Connie, Doctors aren't infallible. Sometimes the warnings from other users can be invaluable. For instance, my sister was put on Zocor in November. She lives in a different state, so I didn't know about it. After just a few weeks on Zocor (for high cholesterol), she started having a great deal of pain in her right leg and lower back. She finally went back to the nurse practitioner, who gave her yet another prescription for an anti-inflammatory. It didn't do any good. It was only when we visited for Christmas, that I saw her take some pills (she was in a wheel chair by then!). When I asked what they were, she told me about being on Zocor. My immediate reaction was to get on the internet. Low and behold, THE most common and serious side effect of statins is myopathy - painful muscle wasting! Doctors are supposed to be told by the manufactureres of statins, to first put patients on a cholesterol lowering diet and if that doesn't work, to then try drugs, but to warn them about the risk of myopathy because they have to get off the drug the very day it presents itself. My sister was never warned and the nurse pracitioner didn't even recognize the condition when she complained about it. If it hadn't been for me getting my sister off the drug immediately, she'd still be in a wheelchair and suffering. It took a couple of months, but she's walking again, with a cane. From what I've read and heard, most doctors don't warn about myopathy and don't recognize it, even though Baycol, another statin, was banned for that very reason!

There are countless stories of doctors making mistakes and not knowing enough about the drugs they prescribe. Often, what they do know, is only what drug reps tell them - only what drug companies want them to know.

It's fine to respect doctors, but we simply cannot put blind faith in them. Knowing the molecular structure of a psychiatric drug will not tell you what it will do to you. It really tells you nothing at all that you need to know.

You said that you think your pain drug is dangerous. You learned that from experience, right? If they were to put your child or other loved one on the same drug, would you not be concerned? Would you not feel the need to warn them about the possibilities? We are all, in some ways, family and I hate to see any other human, not warned about drugs that hold potential harm. It's just that simple. I see your side of things, but truly, we need to have ALL of the information about drugs that we need, not just drug company published stuff.

I hope that you're feeling better soon. You've had a rough time of it, it seems.