I question whether Dr. Ola's prescribing practices are influenced by pharmaceutical incentives. For context, I hold an MA in Health Communication from Johns Hopkins--I'm not new to the healthcare space.
At our first visit, I was diagnosed with depression. I expressed hesitancy about medication and a willingness to try non-pharmaceutical approaches first, since this was a new experience for me. He strongly advised against that and prescribed 10mg of escitalopram "as soon as possible." I had never taken any prescription meds before and didn't know what starting doses were typical. I began with half a pill (5mg) and felt mild side effects, so I tried the full 10mg the next day--and immediately had reactions: worsened depression, confusion, nausea. Within 24 hours, I woke up with loss of vision, extreme confusion, I felt like my blood was boiling, and nausea. I ended up in the ER, where I was told to stop the medication.
I didn't blame Dr. Ola for these side effects. When his office opened that morning, I explained what happened, and he advised to stop the medication. Done.
For the next week, my confusion persisted, along with EXTREME shortness of breath (I am a dancer), dizziness, and rapid heartrate. After 2 days of this, I called Dr. Ola and explained what I was feeling. He brushed it off as anxiety-- stating it was, "extremely unlikely this would happen" and said what I was feeling was just anxiety. This was ridiculous. My depression was new, but I've been dealing with anxiety attacks since I was in 2nd grade. This was not that.
I later went to Northwestern Immediate Care, where the doctor said 10mg is far from a standard starting dose, especially for someone new to SSRIs. Since then, I've consulted multiple professionals who confirmed that Dr. Ola's dosage choice was inappropriate. It took months to recover and return to dancing and I still have dizzy spells I have not had before I took the medication. I am not upset about the reaction--it truly could have happened to anyone. I am upset because Dr. Ola gave me an inappropriate prescription, and was dismissive of my side effects. read more