Posted by sonic_gb on December 5, 2007, at 9:28:22
Good Morning,
I'm hoping for some quick responses here. I got in early to see a Psychiatrist because the psych nurse was worried about my condition on evaluation yesterday. So I'm seeing this guy this afternoon for a 1+ hour evaluation. I have some questions:
1.)What should I expect from the encounter?
2.)How should I present myself, my situation, my goals, etc?
3.) What should I leave the appointment with, in terms of information, treatment plans, prescriptions, etc.?I _need_ this to be a productive meeting because I'm on a serious downhill slide in terms of depression.
For a quick recap, I have long term GAD, and quickly worsening clinical depression (atypical I think) that is far, far worse than I have ever experienced before.
I have tried most of the SSRI's (Paxil, prozac, celexa, lexapro, zoloft, and maybe more that I can't remember), Serzone, Effexor, Remeron, Moclobemide, Wellbutrin, Nortriptyline, all without benefit. I'm also having issues with needing escalating doses of benzos to control anxiety and insomnia which causes me to worry about dependance, and to suffer from side effects. On the other hand, when I relayed my concerns to my pdoc, he put me on a taper that I think is too aggressive, which also concerns me.
What _I_ want, is to try a second line AD, hopefully a MAOI (Because moclobemide worked so, so well for a short period), or a TCA. I also want a goal to treat my anxiety, whether it is tapering off benzo's in a proper fashion, or something else entirely.
I think I often understate the severity of my problems when I'm with a Doctor because I worry about sounding melodramatic and whiny. I think it was the inability to stop crying, and the detailed suicide plans that made the psych nurse so worried yesterday, and that's why I got in to see a psychiatrist so quickly.
Anyways, any suggestions, pointers, support would be greatly appreciated. I'm very apprehensive, but I think I have a bit of optimism that things could go well too. Sorry for rambling on here, and if you have read to this point I commend you for your superior attention span.
Thanks,
Sonic
poster:sonic_gb
thread:798905
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071204/msgs/798905.html