Comments by T.N. Tampiyappa, FRANZCP

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  • Thankyou for all your incisive comments that has given me pause for thought
    I did want to clear up two comments before broadening the medication question
    Fiirstly I regret that my”glib humour” tone appeared to trivialize the suffering many have had at the hands of psychiatric services.This was never my intention for which I am very sorry
    Secondly the “crossing the threshold”comment caused some consternation.This comment was reserved only for people who voluntarily choose to come to psychiatric services.In Australian public services which are free the vast majority of people who sought help were voluntary.Clearly this phrase does not apply to those committed or brought to psychiatric attention by the police

    I hope my article was ideologically ambiguous enough to highlight what I want to say about various psychiatric medication;
    I have seen people on clozapine whose lives are transformed from a solitary tortuous existence to one of freedom and I have seen people die on clozapine from myocarditis.
    I have seen people on olanzapine so grateful for having their moods under control and I’ve seen many balloon in weight and develop diabetes mellitus
    I have seen people have antidepressants that allow them to leave home for the first time in years and I ve also seen people try to kill themselves within a few days of starting the medication
    I have seen people who see long-term benzodiazepenes as the only thing that stops them from slipping into suicidal despair and I have seen people who have a semi-permanent benzodiazepine-induced neurotoxicity.
    I have seen people at deaths door transformed with ECT and also seen people as a result of ECT have permanent retrograde amnesia to the point they can’t do their jobs anymore.

    I have seen over 25000 patients.I don’t see myself as an expert but someone who has a lot of experience in people’s distress.A lot of people come to see me seeking answers. Many are dissatisfied by psychological or socio-cultural explanations of their pain.They want a diagnosis and treatment preferably a pill.For the vast majority symptom checklists give little indication whether medication may make a difference or not.

    I wonder if the person wants a medication and the patient is warned about side-effects and withdrawal and that it will be for a trial period doesn’t medication still have a valuable role in the mental health field?

    So in conclusion, rather than voting psychiatrists off the island shouldn’t we together honour our different experiences and commit to continuing respectful, mutual learning from each other?

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