Note: psychologists cannot prescribe anything here (Eastern Europe), psychiatrists can.
I do not see any issues telling doctors that they are prescribing the wrong medication because you may know it better than them. I personally learnt a lot about pharmacology due to my illness, and I know what kind of medications are should not be supposed to be prescribed which the doctor working at the ER at that moment may not. In any case, you could just point out the reasons, I believe.
For example: highly lipophilic beta-blockers are an issue in my case as I get anxious over its CNS side-effects that others may take it for performance anxiety, see: propranolol. The doctor prescribing me propranolol would be in the wrong. My own psychiatrist had no clue that lipophilic beta-blockers can cause all sorts of issues (CNS side-effects, such as brain fog) that lead to anxiety and even panic attacks for me. In my case, something like atenolol or even nebivolol would have worked better. Some doctors know this, some do not. I do not reasonably expect them to know everything though. It is sort of a detail that is not known because it is commonly prescribed to the elderly who do not report those CNS side-effects because they attribute them to their old age.
There were cases of metoprolol causing hallucinations[1]. The old person attributed it to having some kind of a super power of seeing the dead because their heart stopped for a few seconds and they were "dead". I am not sure if this is the article I posted, but there was such a case.
People who research their own specific illness may know better than some doctors, really.
> I do not see any issues telling doctors that they are prescribing the wrong medication because you may know it better than them.
If you're not comfortable with a medication's potential side effects I do think it's worth bringing it up (I'm not a doctor, just an occasional patient) but it really comes down to how it's phrased.
There's a very big difference between:
"Actually propranolol won't work for me because after Googling around I discovered one of the side effects makes me feel anxious, can we try atenolol or nebivolol based on what I read online?"
vs.
"I know Googling for medical advice is sketchy but I read one of the side effects of propranolol is brain fog and this really concerns me because my job remains that I stay sharp. I trust your diagnosis and I know just because a side effect is listed I'm not guaranteed to have it, but are there any other beta blockers that we can start with that don't have this side effect and will still work?
There's a lot of very carefully selected phrases in the 2nd way of saying the same statement.
- Admission that Googling for medical issues isn't usually a good idea on its own to take actionable advice on
- You bring up a valid concern about one of the side effects
- Saying "diagnosis" vs "advice" is respectful of their decision ("advice" and "opinion" are a bit demeaning because it discredits their decision)
- You call out that you know not all side effects will come true (you come off as someone who isn't just blindly Googling stuff, this raises your credibility)
- You name drop "beta blockers" which shows you've done a decent amount of research
- You let them take the reigns and offer alternative medication, giving them a chance to maybe pick the ones you've researched
- You close things out as being optimistic by saying "and will still work" rather than questioning their decision before they give it by saying "think it will work"
If I said the 2nd wording to a doctor and they denied my request without even discussing it then I'd leave and look for a 2nd opinion. Asking people questions without demeaning them is a great way to get an honest look at how someone operates.
You're offering reasonable practical advice, I think. But imagine if this were about consulting an auto mechanic. It's like "You can't just question them, you have to suck up!" It reminds me of a small Apple developer's open letter to Apple a while back, clearly very carefully worded, full of protestations about what a big longtime fan they were of Apple.
I do not see any issues telling doctors that they are prescribing the wrong medication because you may know it better than them. I personally learnt a lot about pharmacology due to my illness, and I know what kind of medications are should not be supposed to be prescribed which the doctor working at the ER at that moment may not. In any case, you could just point out the reasons, I believe.
For example: highly lipophilic beta-blockers are an issue in my case as I get anxious over its CNS side-effects that others may take it for performance anxiety, see: propranolol. The doctor prescribing me propranolol would be in the wrong. My own psychiatrist had no clue that lipophilic beta-blockers can cause all sorts of issues (CNS side-effects, such as brain fog) that lead to anxiety and even panic attacks for me. In my case, something like atenolol or even nebivolol would have worked better. Some doctors know this, some do not. I do not reasonably expect them to know everything though. It is sort of a detail that is not known because it is commonly prescribed to the elderly who do not report those CNS side-effects because they attribute them to their old age.
There were cases of metoprolol causing hallucinations[1]. The old person attributed it to having some kind of a super power of seeing the dead because their heart stopped for a few seconds and they were "dead". I am not sure if this is the article I posted, but there was such a case.
People who research their own specific illness may know better than some doctors, really.
Sorry if I was a tad off-topic.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3295654/