[Guest]

Dr.,

Thanks for your input on the tapering, my cousin is so young and is doing so much better, I hate to see things tampered with, but I understand it is all part of a longer-term strategy.

Anyway, yesterday I saw my therapist. He stepped out for a minute and my folder was sitting open on the desk. I saw a notation from last week's session regarding the Hamilton Anxiety Scale. It read "HAMA 14, Tension 3, Baseline 29". I have never actually seen a copy, but am familiar with the scale, and he was asking me a lot of "follow-up" questions last week.

I don't want to ask him about the score, if he wanted me to know he would have told me, but I was wondering what these numbers mean. A drop from 29 to 14 sounds good, but I am not satisfied yet, as I still have persistent anxiety that generally lasts all day about 2 days a week (sometimes 3). That is why I increased to 30mg 3 weeks ago. What does 29 and 14 mean? and what am I supposed to be shooting for because it better not be 14, I am not satisfied yet, regardless of whether it is a greater than 50% reduction of symptoms (barely).

Thanks as always.

[Guest]

I think that it would be better to discuss this with your therapist. I am sure he would like to have such a discussion and it would be edifying for both of you. If he doesn't want you to have such a discussion for some obscure reason, then I wouldn't want to go around him or "behind his back."
[quote] Dr. ,

Thanks for your input on the tapering, my cousin is so young and is doing so much better, I hate to see things tampered with, but I understand it is all part of a longer-term strategy... [/quote]