so i went to see my gp for a much needed referral to a psychiatrist and/or the regional mental health service. i graduated from the DBT program in 08/10 and have not had my case reviewed by a psychiatrist or indeed any contact from the mental health service since. yeah that's 20 months and i'm not feeling too good, mentally or physically. i need some help. so i sought it.
while there i asked my gp for some diazapam or similar to control my mounting anxiety and distress at my inability to be seen/heard by a mental health professional (as well as the recurring emotional issues that make this neccessary) she replied that it was not advisible to prescribe valium when i was having suicidal thoughts.
i and my partner (who was in there with me on this occassion) both told her that he controlled all my prescribed medications for just such a reason = attempted suicide on valium would not occur. still no go and no offer of an alternative. i was pacing the office in tears by this point.
he explained that i needed something to calm me down without knocking me out completely and would take the prescription from her hand himself.
we also asked her to pull up my records which clearly list diazapam as a recommended short term medication to treat the anxiety symptoms i was describing (and by this stage exhibiting). she didn't have time.
i then asked for a script for ten only 5mg tablets as i know they work for me and i felt that i was in genuine need of them. she told me that she would not prescribe me even one tablet but would make a note on my file that my partner could give me 200mg of seroquel in the evening. end of discussion. thanks for coming.
the very same doctor gave me a prescription for 100 x inderal with two repeats without even taking my blood pressure just 2 weeks before.
my last suicide attempt (in 01/10) was from an overdose of inderal. i took the whole bottle and spent 5 days in ICU.
makes me wonder…..
i yi yi!!!
i do know that i have come up against some docs who have a blind spot or sensitivity to a certain med and will not prescribe it…..i have had bad experiences with kidney stones (I am a kidney stone factory) and demerol was my med of choice (other wise you have to go to ER and writhe on the floor for 4 hours waiting to see someone to just give you meds) as i am allergic to most narcotics…..but one doc was even hesistant to give me tylenol with codeine….just couldn't listen to anything my husband or i would say…….i only took them when i had kidney stones, while other docs would prescribe 100's (this was before i was depressed)
yes, agree about the sensitivity some doctors have to prescribing certain drugs as you mentioned.
after some discussion with my partner in the car on the way home (we live 30 mins or so from town) we came to the conclusion that there must be some "issue" with the prescription of this particular range of drugs at this particular surgery – probably because it is considered a drug of addiction and possibly due to government restrictions for publically funded medical centres. when i was living and working in another state some years ago i was under the care of a private psychiatrist (and able to pay health care insurance and full price for prescribed medications) i had diazepam and such coming out of my ears lol.
i just kinda wish the gp had made her reasoning explicit – it was the manner in which i was treated in response to this request rather than the fact she wouldn't fulfill it that upset me most… i also understand that they are probably not allowed to tell it like it is… sigh