Posted by Klokka on September 12, 2004, at 15:39:05
In reply to therpaist/psychiatrist question, posted by rubenstein on September 12, 2004, at 13:18:40
Hi rubenstein,
I haven't dealt with anything quite like this, but just had a few thoughts. Maybe you could try asking questions about medication in such a way as to encourage her to express what she thinks would be better fitting for you. Or outright say that you're not sure you should be making your own decisions about medication. If you think it would be best to see the other psychiatrist, you could try phrasing it something along the lines of "I think we're having some trouble finding an effective medication. Maybe Dr. Soandso might have some other ideas which could help?" You should also be able to just call and make an appointment through reception - hopefully if you explain you're looking for a second opinion there won't be a problem with that. (Though that depends on the way the health services are run.)
I can relate to feeling guilty about leaving a pdoc. I felt a lot of guilt when I considered seeing someone other than my old pdoc (there was a major communication problem: she wouldn't believe me when I complained of side effects and rarely spoke at all) and I didn't even see her as particularly nice at all. In retrospect, I so wish I had - I was overwhelmed by my problems and needed better medication management and needed therapy, and wasn't going to get it as things were. I ended up going back to the clinic and seeing another pdoc (after my old one left) and that has been going pretty well, but how much suffering could have been avoided if I hadn't been afraid to ask for someone else? Ultimately you are there to be treated and you have the right to adequate treatment. Try and see it as you would any other medical problem, where the thing to do would be to go find a second opinion if you're not satisfied with the first. I know it's easier said than done, but it's something to keep in mind.
Hope this helps, and that you find some way of dealing with this. It sounds like a really uncomfortable situation to be in.
poster:Klokka
thread:389992
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040911/msgs/390023.html