Do You Trust Your Doctor?

Post Reply New Topic

A few months ago, I mentioned in passing to my doctor that I drink beers. Not too much, just a few cans a night so I can sleep. She told me it was a concern of hers because it affected my blood pressure. Still, that's how we left it.

As it turns out, she passed all this on to DSHS who finally approached me, had me evaluated by a 3rd party who then told me to go to outpatient rehab for the next 9 months. If I don't go DSHS won't pay my rent.

This is so strange: going to rehab for beer. Seems a little ridiculous but I can't get out of it. I'm currently waiting for SSD to come through but my hearing is still months away. I'm stuck and have no choice.

Sounds like they're just trying to get you on a Big Pharma Frankenstein Lab Concoction, like Lunesta or Ambien. "Incentives" for tha Dock-Tazz - Ka-CHING! !

I think with Obamacare, things like that are going to get worse, until you won't be able to say a word around any Health Worker without it leading to an invasion of your personal life. Once Big Brother gets involved in anything, it only gets more complicated and less efficient.

I don't trust my doctor either. I told her that I have anxiety as well as depression. I also showed her the tendonitis in my lower right ankle. She said, "Cut out all sugar including diet pop and do lots of walking." She also called my meltdown a "Panic Attack" and doubled my Paxil that had already been doubled the previous month. She also asks me how my life skills are, over and over again. Do I do my own cooking, cleaning, pay my own bills, do my own laundry. I've told her yes for the past 24 months. My nickname for her is 'Dr. Evil'.

hmm that does seem a little excessive, not the beer but having to go to rehab over it....I don't know in general I am careful about just how much I say to the doctor especially when they are a new one and I don't know whether they could be trusted or not. But yeah does this beer cause you problems in life?...I would hope the people running the rehab facility can differentiate between an 'addiction' and someone choosing to drink a few beers in the evening...but then they might just be all about $ and try to convince you, that you really are addicted.

I wonder what happens if you went and they people running the facility determine you don't need 9 months.

I know of a case where a guy drank a single glass of wine every night at dinner.

Having gone into the hospital for surgery, the doctors were getting worried because he was having weird symptoms during recovery that worried them. Something was wrong.

Finally someone realized he hadn't been getting his nightly glass of wine.

It was a very odd case of alcohol addiction.

If you need to drink a few beers EVERY NIGHT in order to go to sleep, you have an alcohol problem, and it's with good reason they're making such a fuss.

What I don't understand is them not expressing concern over the fact that you need self-medication...that is SEDATION...in order to get to sleep.

Just sending you to rehab isn't going to deal with the actual problem which you've already identified for them.

Raise a stink.

Tell them you'll happily stop drinking (what? three or four?) beers a night if they can help you get some sleep. Insist, DEMAND, that they help you with the real problem, because so far the beer is the only way you found to deal with it on your own.

My instinct since childhood has always been to mistrust doctors, and I stay away from them as much as possible. I've always blamed myself for my stupid paranoia, but on the other hand they usually have no idea what to do with me, and tend to make my overall quality of life worse rather than better, so maybe I'm doing the right thing after all?

Blood pressure isn't the only thing alcohol affects. If you're diabetic, it also affects your blood sugars. In addition, alcohol is a depressant.

How many cans of beer is a few? If you're drinking a six pack every night, you definitely have problems!

Maybe Meistersinger's right. I don't look at it as a problem because it causes absolutely no problem in my life. I'm not late to anywhere, and when I was working, I was never late or affected by it. I'm just trying to keep my head up about this whole ordeal.

The problem, though, is this: if I'm not sitting in front of my computer or TV and I'm not drinking, then what am I doing? Eating? I can't just do nothing. It's not in my nature. That would definitely drive me crazy.

I should also add, that after 10 years of dealing with allopathic physicians, I went back to seeing an Osteopathic doctor specializing in Internal Medicine that treated me while I was still working for Apple Computer. I've been treated better by osteopaths than MD's, primarily since DO's tend to actually listen to your complaints, and will actually take the time to research your complaints and the underlying issues, and discuss the treatment options.

Besides, if it weren't for a DO that treated me for pneumonia 55 1/2 years ago, I wouldn't be living right now.

I'm just so angry that my doctor would think I need intensive outpatient treatment. I have a meeting with her tomorrow but I doubt she'll change her mind. She's kinda like that - very set in her ways. I could change my doctors but the damage has already been done. What's in stone stays in stone. What do I do now instead of drinking? Smoking cigarettes? Chewing gum? Playing crossword puzzles? Going for long walks on a cold winter's night? Maybe I should take up snowboarding and learn the half pipe. That should keep me busy.

I don't trust any doctor, never have. It would be nice if I found one I could trust but I think like Willard said it is only going to get worse under Obamacare. Don't tell them anything more than they absolutely need to know.

What a mess! There must be more to this story... do you have really high blood pressure? I mean she is saying you are an alcoholic is how it sounds to me... but this treatment costs a great deal too. You can never have another beer? Plus in Washington you can smoke pot. What would have happened if you said you smoke a dube so you can sleep?

In the UK, the NHS aren't so money pushing. I get free prescriptions due to being on income support and I have had psychiatrists who are very limited in their prescribing. I've been told that they won't prescribe me (in the past) escitalopram due to funding issues.

Also why do people from the US use brand names for drugs much more than in the UK? On a UK forum I'm on, we tend to use generic names of drugs. For example Prozac is the brand name; fluoxetine is the generic name. Personally, as a psychopharmacologist-in-training, I hate brand names and always use the generic names.

no,she sucks.
however have only just signed up to this doctors surgery because was discharged from hospital late january and moved straight into a new area.
because am under the mental capacity act and living in a adult care home, am not allowed to take any over the counter supplements or remedies everything has to be prescribed through the doctor,which every other doctor in past has had no problem with.
the other week was suffering badly from a cold;it had gone to lungs and throat was really bad,was in desperate need of a good cough syrup;especialy a night time one as was being kept up all night with it.
she refused to prescribe a cough medicine saying they dont work.
um,they may not cure the cause of the problem but they work on the symptoms.
said to sit it out,so was weezing and choking;still ongoing.

not holding out much hope for anything else from the doctor.

a few years ago,had had the best GP had ever heard of,he understood self completely,wasnt patronising,made sure to keep his words non medical like plus short and simple so was able to understand,was treated with respect by him and he was open minded,wasnt shoved out the door ASAP like they all do now.
he also had a masters degree in autism studies.
when had moved to the neighbouring area,the surgery said was not allowed to stay a patient anymore,the NHS SS learning disability team got involved and put in a good argument for staying with him because have got high complex needs and severe challenging behavior which doesnt get understood by most doctors.
they said if they allowed self to stay there then they woud have to allow everyone else to stay,and ended up with a right twt of a gp.

You were not very specific, but if you drink "a few cans" of beer every day at night, then your body, will much likely already have adapted to that amount of alcohol. Its not the end of the world, and its not as if you would drink an bottle of Vodka each day, but its already an light physical addiction. I would see to take care of it, not because of the doctors, but before you. If my friend would have taken care of it, as long as it was only about some beers each day, he would now still be with us.

Dont get me wrong, I know that 2-3 beer each day, wont cause you actual horrible problems or whatever. I dont see you as homeless, wasted person or similar. My friend was as well IT-engineer with a good job and everything. The thing is, if you are already used to use small amounts of alcohol to calm you down at night for sleeping, then you will be much likely doing so, when you get into stressed/bad life situations. I knew that my friend like to drink some beers, but it as well never caused him problems, so I never thought much about it. When he then got into troubles and stress at work, he sadly kept into it, and so his alcohol amount was rising. Actually I wished, I would have been more aware of that, when it was just about a few beers each day and he could have been helped so much easier.

its a post code 'lottery',purely based on each boroughs PCT pot of money.
eg,disgusting that people with cancer in some areas are refused life saving drugs in place of older ones which dont work as well because theyre cheaper.

have noticed that about the use of generic names here as well,all care staff of mine use the generic names but am confused all the time as only know them by their brand names.