Emily

Nov 6, 2022

If I could give negative stars I would

If I could give negative stars, I would. My previous provider was no longer available and I decided to give Brightside a try - probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I scheduled my first appointment and the provider they assigned had no idea, I wasn't on her schedule, yet I got her zoom link to connect for my appointment. In hindsight, that should have been a red flag for me. I had already been taking venlafaxine for anxiety and doing well on it, but expressed to my provider wanting to better manage my OCD symptoms. She put me on fluvoxamine (without knowing any of my medical history or really anything about me at all). Let me be clear, I realize that these types of medications can be unpredictable and some people don't react well to certain medications, so I don't blame Brightside or my provider for my negative side effects, but the sheer irresponsibility of this orangization and their providers is astounding. I expressed multiple times via messaging that I was having severe side effects. My provider ghosted me for a few days before recommending I titrate off the medication. That's when everything got so much worse. My provider suggested I take one pill every other day for 10 days. I started experiencing more severe symptoms and symptoms of withdrawl. Again I messaged my provider who ghosted me for about a week this time. I couldn't find any sort of emergency contact to get in touch with my provider or anyone for that matter. I reached out to my PCP who couldn't help me because they didn't prescribed the medication. I went to the ER and they couldn't help me unless I was suicidal; however they ultimately gave me medication to counteract some of the negative side effects and a boat load of information on fluvoxamine - information that made me realize my provider 1. should have probably never put me on that medication with such ease given that it's not recommended with venlafaxine and 2. never should have weaned me off by dosing me every other day given that literally every medical source on the planet says not to do that because the drug has such an incredibly short half-life. Funny how science works? When I finally got an appointment with my provider she basically gaslighted me into saying, "its probably not withdrawal because you weren't on it for a long time," which tells me two things. 1. You have no idea what you're talking about and 2. You have no concern for your patients. I had asked this provider to submit the necessary FMLA paperwork given that I missed over a week of work due to severe side effects and I have yet to hear back from her. I was just notified my claim has been denied due to the lack of the aforementioned paperwork, so now my job is jeopardy due to my provider's negligence. If you're going to put someone on a medication that has the potential to mess them up in a bad way, then at least take the responsibility to help that person protect their job when you created a situation that made them incapable of performing it. I feel like it is my obligation to warn others to stay away from this organization. They literally exploit mental health for profit, they employ unqualified provider's who unfortunately are allowed to prescribe people medication, and they are 0 help when things go bad. If you're thinking of joining Brightside, do yourself a favor, and don't.