If you have a psych problem arise how long does it take to get in with your p doc?

I called mine at the beginning of December because I was feeling so agitated and irritable. They gave me January 28th.

I called them back today and explained that I'm depressed, agitated, nervous, irritable, can't get calm or still. They said they still can't see me until the 28th but that they will get a message to my doctor and see what he can do.

Sigh. How in the world will I get through 2 more weeks of this?

In the meantime though, I'm wondering, is this normal? If you call your p doc and you are having an issue what does he/she do? How is it handled?

I think it depends on where you live and how many practices are available to the population. I know there is a psychologist office in town where I live, and it takes 12 weeks to get in just to see a psychologist.... and they have like 5 of them in the practice. And I live in a big city, so they are not the only office.

Took me about 2 months... But told me to go into the walk in clinic and that's when they gave me celexa until I could see the p doc

I should feel lucky then. same day phone consult or next day appointment. I pay about 200 dollars for half an hour.... but it's worth it

Mines all free so I can't complain

Well mine I can get in within the week. But it does depend on a few factors. If I'm really tweaked he can do something over the phone.

My first would call me back, or he would fit me on on his lunch. He was always good about that. My other pdoc would say he would call you back and sometimes it would take days or weeks, or I would have to keep calling him. In his case I got my therapist to call him for me, and he would promptly get in touch with her. My T was great about advocating for me.

Regular doctors here are very hesitant to touch your meds if they know you have a psychiatrist. So seeing them was never really much help. I don't pay since I am in Canada, but the first pdoc was a private practice, and the second was not. I don't know if that was the difference, but their overall personalities were much different too.

Seems pretty awful to me that you can not get in any sooner, or not even a call back. Sometimes this can be sorted even over the phone. If you cannot get the help when you need it seems to defeat the purpose of going I think.

How is he overall when you do see him?

He is good and thorough when I do see him. My PCP diagnosed me as Bipolar and wanted a pdoc consult. The one I'm using was rated the top P doc in the city he practices in. On the first visit he said my PCP was wrong I was just depressed. By my third visit he finally admitted that he was wrong and my PCP was spot on with my DX.

I guess what I'm saying is at least I have a good supportive PCP.

You also have a dr who can admit when he is wrong, that's a good thing too! Well could be that if he is the best in the city, he has too many patients.

I don't know what you can do in the meantime. Would your GP adjust you meds a little? Pretty hard to do any relaxtion techniques when you are so agitated but worth a shot if you can. Or walking outdoors, something to just sooth you for a little.

When you do get in to see your psychiatrist maybe ask him to help you make a plan for what to do in these cases. He should be able to help you come up with something other than just wait and wait. It would be nice if it was clear and you both knew what that plan was, that might help.

My pdoc will always call me back the same day I call with a problem. It may be in the evening by the time he gets a moment to call, but he always calls. He calls in any med changes directly to my pharmacy and then if he wants me to come in sooner than my scheduled appointment, I generally can get in within a few days if I can be flexible with my schedule. He does take appointments until 6PM, so usually it isn't a problem.

Email back same day. Sudden (having an episode) episode appt next day. Med refills called in between appts take 2-3 days. Sorry yours is so far out. Sounds like an extremely busy practice, with perhaps more patients than they can adequately take care of. I'm hope you feel better soon.

My old pdoc I only saw twice a year for maybe 20 minutes. There was barely enough time to talk about anything and it was always the wrong time for changing meds, so it was forever put off. I think the few times I called him when I was really having problems it took a couple of weeks to see him. And there always seemed to be miscommunication between what I told the nurse and what the nurse told the doctor.

My new pdoc it's different, the whole practice is different. There's a 24 hour crisis line - and someone will call you back after hours and you can go in and see the crisis counselor and they can get the ball rolling. I think when I really needed to see him it still took a week to get an appointment, but he made some med changes over the phone based on what the crisis counselor told him.

It's so different than what I was used to, but I live in a smaller area with a different type of practice.

Mine calls me back personally within a few hours, always on the same day, and sometimes will make med changes over the phone and then call them in to my pharmacy for me. Still, I usually can get squeezed in within a day or two if I really need it, and it's always a 60-minute appointment.

I am one of those people that brags about her pdoc. Truth be told though, unless I am very unwell, I get seen the next time I have an appt, or the next time there is a cancellation and I am available. My pdoc will always answer my calls and he has arranged to see me that day or the next when I was close to emergency bad always with the caveat that the ER was an alternative if I couldn't keep myself safe until I saw him.

So sorry, your Pdoc is a huge jerk!

My Pdoc will do med changes on the phone. If I need to see him its within 48 hours. If I am in a crisis I will be seen as soon as I get to the office. I am lucky I have a Pdoc that truly cares.

Good Luck ! I hope you are able to find a great Pdoc!

Just as I thought, it's 8 pm and I haven't received a phone call back from his office at all.

When Temazepam (a benzo and after that failure I am not using any benzos anymore) stopped working for sleep, a covering p-doc saw me next day, but I made it clear on the phone that not being to sleep is a complete emergency and if they do not want to fax a new prescription to the pharmacy, they need to see me urgently. The doctor who covered for my p-doc was very nice and the drug he prescribed (at my request) still works, unlike Temazepam.

Depends if he is on holidays. Usually call back same day or next day. Changes over the phone and an appt within a week. He still checks in and calls back when he's on holiday but I'm not sure how regularly. He's away till then end of this month.

Setting matters a lot. The two most responsive pdocs were a guy that didn't accept insurance and was very expensive and a woman who was through my university's student health services (she was part of the administration and salaried, so she only saw as any patients as she could treat adequately). I had another guy who would not return a phone call under any circumstances, but they could usually move your (5 minute) appt to within a week or 2. I fired him because of the short appts and unwillingness to respond to phone calls. Current guy is decent and usually will return a call at the end of the day and can move an appt to within a week. He might take insurance, but hasn't accepted either of the plans I have been on, so I pay the full fee out of pocket. Unfortunately, psychiatry seems to have become a get what you pay for situation. Friends who see pdoc's at sliding-fee clinics or even use their insurance seem to get second-rate care.

Best,
EJ

I use insurance, and have I superb care and attention from my pdoc, so that doesn't always hold true. My husband's pdoc doesn't take insurance, and while he is also very good, he is not nearly as responsive, prompt with service, accessible, etc., and he definitely has a superior attitude that no one is going to tell him what to do (insurance carrier OR patient, at times). It isn't about the payment method necessarily. It is simply about that physician's philosophy on how he treats his patients.

And, that is free or sliding scale care through county mental health.

Okay, fair enough. I also wonder if city and/or region influence this. In my town pdoc's are insanely in demand (no pun intended) so some really crappy ones seem to still get away with a lot. And I'm very cynical about pdoc's after reading on this board and having a few bad experiences.

EJ