Posted by Sioux on December 16, 2002, at 13:42:02
In reply to Re: Effexor --some little big Qs » khead, posted by zinya on December 16, 2002, at 11:34:20
>>> and he said he has approx 200 patients on Efexor and none with side-effect problems that he knew of.
May I reflect on this a moment? In my years as a patient with chronic illness (a cluster of autoimmune diseases) I have observed this kind of misinformation many times. My conclusion is that such claims tend to be more naive than ill-intended.
Many docs have a 'chilling effect' on a patient's inclination to speak up. They are bad listeners, or they are so eager to help that they "cue" a patient to please them, or they are genuinely unaware of how much they don't know (and therefore where/how to get informed), or they genuinely believe that a patient is better off if gently manipulated away from self-experience, or they are so frightened of their responsibility as physicians that they *have* to overbelieve themselves. A great variety of very human engines that may be driving this tragic claim.
That leaves you to make the decisions about your health care. This is often a responsbility many folks don't want. But there it is.
It's clear that you are accepting this responsibility. You are informing yourself. You are weighing the price/promise balance. You're taking your time.
For my part, my initial strong negative reaction to Effexor was probably about my sense of outrage and betrayal at my doc's not having informed me of the nature of the drug. This left me feeling horribly vulnerable and betrayed. It felt as if someone ahd told me that they were going to take my tonsils out when in reality they were planning to do experimental brain surgery.
However once I had informed myself and reclaimed my power to care for myself, I was able to choose to use the drug and am satisfied with the results. My life is better with the drug than without.
I hope you find this to be a useful observation and look forward to your feeling better. It's much more fun that way.
--S
poster:Sioux
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021210/msgs/132023.html