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Not to be overly antagonistic here, but "the process" doesn't work at all. Doctors make drive-by appointments, write an Rx after a few minutes, and they don't w

Not to be overly antagonistic here, but "the process" doesn't work at all. Doctors make drive-by appointments, write an Rx after a few minutes, and they don't want to hear any guff about it. Many of them refuse to take action that would benefit their patients because they're worried about drawing attention from law enforcement or getting labeled as a pill mill. High-deductible health plans are becoming pervasive so each check-up is a hundred bucks. Patients are treated alternately like cattle or criminals, must adhere to the doctor's schedule ("sorry, I only work half-days 3 days of the week, and make sure you schedule 4 months in advance!"), and the doctor has forgotten everything about the patient by the next follow-up. These are the people to whom you're entrusting your brain chemistry. Meanwhile, the industry replaces pseudophedrine with phenylephrine (placebo whose only reliable effect is increased blood pressure) so that they don't have to admit every effective decongestant is now restricted and pushes the predominantly-ineffective atomoxetine as a replacement for amphetamines. There are definite benefits to competent medical supervision, if it ever actually happened, but it's so uncommon that we're better off dropping the pretense and just using drugs that work.

wayoutthere 7y ago
This right here. I didn’t actually start getting better until I started seeing doctors in private practice who I paid to listen to me.
nradov 7y ago
You seem to be confused and are all over the map with that comment. Sure some patients aren't able to get enough time with qualified doctors. However that has nothing to do with whether a particular depressed patient is best treated with an SSRI, MAOI, or something else. You cannot seriously claim that MAOIs are completely safe: like every powerful drug, doctors have to weigh benefits against potential side effects. Pseudoephedrine is still available without a prescription if you want it. I bought some at my local pharmacy last month. The government forced the industry to restrict sales quantities and require customers to show ID because drug dealers were buying it to cook methamphetamine.

wayoutthere 7y ago

This right here. I didn’t actually start getting better until I started seeing doctors in private practice who I paid to listen to me.

nradov 7y ago

You seem to be confused and are all over the map with that comment. Sure some patients aren't able to get enough time with qualified doctors. However that has nothing to do with whether a particular depressed patient is best treated with an SSRI, MAOI, or something else. You cannot seriously claim that MAOIs are completely safe: like every powerful drug, doctors have to weigh benefits against potential side effects. Pseudoephedrine is still available without a prescription if you want it. I bought some at my local pharmacy last month. The government forced the industry to restrict sales quantities and require customers to show ID because drug dealers were buying it to cook methamphetamine.