What should I do?

[Anti Antipsychotics]

So I have really bad anxiety, and I've been on 4mg of Xanax a day for the last year, and I saw my doctor last week. I just looked at the prescription bottle and noticed that she lowered my daily dose to 2mg without even telling me!

She won't take my calls or answer my emails. Who is her boss? Who should I complain to? It's one thing if she thinks that dose is too high for now, but I think it totally unprofessional for her to lower my dose without telling me, not to mention dangerous.

[buffy8999]

This is definitely not right what she did and like you said very unprofessional, but maybe in her mind she thought you wouldnt notice and hoped it would be like the placebo affect and in your mind it would still feel like 4mg, still im not sure why she would do that though you should send her an email saying that you will seek a new doctor and maybe that will scare her into answering you

[Anti Antipsychotics]

She is my doctor though the VA (Veterans Affairs). Since she is paid by the government, I'm sure she could care less, because whether I'm her patient or not, she'll still make the same amount of money, that's why I want to know who her boss is so I can complain to them.

[cajunbulldog]

4mg of that drug is dangerous but if you wish to report her,there is a patient advocate,chief medical officer,and Administrator of every Veteran's Hospital. I am a vet myself and most of the doctors are good but will need your input and guidance for treatment.

[Anxiously_waiting]

4mg at one time is dangerous, for a person wih no tolerence. If hes been taking them for a while then hes probably got a pretty good tolerence built up. I have been perscribed 1 2mg bar every 8 hours as needed when i was at the peak of my xanax use. For someone with no tolerence 4mg could possibly be deadly. If he has a high tolerence then 4mg could be just right for him. it all depends on how long you've been taking the medication for. I would go down there and try to talk to her. tapering down is one thing, but if thats what shes planning on doing then she needs to discuss it with you, not just cut your script in half and call it good.

[QVC1212]

@Anti Antipsychotic Another member beat me to the punch---patient advocate is my knee-jerk reaction too. However, with that said, patient advocate should be your answer of last resort. It reflects very very badly on the provider if his or her treatment is so appallingly bad that it warrants involvement from the patient advocate. Your first response should be to leave a message for the doctor or deliver a letter in person to the clinic. If that fails, then approach the supervisor---it shouldn't be hard to find out who that person is. If that fails, then contact the chief of service. If THAT fails, THEN you can go to the patient advocate, but only then.

I'm not a doctor and I don't work for the VA, but I know from experience that keeping things amicable goes a long way. Involving the patient advocate transforms the relationship from friendly and professional to adversarial, which is very very bad if you're trying to get something from a provider. While you may disagree with the provider about the dosage, he or she has gone to med school and is qualified to prescribe, not you. You may not like it, but that's the way it is. Determining dosage is not a black or white issue and it will not be obvious to a third party, like a patient advocate, that they have violated any rule. In fact, dosage adjustments downward will look like the doc is trying to protect you, not the other way around. Setting a dosage is a judgment call the doctor makes based on intuition, experience and clinical guidelines which allow leeway for the doctor to make that call. Some doctors might disagree on dosages in the same scenario.

I rely on the VA myself and am very happy with their care. If I had a problem, I would find a way to put together the money for a visit to a free clinic or financial need-based type of clinic, or find a way to get insurance, and get a second opinion. I would not complain to the VA because my controlled med dosage has been cut.

VA Wants to Hear From You - Patient Advocate

[Maskell]

What was the gist of your Emails to the doctor? Were they reasonably polite?

To halve a prescription without even discussing it with the patient is so unprofessional and lacking in respect that my first thought would be that it was a genuine mistake. Did you consider that possibility?

If, on the other hand, she suspected that you were becoming unhealthily dependent on Xanax, then I'm afraid that you've probably confirmed her suspicions by bombarding her with Emails and phone calls (although I can well appreciate your fear and outrage).

Either way, QVC1212's advice to keep things as amicable as possible is the key to resolving the situation.

If, as I suspect, you over-reacted in the intial shock of realising what she'd done, maybe you can send her a calm, reflective Email apologising for any abruptness in your original communications and explaining that you were having a bad day and that you realize it may have been a simple error.

At least you should get an answer that can establish a dialogue once again so you can find out what's going on.

Good luck!

[Rescue3000]

I too have been a recent Victim of the Veterans Administration!The only way is to contact the front desk at the clinic you always go to.Then make and appointment to see Face To Face the prescribing Doctor...it may be 2 weeks..you have just enough to last 2 weeks (not a month) since they didn't tell you I guess its not your fault if you take your old dose,...and slowly ween yourself like 3mg a day...there may have been a mistake it's happened to me many times..one time I got 90 pills instead of 180 to last a month..so the doctor most likely made a mistake..you got no problems....trust me..It's not my first rodeo with the Veterans Administration...Good luck....just go there!!!~~~Captain~~~

[dsteury]

Your Doctor is trying to ween you off Xanax they are not a long term med. Some say tjey are but so people say dilaudid is a long time med. If the Doc has a plan his next switch will be to something with a longer half life like Valium. You many not like it but with Xanax the more you bitcX the less likely they will be to prescribe. Maybe time to change Doctors many times starting over is the way to go you got records!!!!!!