Jump to content

What do I do with a dr. who will not listen, understand, or can’t do simple math


[ke...]

Recommended Posts

Alright,

 

This is getting old real fast. 

 

Got my dr. to renew my liquid klonopin rx yesterday.  The good thing is the compounding pharmacy charges me nothing for the it. 

 

Starting off at 4.4 ml or .44 mg 3x p.d. like I have for almost a month now.

 

Looked on the bottle and this is the verbatim directions:

 

Take 4.4 mls (.44 mg) divided in three doses a day.  (Here comes the scary part): step down by 2 mls (.2mg) once a week. 

 

Oh my gosh.  .2 mg?  A week?  I am currently taking 1.32 a day, and a this rate, this is like a 15 to 16 percent cut but times 4 this is a 60 percent cut, which is outright dangerous. 

 

I do not know if this was a typo by the pharmacist, but even so, this is the final straw for me working with this seesaw doc.

 

It’s simple math..decimals…very basic conversions..

 

Anyone else have this problem with a provider and get so frustrated that they had to move on?

 

Plus, I have never, ever seen this doctor face to face, so that really discounts any “interaction “ over the phone.  I haven’t even Skyped or zoomed with him. 

 

I know what I have to do.  But why do they have to make it so hard for patients?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[70...]

Hi kestrel28,

 

unfortunately, many prescribers haven't received eduction about coming off of Benzodiazepines. My GP made a very dangerous mistake crossing me over to another Benzodiazepine and we both weren't Benzo wise.

 

I would check with your doctor if he made a mistake with your prescription. Perhaps he just did a typo or made a mistake.

 

You know what to do and I can only hope your doctor agrees that you know best what to do. If doctors make it difficult for us it is because they often times just don't know what withdrawal can be like.

 

Best of luck,

 

Alright,

 

This is getting old real fast. 

 

Got my dr. to renew my liquid klonopin rx yesterday.  The good thing is the compounding pharmacy charges me nothing for the it. 

 

Starting off at 4.4 ml or .44 mg 3x p.d. like I have for almost a month now.

 

Looked on the bottle and this is the verbatim directions:

 

Take 4.4 mls (.44 mg) divided in three doses a day.  (Here comes the scary part): step down by 2 mls (.2mg) once a week. 

 

Oh my gosh.  .2 mg?  A week?  I am currently taking 1.32 a day, and a this rate, this is like a 15 to 16 percent cut but times 4 this is a 60 percent cut, which is outright dangerous. 

 

I do not know if this was a typo by the pharmacist, but even so, this is the final straw for me working with this seesaw doc.

 

It’s simple math..decimals…very basic conversions..

 

Anyone else have this problem with a provider and get so frustrated that they had to move on?

 

Plus, I have never, ever seen this doctor face to face, so that really discounts any “interaction “ over the phone.  I haven’t even Skyped or zoomed with him. 

 

I know what I have to do.  But why do they have to make it so hard for patients?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m sorry this has happened to you, kestrel28.  Regrettably, many of us have to educate our prescribers about how to do a safe, gradual, symptom-guided taper.

 

Is your prescriber on board with this?  If not, have you tried sharing the Colorado Consortium’s Deprescribing Guidance document with him/her?  Direct his/her attention to the section on Tapering Principles.

 

Is s/he willing to rewrite the prescription?  Ideally, no mention would be made of reductions.  The Rx would just read:

 

‘Take 4.4mls (0.44mg) divided in thee doses a day.’

 

If the prescriber feels s/he has to write something, the less specific, the better.  For example, we had a member a while back whose prescriber wrote ‘Taper as tolerated.’

 

Link:

Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidance Document (2022)

https://corxconsortium.org/wp-content/uploads/Benzo-Deprescribing.pdf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alright,

 

This is getting old real fast. 

 

Got my dr. to renew my liquid klonopin rx yesterday.  The good thing is the compounding pharmacy charges me nothing for the it. 

 

Starting off at 4.4 ml or .44 mg 3x p.d. like I have for almost a month now.

 

Looked on the bottle and this is the verbatim directions:

 

Take 4.4 mls (.44 mg) divided in three doses a day.  (Here comes the scary part): step down by 2 mls (.2mg) once a week. 

 

Oh my gosh.  .2 mg?  A week?  I am currently taking 1.32 a day, and a this rate, this is like a 15 to 16 percent cut but times 4 this is a 60 percent cut, which is outright dangerous. 

 

I do not know if this was a typo by the pharmacist, but even so, this is the final straw for me working with this seesaw doc.

 

It’s simple math..decimals…very basic conversions..

 

Anyone else have this problem with a provider and get so frustrated that they had to move on?

 

Plus, I have never, ever seen this doctor face to face, so that really discounts any “interaction “ over the phone.  I haven’t even Skyped or zoomed with him. 

 

I know what I have to do.  But why do they have to make it so hard for patients?

 

Most doctors don't know how to get ppl off a benzo; not just a benzo but ssris as well.

 

They think a fast taper equates a quick fix within a 6 week healing.

 

You could try being honest, and telling the doctor you're on your own schedule. Perhaps you could show him your tapering plan?

 

I know my doctor was very liberal with pills: give me whatever I wanted.

 

I would be honest and tell him you need to taper off your own way and at your OWN rate.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your advice, everyone.

 

I think it was a typo by the pharmacist.  How do i know this? The amount in the bottle is the same as last fill, which is 300 ml.

 

Another idea I just had: he at one point wrote me a script for three months of klonopin before I was tapering;

 

however, I do not know how long a solution of liquid klonopin lasts. Would be ideal for me to have enough so I didn’t have to keep calling him .

 

Yes, he was a bit pushy when I told him I was holding on 4.4 ml; it seems he just doesn’t understand that a fast rate of taper is unsafe. This is the same doc that tried persuading me to cut by 16 percent every week by pill a while back.

 

My intuition tells me that I must move on from him.  I’m not going to change his way of thinking. 

 

Trouble is finding a practitioner that takes Medicare and is patient.  Not easy to do…I have spent many day and hours trying to hook up with such a doc.  Either the good ones have waiting lists, or, they tell you to look on psychology today.  >:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...