Posted by noa on March 9, 2003, at 10:29:26
In reply to Re: The biggest problem with psychology today » Gracie2, posted by KrissyP on March 9, 2003, at 0:31:12
Yes, but Krissy, now you sound like you are ready to work with the doctor to take charge of the illness and your recovery, yes? It is hard, not a straight and easy path, and there can be lots of moments of discouragement.
I went through a bunch of med combos until I found this one, which works pretty well. I don't love it--I'd, of course, rather not be on any meds at all! And this combo is only "good enough for the meantime", with some lingering fallout from depression as well as those pesky side effects, but it is better than previous med combos, and my mood is decent enough, especially compared to when I was getting so many recurrences of the major depression (on top of dysthymia). Ie, I'm more stable.
But beleive me, I do await the day when a better option comes along!
I guess I feel it is really important to find a pdoc you can work with, in a collaborative manner, so that "compliance" won't be an issue--ie, if you have a doc who listens to your concerns and helps you become as educated as possible to make good decisions, there is no need to not comply, because you can feel some trust that you can work with the doc if there are med problems. Just don't stop and go--discuss with pdoc first.
Are you the one who said she couldn't get a hold of the pdoc by phone? Unfortunately, this is all too common. I recommend discussing this in first interveiw with potential pdoc--how responsive by phone. It may not be realistic to have a lot of phone access, but if there is a med emerg. he/she should get back to you. When I have something to discuss that isn't urgent, I will make an appointment, even if my reg. appointment isn't coming up for a while. Speaking of which, I think good pdocs will schedule frequent appointments with patients who are not stable on meds, or starting new ones, changing, etc.
poster:noa
thread:202380
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030203/msgs/207379.html