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> My brother is a pharmacist, and is constantly shocked by the prescriptions that healthy people bring in to get filled. While I definitely agree with your gen

> My brother is a pharmacist, and is constantly shocked by the prescriptions that healthy people bring in to get filled. While I definitely agree with your general point, how does your brother know that they’re healthy or don’t need to take the medication? I’ve never had any discussion with a pharmacist (in the US or Canada) where I’ve revealed this information.

ldjkfkdsjnv 4y ago
What I mean is a mother of 4, with no medical history, is feeling stressed and worn out. Maybe she has trouble focussing. All of a sudden she comes in with an amphetamine prescription. A year later, she's a full blown dependent on a serious drug. She was actually just burned out and probably just needed a break from her kids and a vacation. Very common. There's no transparency, no public understanding of doctors who are prescribing like this. It's only in a pharmacy do you get a birds eye view.
- anonymoushn 4y ago
  I sort of expect that the psychiatrist spends more time with the patient each month than the pharmacist.
  - rhexs 4y ago
    It's sort of a sad indictment of our system, but odds are the pharmacist sees the patient far more than the psychiatrist does.
    - tptacek 4y ago
      I have literally never had a discussion with a pharmacist. I drive up, hand them my script through the drawer thingy, and they hand me back my drugs. In fact, in the last couple years, I barely even do that anymore; our doctors just call in our scripts, and we get a text message when it's time to pick them up, and that's that. The idea that pharmacists have any meaningful diagnostic role in the US is risible.
      - yata69420 4y ago
        I always hear about these community pharmacists that consult with patients about medical issues, but I'm yet to meet one myself. I suspect pharmacists are the only people that some class of Americans can speak to about medical issues because they have an open storefront. I don't know what pharmacists know about drugs, but they're useful people to speak to about insurance issues. They know the rules around age cutoffs for optional vaccines, which generics are in stock, when something will be denied by insurance, etc.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
    - PragmaticPulp 4y ago
      Comments like these are baffling. Where are people finding these psychiatrists who are blindly writing prescriptions and sending people out the door? Around here (US location) my medical professional friends are all hesitant to prescribe any controlled substances to more than a certain number of their patients for fear of getting flagged. Whenever I read these stories of people receiving benzos and other scheduled substances for years with no oversight, I can’t tell if this is actually happening regularly somewhere or if we’re just reading a lot of exaggerated second-hand stories. I know these things happen somewhere, sometimes but the insinuation that it’s just the norm in American medicine is baffling.
      - somehnguy 4y ago
        I'm completely with you. In my personal experience doctors are extremely hesitant to prescribe these drugs. I saw multiple doctors for years about anxiety issues and the most I got prescribed was an antihistamine. I also suffer from chronic back pain due to a genetic issue and it's been pretty much impossible for me to get a prescription that does anything for it. I don't think people are lying about their experiences, I'm just baffled as to where this is going on because it's been totally opposite to my experiences.
        PragmaticPulp 4y ago
        I have a suspicion that many people who are getting these long-term benzo prescriptions aren’t just going to a random doctor and walking out with huge prescriptions. I think the vast majority of doctors wouldn’t dare risk their job or career like this. I suspect there’s a lot of word of mouth references where patients are telling their friends which doctors prescribe which medications and giving guidance about what to say to get those prescriptions. This was definitely the case in the early opioid crisis years where the bulk of prescriptions were coming from a small number of doctors.
        hirako2000 4y ago
        If those doctors were outliers, it would have been very simple and quick to detect the anomalies. And, I went to a random doctor, twice in the last couple of years, both prescribed me SSRIs including two psychotic substances. I have been fine without taking them. Anecdotal, but perhaps it attenuates your suspicions, mine is that it's pretty generalised.
- sascha_sl 4y ago
  You're making a lot of assumptions here, "maybe", "probably". "No medical history" doesn't mean shit either, it just means you have not yet seeked help. Most don't see mental health professionals at the first sign of issues, often they only do when things are starting to crumble. And that's my experience in a country with socialized healthcare, now translate that to the US where therapy is unaffordable to a large number of people.
wickoff 4y ago
15-ish years ago, when I was twenty, I was foolish enough to see a psychiatrist. I walked away with a prescription for an SSRI, a typical antipsychotic, a mood stabilizer and some Xanax to take as needed. What I really needed was my father not being dead when it mattered.

ldjkfkdsjnv 4y ago

What I mean is a mother of 4, with no medical history, is feeling stressed and worn out. Maybe she has trouble focussing. All of a sudden she comes in with an amphetamine prescription. A year later, she's a full blown dependent on a serious drug. She was actually just burned out and probably just needed a break from her kids and a vacation. Very common. There's no transparency, no public understanding of doctors who are prescribing like this. It's only in a pharmacy do you get a birds eye view.

anonymoushn 4y ago
I sort of expect that the psychiatrist spends more time with the patient each month than the pharmacist.
- rhexs 4y ago
  It's sort of a sad indictment of our system, but odds are the pharmacist sees the patient far more than the psychiatrist does.
  - tptacek 4y ago
    I have literally never had a discussion with a pharmacist. I drive up, hand them my script through the drawer thingy, and they hand me back my drugs. In fact, in the last couple years, I barely even do that anymore; our doctors just call in our scripts, and we get a text message when it's time to pick them up, and that's that. The idea that pharmacists have any meaningful diagnostic role in the US is risible.
    - yata69420 4y ago
      I always hear about these community pharmacists that consult with patients about medical issues, but I'm yet to meet one myself. I suspect pharmacists are the only people that some class of Americans can speak to about medical issues because they have an open storefront. I don't know what pharmacists know about drugs, but they're useful people to speak to about insurance issues. They know the rules around age cutoffs for optional vaccines, which generics are in stock, when something will be denied by insurance, etc.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - PragmaticPulp 4y ago
    Comments like these are baffling. Where are people finding these psychiatrists who are blindly writing prescriptions and sending people out the door? Around here (US location) my medical professional friends are all hesitant to prescribe any controlled substances to more than a certain number of their patients for fear of getting flagged. Whenever I read these stories of people receiving benzos and other scheduled substances for years with no oversight, I can’t tell if this is actually happening regularly somewhere or if we’re just reading a lot of exaggerated second-hand stories. I know these things happen somewhere, sometimes but the insinuation that it’s just the norm in American medicine is baffling.
    - somehnguy 4y ago
      I'm completely with you. In my personal experience doctors are extremely hesitant to prescribe these drugs. I saw multiple doctors for years about anxiety issues and the most I got prescribed was an antihistamine. I also suffer from chronic back pain due to a genetic issue and it's been pretty much impossible for me to get a prescription that does anything for it. I don't think people are lying about their experiences, I'm just baffled as to where this is going on because it's been totally opposite to my experiences.
      - PragmaticPulp 4y ago
        I have a suspicion that many people who are getting these long-term benzo prescriptions aren’t just going to a random doctor and walking out with huge prescriptions. I think the vast majority of doctors wouldn’t dare risk their job or career like this. I suspect there’s a lot of word of mouth references where patients are telling their friends which doctors prescribe which medications and giving guidance about what to say to get those prescriptions. This was definitely the case in the early opioid crisis years where the bulk of prescriptions were coming from a small number of doctors.
        hirako2000 4y ago
        If those doctors were outliers, it would have been very simple and quick to detect the anomalies. And, I went to a random doctor, twice in the last couple of years, both prescribed me SSRIs including two psychotic substances. I have been fine without taking them. Anecdotal, but perhaps it attenuates your suspicions, mine is that it's pretty generalised.
sascha_sl 4y ago
You're making a lot of assumptions here, "maybe", "probably". "No medical history" doesn't mean shit either, it just means you have not yet seeked help. Most don't see mental health professionals at the first sign of issues, often they only do when things are starting to crumble. And that's my experience in a country with socialized healthcare, now translate that to the US where therapy is unaffordable to a large number of people.

wickoff 4y ago

15-ish years ago, when I was twenty, I was foolish enough to see a psychiatrist. I walked away with a prescription for an SSRI, a typical antipsychotic, a mood stabilizer and some Xanax to take as needed. What I really needed was my father not being dead when it mattered.