prescription drugs

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I tend to obsess about my patients.

Especially the ones who have chosen prescription psychiatric drugs over natural alternative substances. I always give a choice when it is possible. it often is.

Of course, I must often rely on research that has been done in other countries. I have gotten used to doing this. I can’t say it bothers me terribly much. Read more on Death By Psych Meds…

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A new patient came in this week, referred by a trusted therapist. She had been sexually abused at approximately age 7. She was depressed.

She was on a combination of an antidepressant and a sleeping pill. It seemed to work as well an anything would. The medications were the same kind of medications that I would generally use. Older, reliable, out of patent (more than 7 years old) and thus available in cheap generics.

When I asked her how much of her depression it had made go away, she said “50%.” I ordered my usual list of blood tests. They seemed exotic to her.

We couldn’t even tell if they were things she got ordered in her “annual physical.” She had some kind of blood tests done a month ago. She was reluctant to have more drawn, so I told her we could get the old ones. She looked relieved.

?Relieved?
She was visibly overweight. She had paid a well-known diet center to follow their plan. She had gotten down to her “target weight,” then gone on to gain back most of what she had lost.

She was plagued by seborrheic dematitis. This is not usually a difficult thing to control. She could cut her hair (which went down past her shoulders). She could wash it daily with the prescription shampoo that her primary doctor had (correctly) prescribed. She could wear a little cap, perhaps like the sequiny little one that I showed her I had worn that day.

It was plain to see on her face that I was frustrating her, I just seemed to have more solutions than she had problems.

She asked me if she could return for her next appointment in a month.

She was not suicidal.

I made it clear that if I waited one month I would not increase her medication, for she would have to stay on the same if I were to wait so long until seeing her.

She didn’t mind.

She was not alone among my patients to feel as she felt. I have always failed to understand patients such as she.

Her previous psychiatrist and her previous therapist, had dragged her along for approximately two years.

She had contributed to paying their living expenses, with her fees. Maybe they had improved her status some. I mean, to be fair, I had not seen what she had been like when she started.

Depression is common. Far and away the most common of psychiatric illness, no matter what measurements or statistics you believe.

There are aspects of it that clinical trials of medication have shown, time and time again, get better. Things like sleep, appetite, mood, concentration.

Enjoying life, living your dreams, and such do NOT respond to medication.

Having the desire to correct things than annoy you and make your life better; that is somewhere between spirituality and magic for many of my wide-eyed depressed patients.

Sometimes I am angry at my colleagues. They seem to have accepted the limitations put upon them by government and insurance and economics.

This does not much help the patient.

It takes more than a couple minutes in my office to pump up these things.

I have said “stay tuned” before, but now I must try to bring this message to more media.

Science exists, and ought to be serving humankind.

Stay tuned.

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No matter whose statistics you believe, there are more than 100 thousand people a year dying from drug overdoses, interactions, and errors.

The bottom line is people lie. They stash drugs and find things in dumpsters and tell me with great pride they know the best for their bodies and think marijuana is harmless when it isn’t. Read more on How To Not Die From Prescription Drugs…

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My preceptor — the professor who was responsible for teaching me about psychopharmacology — continuously complained about “polypharmacy.”

I would roll my eyes heavenward and give him one of my usual “clever” retorts like,”Who the heck is she? Your cleaning lady, maybe??” Read more on What We Do With Antidepressants…

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A ray of hope.  Martin Shkreli is the man who “jacked up” the price of a lifesaving pharmaceutical drug.

It appears to have been something he did just to make profits go up. Read more on Jacked Up Drug Pricing…

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Recently I convinced a patient to buy and use one of these:

She had to pay about 700 dollars cash for it.

I had her on a variety of antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, and she had survived untold numbers of similar drugs from the three or so psychiatrists she saw before me. She assured me none of them had been much help. Read more on The Fisher-Wallace Stimulator…

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Remember Portugal? A very long time, ships left from there to explore the Americas and stuff.

In the late 1990’s, about one percent of their population was addicted to opioids. They had all kinds of criminal type drug programs, and at least as bad a drug program as America could imagine in its worst nightmares. Read more on How To Get Rid Of Opiate Addiction…

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When push comes to shove, any psychiatrist can prescribe anything they damned well please.

Oh, there are a few particularities. Like needing to have a “triplicate’ pad if you are going to prescribe speed, or a “tamper proof” pad if you are going to prescribe something wildly addictive. But any licensed MD can just phone those in legally if you give your “magic numbers” like your DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) number — even if not a psychiatrist. Read more on Antipsychotic Medication For Children With Autism…

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It was a local cabaret night fundraiser for the community theatre, a spirited mixture of volunteers and professionals, performing Broadway numbers.  One of the performers was a young man, about 30, with phocomyelia. You may not have heard of this condition, but fortunately there is always Wikipedia for background.

Those born with this defect have shortened limbs, somewhat like the flippers of a seal. Read more on Phocomyelia Reappears…

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Should I be inclined to comment on the physical or mental health of a public figure, I would need to start with a humongous disclaimer.

I suppose it is common decency that would force me to say I had never met the patient and/or had never been their doctor and/or had never had any access to their medical or psychiatric record. Read more on Approach, Not Author…