[paulswife1]

I WAITED SIX WEEKS TO SEE THE P.DOC. I HAD MY DISABILITY PAPERS STATING THAT I WAS BIPOLAR AS WELL AS MANY OTHER MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, AND YET, ALL HE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WAS MY OCD. EVEN THOUGH I HAVE ALL OF THE CLASSIC BIPOLAR SYMPTOMS, EXCEPT IRRATIONAL SPENDING(BECAUSE I'M POOR!)HE WAS ONLY INTERESTED IN MY OCD(EVEN THOUGH ITS NOT A PROBLEM FOR ME)AND THE SPINAL CORD SURGERY THAT I HAD ON 4/30. SINCE I WAS NEITHER MANIC OR DEPRESSED AT THE TIME(ONLY ANXIOUS)ALL HE DID WAS UP MY CLONOPIN, TOLD ME TO SEE ONE OF THEIR THERAPISTS ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS(BUT THEY COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT TODAY)AND THEN TO MEET WITH HIM AGAIN ON OCTOBER 28TH FOR A 15 MINUTE FOLLOW-UP TO RE-ASSESS MY CONDITION. NOW, SHOULD I STICK IT OUT WITH THIS DOCTOR THROUGH OCTOBER, OR START LOOKING FOR A NEW P.DOC?
ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE HELPFUL. I'M VERY CONFUSED! THANK YOU.

[BlackPup]

What do you want from your pdoc? It often helps to have a list of thing you want to address: meds, scripts, side effects, blood tests, current mood, recent mood. Its really important to have some control over where the appointment goes but you are also there cos you want their expertise - so its a balance...
Your options depend a bit on cost and availability - can you start looking around and asking other people so that if things don't go well in October you have something ready to fall back on? (you can cancel it if you need to) Or if you think that you need help sooner, is there anyone that you can see sooner? What does you insurance/ disability allow for?

[Anneinside]

Sounds like your only presenting problem was anxiety. Strange he fixed on OCD. You might want to check and see if they have urgent care appointments if you run into trouble before your next appointment. One good thing about seeing a psychologist at the same clinic as your pdoc is that if your psychologist sees that you are having problems he/she can consult quickly with the psychiatrist to see if you need a quick med change. If you aren't having trouble with your bipolar right now I'd give the pdoc a chance.

[sugahorse1]

I decided I wanted to see a T for that exact reason - having someone with more compassion, who can really analyse my condition and sound the warning bells if necessary.
The new pdoc I've now started seeing seems quite good and actually quite compassionate too. I have my second app on Tues to follow up on the Lamictin and decide if I need to add an anti-depressant too. It's going to be a difficult decision, as a lot of my recent depressive episodes have been caused by triggers.
I think you need to understand that a pdoc is only really there to discuss meds and side effects. Of course any symptoms you tell him about (And you need to be really open) need to be taken into consideration. I would get a bit annoyed if I felt that bipolar was really crippling me and he didn't take it serious enough

[paulswife1]

thank all of yu for your help. I did go in and started telling the doctor my main conserne was the mood swings ( mania to depression and back) i do have a crisis team that i've used before. In the mean time i'll see ther therepist but i'm also going to try and get some local referals
thank you all

[sugahorse1]

How are you doing?
Are you on any meds other than Klonopin?