was this dr. rude or what???

well i was seeing a psych for depression and anxiety, she diagnosed me with bipolar1 and had me on, 40mg of lexapro, 300mg of lamicatal, 225mgs of effexor, and i was on that combo for like 6 months, well it stopped working and i started feeling really depressed again. So my apt was on Thursday and i couldn't wait to get there and tell her how i was feeling cause it was so bad.
and all i did was suggest that we try a diff combo, i told her i was reading online about wellbutrin and that my friend was on abilify and it was working really good for her and asked her how she felt about trying something else...well she got very mad and said im the one with the MD you don't call the shots around here!and maybe i should go to my friends Dr then. i said im not calling the shots Ive been working with you for months on this set of meds and its just not helping anymore and im severely depressed and havent been feeling right. Then she started yelling its all me! that really made me feel good. I practically had to beg her to refill my scripts one more time so i can ween myself off the stuff.

this is my 2nd bad exp with a psych, i think they are all nuts and im done with them! i went to my family dr and told him how my main complaint was anxiety and how she put me on all those meds and it wasnt helping, so he prescribed me ativan, 1 pill! and its working better than any other pill and its much better on my liver than taking the amount of pills she had me on.

im going to try to fight the depressive feelings on my own once again, i ordered some vitamins and started meditating daily, so far so good. im going to fight it with all i got.

Wow, yea, get out of dodge in regards to that crazy doctor! Ask around for recommendations, but I would NOT go back to her. She sounds unstable.

I am happy that you are fighting this with all you got some people just let the depression take over.Ativan is a very good pill i have never been on them but do know people that had.I suffered depression about 10 years ago and that is when i started yoga,it helped too.
Good luck
Ya i would certainly not see that doctor again.

I had a loony Psych. back in Chicago... put me on a trial run of some new meds that, without going into details, did NOT go over well. I stopped going to him and started Acupuncture. I'd love to start up TaiChi again as well... most of it for me is more phsyical... stress, tension, etc.

I have a hard time sleeping, so the docs were convinced I'm suffering from depression.... really? prove it. I get defensive now when someone tells me that may be my problem... Prozac, Wellbutrin, Paxil, nothing improved my situation. I weaned myself off the Prozac and started Acupuncture. Now whether it would help you or not, I don't know. But it balances everything out, physically, etc... And taking up TaiChi or Yoga would also help you. I'd bet on it...

Chuck the Psych... I've never found one I trust and like. Talk with your GP about trying alternative therapies, like Acupuncture and Yoga... you may still continue on some meds, but not like what that Psych was doing... I swear they must get kickbacks from the drug companies... they hand you scrips for all kinds of crud...

Good luck...

Amanda

I would agree that this particular doctor is not right for you (understatement of the year), but I would add that not all therapist are like that. I have found therapists (without the medical degree) to be better than psychiatrists in general in dealing with people. If you still want to try another therapist, I would try to get a recommendation from someone you trust.

By the by, your GP can prescribe you antidepressants. It only takes a medical degree. However, if your GP is responsible, he will make sure you are working with a therapist before issuing a scrip.

I have found that a combination of decent eating, tai chi, writing, and therapy are what I need to deal with my depression. I am not saying you have to have therapy (far from it), but I do consider therapy valid and workable for some people.

P.S. There are many different schools of therapy, so a different school might be helpful to you.

Wow, your psychiatrist sucks! I guess maybe I am lucky but I found a really good psychologist and had a horrible therapist. My psychologist was all for me just continuing therapy but I requested meds (wellbutrin) from the psychiatrist that I spoke to just to kind of get me through this really bad time. Your psych may have had a bad day or maybe just is one of those people that LOVES to flaunt their degree and credentials.

There's one other thing to consider, in terms of medication. My father did well on Wellbutrin, but then his insurance insisted on the generic form. There's a difference in the way the generics are produced and it made the medication ineffective for him. Just keep that in mind if you tinker with medications. I agree that you should ditch that doctor if you're not being treated well or being heard.

Unbelieveable! I would be floored if a doc talked to me like that.

I wouldn't write them all off though...maybe take a referall from a friend that is doing well with their doc.

Yes, very rude! Personally I would report someone like that to their governing body. Here it is "The College of Physicians and Surgeons". Not sure what such a place is called there.

Please do not give up on therapists. Depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and no matter how hard you try to deal with it on your own, until that chemical balance is corrected, it will only get worse.

Ativan is not an appropriate medication for depression. It is a short acting medication for agitation/anxiety. Many use it to fall asleep, but it's not even a proper sleeping aid because while it helps you relax and get to sleep, the effects wear off and you wake up in the night.

Please, ask around and do some research and go to a more reputable therapist. There are lots of good therapists around, and many types of medication that can help you get your depression under control.

That is disgusting.. I agree that she sounds unstable (especially for lashing out), so please don't let her discourage you from seeking a REAL psychiatrist or therapist. I think it's wonderful you're making life changes to improve your health, but it is impossible for anyone to recover & maintain recovery on their own. As I'm sure you experience your depression and moods changing often, the positive feelings & motivation, etc., will waver. There's a lot more than medication that goes into treatment & recovery, so we need someone who is experienced to help keep us on the right track.

As family doctors are not certified in the treatment of mental illness, I don't think family physicians prescribe anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications for the long term when it involves mental disorders. If you trust your physician, he can help build a bridge between you and other trustworthy mental health organizations that DON'T employ nut jobs.

It just takes a bit of time to find a good match.. it will happen!!

That's quite a list of medications to go through and still not have your depression even close to being controlled. All possible health problems have been completely ruled out, haven't they? (and there's quite a few, so maybe not) If not, that could cause a situation where your mood/depression could not be improved by antidepressants.

In either case, start over with doctors who will listen to you.

Wow, that's a lot of stuff they gave you. Did your doctor try and do something like cognitive therapy with you?

I had a "therapist" like that too. She was an absolute bag and we paid a bunch of money to see her, and it ended with her telling my mother that she should essentially let me fall on my butt and deal with it myself (note, I was like, fourteen when this happened).

BTW, I was on lorazepam for a while and it zonked me out completely. Made for some interesting nights. But that, along with fairly low doses of two other meds, therapy, and support from my family helped me deal with anxiety and depression.

While there are some jerk doctors out there, not all are quacks! You just have to weed out the bad ones.

Ive had blood work done for the past 3 years and more just recently by my family Dr and everything has been fine.

I def believe they get commission from prescribing so much of a certain drug. That was my 2nd bad experience with a psychiartrist, The 1st one had me so loaded up on seroquel and depakote i was a zombie.

Im still going to try and do this on my own through meditation and a healthier way of life and thinking, if things get real bad im going to have my new family dr refer me to one because he actually listens to me.

thanks guys!

Originally Posted by cats4sky

Ive had blood work done for the past 3 years and more just recently by my family Dr and everything has been fine.

Click to expand...

What sort of blood work? Testing various hormones takes a lot of blood work and some urine tests - it's much more than the standard check up blood work a GP usually does (the typical CBC, blood sugar, electrolyte, and TSH). I'm only being pushy about this because off hormone levels can really mess a person up.

Believe it or not, thyroid problems are more common than believed and some labs haven't updated their ranges for TSH yet. Then there's people who test ok on TSH but still have thyroid problems and need more tests done. This is one of the better known hormone problems that can result in serious depression.

And of course they get kickbacks. Have you never been sitting in a doctors office before and seen a drug rep walk in? They always look the same, and maybe even a bit sleazy.

While I can understand the doctor's frustrations, she went about it the totally wrong way. Drug companies put so much advertising out there, and doctors are often faced with patients demanding drugs that won't help them because they heard x, y and z. I'm not saying that's what you were doing, but maybe she was just at her breaking point over it. And that's totally not how a psychiatrist should be. Definately needs to take a vacation and collect herself.

In my own personal experience, I used to be on celexa, so when I went to my (family) doctor (really really don't do well with psych peeps), I mentioned that I was on it before, but maybe this time lexapro would be better. I had done my own internet researching, which included the drug company's webpage, which recommended lexapro instead of celexa. Suprise suprise, celexa is now a generic and costs $4, where as lexapro was still under patent and costs a whole boatload more. I wonder why the drug company recommended lexapro

I have a one-word answer for you: YES. And I agree, one or even more than one bad apple shouldn't deter from continuing to look for solutions to your condition. I also have depressioin. I didn't start to improve until I started using an SSRI AND finding a competent therapist to help me delve into my issues.

Also - so many of the psychotropic medications have bad side effects and cause more issues than they fix. It's a real talent/skill to find the right one or combination.