Impossible to find a replacement during covid and now it's mostly nurse practitioners available here in Phoenix. Where did they go?
I hung on longer than I should have with a man pdoc because he was double board certified in Psychiatry and Neurology. He was never very helpful. During covid, he upped the dosage of my individual tablets WITHOUT TELLING ME. A former pdoc in the same practice did the same thing to me once. On both occasions, I hit something with my car. I keep telling docs that I cant have too much tegretol because it gives me word loss: cant finish sentences struggling for the word that I would have known a couple years ago. Stress makes word loss more likely for me, but I know the tegretol plays a big part.
Anyway, I found a woman, which I prefer. I really like her personality and I think she will be willing to double as my therapist as well.
Tomorrow, our second session, I will dive into my most serious issues and that will give me a better take on her.
One of the reasons I didnt like my former pdoc is that he is with Banner, a huge chain in Phoenix that does not respect HIPAA (patient privacy-even for psych issues- at all). Because I am my ex's medical advocate, I know all the doctors and surgeons I have to deal with will not cooperate with me at the same level if they know Im bipolar, 3 degrees or not. You would think doctors would know better, but tho people are understanding depression better after covid, I think because of mass shootings, stigma is alive and well for bipolars. Wish me luck!