tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26666124.post2009150854656671487..comments2024-03-18T03:28:36.581-04:00Comments on Shrink Rap: Here Ye! Here Ye!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26666124.post-7492630002053289522009-03-18T13:17:00.000-04:002009-03-18T13:17:00.000-04:00Great (and interesting!) post.Following on from wh...Great (and interesting!) post.<BR/><BR/>Following on from what the previous "patient" said it seems there are a lot of "can you believes" on both sides of the treatment scale. Possibly it is because the professional practitioners as you say do not have a tried and tested accepted process to follow (though as you say this is improving somewhat with meds) especially as every patient and every brain responds differently to treatment and at the other end, the patients do not really know what to expect or what "normal" treatment processes are and what are the outcomes that can be expected?<BR/><BR/>Also the relationship can be very enclosed - one patient, one doc and the patient never knowing there are any alternatives and not in a position to question.<BR/><BR/>If the other practitioners who see the treatment plans are not questioning then who will stand up for the patient?<BR/><BR/>A lack of clarity combined with some smoke and mirrors can lead to a whole load of confusion.<BR/><BR/>Not that I don't think that everyone is doing the best they can.. just that there could be something of a communication breakdown.BTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10121250074929671102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26666124.post-39447673287409625312009-03-18T03:01:00.000-04:002009-03-18T03:01:00.000-04:00I'm a patient, but I do the "can you believe it" r...I'm a patient, but I do the "can you believe it" routine about doctors. For example, one of my friends goes to a Primary Care physician who is a personal friend of hers from her days as a drug rep. This is a guy who apparently does not believe in (gets paid more to not believe in??) referrals to specialists. This doc put her on thyroid meds, then ramped up her dose to 250mcg Levoxyl. My friend showed signs of anxiety (too much Levoxyl???) so he then put her on an anti-anxiety med plus she was depressed, so an anti-depressant too. In 10 years of continuous meds she has not been to either a psychiatrist or an endocrinologist. She LOVES her doctor and "all he's done for her" and doesn't think she needs specialists when she has such a great primary care doc. Wow!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26666124.post-86646186064163166092009-03-17T23:32:00.000-04:002009-03-17T23:32:00.000-04:00I don't think it is just psychiatry. I think it i...I don't think it is just psychiatry. I think it is all of medicine. Not a day goes by that I don't at least think "can you believe" about a colleague. I know they all think it about me. <BR/><BR/>I try to remember that we are all mere mortals, doing the best we can with a mountain of literature, no time to digest it, sicker and sicker patients and external limitations on our time.<BR/><BR/>To quote Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"Fat Doctorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09672076019531106668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26666124.post-22499566394398970492009-03-17T22:02:00.000-04:002009-03-17T22:02:00.000-04:00I think on the whole we're a pretty affable bunch....I think on the whole we're a pretty affable bunch.<BR/><BR/>We've ready access to second opinions and, invariably, in my corner folks independently say the same thing. <BR/><BR/>We moan about managers, we seldom moan about colleagues.<BR/><BR/>On reflection it's vanishingly rare I'll chide a colleague's practice and don't often hear of negative comments 'bout mine. Conversely, we're much more scathing of general physicians in Primary Care than some disciplines.<BR/><BR/>"He's been seeing this patient with depression for 6 years and never started any effective treatment?!"<BR/><BR/>"He's been seeing this patient with memory problems for 3 years and never referred for acetylcholinesterase inhibitors?"<BR/><BR/>"He's been seeing this patient with acute onset of visual hallucinations that have gone on for 2 years and he's never scanned their brain?"<BR/><BR/>I find myself having cautious conversations with such patients, along the lines of, "Well, although I can understand why Dr X has done this, in truth I'd have been inclined to do blah blah blah. What're your thoughts on this, now?"The Shrinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10009039342346247138noreply@blogger.com