Posted by bleauberry on November 11, 2009, at 17:17:11
In reply to At what point should they give up trying???, posted by meltingpot on November 11, 2009, at 11:43:58
Doctors in a national health care system don't have the freedom, flexibility, or the creative experience that comes from that, to treat patients properly. I am sure they get lucky with 30%...lexapro or whatever the government rules approve of. But the others, well, that's what happens in that kind of political environment. Their hands are tied. They are overburdened. In your post you demonstrated the long waiting times involved as well. All of those are working against you.
The private psychiatrist you saw should probably consider doing something else for a career. It would appear at first glance that he rather sucks at what he does. I am sorry.
But should you, I, or any of us ever give up? No!
When they suggested a more holistic approach, I strongly support that, either by itself or in combination with meds. But where I think they went wrong was assuming holistic meant only talk therapy. That is not holistic.
Holistic is plants, herbs, special food choices, supplements, accupuncture, exercise, swimming, saunas, meditation and/or prayer.
Meds can work. But without a comprehensive plan involving several of the above, results can be incomplete, sporadic, and problematic. In the great majority of people, I feel disease is much too complex for any single molecule to fix.
When I personally think of holistic, I primarily think of plants (herbs). I don't know if you believe God of the bible or not. But if you do, He says the animals are for us to eat and the plants are for medicine. If someone does believe in Him, but don't believe plants have the healing needed, then they basically are calling Him a liar.
Set that aside for anyone who doesn't believe. There are literally hundreds of clinical studies from around the planet on at least 50 herbs demonstrating their equal or greater efficacy than medicines, their much lower side effects, extremely low toxicity, and broad spectrum health benefits outside of their targeted purpose.
It is not uncommon that we have to become our own advocates in our own knowledge of healing. That's because nobody else is going to do it for us!
I'm sure you are aware of the more common supplements used to battle depression. Rhodiola Rosea, SJW, Tyrosine, DLPA, 5htp, Siberian Ginseng, and others. It usually requires a combination of several of them...again, the comprehensive thing. Ok, now forget those studies. Instead just look at that anecdotal evidence of their actual realtime performance over hundreds of years in serious diseases. Literally millions of people find benefit or cure in plants, either alone or in combo with meds, from some very serious diseases. And in ways that meds just cannot duplicate.
As I see it, nearly all patients with depression...especially not respsonding well to common meds...have inflammation and toxicity as major co-factors or causes, that prevent healing from happening no matter what med. So supplemental strategies must be employed to deal with those. If there is unknown unsuspected infection going on, those same strategies would suppress the negative effects of them.
Give up? No way. Give up on those particular psychiatrists? Definitely.
I would say at this point you need to take the steering wheel away from those doctors. Find a plain jane doctor somewhere who sees a lot. Even better, one that knows something about integrative or alternative medicine.
Sometimes the specialists are the absolute worst ones for us to see. Especially in national systems.
No matter what, to get better will require becoming your own advocate, because no one else is going to do it for you. That's not a bad thing. It is usually the turning point in someone's life that begins the journey of improvement.
Many of the miracle stories involve patients becoming their own experts because the doctors said there was nothing else they could do.
poster:bleauberry
thread:925343
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091107/msgs/925399.html