Comment by grep_name
6 hours ago
N=1, but last yearly physical my primary care doctor asked me if I ever had anxiety. I said yes, but that I wasn't really interested in treating it outside of lifestyle change. They asked if I wanted a prescription for prozac, without explaining anything about how to does it or titrate up or down or a time frame. I said I wasn't interested again, and that I particularly didn't want to take any medications that you can't just stop taking one day on a whim (a statement she didn't respond to).
She then proceeded to say "well I'll just write you the prescription anyway and you can do your research later and decide to fill it or not".
I was actually shocked by this interaction, and think about it often. She's a regular family doctor with the local hospital system, and this was just a regular checkup. I answered one question with a "yes, but it's manageable and I think I can handle it with lifestyle change" and then said no twice to medication and ended up with a prescription, which I ignored but don't appreciate having on my record, since it's a false indicator for future prescribing physicians.
Crazy. I hear such wild horror stories with doctors. I'd never return to a doctor like that, sorry you had that experience. Still, this feels like a case where the lesson is "get a new doctor" not "lie to one" but I understand that circumstances can make that a pain.
Likely the office was getting a kickback from the supplier for writing that prescription. This is shockingly common in the US. A straight cash payment is prohibited, but it's easy to work around that legally and provide equipment or "compensate" some other expense.