Doctors issuing placebos without patients' consent

[recycleanimals]

I picked up my university's daily newspaper today and read an article about how half of American doctors in a new survey say they regularly give patients placebo treatments without telling them. I'm going to summarize the article since I can't find a link on the newspaper's website

Comments

[elvenqueen86]

I'm not sure how that would work either. I've gotten samples of meds from my doctor, but they're all unopened in the manufacturer's packaging. I'd be so pissed if I found out my doctor was somehow doing that though :-/

[recycleanimals]

I would be too! I seriously couldn't believe this when I read it. I had no idea this was happening.

[elvenqueen86]

Me either. If the doctor doesn't believe their patient is actually ill they need to say so, at the very least so the patient can find a doctor who does believe them!

[recycleanimals]

Seriously! Basically those doctors are just saying their patients are delusional and what they're suffering from isn't legitimate enough to require actual medication. I'm so happy I found a good doctor who understands fibro, although it took me 9 doctors of telling me I was a drug-seeker to find him.

[elvenqueen86]

I went through a ton of doctors in the beginning too. I must have seen every specialist there is! I was only 13 and some of them were just harsh... they would tell my mom I just didn't want to go to school. She'd explain to them I was also sick you know, on vacations and weekends and that I absolutely LOVED school. Oy. I even saw a specialist in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (I was duel diagnosed) who was a total whack job. It was my family doctor who really helped me out and didn't brush me off as crazy or attention seeking or something.

[recycleanimals]

Ugh, that sounds familiar. My pain started around the age of 12, but I didn't seriously start seeking answers until I was about 16. It took a year and a half of going from doctor's office to doctor's office until I found my current doctor. My family doctor felt it was "unethical" to prescribe me painkillers. Basically she told me she didn't believe me.

[elvenqueen86]

That's awful about your family doc :-/ The family doc I had when I first got sick was great about things, he sent me to all the specialists and stuff, after a neurologist gave me the CFIDS diagnoses the doctor said he didn't know much about the disease and didn't think he'd be the right person to treat me. At least he was honest, and didn't say "I don't believe you're actually sick."

I just noticed you're in a few of the same communities as me and we have a bit in common, do you mind if I add you?

[recycleanimals]

See, that's what a doctor SHOULD do.

And I added you back! :D

[elvenqueen86]

Yay ^__^

[stupidore]

My doctors always make me feel like a total druggie whenever I need to see them.
I'm trying to explain that the pain is really bad because of the weather and my co-codemols DO help, but I've built up a tolerance thanks to taking eight a day since April so I think I might need something stronger because I need to be able to keep up with my degree and my job (I don't work, I don't eat basically).
Her response is there isn't anything stronger. Well there is, but I'm not going to prescribe it to you.
They'll also chuck me onto something new without even explaining the dosage to me, which pisses me riht off.
Grrrrrrr.

[recycleanimals]

I definitely understand that. The pain management doctor I saw wrote me off as a drug-seeker and told me that I needed to quit horseback riding because that was what was causing my pain. He didn't seem to get the fact that horses was the only thing that was keeping me going and not sinking into total depression. So he wouldn't prescribe me painkillers, but he had no problem injecting my spine with steroids... which of course did nothing.

[sergeanthowarth]

I'm sorry, this is off topic, but your icon! I belong to Doctor Who communities and an Obama community, and while I've seen a surprising amount of interest overlap between them, I never thought I'd see them both combined in a fibro comm of all places! This is proof that there is good in the world.

[elvenqueen86]

Hehe, thanks! When I saw it I *had* to have it. They even have a torchwood one :-P

[manic_insanity]

Your icon is so cute!