by dblitz on Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:41 pm
I wrote this and and made them put it in my file here at the hospital. i also sent it to a local compensation lawer.
All missing dates, lengths of time and dosages mentioned in this document can be obtained by accessing my medical records kept by either Doctor === or ____ Psychiatric Services.
On the d/m/y, following a drug induced breakdown due to ice use, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia and placed on a treatment order and put on a depot of Invega Sustena. Although I disagreed with the diagnosis I had no choice but to accept the treatment as I was bound by the treatment order and if I refused the depot I would be hospitalised again. I suffered from many well known side effects of this medication such as lack of motivation, negative and flattened mood, lack of joy or enjoyment of life, passivity, loss of sexual function and weight gain, but accepted the situation hoping I would eventually be able to one day come off it and again live a normal life as I had before.
? months later I got a job that I quickly learned and became proficient at. After a period of ? months from starting the treatment I was taken off the treatment order but continued to go for the depot. After a period of ? months getting the depot while off the treatment order I decided to slowly come off the Invega. On the d/m/y I consulted Doctor === and told him my history in the psychiatric system. He agreed that I was not schizophrenic but had experienced my past breakdowns due to the use of amphetamines and other psychedelics. He said my breakdowns were drug induced. He agreed to follow my progress and gradually lower my Invega dosage until I could completely cease the treatment.
Over a period of ? months my dose was reduced from ?mg to ?mg and that was to be the final dosage before I stopped completely. Everything was going well on this lowest dose but due to work constraints I missed the last appointment with Doctor ===. As I was no longer under any obligation to continue the treatment by law, or to consult any doctors concerning my treatment I made an independent decision to stop taking the injection and see Doctor === only if I experienced difficulties with the withdrawal. As time progressed I experienced various withdrawal symptoms known to be associated with Invega withdrawal such as obsessive and intrusive thoughts, lack of focus and concentration, memory lapses and failures and severe nightmares but I coped with these as best I could and they were not severe enough to consult Doctor === further.
Around the 15/5/2017 to 4/6/2017 the withdrawal symptoms, especially lack of focus, obsessive and invasive thoughts, memory lapses and severe nightmares, became worse but I decided to persist with my plan to completely cease the treatment as I wanted to be free of synthetic chemicals and I did not like the side effects. During this entire time I continued to work at my job and fulfil all my other life responsibilities with no problems at all. I can provide a statement from my employer at the time, confirming that I was able to cope with these symptoms and still do my job and interact socially as usual.
Around this time I smoked some weak marijuana a few times after work in the evening or on the weekend and my family became concerned, as they believe, wrongly, that marijuana had contributed to my mental health issues in the past. The truth is that I had only ever experienced breakdowns following amphetamine abuse, and in one case, the use of psychedelic drugs, and never from the use of marijuana. One of the reasons I smoked it was to relax my emotional and mental state as the withdrawals were getting towards the hardest part. I knew that there would be a particularly difficult final phase of withdrawal because I had previously been on a Risperdal depot and had experienced the withdrawals from that medication and this was similar. I was prepared to face these difficulties and still managed my life effectively even through almost all of this phase of withdrawal.
On the 5/6/2017 I had a particularly difficult day at work due to very intrusive, obsessive thoughts and severe memory lapses and difficulty focusing. As a result of these difficulties with the final withdrawl phase I was unable to complete my work day and had to go home early. My employer was very understanding and allowed me to leave early as I had an excellent record at work, having only had two half days off in two years of work. When I got home I was tired and mentally stressed, but no more than any other person would have been had they been in my position.
I went to bed and slept, but just before I woke I had a very severe and frightening nightmare that I woke from just as my father arrived at my house. I realised I had slept through my alarm and missed my train and would not be making it to work that day. This was disappointing and I was quite shaken from the nightmare, so my father and I went for a drive to get a coffee and chat. I returned home and started to relax and feel much better. I felt that I was finally through the worst of the withdrawals and I was fully prepared to attend work the following day and resume my normal life.
I spent the morning catching up on some shopping, writing emails and other things while relaxing at home and felt quite a bit better after a short nap with no nightmares. As I was sitting drinking coffee and reading a book, and feeling in a really good place after so long withdrawing, there was a knock at the door and I found ### there with two policemen. they asked me to accompany them to the psychiatric hospital for an assessment. As I was feeling much better I went willingly, expecting to be found to be mentally healthy and released. during this time I was conversing rationally and in a normal way with the police and other people I encountered on my way to the hospital, and also while at the hospital waiting for the assessment.
When the time came for my assessment, Doctor +++ simply stated that I was experiencing early warning signs of a relapse of schizophrenia and dismissed the notion that I was merely suffering withdrawal symptoms. She said I needed to be hospitalised and put back on medication. Naturally this was quite distressing for me and I disagreed strongly and argued the point, as would anyone who had gone through so many years of medication and withdrawal due to misdiagnosis, and about to be put through it all again. I argued the point and insisted that I should be allowed to go home as I was expected at work the next day and my status was as a voluntary patient.
Doctor +++ did not listen to my point of view and did not even ask me about my mental or emotional state, she just made a judgement based on hearsay from my family and her own pre-concieved notions and I was not properly assessed at all. I was behaving rationally and reasonably and put forward my case clearly and logically, and although I did speak forthrightly and with conviction and perhaps with some strong emotion, she seemed to think this confirmed her viewpoint and she insisted I be made involuntary and forced to receive two injections of anti-psychotic medication and kept in hospital for over a week with not even escorted leave to have a cigarette outside.
As a result I was forced to give up a new job I was soon to begin. Due to the loss of income it is also likely I will have to find somewhere else to live and this only adds to the feeling of being mistreated by the Doctor +++ and the system as a whole. I consider her actions an injustice and strongly disagree with her diagnosis. It is not fair that when someone disagrees with the doctor's opinion this is taken as further proof of their illness. I should have been properly assessed and Doctor === should have been consulted as he was the psychiatrist I chose independently when I decided to cease the treatment.
Withdrawal effects from anti-psychotic medication should not be seen as evidence of illness as these are well known to occur when a person is coming off such powerful medications and this fact should have been taken into account, however Doctor +++ didnt even mention this or ask me about it. She just made a snap judgement and when I asked for a second opinion she refused to help me get one and simply handed me over to the nurses for the injections.
I believe I have been misdiagnosed (and so does Doctor ===) and have suffered an injustice, I demand that my case be reviewed and I be released from the treatment order she put me on, released from the hospital and allowed to continue my life without injections or other treatments and go back to working with Doctor === as the psychiatrist I chose of my own free will. I also ask that Doctor === be consulted to give his account of my meetings with him, and that his opinion that my breakdowns were drug induced, and not due to chronic schizophrenia, be considered before I am forced to receive any more medication against my will.
All of the symptoms that I displayed, and that were considered early warning signs of a relapse into schizophrenia are well known to be associated with Invega withdrawal and my case should be reconsidered in light of this fact. I have already lost a job due to Doctor +++ negligence and most likely will have to downgrade the location and quality of my dwelling as well. In addition, I am have been unable to locate and retrieve my car for a full week (it is parked somewhere in -----, I don't remember where, and it may well have been stolen, broken into or vandalised.) If I am not released from the treatment order, released from hospital and taken off the depot I intend to pursue legal action against Doctor +++ and the Psychiatric Services and any nurse on duty who fails to act on the contents of this document, in order to be compensated for loss of income and any other losses incurred due to my mistreatment.
At the next available opportunity I demand the right to legal representation and that any and all treatments cease until this has been arranged. I also demand that my property be returned to me and that I be released from hospital immediately and allowed to return to my home and resume my life.
I also sent a copy to the local paper. i hope it works.
Cant login to gmail or discord because this is a new laptop and I cant confirm my identity.
