Posted by Elizabeth on December 29, 2001, at 6:00:55
In reply to Re: psychopharm consultation - NYC or NC, posted by OldSchool on December 28, 2001, at 19:36:27
> I think Mattox is probably the best psychiatrist in your area. He'd probably try the kind of stuff you are talking about. I KNOW he uses MAOIs. I did hear he was kinda dictatorial though...strong personality. But likes to get creative and aggressive with the meds...I doubt Parnate would scare him at all.
Parnate's not what I'm worried about. Can you tell me what else you know about him, and how?
> Wasnt that a joke? I can already guess what happened to you. You called Duke Psychiatry expecting to experience the vaunted, elite "Duke Psychiatry" services but just got TRIAGED.
Yeah, they referred me to their outpatient clinic, which is *not* what I wanted -- it's just a bunch of general psychiatrists, and like those at WFU they are *very* conservative and rigid about what they will even consider prescribing (even if you're already taking it!).
> They make you see a "mood disorders counselor" for an hour to do initial eval before they even let you talk to a psychiatrist. What a f**cking joke.
An "intake appointment" is what they call that, I think (in general, maybe Duke has a different term for it). The idea is so they can get a sense of what you need and presumably find a doctor and/or therapist who'll be appropriate for you. The underlying assumption is, of course, that they know what you need better than you do.
> Duke psychiatry is ridiculously, outrageously overhyped. Duke does have a good ECT unit though.
If I ever get desperate enough to consider ECT, I'll consider that. I see ECT as a last resort, a sort of ace up my sleeve. At first I thought that the stories of bad things happening after ECT were just $cientologist propaganda, but since then I've seen reports coming from people who aren't just anti-psychiatry nuts. That's what has me worried: my memory, intelligence, etc. is the best thing I have going for me, and losing that would be a disaster for me.
> Thats the best thing about Duke Psychiatry...the rest of it, um well you can have it.
No thanks!
> How Duke psychiatry always makes it into those top ten ratings for psychiatry departments in US News and World Report I have no idea, because their clinical psychiatry department is no good.
The sad thing is, other places are even worse! McLean is always in the top three, but their outpatient clinic assigns you to a random pdoc and really isn't that great -- the really good doctors don't work out of the clinic, you have to ask for them specifically and a lot of them don't see patients I think (they just do research). McLean's mood & anxiety disorders partial program is so-so, but definitely not as good as the one I was in at a private clinic in Cambridge. I think hospitals have too many policies, regulations, red tape, etc. to be really effective.
> Gaddhi might be worth a shot, if you can get in with him. Good luck on that though.
I think that he might be one of the people whose names my doctor in Princeton gave me, actually. I wish I could find that list! (I'm chronically disorganized.)
> I like UNC much better than Duke. Its more "user friendly" than Duke is. The UNC idea might be a good one. There is a small neuropsychiatry group in Chapel Hill that does a lot of clinical trials for psych drugs. Im sure you could get those guys to let you try the stuff you wanna try.
That's interesting, and I'll keep it in mind. I don't want to get involved in clinical trials, though. I probably wouldn't qualify anyway b/c I'd have to go off all meds and then I'd be too severely depressed, and even if I did qualify, I might end up in the placebo group! That would suck.
> Yes, actually Baptist hospital is a very good hospital overall. Except for the psychiatry hehehe.
Yeah, my dad is getting treated for heart disease there -- he had n-tuple bypass surgery when I was twelve or so, today he's on a bunch of meds + special diet and exercise programs, and he's doing much better than he has in years.
> Like I said before, Mattox is aggressive and Ive heard good stuff about him. I dont know how arrogant he is or whatever or what kind of personality he has. But he is probably your best bet in the Triad as far as psychopharmacology goes.
I think I'll look him up -- he's very nearby. One problem I have with a lot of the private psychiatrists around here is that I can't talk to them before making an appointment, only their secretaries. So I have a hard time finding out what they're like.
> And again, MUSC psychiatry has by far the closest thing to what your looking for as far as a creative psychiatry research environment. And I GUARANTEE you on that!
The distance might be a problem -- any idea how long a drive it would be? (New York and DC are okay because I have relatives I could stay with there, and the Research Triangle is close enough that I could go there and back in a day.)
> Overall though, I really wouldnt try to find here in NC what you left in Boston or NYC. Youre not gonna find it here cause it doesnt exist. No use in looking for something that isnt here.
It's true. That's why I was hoping to get a consultation with someone who really knows their stuff, so that I'd be able to get some recommendations that someone here might listen to.
I hope you're doing well. Take it easy!
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:86991
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011222/msgs/88126.html