Patiently progressing to friendship

[Zoo]

I hope you don't mind my jumping in on your thread right quick to address the AD sitch odga

It needs to be kept in mind that no 2 people's experience with AD's is the same. Yes, there are people who need to maintain their AD's for life but studies are beginning to show that the number of people this applies to is steadily decreasing. It is also being found that in many instances where the AD's are discontinued and the person starts to spiral again ISN"T due to the condition they are being treated for but rather to the absense of the AD itself from the body...in other words withdrawal. People who have been on AD's for an extended period go through a longer withdrawal process then say someone who has only been on them for a couple of years. Withdrawal begins during the weaning process but doesn't necessarily end when the process is completed.

It cannot be stressed enough that going off of AD's needs to be done under professional supervision and needs to be monitored on a continual basis. Mental health care should not end with the discontinuance of AD's either. It should only end when both patient AND physician know with a surety that the mental health condition no longer exists and withdrawal is no longer an issue.

I think that this should speak strongly to the issue that one's mental health is best served by a MENTAL HEALTH professional vs a GP, HMO provider or internist. Too often AD's are prescribed out of hand and with no real monitoring process in place when prescribed by a health care provider outside the mental health profession. There is no better (or worse) example of this then Pam's situation.

Her prescription isn't prescribed in an adequate way to prevent her from running out at inoportune times. From what she has described her doctor does not monitor her in any way...there appears to be no review of possible side-effects, dosage adjustments or if the med is even the appropriate one for her condition. Since her physician isn't in the mental health field then the CAUSE of her condition isn't being addressed properly either...is it due to her emotional state, a chemical imbalance, something in her environment?? All things that are taken into consideration when seeing a mental health professional vs a reg. medical provider. Pam isn't exactly FORTHCOMING about her condition either and that doesn't help

My apologies again odga, for jumping in. Just something I thought needed said with all the AD discussion going on

Former PROZAC patient,
Zoo