Doctors are overrated

[jj]

Hey Folks,

I just wanted to post regarding all those who have concerns about medically-unsupervised use of bac/topa/nal...I personally think medics are totally crap at dealing with addiction. I did a 30-day AF stint back in the summer and was using topa procured online.

I was experiencing some success in the early days and visited my GP to ask for topa, bringing with me all relevant clinical literature. The GP refused to prescribe it for me for a few reasons:
- It is not a widely prescribed drug in the UK (GP had only ever used it once for a patient with epilepsy)
- As such, if a Prescribing Advisor was to (likely) pick up on any untoward prescribing, the GP would be under investigation.
- The GP would only agree to prescribe me topa if it was under the advocacy of a Psychiatrist or Neurologist...and my shrink knew nothing about topa and so would not comply.

So....all of this seemed fair enough to me. However, I did also bring some info with me at this visit regarding the use of bac for addiction. The GP did seem impressed with this, advising that bac was safe & widely prescribed and that if I had no luck with the self-administered topa regime, that I could revisit with a "bad back", nudge nudge, wink wink and they would consider prescribing the bac instead.

So low and behold, I began to experience bad side effects with topa and returned to the drink BIG TIME...landed my sorry ass in the GPs surgery over a month ago and begged for bac. The GP refused outright, told me that I just had to find a way to overcome cravings and proceeded to write me a rather large script for diazepam...despite the fact that I developed a benzo dependence earlier this year and had to embark on a 4 week benzo detox preogramme....(are you laughing yet).

I left feeling extremely low and tried to top myself the next day, was referred to an emergency psychiatric evaluation where I was told that medication would not help me (have been on the same antidepressant for 4 years and on/off various anti-anxiety meds for the past few months to treat acute anxiety) and was referred to clinical psychology services (talking therapy). They wouldn't even consider trying a new antidepressant!

Well here we are 5 weeks on and not only have I not heard a peep from anyone but my GP hasn't even received the psychiatric evaluation notes or referrals from the emergency psychiatric team (who comprised a Community Psychiatric Nurse & a Mental Health Social Worker...then followed by A Speciality Doctor in Psychiatry and a Consultant Psychiatrist)...

So at the end of this rant...what is the moral of the story??? Forget doctors...if we want to get better we need to take our destiny into our own hands...and if that means unsupervised drug administration...so be it. The booze would just kill us anyway so what fucking choice do we have?

jj

[brightlite]

Doctors are overrated

It has been said many times before that your health is ultimately in your own hands. If you are lucky enough to have a doctor that can oversee, monitor and make qualified assessments that great, but noone or not one thing alone will miraculously fix our addiction problems. Its hard to find the right combination that might work, but keep up your own search and fight!

[RedThread12]

Doctors are overrated

"Health Care" rant here, too!

Wow. What a post, JJ. A dose of reality regarding medical "care."

I am totally on a personal mission around this topic! I'm not suggesting others do this, but I dropped my medical insurance after realizing that it was totally useless in helping me get the services I needed (NO mental health care, crazy misleading information about deductibles, etc.).

It began to feel immoral on my part to keep paying for the illusion of help and security, so when I cancelled it I felt really GOOD about it!

A friend of mine who is a psychiatrist prescribed Campral for me. She did the appointment for free because I once did something for her that completely transformed her life. But the Campral was horribly expensive. And it made me, literally, suicidally depressed.

So then the question was . . . do I want to feel like killing myself because of drinking or do I want to feel like killing myself because of taking the prescribed remedy for drinking?

Thank God for this forum where I found the info about bac. It has been an f'ing miracle drug for me. Just today I got another doc friend to prescribe it for me - I have to go to her office next week and "become a patient," but she went ahead and wrote the scrip for me to pick up today because I told her I was 1) already taking it (ordered online), 2) getting tremendous results, 3) didn't want to stop and 4) didn't want to withdraw. This is a doc who was a student of mine a few years ago, so she trusts me to be responsible about what I'm doing.

I have to bring copies of the studies in Dr. Amieson's book to our appointment next week, but that's just exciting, because it means maybe someone else will get help through her! So I'm really fortunate.

Where are you now with all of this now? Are you finding what you need, or ways to pursue finding what you need? There is SO MUCH great information and experience in this forum. It's given me both the knowledge and the courage to take responsibility for getting myself well, just as you suggest.

I'm doing all the deciding and prescribing and medicine combining myself, but I do keep a good friend completely informed about what I am doing and what the results are, and what changes I make. It's helpful for me just to know that someone knows exactly what I'm doing - he's a smart guy, but he ain't no doctor, for sure! He refers to me as a "total experiment," and I'm enjoying being just that.

Best to you in figuring it out. I'm SURE you can and will.:thumbs::thumbs:

[christyacc]

Doctors are overrated

Wow, this is scaring me! I faxed a bunch of info to my family doc for her to prepare for my appt on the 27th. I am really hoping that she is going to prescribe, and I will have her support. I would much rather have her aware and also have her support.

If she knocks me down, well, I am going to do the Bac. I have been taking it until recently when I ran out. It works amazingly! I didn't think about drinking, I would only have a couple, I could drink like a normal person. I was going a week AF at a time, when I hadn't done that in a year. I ran out, and BAM, here I am drinking again. It really sucks. I have 2 orders out there, and I am waiting impatiently.

I hope everything works out.....even if you can't have the support of your GP, you can control your own destiny. Trust me, the Bac works.

[Krazy1]

Doctors are overrated

Fortunate & Frustrated

I feel so lucky that I have pretty good insurance through my husband's job (& thank God he's survived many rounds of layoffs), and it makes me so mad that even though I have access to Naltrexone, I still have to lie to my psych, claiming I'm abstinent. I'm not positive he would deny me the prescription if I told him the truth, but I don't feel I can risk it at this point. Often doctors are the most difficult to convince, even when the evidence is staring them in the face. They even get pissed off when you show them all the evidence - I've had doctors tell me "don't believe what youfind on the Internet". Excuse me, but I'm not an idiot, and not everything on the Internet is crap. I get so disgusted with the attitude of these "professionals". I'm sure they see their share of crazies, but I think they should still give us all a fair chance. I like both my GP and psych, but am too wimpy to tell them about TSM at this point. I have told my therapist, and she's OK with it.

But I remember when I told her the statistics about the 80% success rate vs. only about 5-10% long term for AA, and she just smiled, as if I didn't know what I was talking about....blah, blah, blah. At least she is supportive. "If this works for you, great, but the 12 step programs have been so effective to many" - etc. She's open to me, hears me, and yet hasn't found time to even look into the info I gave her about TSM, and it's been months since I told her. You'd think that as a professional, she'd be interested in something that has changed my life so profoundly and that it just might help others, but in the usual time crunch of life - TSM just isn't important because it's not mainstream. Makes me want to SCREAM!

Sorry for the ranting. I get going and can't seem to stop. Kind of like drinking, but much safer for the general public! I'll take this over getting blasted any day! I just wanted to share my frustrations about doctors, and I hope one day they will all be educated about the newer options for treatment. I don't know when they'll find the time when they have to see 4 people every hour and then go home, try to have a normal life, etc. When will they take the time to look further? I think they'll need more pressure from a professional/mandatory education approach. From what I've seen, they often regard anything they "hear from patients" with very little respect. It's time we demanded R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Where's Aretha and her crazy hat when we need her? :H

[peacenik]

Doctors are overrated

funny. most of the folks here who are successful long term abstainers aren't taking meds at all, but are utilizing aa or some other form of support....maybe you'd be better off relying on your own strengths and community support instead of pills

[gyco]

Doctors are overrated

hi jj,i had to respond , chastise me,if you may,ive also been thro a rehab,31 days,4 months sober b4 i went in,on my own, cant fool another drinker or druggie,no matter what drugs you take, guess i have to disagree with you,you did say you were addicted to AL,in not so many words,so dont drink,stop,you dont need anything other then support,4 days, your gonna get the shakes,nervous, feel like dying ,so maybe the practioner new,the diazapam brings you down,hart attact= stroke,from booze,if you take booze on top,good luck,it will be your worst nt mare,it does say on most meds,dont use with AL,been there ,done it,as humans,most addicted people wil go from one extreme to another,we all no if we take another ,one drink,it could lead to are demise,same as anything else we do,we are over acheivers in all the wrong places,think about,read your story, gyco

[Guest]

Doctors are overrated

FWIW - going through the same thing with the doctors in Germany. Perhaps it might be the NIH (not invented here) syndrome?

Tried out a new Dr. a couple of weeks ago armed with information on BAC - he said that it was only allowed for treating "schizoid" patients and I did not qualify. He further would not read the information that I brought along - but, he did keep said info and maybe he will read it later.

So, I continue to pay a fortune buying on-line. And, he will absolutely not monitor what, if any effects the on-line medications do!

Interesting?

Who knows but I think the BAC is starting to work for me, at least.

Dave

[Andy R]

Doctors are overrated

I no longer purchase online - I get my BAC throught he UK's NHS. Took me about 3 months to find someone who would.

Having said that the costs online for a months worth of BAC were less than 4 days of drinking.

I know what you mean JJ and I have been as frustrated myself with all the nonsense that can go on.

Brights line about health being an individual responsibility is very true

Best of luck to you.