Okay.
My conclusion: Administering psychiatric drugs without a prescription is a Bad Idea(tm).
I'll see that, and raise you one: Administering psychiatric drugs even with a prescription is (with rare exceptions) a Bad Idea(tm).
I got into an argument with the Dermatology department at the VA hospital over this. I don't believe in psychotropic drugs, and my record is supposed to be flagged so that I don't get prescribed any psychotropics without informed consent. Earlier this year, I had to see the Derm doc for some lesions on my lower legs. She prescribed a topical steroid cream, and oral Doxepin. In the past, I have taken the antibiotic Doxycycline, so at first when I saw a prescription that began with "Dox..." I thought it was an antibiotic. But, as has become my S.O.P. for all medications from the VA, when I got home I opened up the medication fact sheet and discovered that (wonder of wonders) Doxepin is not Doxycycline.
In fact, Doxepin is a psychotropic, and it is used to treat depression. And one of the side effects is that it can make the depression worse, not better, and generate suicidal thoughts.
Great. So the VA, with a patient population that has a significant percentage that's already at risk for suicide, is prescribing a psychotropic drug that can generate suicidal thoughts -- for a dermatological condition, and with NO discussion by the doctor of the potential side effects. I was, shall we say, less than pleased. I packed it up and delivered it back to the Dermatology clinic with a letter explaining exactly why I was not going to take it, and exactly why I was more than a little unhappy that it had been given to me (a) without my informed consent, and (b) without any discussion of the side effects.
The response was, "But we don't prescribe it for depression we prescribe it to control itching."
Right. The side effects remain the same.
Too many psychiatrists are way to fast with the prescription pad, IMHO.
