Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 998440

Shown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

seeing a professor of psychiatry

Posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:08:19

hey - i realize it's difficult to generalize, but has anyone here found that there were advantages/disadvantages to consulting with a psych prof?

i took a mild xanax overdose last week out of sheer desperation. my family was pushing for hospitalization, but since i had no intentions to die, my psychiatrist has decided to refer me to a renowned university professor for a second opinion on my med regime.

i had an (admittedly wise) GP once warn me that simply throwing more and more money (or meds) at a situation isn't always in one's best interest. i'm worried that the further up the chain-of-psychiatric-command i go, the more gung-ho they'll be about treatment. has anyone found this to be the case?

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry

Posted by Christ_empowered on October 1, 2011, at 9:12:06

In reply to seeing a professor of psychiatry, posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:08:19

I saw a professor of psychiatry once. He pretty much went strictly by the latest research in terms of dosage (for me, stimulants...he probably Rx'd more than your work-a-day shrink would).

I don't think better credentials translates into much when you're dealing with shrinks. S/he could be great, s/he could be mediocre; there's no way to tell based strictly on their credentials.

Have you considered non-psychiatric means of dealing with your problems? I don't know your situation, so I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but sometimes psychiatry can be a path to destruction.

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry » Christ_empowered

Posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:35:35

In reply to Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry, posted by Christ_empowered on October 1, 2011, at 9:12:06

> I saw a professor of psychiatry once. He pretty much went strictly by the latest research in terms of dosage (for me, stimulants...he probably Rx'd more than your work-a-day shrink would).

I was hoping a psych prof. might be more open to unorthodox combinations - TCAs + MAOIs, or at least RX'ing more than 30mg of Parnate (which, ridiculously enough, is the ceiling dose prescribed in Aus).
>
> I don't think better credentials translates into much when you're dealing with shrinks. S/he could be great, s/he could be mediocre; there's no way to tell based strictly on their credentials.

Yeah, I guess I was just curious whether psychiatry profs. might be very by-the-book in terms of treatment, with less consideration for the patients' overall level of functioning. Or if it was the opposite. I know it's hard to generalize, but I was just interested in canvassing peoples' experiences.

For example, my current psych wouldn't RX Memantine for OCD because he'd had no experience using it, but my GP was happy to let me walk away with a script that same day. I really like my psych, and respect him, so I wasn't upset with his decision, but I guess that's an example of a tendency to stick to the book vs. my GP's more liberal approach. My psych wants me to see this prof. and I plan on following through with it, but like you say, I've always had this notion that the more money you spend/more credentials someone has, the better treatment you'll get, and I was wondering if that was true. It'd be nice if it was that way - since things would be simpler - but I just don't wanna get my hopes up and end up on like a super-high SSRI dose + antipsychotic for OCD.
>
> Have you considered non-psychiatric means of dealing with your problems? I don't know your situation, so I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but sometimes psychiatry can be a path to destruction.
>

I see a cognitive-behavioural therapist for OCD. I would love to be off meds, but when I tried that for 6 months last year, I was pretty much bed-ridden and agoraphobic due to severe depression/anxiety. There's also the ADD to contend with. In my untreated, baseline state I can't really read, think, function.

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry » g_g_g_unit

Posted by floatingbridge on October 1, 2011, at 9:42:37

In reply to Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry » Christ_empowered, posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:35:35

ggg, I consulted with a professor/researcher once, and he gave me the best advice. He kinda followed the STAR chart, but the STAR chart isn't all that bad if applied with true knowledge of overlapping conditions. I say kinda followed. He wasn't lost at sea like the shrink who sent me there.

It could be good. I know from experience it's best not to have high hopes about anything, really. But it could be beneficial.

Does he have a web presence at his university?

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry » floatingbridge

Posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:50:20

In reply to Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry » g_g_g_unit, posted by floatingbridge on October 1, 2011, at 9:42:37

> ggg, I consulted with a professor/researcher once, and he gave me the best advice. He kinda followed the STAR chart, but the STAR chart isn't all that bad if applied with true knowledge of overlapping conditions. I say kinda followed. He wasn't lost at sea like the shrink who sent me there.

Did you consult with him recently? Was it he who recommended the EMSAM?

>
> It could be good. I know from experience it's best not to have high hopes about anything, really. But it could be beneficial.
>
> Does he have a web presence at his university?
>
>

Yes, here he is: http://www.findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/researcher/person15851.html

Hopefully he isn't in the habit of frequently googling his own name =) ..

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry » g_g_g_unit

Posted by floatingbridge on October 1, 2011, at 10:09:52

In reply to Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry » floatingbridge, posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:50:20

My consult was going on two years ago. Actually, I am pretty much taking what he recommended as the next step in my treatment. My pdoc at the time balked at his recommendations (maoi) +AP and then, I did, too.

I have a new doc, and he read this consulting doc's work up and decided to try it (along with other deciding factors).

I tried to look up some of the articles from your link but did not have access.

When do you see him?

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry

Posted by Christ_empowered on October 1, 2011, at 10:11:34

In reply to Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry » g_g_g_unit, posted by floatingbridge on October 1, 2011, at 10:09:52

Hey. I didn't mean to sound all doom and gloom. It could be great. My experience was limited, after all--I was there for stimulants, I received stimulants, that was that. Each session lasted 5 minutes, tops. He rarely looked away from his computer screen.

I wish you the best of luck.

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry

Posted by Solstice on October 1, 2011, at 10:12:22

In reply to seeing a professor of psychiatry, posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:08:19

Hi ggg -

It might depend on what that particular university professor specializes in. A friend of mine is a 'renowned university professor' who specializes in bipolar. He's been deeply involved in some of the best research - travels the world teaching psychiatrists - his name is everywhere in the bipolar-world - lots of awards, etc. After bipolar, he specializes in anxiety and MDD. So he's been a great resource to me regarding my daughter's bipolar (he can't directly treat her because of our relationship - but I talk to him about most treatment changes.) He knows all the cutting edge stuff. No doubt he knows a lot about most other psychiatric conditions - but although he's the go-to guy on bipolar, he wouldn't be the one to go to for an expert opinion on schizophrenia. So you may want to find out if the university professor your doctor wants to get a second opinion from specializes in, or is considered an expert in, your particular disorder.

And by the way.. I don't think being a university professor necessarily means that you're going to get a 'pump him up with a bunch of meds' approach. My friend is more about really refining an accurate diagnosis, closely examining the patient's entire life situation, enlisting a wide range of family and social support systems, and systematically finding the right med combo for a particular patient. The advantage of a university professor being involved in that process is that his experience base is often very broad, so his instincts about which combo to try next has a deeper foundation of experiences - and not necessarily through their own treatment of patients - as through their involvement in research. (My friend is head of the entire psychiatric department at his university, so he sees few patients personally - mostly VIP's, but he's also older).

Solstice

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry

Posted by Phillipa on October 1, 2011, at 10:13:44

In reply to Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry » floatingbridge, posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:50:20

I don't know if credentials make for better care but personally I just realized I tend to go into a situation feeling the credentials make for better care and knowledge. Then I think of nursing where the higher degrees delivered the not the best care and the diploma RN's the best as their experience was dealing with the patients and not just books. But with a doc I think it depends if he's the book type or the real life situation kind of doc and how much clinical experience he has in treating real life patients. Phillipa

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry

Posted by Dinah on October 1, 2011, at 12:19:13

In reply to seeing a professor of psychiatry, posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:08:19

The best of my pdocs taught part time at a local university. He's the one who told me that medications have side effects and not taking medications has side effects, and it was up to me to decide which I prefer. He didn't push meds at all, and in fact eventually took me off my antidepressants entirely, just leaving my current plan which works quite well.

My anecdotal evidence is positive.

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry

Posted by creepy on October 1, 2011, at 16:21:40

In reply to seeing a professor of psychiatry, posted by g_g_g_unit on October 1, 2011, at 9:08:19

You can get this from any doc at any level Id guess. Some docs are very much swayed by pharma advertising. Some are adamantly pro-generic drugs. Neither of these approaches is necessarily better or worse than the other.
Some docs will medicate the heck out of you and some will take a more conservative approach.
You have to figure out which style may work best for you and look for a doc that fits the bill.
Personally I like old-school docs that know the older drugs.

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry » creepy

Posted by Phillipa on October 1, 2011, at 20:02:21

In reply to Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry, posted by creepy on October 1, 2011, at 16:21:40

Me too mine is retiring new one age 65. Hope still believes in them though? Phillipa

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry

Posted by emmanuel98 on October 1, 2011, at 20:02:46

In reply to Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry, posted by creepy on October 1, 2011, at 16:21:40

My regular p-doc felt out of ideas with me and encouraged me to consult with this professor at Harvard Medical School. He was a clinical professor, meaning he saw patients and oversaw residents. He recommended parnate and trilafon. The parnate really helped me. The trilafon did not and eventually I stopped it. He also recommended I be admitted straight away to McLean, which he, with my p-doc, helped arrange. He faxed them his report. He spent a good hour with me but charged $375 for the hour. Didn't take insurance. I still think it was a worthwhile investment and so does my husband.

 

Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry

Posted by jono_in_adelaide on October 2, 2011, at 4:35:53

In reply to Re: seeing a professor of psychiatry, posted by Solstice on October 1, 2011, at 10:12:22

I'd say go and see the professor, and see what he has to say, but dont slavishly follow his advice if it seems wrong or isnt working..... maybe see him for a consult or three then decide wether its worth it?


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