Sparksz

So I went to see my doctor the other day and told her about my problem drinking. She's always been nice to me so I was expecting it to be ok. Maybe a chat about how long I'd been sober, maybe a blood test to see if I've done any long lasting damage?

As soon as I mentioned it she would barely even look at me. Stared at her monitor while typing some stuff on my notes... then printed out a webpage with details of somewhere I could self refer. I could have done that myself.

I went to the place and they said it was a drop in Mon-Fri from 9:15am, nothing else. I work full time so couldn't even get there if I wanted to. But after seeing the big waiting room you just turn up and take a ticket in I'm not really sure why I would want to!

I can understand why they tend not to have appointments for things like that, I imagine the no-show rate is huge! But the whole thing here just seems a bit rubbish. I can imagine people finally admitting a problem and then just giving up at the first hurdle because of it.

Anyone else had anything similar or is support better in other parts of the country/world?

Thepatman

I had a similar experience with my doctor. He told me just stop, go to AA.
Yeah easy as pie right? I'm on a waiting list to get a new doctor.

And I have the best tool in my arsenal, SR!

zjw

I told my doctor about my anxiety issues and he told me to find another doctor he doesnt prescribe those kinds of meds. ticked me off. i woulda gladly aken some good advice over meds but he just cut me off.

I guess its a matter of what your looking for. I like my doc i've done nothing about it in my situation in terms of finding a new doc. But that might be an option finding a new GP etc..

But from what I've read online your neck fo the woods doesnt exactly have the best programs / setup for helping folks get sober in comparison to other places in the world.

peanut44

My psychiatric would spend 12 of the 15 minutes I had with him typing. I even tried just sitting there watching him and finally he would tell me to go ahead and talk. I said no, I'll wait. At that point he would finally pay attention to me.

So 3 minutes to talk with him and I walk out with a prescription? I was diagnosed with PTSD and "generalized anxiety disorder". You would think I could get better health care after paying him 300$ a visit.

ScottFromWI

Not all doctors are equal unfortunately. I would seek another doctor and if your regular GP continues to act in that way I would file a complaint with the proper channels at her clinic. Your health is the most important thing, keep trying until you find the right fit.

48heath

I went twice to the GP,when I was drinking,they were both lovely to me,but not helpful.Most GP's in the UK have little knowledge of Alcoholism.

Go to AA.No appointment needed and no waiting list.The only treatment that works for Alcoholism is total abstinence.

Soberween

I told my GP years ago that I was worried about my drinking and she told me to cut back. I thought "wow, the golden ticket of advice." Hadn't thought of that. One would think that a GP would have a more rounded knowledge of any type of health concerns, but I could tell this doctor was a complete normie without any idea of what I was talking about. I finally went to an addiction specialist and told him about my drinking concerns (which at the time I was drinking about one regular size bottle of wine every Friday and Saturday night. This doctor was the complete opposite "OMG, you are lucky to be alive. You are so fortunate nothing catastrophic has happened." All I thought at that time was "calm your balls dude, alarmist much." I finally just started reading self help books and I was on my way to a happy alcohol free life. I would never go back to drinking. I'm so much happier now. I wouldn't recommend getting sober without a doctor's supervision. I'm sure there are helpful doctors out there, you just need to find them.

DrunkenDonuts

My GP has actually been really good. He's an older guy and I think he's seen it all. He referred me to my counselling and I went there for years. Then I learned all the options and went back to him after trying a number of them which didn't work for me.

I straight up told him what I wanted from him and got it.

Now it's 5 months later and still sober.

But I really want it. More than alcohol.

Anna

It's like everything else in life, some people do their job well, and others don't. I think doctors are often uneducated in addiction and some of them are just plain judgemental. I think it would be a good idea for you to try a new dr.

EndGameNYC

Until very recently, most medical students haven't gotten much training in alcoholism and other addictions. Mostly none at all. Even now, the training is not at all comprehensive. They pretty much have to seek out more substantial training on their own and, given their workload and an absence of desire to treat alcoholics and other addicts, this rarely happens, even in the few cases in which that training is available.

Why are so few people paying attention to us? Because modern technology and modern medicine alone have failed to arrive at an effective and reliable treatment regimen for addictions, beyond amelioriating withdrawal symptoms and providing medications intended to curb one's drinking (without addressing the whole person), medications which the addict is responsible for administering. That's it. Given that the addiction treatment industry is currently valued at around $35 billion, doesn't it make sense that everyone and his alcoholic brother would be investing time and effort in developing an effective medical treatment for addictions? The problem does not lie in a lack of effort; the problem is that the condition itself is so resistant to treatment, and that the faith and hope that science will provide the answers is both misplaced and unwarranted.

There are all kinds of rants all over the Internet around the conviction that treatment for addictions needs to come from "science-based evidence," "evidence-based science," or some such empty sloganeering. Okay. So, what's this elusive and mythical "evidence-based science" all about? Where do I get some? Do I need to take my science once a day at the same time? Is it expensive? Does it have a color? How much does it weigh, how much space does it take up and can I keep it in my home?

When I was first in grad school, there was no formal training available for alcoholism and addictions. When I took my first placement, I chose a residential drug and alcohol treatment program in an impoverished area of the city. I was warned by my adviser and other faculty (many of whom had years of clinical practice) that this would be wasted effort on my part and could at least temporarily derail my training, since alcoholics and addicts "can't be treated." Having been sober for several years at the time, I went ahead with my decision.

I don't make the rules and I didn't create any of these conditions, but due to social stigma, an absence of meaningful education and training, and because alcoholics and addicts are so notoriously dishonest and unreliable, many if not most physicians just refuse to treat them. Add to this the reality that most doctors don't like feeling under-qualified to treat their patients, it then becomes reasonable to expect less than helpful or supportive treatment, though there are notable exceptions. Again, I don't make the rules.

For most of the many forms of treatment discussed on SR -- AA, AVRT, RR, addiction counseling, and the rest -- faith, the ugly underbelly of science, is required. In my experience, achieving sobriety demands a complete overhaul in terms of thinking, believing and, most importantly, action. If science provided The Remedy, then this would not be the case.

Aellyce

I see similar approach and attitude in many psychiatrists that I work with (I mean professionally collaborate, they don't treat me). It's because that's the training they got and most of them never experienced addictions themselves. I personally understand why/how they are often clueless and unhelpful, addiction is not something easy to subjectively imagine in the absence of first hand experience. This is why peer support is so important. I've studied addiction from a scientific/medical point of view for years, it never helped me quit my own problem. What helped was getting involved in SR very actively and doing the stuff I've learned here. I have been in therapy also for more than a year now and it's very helpful and interesting, but I don't think it's helped me stay sober much. We do talk about my past addictions whenever it's in context, but most of the time I sense clearly when the therapists (I've worked with two) don't truly understand the experience.

I agree that some doctors and other professionals are better than others, so do try someone else if you feel dissatisfied. But again, I don't think even the best doctor could replace peer support.

aasharon90

It was my family who made some calls
to find the help I needed for the state
I was in after downing pain pills and
not wanting to go to the hospital to
get my stomach pumped.

My family didn't have the knowledge
of how to deal with the situation I put
them in, so one call to the hotline I guess
and from there a doctor called for a court
order to have me picked up by the authorities
and driven to a hospital for mental evaluation.

As I look back while in my drinking career,
I didn't think I had a drinking problem but
drank because of my failing marital situation
and life in general. So I don't think I had it
in me to seek help for drinking.

I do commend many here who have
the courage to seek help for what
they feel sure is is a drinking or using
problem because I didn't have that
courage in myself to seek that help.

It took being evaluated a physcoligist
to determine that I wasn't crazy and that
all I had was a drinking problem or in other
words, addiction to alcohol. Whew...I was
so glad that that was all it was.

Of course I was given 2 week instay
rehab to complete before I was to be
released and from there they wanted
to send me to a halfway house out of
town again away from my little family.

I begged them to let me stay where
I was to complete 28 days with a 6
week outpatient aftercare program
attached. And I did complete everything.

My rehab experience gave me time
to allow the poison to exit my body
and for the fog to clear so that I could
receive some valuable information
about my addiction and receive a
program of recovery as a guideline
to follow each day I didn't drink.

Over the past 24 yrs. sober, I continue
to use my recovery program to follow
and the doctors if needed for medical
advice and aid. I am completely honest
with my doctors that I am in recovery
and that if any medicine is to be administered
that it is not habit forming or narcotic.

They are told this information with
trust that they will abide by my stern
request because my recovery and
sobriety is top priority and I will
not have anything or anyone to
mess with or destroy what
Ive worked so hard for over the yrs.

It was suggested that I use the AA
program of recovery to help me
stay sober. My doctors for medical
purposes. My Faith or church for
spiritual strengths.

Im not sure if all general doctors
have the means to help an alcoholic
or and addict. If I walked in and told
the doctor I have an addiction to
alcohol or drugs and could he help
me. He would proabaly give me a
hotline number to call or a referral
to talk to someone who specializes
in that field of addiction and be placed
into some kind of rehab to learn about
my addiction.

My general doctor cant cure me of
my addiction but he surely can help
me remain sober by not giving me
anything that would put my recovery
into jeopardy. And the only way that
will happen is if im totally honest with
them about my own recovery.

Dee74

I've had some bad GPs and some really good ones - you need to find a good one

D

hopscotch123

I had a real nightmare with my GP so had to go private for a home detox.