Complaint Review: Susan B. Trachman MD - Fairfax Virginia

Dr. Trachman, though very experienced and well-schooled,  provides both counseling and drug prescriptions for treating emotional issues.  She casually "goes into her closet" and gives out free drug samples which were to my detriment.  Dr. Trachman is not as smart as she thinks she is; she is arrogant and provides bad advice.  She first introduced me to anti-depressants- which I do not need.  Further, in trying to find the correct combination of drugs, she prescribed to me two anti-depressants--one that I was currently on, and the other to switch to with no instructions on how to make the transition to the new drug.  By doing that, she caused me to experience a "psychiotic episode" resulting in me trying to take my own life by slashing my wrists, going out and buying aspirin that evening (Dr. Trachman had told me in a previous session how to kill oneself).  Fortunately, I saved my own life by waking up the next day, crawling down the steps of my home, crawling to the telephone in my kitchen and calling 9-11.  I crawled back to my front door and unlocked it, knowing that the ambulance would soon come and I didn't want them to knock down my door.  As is standard practice, 9-11 called me back to confirm.  I was unable to crawl back to the kitchen to answer the phone.  I waited for 9-11 to come.

EMTs, paramedics and emergency room personnel saved my life.  When I contacted Dr. Trachman to let her know what happened, she yelled at my over the phone saying "Why didn't you call me"?  The answer was the psycotic episode was so strong I did not want, nor desire to live, much less call her.  For years I have been extremely embarrassed by the scars on my wrist from the suicide attempt.  Now I view them as medals of courage, which by the Grace of God I am alive.

Following that experience, Dr. Trachman prescribed Klonopin for me with the appropriate dosage.  However, once again she went into her closet and found a box of Klonopin wafers.  She told me to take them whenever I felt anxious.  She did not tell me how many to take.  As a result, I was in a "drunken" state and caused a family rift which exists today.  Because of this episode and the resulting shunning by my family, I admitted myself to numerous psychiatric units...all of which did nothing.  Once again, during a later session, she yelled at me for taking too much of the Klonopin wafers...saying "They are not candy."  

Dr. Trachman advised me on numerous occasions to quit a job I loved.  She even told me once that she would not sleep at night until I quit my job.  When I told her I had quit my job and reminded her of what she said she denied it.  During one session, she received an urgent call on her cell phone from one of her patients who was hospitalized.  She briefly said something to the patient (not much at all--I did not listen to what she said).  After she hung up, she rolled her eyes. 

Dr. Trachman is expensive--she tries many ways to make money, including conducting a group therapy session to which I did not belong.  She is not skilled in group therapy, and shortly thereafter terminated the group.  Dr. Trachman doesn't process insurance claims, because she is too cheap to hire an administrative assistant.  

Her arrogance appears in many ways, not only through her medical treatment, but boasting about where she lives, her swimming pool and how she "agreed" to marry her husband.

She recommended a lawyer for me to use to represent me against a stalker.  He over-charged me and unlike Dr. Trachman he did give me some monies as a refund.  She recommended a famous spinal surgeon to operate on my back. I recently went to the Mayo Clinic.  I was told that spinal surgeon failed to fix my back.  In addition, the doctor did not prescribe physical therapy after the surgery.  So here I am, facing corrective back surgery.  All roads lead back to Dr. Trachman.

I could go on and on about her.   The bottom-line is STAY AWAY FROM HER.  She is not competent and is dangerous. Normally, I would file a complaint with the medical board against her, but I have no desire nor mental energy to relive this horrendous ordeal.  I am hoping the Medical Board will read this and take disciplinary action by taking away her license to practice.

I am not a fighter.  As a dear friend once told me:  "If a pig wants to fight, and you fight the pig, you get dirty and the pig is happy."

There are so many excellent psychiatrists in the Washington DC area...find a good one, not Dr. Trachman.  Be well--you can be.