That's true, that could certainly happen. I'm more skeptical about the rate at which it happens -- but also, if it is happening, presumably a patient will eventually go back to someone in the medical system and mention it. Whether they connect the dots is a question, but one which can be studied.

> I made a pretty small claim, that your psychiatrist may (not did have, may have) had patients with a condition they didn't discuss with her, that only became known to the patient after treatment had concluded. If you think a minor claim like that requires "surveys" or data, believe what you want, I don't know what to tell you.

The claim that my psychiatrist might have done something or not isn't the claim I want data for. The claim I want data for is "I'm also correct that many patients who have gone off the drug to see if the sexual dysfunction stops will probably no longer be making appointments with the psychiatrist. What would be the point? If they want to talk to someone that's what therapists are for."

That's not an anecdote, that's a pretty bold claim.

> The article this thread links to indicates there is no cure, so any patient who has done research would know discussing it with a psychiatrist would be useless.

I don't think people think about things that way necessarily. I wouldn't read an article and conclude I shouldn't talk to my doctor because the article suggests the doctor can't help, because I don't necessarily put that much faith in a single article. And doctors will frequently ask these sorts of questions, so even if I had read the article, I don't think I'd lie about it to them.

In general, I think you are making a number of assumptions about how people - doctors, insurers, pharma companies, and patients - behave that aren't necessarily borne out in reality. If your assumptions are all correct, your conclusions are reasonable, but I am not sure they're correct.