Dr. Kathleen Rose Whitley, MD

Dr. Whitley was my doctor for a few years, and when I asked her if she was familiar with the Ashton Method for tapering off the benzos she prescribed, she said yes. It is the only proven method and advocates to go slow or suffer the severe consequences. When I reminded her the patient must be in control of the taper, she scoffed. Arrogant! So the taper I requested began, and she tried to do it within 2 months after 23 years of use! When I objected, her controlling the taper rate was all she seemed to care about. When someone absolutely must control others, which describes Dr. Whitley, that tells me they feel a lack of control in their own lives. Odd how many mentally disturbed people actually become psychiatrists and licensed drug pushers for that sense of power. These doctors are good at creating accidental addicts, but they suck at undoing the horrific damage they've caused. It takes approximately 1 month for each year of benzo use to taper slowly enough to avoid causing… permanent brain damage. That amounts to about 5% of current dosage, to be tapered at that rate for one month per year of usage, as tolerated by patient. Remember, it is not the patient addicted to this drug; it is the patient's GABA receptors. When they are suddenly asked to do their job of calming after having benzos do it for them, it takes time to wake them up and slowly have them take their job back. Sadly, GABA receptors are not quick to get off the couch. Whitley was ignorant to that fact and careless with my brilliant mind! I have too much to offer to risk allowing her to cause such damage all due to her ignorance. That brain damage is called protracted withdrawal syndrome, discussed a bit more below. Touchstone prescribed them in 1996, with no warning whatsoever about down-regulated GABA receptors, disrupted sleep patterns, weight changes, loss of appetite, chronic constipation, and worst of all, the very thing Dr. Whitley almost created by pushing me too fast: Protracted Withdrawal Syndrome! This is brain damage! Luckily for me, she abandoned me, prescribing Gabapentin only to avoid life-threatening seizures. This woman is too stupid to recognize that what she was witnessing on my last visit to her was the hyper-excitability the brain experiences when withdrawn too fast. If benzos are abruptly withdrawn, it leads to a minimum of one year to life of protracted withdrawal syndrome. A potential lifetime of protracted withdrawal syndrome!! I felt it once tapering myself too quickly and can only described it as an unbearable excitation in the brain that is only relieved by more benzos, and it only happens when one is tapered of this class of drugs too fast. Apparently, Dr. Whitley just didn't want to be sued for a life-threatening seizure since it's pretty hard to sue her for her ignorance about causing brain damage. I spoke with attorneys years ago. You cannot touch these psych-med doctors! Why? Because you have to prove that they knew about the dangers of these drugs. Interestingly, doctors in the UK were being sued for prescribing benzos as long as 20 years ago. Doctors knew. It is their job to know! Yet Dr. Whitley seemed utterly clueless as to the very existence of protracted withdrawal syndrome. Luckily, I found a brilliant doctor who really does know The Ashton Method and who let me go at my own pace. I am free! In any case, I would avoid Whitley like the plague that she is. Frankly, I'd avoid all drugs, especially prescribed by doctors, and in particular, psychiatric doctors. They get their education from Big Pharma and really don't think for themselves. Their focus is drugs. It's still a shame we can't sue them. That is the only way to get them to pay attention and stop prescribing cocktails of drugs using human guinea pigs. If interested, see Everything Matters: Beyond Meds online. It tells the whole horror story you'll likely want to avoid.