quote:

Originally posted by Luly:
Fear of Meds and Doctors

I have recently met people in the chat room who fear their medications and their doctors to such a degree that they refuse to take the medications as prescribed, and will not trust their doctor’s advice. “What if “ thinking takes over, and they avoid doctor visits for fear of receiving bad test results. “What you don’t know won’t kill you,” right? To that I say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Another recurring theme is that of being agoraphobic, and therefore unable to obtain medical treatment.

I am very sorry to hear these stories because as much as I would like to help, I am in no position to offer medical advice, and anything I say with the very best of intentions is only comprised of my personal experiences and my opinions, therefore, I cannot help. Any medical topics discussed in the room are mere hearsay, and should not be taken to be any more than that. While we may see common threads in our lives that compare to the experiences of others, if it sounds as though my problems sound “exactly” like yours, I can assure you that they are not.

Everybody is different. My culture, lifestyle, and life experiences are unique unto me. The traumas, stresses, challenges, and change I have faced and continue to face through life are my own. My reactions to situations, medications, and even the root causes of my angst are unlike those of anyone else.

So a question is posed to the room, such as, “does anyone here take Xanax?” And I will respond that I take .25mg once a day as needed. The instructions are printed on my prescription bottle, and I follow them. My doctor knows that I work for a living, need to function, and am highly drug sensitive. If I have any questions about drug interactions, I will call my doctor. I have high blood pressure too. I tell my doctor everything that I take from vitamins to the amount of alcohol I consume, and describe all of the symptoms of my panics, faints, and dizzy spells in detail including when and where they happen. They why is a mystery to me.

When I first went to the doctor and complained of the panics, there were a number of treatment options available. It is not like a person can enter a clinic and have the doctor instantly know what to prescribe on the spot. It is a discovery process that a patient hires a doctor to work with in an effort to arrive at a suitable solution.

In my experience, my doctor and I tried me on Lexapro for 6 weeks, and I had a horrible drug reaction. I called my doctor because she needed to know that, and she told me to ride it out for the full trial period. I did, and was miserable, so I went back to the doctor, who tapered me off of that medicine and started me with Effexor. I had the same experience with the Effexor, so together we decided that Xanax was the solution for me. When I quit the alcohol, I thought I no longer needed medicine for anxiety, but I did not just stop taking it, to do that is called self-medicating, and it should not be done without medical supervision, so I consulted my doctor. She agreed and told me to just use the Xanax as needed, and if I don’t need it, not to take it. This worked for me, but may not work for anyone else.

In sum, I see this as a very strong self help program requiring certain commitments of a person seeking success. First is the ability to recognize and accept a problem and by that I mean taking responsibility for the problem from end to end. Second is to devise a plan for resolution, third is to take action, and finally, to follow through and track progress.