"Doctors Are Not Trained to Get People Off Psychiatric Drugs" - Anna Lembke, MD

This video was just released by the filmmakers of "Medicating Normal":

"Doctors Are Not Trained to Get People Off Psychiatric Drugs": Stanford Psychiatrist Anna Lembke, MD

Would addictions counseling help get people off psychiatric drugs?  I feel like increasing this in medical school is not really the answer, or it is the answer for opioids but not for people taking benzos or other psychiatric drugs.  In fact, I don't think there is any professional person who can help people come off these drugs that I know of. That would definitely be progress if there was. 

Thanks for posting this Lapis. I do love that here we have a psychiatrist admitting that doctors really do not know how to help us.  Even though it doesn't exactly help, it feels very validating. 

I do love that here we have a psychiatrist admitting that doctors really do not know how to help us.  Even though it doesn't exactly help, it feels very validating.

But it's depressing, also. Brother, we're really on our own, aren't we?

Katz

Yes, absolutely. We're really on our own. But then again, haven't we always  been? What can a doctor really do except prescribe a pill for each ailment? Nothing. And why haven't we realized that fact? My faith in the medical system as it stands now is truly shattered. But thank goodness we have strong people such as Anna Lembke coming forward to tell us that doctors are not able to help in deprescribing. It would be great if we'd realized this years ago and were more judicious about taking pills instead of simply believing the doctor.

I did read an article today in Medscape, "New Horizons in Deprescribing for Older People," since older people have the worst time with pills and are often prescribed the most pills, so it is a beginning. But I have a feeling that this will take many years to change since the medical community is glacially slow in implementing something new.

Thanks for posting this Lapis.  Here again, Dr. Lembke's "addiction" mentality is poking through in

this video.

If I have heard it once, I have heard it many times in these video clips..... "... doctors aren't trained"..."....we get really little education",  "... don't get training how to get people off these drugs.... why would we?"  (I've guess the assumption is that people will stay on them for life)

IMHO, this is giving doctos/medical professionals a "pass" for this whole mess.  And then .... "...its the patient's responsibility to read the warnings in the three page package insert that comes with the medication... (implying this is tantamount to "informed consent" if you go ahead and swallow a "medication as prescribed" despite the myriad of warnings. )

Lets see now.... "patients" (the "laymen"), through support organizations like BB,  have somehow been able to "educate themselves"  to safely "get off" psychiatric drugs..... but doctors (the professional)  don't have a clue?  (.... and have no interest/capability of educating themselves beyond med school in this regard?)

IMHO,  this is all a "slight of the hand" on the part of "some" of these so called experts.... "having it

both ways".  (... more like preserving some of their reputation with their peers... "Not bad doctors...just bad doctoring").

Which brings to mind an adage of a standard that "the rest of us" are held to in our daily life....

.......  "Ignorance of the Law is no excuse". 

Would it be nice if "medical professional's" oath.... "DO NO HARM" was held to the same standard?

Anyways..... as Dr. Lembke says.... "don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater".... its a

start.... thanks for posting this!

You have said it very well, totb! I'm wondering myself how long we have to hear about doctors not being taught in medical school. I've been reading that for god knows how long, yet doctors continue to make the same mistakes over and over. You'd think the news about benzos being harmful for older people, for example, would prompt them to change their ways (it even is clearly on the Beers list of medications doctors need to avoid prescribing) http://www.fmda.org/beers.pdf, but NO, they are still prescribing these pills.

I think it's time that doctors are sanctioned for doing harm. They've had long enough to wise up. The endless messages we get that "doctors were never told that in medical school" or "doctors are too busy" are just excuses now, IMO. They certainly have the ability to read on their own. If a doctor really cared about his/her patients, I think he/she would adhere to some due diligence and note which drugs aren't to be given to seniors.

Thank you for posting this video.

The system is messed up.

There are good doctors. Ones who do really care. Due to our health care system, there is not enough time for them to diligently care for, delve into, and research each medication, let alone even listen to all of a patient’s symptoms to properly evaluate what’s going on.

Quite honestly, even if they looked into benzodiazepines specifically, they’d be hard pressed to find actual data to back up anything we experience.

Where is the research?

There’s are exponentially more studies and medical research as to the benefits of benzodiazepines, than there are on the fact that a person can still have withdrawal symptoms for longer than a few months. Let alone what those symptoms can be. Or how to help patients.

The system is messed up.

Medical professionals beginning to have conversations about this is a start.

Educating medical professionals and addressing some of these issues is a start.

It probably won’t help us. Though,

hopefully it will help more folks in the future.

And also, at around 0:55 Dr. Lembke mentions “physiologically addicted.”

I appreciate the use of this terminology/language.

Thanks again for the video post Lapis.

Thanks, Everyone, for the great feedback! I've just re-watched the video, and I really appreciate much of what Dr. Lembke is saying here. She does mention not just "addiction", but also "dependence", "tolerance", and "withdrawal", all of which must be addressed when it comes to benzodiazepines. Antidepressants aren't usually included in the "addiction" discussion, but the other concepts do apply.

I think she has touched on many of the important factors, including massive holes in the medical education system with regards to getting people off medications, as well as psychosocial issues that bring people to doctor's offices when they might need other kinds of help and support.

For benzodiazepines, both addiction AND dependence need to be dealt with appropriately. They're both serious problems, and I don't think we have any idea of the actual numbers for either one.