[Creepeh]

I've been seeing the same psychiatrist since I was 16. I am 20 now.

I've gone through several medications and while they help in the beginning, eventually they stop working.

I've been thinking about it for awhile now. But what if the reason I'm not getting better, is because my psychiatrist didn't give me the right diagnosis. Thus he doesn't give me the right medication, because he gave me a wrong diagnosis.

How would I go about asking him if I can get a re diagnosis. Or would I have to go to a different doctor and see what diagnosis they give me?

Thanks,
Creepeh

[Skeezyks]

Hello Creepeh: I don't know as I have a particular answer to your question. But I noticed this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral.

Not knowing much regarding your situation, it's difficult for me to offer much in the way of suggestions. (Plus I'm not a mental health professional myself.) I don't see a psychiatrist any longer. But, when I did, he only saw me for around 10 minutes or so every 3 or 4 months just to monitor the med's I was taking & to offer any others I might want to try. I never really did get anything in the way of an actual diagnosis. I also never had any kind of psychological testing. If I wanted to talk about my concerns in any depth at all, I needed to see a mental health therapist.

If that's the type of situation you're in, my thought would be to see a therapist or perhaps a psychologist &, in conjunction with that, see if you can arrange for some testing as well. You can certainly ask your current pdoc about your diagnosis. I'd just come right out & ask him. Tell him you don't feel the med's you're taking are really helping & you wonder if possibly there's something going on with you beyond what your current diagnosis would suggest. Your pdoc may or may not be receptive. If not then your options, I would presume, would be to either see if you can arrange for a "second opinion" from a different doc, or proceed as I suggested above.

You mentioned you've gone through several med's, & while they help in the beginning, eventually they stop working. Of course, I don't know what med's you've tried or how long you were on them. My own experience, primarily with SSRI's & SNRI's, was that they helped quite a bit initially but pooped out not all that long after I had begun taking them. It is true too that psych med's do sometimes lose their effectiveness over time. And when they do, the person taking them just has to try varying the dosage or try a different med or med combo. Consequently, depending on how long you were on the various med's you were taking, the fact that they seemed to lose their effectiveness may or may not be significant in terms of your diagnosis, I would say.

Anyway... these are my thoughts with regard to your post. I hope you find PC to be of benefit.

[Creepeh]

Originally Posted by Skeezyks

Hello Creepeh: I don't know as I have a particular answer to your question. But I noticed this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral.

Not knowing much regarding your situation, it's difficult for me to offer much in the way of suggestions. (Plus I'm not a mental health professional myself.) I don't see a psychiatrist any longer. But, when I did, he only saw me for around 10 minutes or so every 3 or 4 months just to monitor the med's I was taking & to offer any others I might want to try. I never really did get anything in the way of an actual diagnosis. I also never had any kind of psychological testing. If I wanted to talk about my concerns in any depth at all, I needed to see a mental health therapist.

If that's the type of situation you're in, my thought would be to see a therapist or perhaps a psychologist &, in conjunction with that, see if you can arrange for some testing as well. You can certainly ask your current pdoc about your diagnosis. I'd just come right out & ask him. Tell him you don't feel the med's you're taking are really helping & you wonder if possibly there's something going on with you beyond what your current diagnosis would suggest. Your pdoc may or may not be receptive. If not then your options, I would presume, would be to either see if you can arrange for a "second opinion" from a different doc, or proceed as I suggested above.

You mentioned you've gone through several med's, & while they help in the beginning, eventually they stop working. Of course, I don't know what med's you've tried or how long you were on them. My own experience, primarily with SSRI's & SNRI's, was that they helped quite a bit initially but pooped out not all that long after I had begun taking them. It is true too that psych med's do sometimes lose their effectiveness over time. And when they do, the person taking them just has to try varying the dosage or try a different med or med combo. Consequently, depending on how long you were on the various med's you were taking, the fact that they seemed to lose their effectiveness may or may not be significant in terms of your diagnosis, I would say.

Anyway... these are my thoughts with regard to your post. I hope you find PC to be of benefit.

Thank you for the welcome and suggestions.

I ended up calling a psychologist to see if he can do some testing. I have yet to hear back though. It has been two days now. Hopefully he responds, otherwise, I might just find another one.