Dorothy-Jean's ad-hominem attack on Dr. Hiemstra calls for a response…read more
Since Dorothy-Jean is such a fan of the heavily regulated psychiatric approach to mental well-being, let's see where that approach has gotten ME during the last 60 years of my depressed existence.
Psychiatry first addicted me to Valium, which it took me a decade to finally wean myself off of. Next it tried Ritalin, which it addicted me to for another five years. Then it introduced its so-called "silver bullets," drugs like Prozac and Buspar, which it addicted me to for another 20 years - finally, shunting me off onto Effexor, an SNRI that is so addictive that my own psychiatrist told me I might as well not bother trying to get off it. A recent NIH study has shown that Effexor has a 95% recidivism rate for those who attempt to quit using it, a recidivism rate far worse than those attempting to withdraw from heroin or cocaine.
I need hardly add that none of these medicines worked satisfactorily for me in removing my depression, since I wouldn't be thinking about alternatives like ketamine had Big Pharma's meds been the "silver bullets" that they were claimed to be, often by TV talking heads who were getting paid by Big Pharma to "big up" the latest addictive psychiatric pills.
Not only did psychiatry's wonder drugs fail to work satisfactorily for me, but they turned me into an eternal patient, forcing me to visit my shrink every three months and give him intimate details of my personal life - before he would write another pro forma prescription for his addictive pills. I continue to find that demoralizing, time-consuming, and expensive to this very day. Nor do these drugs fix a chemical imbalance in the brain, a claim that Boston Globe columnist Robert Whitaker has refuted in his book "Anatomy of an Epidemic"; instead, they actually CREATE the imbalances that they purport to fix.
Last but not least, these "miracle drugs" were never created or studied for long-term use -- meaning that folks like myself are guinea pigs for their long-term effects, one of which has turned out to be anhedonia, the deadening of all highs and lows in one's emotional life.
This is the history of modern psychiatry in my life, the psychiatry that Dorothy-Jean wants me to depend upon for my safety and well-being, as if psychiatry sets the gold standard in those areas.
Nonsense.
The whole point of ketamine is that it's a drug that (despite Dorothy's rhetoric) is non-addictive at therapeutic doses and when used in a therapeutic regimen. That's a huge step forward compared to the chemical dependence created by Big Pharma meds. It is one of a handful of new psychedelic (and pseudo-psychedelic) treatments for depression that are finally getting grudging approval by our drug-warrior government, at least for research purposes. Ketamine is one of the first in this category to be approved for use with actual patients, and the last thing we need now is for uninformed Big Pharma fans like Dorothy-Jean to destroy this one patient alternative to the demoralizing and addictive status quo of modern psychiatry.
Dorothy-Jean is downright disdainful of the fact that "anyone" can walk in to Dr. Hiemstra's office and get affordable treatment for their depression. I have to admit, that is no doubt a novelty from the current psychiatric point of view, but it is a novelty to be encouraged, not to be scorned. Instead, Dorothy-Jean hopes to shut down one of the few ketamine outlets in the country whose services are actually affordable for everyday Americans.
Spravato sounds like a great alternative to ketamine, except for the patronizing requirement that the substance only be used in the presence of one's doctor (an onerous requirement that obliterates most of the benefits of administering esketamine via nasal spray). But what Dorothy-Jean fails to point out is that J&J requires that users of Spravato must continue using any Big Pharma antidepressant that they have been previously prescribed. Yes, they require that an addict of Big Pharma remain an addict in order to use this new drug. So Spravato itself is a part of the problem: the rules governing its use are clearly written to ensure that Big Pharma remains in control of modern depression therapy, and that folks who want to rely solely on the new non-addictive treatment paradigm are out of luck, at least if, like myself and millions of other Americans, they've already been hooked on SSRIs.
So if you're depressed, people, don't let folks like Dorothy-Jean take this godsend Ketamine treatment away from you. Send your own letter to Utah's DOPL, asking them to refrain from punishing Dr. Hiemstra for bringing affordable and (finally) non-addictive help to the depressed.
If you want to rat on anybody, send a letter to the DOPL demanding that they stop licensing psychiatrists who willfully addict their patients to modern anti-depressants.
