Medication with out endless therapy / 'check ups' - Mental Health Message Board

rp001 · 03-06-2009, 12:45 PM

Is there such thing as a psychiatrist who doesn't require you to go under therapy just to get medication?

Maybe I'm being crazy but it seems really difficult to get some basic non-addictive medication (SSRI + welbutrin + synthroids) with out the doctors trying to constantly shove these check ups down your throat. I had a falling out with my doctor because I didn't schedule check ups with him as often as he liked so everytime it came time to re-up my prescription he would sit on it for a week. I'd be well into the withdrawl by the time I got my new permision slip. So I've been medication free (including my thyroid medication which they warned could be potentially fatal).

Maybe it's my mental state but I just don't have the will to jump through all these hoops. Is there any alternative? It seems like everything is a scam. Either your doctor is getting $1000's a year off of your insurance company doing these check ups, or a shrink is forcing you to do therapy even when you don't need it, or an 'online direct script' site is charging an arm and a leg every 3 months. And those offshore illegal pharmacies only seem to sell pain killers and of course most of them are scams anyways.

There has to be an easier way. As bad as life is with no attention span and social anxiety and no energy, it seems worse to bend over for these people. I'm sick of all the money going to them for nothing and of them using the government to force that money from me and of them taking my time on these useless 'check ups' which are only scheduable during work hours. The idea that you, an adult, need a permission slip to put something in your body is angering enough but that it has be so inconvenient is more frustrating. And then me being off my meds just makes this stuff even more frustrating.

fossilapostle · 03-06-2009, 05:19 PM

It just depends on your doctor. Plenty of family doctors are more than willing to give out antidepressants if you tell them you're depressed.

I know a friend whose gynecologist prescribed them for her even though she knew nothing about depression or the medication. Generally you'll probably have better luck if you tell a doctor that you've been depressed in the past and were prescribed an specific antidepressant that worked for you, and now that you're depressed again, you'd like to get back on the medication without going through the expense of seeing a psychiatrist again. With the current economy, many doctors would probably be sympathetic to that type of request.

Another thing people sometimes do is called "doctor shopping" where you just keep trying different doctors until you find one who'll prescribe you what you want. This is generally frowned upon in the medical community since it's a common tactic of drug addicts, but it happens.

I'm not suggesting that you do any of these, but if you're being met with unreasonable opposition from your doctor about prescribing non-addictive medication that may help you, then you have to do what you think is best for yourself. Good luck!