got diagnosed with BPD which was a shock but made sense and I was then referred on to do DBT which I've found to be helpful. So in that sense I trusted her A LOT.

My current pdoc I don't feel like he really see's me or cares but yet he doesnt prescribe meds unless its really necessary..

so its a bit hit and miss I guess.. pros and cons depending on how you see things and what you need most at the time!

[Eymvee]

Of then have trouble trusting psychiatrist for that very reason maybe its more paranoia than anything for me that is

[Webgoji]

Originally Posted by sideblinded

So the question is: Can we trust out pdocs? Are they pushing these meds to make money or are they giving good medicine?

Do you really trust your pdoc?

Regarding pill pushing, I do trust my doctor to be prescribing medicines that he feels will be of best benefit to me within the scope of his knowledge and experience. In other words, he prescribes the most effective medicine he can and considers our financial situation to boot.

As an example, he wallowed around trying different standard medications like venlafaxine and bupoprion because they were available in generic form and cost effective to us. It was only when he couldn't make them work that he moved me Viibryd (which has no generic equivalent).

Now to answer the question more generically ... I don't trust anyone. I know what's going in me and the mechanisms it uses. Same doctor was stunned when I mention that once I dropped under 150 mg of venlafaxine, the side effects wore off, but the drop in norepinephrine took its toll on me. I knew that 150 mg was the break over point when it started to work on norepinephrine levels as well.

Why don't I trust him? Because he's really not that interested. And as proof, he'll go out of his way to make sure my wife's meds are current and available. I'll go to pick mine up at the pharmacy and he won't have called them in. (When we were both just in to see him!) I'll have to have the pharmacist call to get them filled.

So, to sum up. I trust he isn't working just to line his pockets, but he sure could care less that I'm there.

[cool09]

First of all, they don't do their job. (From my experience of 28 yrs of treatment) they don't do nearly enough analysis of their patients for proper diagnoses and for administering psychotropic drugs. (I'm not going to go thru my history of treatment because it's downright depressing.)

I heard Dr. Phil say it perfectly the other day. He said that [in order to prescribe psychotropic medication properly Doctors need to know everything about a patient (and their family)]. He also stated that he is anti-pill but there are some indications for psychotropic medications.

[gloamingone]

My pdoc is basically a very intelligent idiot. When she prescribes me a new med, I research the heck out of it before taking it. For the first year I saw her, she'd pile on med after med. I think I was on six at one time. Then she told me I had to stop taking so many meds (?????). Hellooooo, I didn't ASK for them!

She doesn't do any research on these meds, as far as I can tell. Luckily most of them have been around for a while, so I can read a bunch about them.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lovefromdover]

With any doc, any specialist, if you try and don't feel ok just talking, you should find another and another doc and so on. Until you feel ok just talking.

Overall experience should be good enough to feel at peace with your doc. There are brilliant people out there, it's a matter of finding them.

[Webgoji]

Originally Posted by cool09

I heard Dr. Phil say it perfectly the other day. He said that [in order to prescribe psychotropic medication properly Doctors need to know everything about a patient (and their family)]. He also stated that he is anti-pill but there are some indications for psychotropic medications.

I saw this one too!

And I agree with Dr. Phil (in this instance). But he's also got access to resources most people will never know. To do the kind of reviews and biological and psychological work-ups he talks about takes enormous resources that most people just don't have. So we have to settle for second best. I can't afford to go to that place in Dallas he uses and my insurance won't pay for it. So ... I get Dr. Cosby (seriously, my PDoc reminds me of Cliff Huxtable back in the days of the Cosby Show).

[lovefromdover]

[...

There is an inherent symbiotic relationship between psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies. Some psychiatrists are paid by pharmaceutical companies for public speaking, research and consulting. Their travel, meals and related expenses are also paid by the pharmaceutical companies. (Tip: If your psychiatrist has the name of a pharmaceutical company and/or medication on his or her patient history form--run.)

This kind of relationship is not unique to psychiatry: prosecutors and police officers; politicians and large corporations; attorneys and insurance companies, to name just a few.

Unless there is a compelling reason, psychiatrists should view the writing of a script for medication as a last resort. A healthy diet, exercise and psychotherapy should always be suggested first. If these changes are unsuccessful, only then should a script for medication be written. And the dosage should be the lowest possible. If the medication is a narcotic (pain and/or anxiety), the patient should return no longer than one week later. These medications should not be prescribed for patients for life. These medications bind to receptors in the brain, over-stimulating them, the receptors die, and the patient needs to increase the dosage to achieve the same effect.

In conclusion, just because a psychiatrist has the opportunity to significantly increase his or her income does not mean that he or she will do so. Buyer beware.

[lizardlady]

I've only seen two pdocs. I don't believe either prescribed meds due to influence from drug companies.

I will say the first pdoc I saw was an idiot. I did not believe I was self-injuring because of my age.

I'm still seeing the second almost 15 years since I started with him. He is wonderful! He actually listens to me. We are partners in my care. Best of all he treats the whole me. He does not push meds and listens to me about any concerns I have about what I'm taking. So yes I trust him.

To answer the OP's original question, while I have a great relationship with my pdoc I would not trust others until they earned that trust.

[Pikku Myy]

I trust my current podc. I may not always agree with everything he says, but trust is the main component in getting better to me. He also understands my fear of being medicated and does not press this issue unless absolutely necessary

I did not trust my previous podc. He was all about pushing meds.... not going there, lol

[splitimage]

I totally trust my current pdoc. He's conservative with meds, and takes my opinion into consideration. He's genuinely concerned with my welfare, and when I'm in crisis he ups our appointments to weekly or every 2 weeks. And in an emergency I can usually get in to see him within 48 hours.

My last pdoc was also really good, and I trusted her.

Only my first pdoc was an idiot - constantly late for appointments, calling in wrong scripts to the pharmacy, and then finally calling in my anti D prescription with 11 repeats on it, and totally dissappearing for a year.

splitimage

[The_little_didgee]

Most of my experiences with psychiatry have been very negative because of misdiagnosis. I was one of those people who was given a BPD label to prevent access to treatment. No one wanted to treat me and if they did medication was the only option. There was a problem with that though because it was the cause of my BPD symptoms. It made the situation worse and lead to all kinds of assumptions and diagnoses that were not accurate at all. For example I was given benzodiazepines that gave me memory loss. This was mistaken for dissociation. I was also put on antipsychotics that caused a perpetual hypnagogic state due to somnolence. I complained about that and was told it was hallucinations related to BPD. The symptoms all went away when I stopped the medications. The worst part of that entire experience was the conclusion it was all due to childhood abuse which was wrong. Imagine being told that and then doubting your childhood and family. After that experience I have been very cautious with doctors especially psychiatrists.

I presently see a psychiatrist who does therapy and actually listens. She doesn't push medication. I'm not a disorder to her that needs to be fixed. She has shown me over the last 2.5 years that I can trust her. It took over a decade for me to see one again. I took the risk because other clinicians felt I was misdiagnosed and I had a psychosis about 5 years after my horrible experience. My family doctor treated my illness for years.

Psychiatrists must prove they can be trusted. They must also be independent thinkers, observant and patient. If one makes a diagnosis in one appointment and wants to read all my medical records I won't bother.

[lovefromdover]

Originally Posted by The_little_didgee

The worst part of that entire experience was the conclusion it was all due to childhood abuse which was wrong.

Child abuse is wrong. Mislabelling is wrong. Attributing nefarious intentions to a label
a)confirms nefarious intentions after unprovoked nefarious act occurs
b)doesn't confirm nefarious intentions in case of lack of nefarious act
c)predominantly feeds suspiciousness

Originally Posted by The_little_didgee

Imagine being told that and then doubting your childhood and family. After that experience I have been very cautious with doctors especially psychiatrists.

Your experience, your findings, your conclusions.

Originally Posted by The_little_didgee

Psychiatrists must prove they can be trusted.

A lot worse is when trust is being destroyed, nothing can change that, psychiatrist was trustworthy from the beginning and still is. In different words, psychiatrist is locked in a cage and people responsible for that walk free.

[The_little_didgee]

I was never ever abused.

[lovefromdover]

Originally Posted by The_little_didgee

I was never ever abused.

Lucky you.

[The_little_didgee]

Originally Posted by lovefromdover

Lucky you.

I did not understand this and your other post. What are you trying to convey exactly?

[~Christina]

I trust mine 100% Hes not a pill flinging kinda guy and certainly not with any of these new psych meds.

[cool09]

I'll also say that lots of psychiatrists will play games with you. If they feel you are duping them or they just plain don't understand where you're coming from or they feel that you're rambling they will ignore what you're telling them and start doing what they want whether you agree or not (and whether you're having horrific side effects or not). If that's what they teach in Psychiatry School then they need to revamp their programs. I think it's one of the only medical fields where Doctors will keep things from you and/or play games. Some Doctors just don't understand where you get your thoughts for some reason: Hey Doc - ever think that maybe that's part of the problem and why I came to see you in the first place?

I was part of a day program when I was in a halfway house and the Psychiatrist there was abominable: he didn't consult with patients when prescribing medication - he met with me for 5 minutes, I told him I wanted off of clozaril cause it wasn't working, he told me "No" that I had "breaks in reality". That was my first appt. w/him - he had never consulted with me before.

I won't even go into Psychiatrists who fall asleep during sessions. Or one Psychiatrist in the Philadelphia area who told me I was a "shmuck" and told me that he was an admirer of Hitler - (he lost his license, thank God).

[Goldcrest]

As a general rule I don't trust psychiatrists. Partly because psychiatry is so unscientific. They are guessing a lot of the time! Otherwise some are genuine and conscientious, some aren't. Unfortunately in the UK you don't get choice in who you are referred to, so it is down to luck whether you get someone good or not.

Then there seems to be the policy here to get people on meds because once medicated they are less trouble (and probably less cost to the NHS). I had one drug that put me into a stupor-like state and was only alert for 5 hours out of 24. I had no life at all. Psych wouldn't help me, so I had to decide myself to come off that drug.

Psychiatrist I see at the moment is pretty good, understands how badly I suffer from side effects, and how the drugs have damaged me. She still really wants me to take drugs, but they have harmed me too much and I can't take the risk. I think she is waiting for me to get in a bad way so she can make me take them. She is not interested in other treatments.

[Silent Void]

My psych is a great guy. The stuff he tries is earnest, but it doesn't really work. I'm not going to leave him for it though. He's trying hard. I'm treatment-resistant. That's not his fault.

[ForeverLonelyGirl]

Psychiatrists seem to be strange folks that are just as screwed up as any of us. I have had a few great therapists but found psychiatrists to be egotistical and uncaring. That has been my experience anyhow.

[doyoutrustme]

Mine is not a pill pusher, but it took me a while to trust him because of the bad rap psychiatry gets.

We do psychotherapy together and he is excellent. Very caring, genuine and honest. He's not afraid to be wrong and doesn't act like he knows everything.