What Doctors Don't Tell YouIn my early 30s, I was prescribed dothiepin by my GP for joint pain. When I told him I was not depressed, he said you can be depressed without knowing it. At the time, I went along with it. The first few days I felt extremely depressed, so it must be a very dangerous prescription if someone is truly nearly suicidal – ironic, really, given what it is supposed to treat.
I was assured that it was not addictive. When I finally decided to give up the drug, it took me two whole years, one capsule every six months; I felt so bad, I had to wait until I felt up to the next onslaught. When I gave up the last capsule, I began being plagued by bad insomnia which I am still struggling with today.
I am now not depressed, but when I had stomach problems, I was offered antidepressants again and was assured – again – that they are not addictive. I turned them down and, by trial-and-error, have sorted out my stomach problems using those wonderful nutritional supplements they want to take away from us.
Doctors, whose training is blinkered to the utmost, are baffled by patients with non-textbook conditions. When this happens, they can’t admit ignorance. They tell you it is psychosomatic and reach for the prescription pad. How can they know a condition is psychosomatic without any investigation after a few minutes of your sitting in front of them? A member of my family was prescribed antidepressants after a stroke. They are being given away like lollies to keep patients quiet!
Once an antidepressant appears in your notes, every doctor you see will leaf through and light upon it, and you can see the little ‘ah! ah!’ light shine in their eyes. Eureka! Another hysterical woman! It would be laughable if it weren’t so incompetent and dangerous. It takes a lot of horses to get me to see a doctor nowadays. What’s the point? – JF, Kingston
Steve Taylor
Elliott Dacher MD
Dr. Judith Orloff MD