Posted by jerrympls on May 29, 2003, at 21:45:31
Ugh. So, I finally saw my "new" psychiatrist today - due to the sheer luck of somone's cancellation - anyway, I filled out all the paperwork on my history w/ depression + anxiety including all the meds I've been on, ECT and the VNS implant. The nurse says to me - before she goes to get the dr. - "So, what do you want to get out of today's appointment?" I respond: "Well, I'd like to talk to the dr. about treatment options including the possibilty of alterntative treatments and/or trying some off-lable meds.." to which she says: "Oh no - we can't do anything like that."
Ugh. Actually, I was kind of expecting that kind of response so I didn't say anything except to give a "So, what do you want me to do then?" look -
so, the dr. comes in and gets right to the point and says:
"You're the man who's tried everything, and to be perfectly honest with you, I have no ideas as to how to treat you. You've been on everything. There's nothing more. That's psychiatry's dirty little secret: not everyone responds to treatment and some will will only achieve a very partial response if anything at all."
Talk about a mood lifter. It really didn't get to me - I was prepared for inexperience w/ difficult to treat mood disorders and a quiet refusal to even consider something novel like Mirapex, etc.
Honestly, I gotta respect that at least he was up front with me. The one good thing that came from the appointment was a referral to a pulmonologist to test me for sleep apnea (runs in my family and I have all the symptoms). So, hopefully I'll find out about that.
In the meantime, the search continues for an experienced, compassionate and gutsy psychopharmocologist who will work with me to find something......at least so music will warm my soul again.....I'd settle for just that.....
Thanks for listening....
Jerry
poster:jerrympls
thread:230097
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030525/msgs/230097.html