Posted by OldSchool on December 29, 2001, at 10:09:42
In reply to Re: pdocs in NC » OldSchool, posted by Elizabeth on December 29, 2001, at 6:00:55
> > 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.
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> Parnate's not what I'm worried about. Can you tell me what else you know about him, and how?I found out about Mattox thru my offline support group. The group facilitator, who is a masters degree level social worker at one of the local county mental health clinics told me about Mattox. At that time (this was about two years ago) I was looking for a new doctor, someone who was an "expert psychopharmacologist." Mattox's name came up, along with someone else's name whom Im not using on this board. This person who is facilitator at my offline support group used to work at Charter mental hospital in Winston before they shut down after Charter got sued and all. She also used to work over at Forsyth Memorial psych ward. And she got to know all the psychiatrists in the Winston area. So I trust her opinion on this stuff.
So anyway, in my offline support group I have this reputation as being the "med guy" who is all into biological psychiatry stuff. And the facilitator told me Mattox might be a good choice for me. She said that in the hospital (Forsyth Memorial) he was always pushy about having everything exact on charts and things...kind of dictatorial. Wanted things done fast and exact. Like he is kind of impatient with the hospital staff and just wants to cut thru the bull. And very good and knowledgeable about psychopharmacology. She also informed me that he referred one of his patients who was TRD to NIMH for further referral, which evidently really impressed all the social workers and low level mental health worker people.
If a psychiatrist voluntarily refers you to NIMH, that means they are interested in getting you better and they are willing to go the "extra mile" for you.
So I called New Directions and found they dont take the kind of insurance I have, otherwise I would have used Mattox myself.
Thats what I know about him. He is probably the best psychopharmacologist in the Winston area, probably in the whole Triad.
Just for your information, cause I know you are into opiates and all that kind of stuff, there is a psychiatrist over in the High Point area named Lauer whose specialty tends to be addiction. Im not telling you this cause I think you have an addiction problem, I dont. Im just telling you this cause Lauer has a good reputation as a general adult psychiatrist who knows a lot about meds AND he would know all about opiates, amphetamines, etc. and all that kind of stuff you are into.
Being that you know so interested in opiates and like to discuss them, Lauer might be a guy to go to. However as I said, he specializes more in getting people OFF addictive meds like opiates or booze, than in using them to treat mood disorders. However in your particular case which is unusual, you might click with Lauer. I heard he was OK as a psychiatrist, my family doc recommended him to me once and I have absolutely zippo substance abuse problems.
> 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.
I found Susan Van Meter extremely condescending and insolent, didnt even bother to shake my hand. DUMC is also very bad about getting your insurance paperwork screwed up, screwing up billing, etc.
> > Gaddhi might be worth a shot, if you can get in with him. Good luck on that though.
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> 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.)Mark George referred me to Gaddhi when I left MUSC, but Gaddhi wasnt taking patients. I was told he mostly did research and only had two or three patients. If you could talk him into taking you, he might be worth it though. John Beyer is OK also, a nice guy I heard although very busy.
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> 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.Same here I dont do clinical trials anymore. Im done with that stuff.
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> > Yes, actually Baptist hospital is a very good hospital overall. Except for the psychiatry hehehe.
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> 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.Yeah, Baptist is good overall.
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> > 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.
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> 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.
>I dont agree with that. I think Mattox would talk to you on the phone first if you asked him to call you. Call his office, ask his secretary if he takes your insurance and if he does ask Mattox to call you first before you decide to go with him. I bet he'd talk to you first on the phone.
> > 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!
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> 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.)MUSC is about six hours driving from the Triad.
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> > 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.
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> 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.
Id move back up North if I were you. Im seriously considering moving to Connecticut to live with my family there. NC sucks overall for psychiatry...everything about mental health here sucks. The laws regarding mental illness suck, the doctors suck...its better in New England.Old School
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URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011222/msgs/88144.html