Medical Board Orders Psychiatrist Michael Tolwin to Cease Treating Patients
March 13, 2019
On March 8, 2019, the Medical Board of California issued a Cease Practice Order on Culver City, California psychiatrist Michael H. Tolwin of Tolwin Psychiatric Medical Group.
The Board’s Order states that based on a December 14, 2018 Decision issued by the Board, Dr. Tolwin’s medical license was revoked, revocation was stayed and he was placed on three years’ probation with terms and conditions.
This outcome is based on Dr. Tolwin’s agreement that, if brought before a hearing, the Board would be able to prove allegations that are contained in its October 25, 2017 Accusation, which provides details on three patients for which Dr. Tolwin’s treatment department from the standard of care in the following ways:
- Failure to conduct good faith evaluations of the patients
- Failure to provide the patients with informed consent relative to the treatment
- Failure to maintain accurate and complete patient records
-
Continuing to prescribe controlled substances to a patient despite the patient’s known drug-seeking behaviors and patient’s and others’ reports that the patient was an addict
The terms and conditions of the Board’s December 14, 2018 probation Order included obtaining a practice monitor within 60 days of the Order, which Dr. Tolwin failed to do, hence the Cease Practice Order.
Fourteen percent of convictions of psychiatrists and psychologists are for drug-related violations.
Source: Cease Practice Order, March 8, 2019; Stipulated Settlement and Disciplinary Order, September 18, 2018; and Accusation, October 25, 2017, in the Matter of the Accusation Against Michael Hirsch Tolwin, M.D., Physician's and Surgeon's Certificate G 48816, Case No. 800-2014-009168, California Medical Board.
When someone suddenly shows you
His REAL FACE In Private ...
Believe Him
The FIRST TIME !
Noemi Caridi
.
It was a terrible twist of fate that led me to my 7 day long involuntary internment where Tolwin eviscerated my psyche with a cocktail of the most potent psychotropic agents that exist. I was only 27 years old. I shall tell my story for the first time here as I just discovered he is STILL practicing medicine! He is far more dangerous than anyone here seems to recognize. Tolwin is incredibly cunning. He has an absolutely stellar legal team who have kept him afloat despite him losing his license. He also has a robust network of vocal digital "allies" that go around doing PR work on his behalf. I suspect these comments come from a combination of sources. First, he has likely retained the services of a professional PR firm as well as Internet scrubbers to bury the most damning information from his past relating to disciplinary actions taken by both the Cedar Sinai board (info in the link above) and consequently the California State medical board. It'a also possible (although speculative) that he's receiving support from his synagogue where he's clearly a very active member and donor. See the donor section of the link for (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://templeisaiah.com/_px/_pdf/_files/1461867241_2016_MayJune_Isaian.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwir2JnA0cGMAxV0v4kEHZAIFlEQFnoECCYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0697lecJGp2j8SmwGb_kex).
Tolwin appears to have circumvented the state's decision to revoke his license to prescribe controlled substances by hiring certified nurse practitioners (who may write controlled and non controlled prescriptions on his behalf) effectively allowing him to continue practicing. It's truly unbelievable! If people only knew about a fraction of his real crimes he would be a major national news story. I didn't realize he was still practicing but now I am motivated to share my story. I'm going to contact as many journalists as I can who specialize in covering gross negligence in medical malpractice as a specialty. I'll need to use a pseudonym in order to protect myself from his aggressive litigious legal team/ enablers. I also think he's just plain dangerous. I cannot disclose too many details about my case or else he may remember me as I may be one of the few who managed to escape long term commitment to any one of the state funded long term inpatient psychiatric facilities where he served as an attending physician and/or an advisory board member when my family discovered my whereabouts when I went missing.
In 2016, I was the digital marketing director of a biotech company in Rancho Dominguez. I lived in an apartment complex in Culver City California which was just a 2 minute walk to the Brotman Medical Center (the nearest hospital). I was suffering from severe insomnia and panic disorder at the time and was treated by my GP with alprazolam and baclofen. I made a stupid mistake. Like so many folks, I didn't take my medication as prescribed. I was having nightly panic attacks and overusing my benzos. When I ran out early, I went heavy on my baclofen trying to offset the consequences of abrupt cessation of the benzodizepine.
I knew the potential risks (having worked in biotech for years I am very familiar with pharmacology). The fact is I was taking more of the medication than I was prescribed. My miscalculation was believing I had not been on the medication long enough to develop such a dangerously severe physical and psychological tolerance.
This is an unfortunately common occurrence with benzos in particular. For those unfamiliar with the nature of the consequences of abruptly stopping concomitant high dose GABA-A & GABA-B agonist medications, the following points are crucial to know: a.) it can easily be FATAL b.) it is physically and mentally traumatic and C.) it has become SO common in the US that it's one of the top 10 reasons for ER visits in general and is in the top 5 reasons for otherwise "healthy" individuals younger than 45 years old coming to ER. VIRTUALLY EVERY ER DOCTOR who works in the US can immediately recognize the symptoms of acute benzo withdrawal. Even in severe cases (like mine) where the patient is not cognizant, there are several tell tale signs such as a negative toxicology screening (the drugs have been fully metabolized, hence withdrawal) and a basic neurological evaluation (perhaps with an EEG scan) that rules out epilepsy as a primary triage diagnosis. Regardless, the treatment protocol for someone who comes in to the ER seizing is to administer benzodiaepines (sedatives) to stop and prevent further seizures.
I really thought I could walk to the hospital from my apartment and it was actually the FASTEST way to get help, but I collapsed and had a seizure while I was in the doorway of my building. Someone found me and called an ambulance that drove me around the block to the hospital. I was completely disoriented and panicked even when I was with the EMT's. The withdrawal of the combination of these drugs is somewhat rare and dangerous. They target the Gaba-A and Gaba-b receptor sites and are potent agonists. I had my first seizure alone at the apartment. I knew exactly why I had it and knew I needed emergency medical attention. In a panic, I put on athletic shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. I accidentally left my wallet at home. As I mentioned, I didn't make it out the door, that was how bad I was.
Considering I came in with no identification on me and was in a paralyzed catatonic state, the attending ER doc called for psyche to do an eval. Tolwin was the menace who was called to examine me. I was the PERFECT target for his grift: take an individual that comes in who is distressed, has nobody there (family or friend) and no ID, load them up on HEAVY antipsychotic drugs and move them to impatient. This was his M.O. at Cedars Sinai that got him kicked out of the hospital and should have resulted in him losing his license. The staff there discovered he was sending 15-20x the number of emergency room admitted patients to inpatient psychiatric care as compared to the other staff. What they didn't immediately discover is that from there, Tolwin would move his drugged up patients to State funded facilities where they are effectively disappeared! His motive? He recommended facilities where he was on staff and had financial ties.
Tolwin is still practicing at several facilities in California including care for senior citizens suffering from dementia. I cannot imagine a more dangerous scenario. The only reason I made it out is my family started to call every single hospital in SoCal asking for someone that met my description. They eventually learned that someone came by ambulance a few days prior that resembled the photo they sent. When my parents arrived, they had to fight to see me. They found me on the sixth floor of the Brotman center's psychiatric unit which is their high security treatment area where they keep patients that are a danger to themselves and the staff. I was so messed up on all the medications they had me on that I didn't know where I was or who I was. Yet, I recognized my father the moment I saw him. I was able to snap out of my stupor momentarily...then I was given a hefty dose of something and lost my marbles just as I was about to he discharged.
Tolwin told my father "your son has suffered from a full psychotic break, I've seen this many times before unfortunately, he will NEVER be able to take care of himself again. You have no options but to admit him to the care of a long term psychiatric care facility (where we later learned he was the medical chief). I'm sorry, but your son is gone..." My father told him "I don't give a flying fuck about your medical directive. I know my son. I don't know what you've got him drugged up on, but we're leaving TODAY!"
My folks lived out of State and when I was discharged, I went home with them along with a prescription for a powerful antipsychotic. The MOMENT I got out of the hospital my faculties began to return. It took 48 hours but I came back from the abyss where Tolwin had dissolved my abilities to think with the precision of a skilled surgeon. When my parents learned that the reason I was hospitalized was that I essentially was self medicated with anti-anxiety medications, their priorities shifted away from seeking justice for my wrongful and involuntary commitment to a psyche ward (where I was physically abused and assaulted), to getting me help for "substance abuse." I had been away from home so long they were just relieved I was alive and NOT permanently insane.
I have terrible PTSD from that experience. It was the single most horrifying experience of my life. There are details too painful for me to revisit and too personal to post online. It was cruel and inhumane torture. "Doctor" Tolwin NEEDS TO BE BEHIND BARS. He is a truly sinister human being without a drop of humanity. I knew there were twisted people out there but this guy is next level. PLEASE FOLKS, IF YOU'VE SUFFERED A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE AS I WITH TOLWIN YOU MUST SPEAK UP! He's not only suffered virtually no consequences for his actions he's still out there practicing on innocent people!
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