I'm leaving my pdoc and going off meds

So last week I had to cancel an appointment with my pdoc, and wasn’t able to reschedule right away. Also last week, I noticed my meds were running low, so I called into the pharmacy to refill them. Now, my pdoc doesn’t give me refills for some reason, so the pharmacy had to contact him for authorization. No big deal, I thought, he’d done it before and it had never been an issue. But for some reason, this time he wouldn’t respond to the pharmacy.

I get a call from his office, asking when I was going to reschedule. I told them I wasn’t able to at the moment, but I mentioned that I needed my prescriptions refilled. The receptionist replied with “oh, I don’t think he’ll do that if you don’t come in.” Keep in mind, he’s authorized refills without a visit for me before, many times, and the only thing that’s changed is that I cancelled an appointment this time.

So fast forward a couple of days, and I’m now completely out of both my Sertraline and my Abilify. I call them again and leave a message on their voicemail, literally begging them to refill my prescriptions, and I’ll reschedule as soon as I can. I get no response from them, and still the pharmacy doesn’t hear anything either.

So now it seems that my pdoc is ignoring me, and forcing me into withdrawal from two major psych meds, simply because I wouldn’t reschedule the appointment right away. I guess he cares more about making money off my copay and insurance than he does about keeping me on the meds that allow me to function.

As a side note, I talked to my GP, and even though GPs prescribe Sertraline all the time, she refused to write me a prescription because, and I quote, “she doesn’t want to get involved.” This is fairly standard for her, she tends to refer and delegate instead of actually helping me herself whenever I have an appointment with her. But I can’t switch to a new GP because she’s the only doctor in the area that is certified to conduct the specific blood tests I need for my blood thinners.

But I’m not stuck with my pdoc. I’ve decided to just leave and go somewhere else. I’ll handle the withdrawal and potentially the reemergence of psychotic symptoms, but I just do not want to deal with this jackass of a pdoc any more. I see my therapist tomorrow, I’ll ask her if she knows any good ones she can refer me to. But until then, I’m off my meds. Wish me luck!

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Some of my meds, my doctor can’t renew if he doesn’t see me at least once a year. Your doctor might be in the same position. Generally, he’ll do an emergency 30 day supply if timing doesn’t work out, but I have to have an appointment within the 30 days.

I am sure if you get an appointment set, they’ll call in a prescription to tide you over.

he sees me once a MONTH, and as I said, he’s refilled without me seeing him before. There is literally no reason not to refill, except for spite. And at this point, they’re not returning my calls, so I couldn’t make a new appointment even if I wanted to.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, I have plenty of other reasons to want to leave him, but they’re irrelevant to this particular situation.

Okay. I don’t know the reason, then. I’m sorry you’re going through it and if they can’t explain this sudden requirement, then you’re probably better off with another doctor.

My pdoc needs to see me every three months in order to refill my prescriptions, but if I run out in the meantime, she can call in a 30 day supply. I always have my next appointment scheduled though. I don’t know what she’d do if I requested a refill without making an appointment. Maybe the reason she was willing to call it in for you in the past was because you had another appointment scheduled. What was keeping you from rescheduling this time?

Good luck with your transition. I hope you find another doctor soon. If you find you can’t cope with the withdrawal, there is always the hospital.

It sounds like you could definitely do with a different pdoc, but I wouldn’t underestimate the withdrawals from your med’s.

Worst case scenario, I go to the hospital and maybe stay inpatient for a few days while I wait for the meds to kick in. I’d like to avoid that if at all possible, but at this point it’s my only real option if I can’t handle the withdrawal.

Good luck.
I wish I had something more helpful or comforting to say but I really can’t think of anything.

Take a jelly bean hug for the road. -0-

you will find a decent shrink :heart: they are out there, i found one.
good luck :four_leaf_clover:
take care :alien:

I’m so sorry you are having to go through this.

I’m glad your getting a new doc… you don’t need someone spiteful.

I am always wishing the best for you… I hope things get sorted before you starting feeling not at your best.

May the next doc be more receptive… I can only imagine how stressful it must be dealing with this.

I’m sorry for this situation, I’m sure you can manage until you find a new pdoc.

Good luck.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to get off medications. It’s going to cost you your brain and cost tax payers more money ( assuming you care and assuming you get some sort of public benefit). Despite this, being hospitalized would cost society more money. Personally, im tired of not contributing to society. Hopefully, some day, I can recover enough to contribute to the national domestic product. It would give me a sense of accomplishment.

That sounds like a weird situation. In the UK you see a specialist who writes to your GP saying what drugs to prescribe. You then just reorder from the GP - the psychiatrist doesn’t have to authorise every refill.

Not sure why your oldpdoc is not getting in touch - like I say it sounds confusing. Hope you get a new doc soon and the transition is relatively smooth.

Whenever I leave a pdoc, I will make an appointment, but dont plan to go and I make sure I have enough refills then I move onto searching for my next pdoc - You dont have to go without meds.

I don’t understand people who intentionally risk relapse. I hate being ill, absolutely hate it. I know that maneuvering through the system to get treatment can be difficult and frustrating but being sick is so much worse. Do what you need to do to get your meds, then when you’ve got enough to cover the change switch doctors. Don’t risk relapse.

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As I’ve said, they’ve stopped returning my calls. There’s nothing I can do with that doctor any more. If I need to, I’ll go to the ER, but it’s too late to go back to that pdoc.

A friend of mine went to the ER to get perscriptions maybe you can to.