I finally got in to see a psychiatrist today after waiting for my first appointment since October.

There is a dragon lady/receptionist troll guarding the gate to the psychiatrist. She has dragged out the first appt as long as possible. When I got there this morning, she came out and said "Oh, you have been dropped from the list here at XYZ mental clinic by your therapist!" I guess we forgot to send you that information." This after she called me Friday to remind me of my appt, and also sending a written reminder last week.

Anyway, I have been in contact recently w/therapist, who happened to be there. Troll got her on the phone and she refuted the claim that I was dropped. Plus the psychiatrist was standing at the door and he said it was OK, so she had to let me in.

SO: I go in and talk about my treatment resistant depression, my thoughts that I could be inatentive ADHD, etc. etc. Psych will not establish or hold eye contact. I brought in a checklist of symptoms I got on line at WebMD.

"Everyone who does those checklists comes out thinking they have ADHD."

I reiterate symptoms of absent minded-ness. Procrastination, feeling disorganized, ovewhelmed, yada yada yada. Saying I felt my life was profoundly affected by these symptoms. They did start when I was a young child. Said that if could get my brain to work more smoothly, it might also help my depression and anxiety.

"Amphetamines are very strong drugs and they will only increase your anxiety and do nothing for your depression. You need an antidepressant." Rather than a give and take discussion or asking specific questions, he is in total lecture mode, not incuding eye contact.

I have taken a long list of antidepressants. He does ask me if I have ever taken Wellbutrin. I have not. I know there are people on this forum who have and Wellbutrin is listed in Hallowell's books and Dr. Amen's book. So I tell him I would like to try Wellbutrin. So I he gave me a prescription for 150 mg, XL.

My 15 minutes are up, he has to see another patient, nice to see you.......

So I go off to the pharmacy after a bit to let the Rx get called in. Oooh, $107! My Rx deductible has not been met for the year yet.

So I'm standing in line behind a gal about the same age as me, and her Rx is $104, and her credit card is rejected. So we start chatting about high cost of drugs etc, and I look over and her Rx is for Adderall. :eek:

Holy coincidence, batman! So I ask her if I could talk to her more about ADHD, and who her doctor is and she gives me her name and number and the psychologist's name. I feel as if I have landed in a pot of gold. Not that I am not willing to give Wellbutrin a shot, but I'm still looking for an official diagnosis, which she says she got from this doctor.

I feel like I am in some kind of video game, where I have to confront dragon lady, deal with confused psychiatrist, and go to the pharmacy in order to meet a real person with a real diagnosis.

It appears that Wellbutrin can be very helpful for many people, and I will need to give it at least a month, possibly longer to tell if it is helping. I want to keep track of any changes I see in myself as well as side effects, etc. It will probably take me several more months to get into see this psychologist anyway.

So I feel as if I had some success today, and I will find out how Wellbutrin works for me anyhow. ;)

Paula

My initial question when i read your post was, why havent u seen another psych? if ur psych is going 2 give u crap like that, u shouldnt be seeing him anyway not only bcs u dont like him, but bcs he is probably not very capable. So now that u got another doc's #, go see that doc and just tell him u think u have add. dont say anything about depression and dont use ur old psych as a reference. this way u start on a clean slate and can get a non-bias and real diagnosis.

special,

It is virtually impossible to get an appt w/ a psychiatrist here. Most don't take ANY new patients and going through the clinic like I do takes a looong wait.

Depression and feeling overwhelmed are my main symptoms/problems. I think the new psychologist will be helpful since he does diagnose ADHD. But he does not prescribe, so that may be my next hurdle.

So I started Wellbutrin yesterday and took another today. A bit of dry mouth, but I have had that on most other antidepressants. And I did have a wierd dream where there were "bad guys" that I could see and others could not. They were on the other side of like a TV screen, and I could stab the screen and hurt them. Wierd, never had a stabbing dream before.

Very slight headache. I feel less depressed but that may be because my daughter is coming back from Atlanta today and she has been gone since before Christmas.

No major complaints yet on the Wellbutrin. By the way, thanks special for the post, if I could I would shop around for psychiatrists, but don't have the luxury where I live! ;)

jeanieb, I'm glad your daughter's coming back. I know what you mean about waiting forever to get an appointment with a pdoc. I've found only two ways to circumvent that:
a) have a large noisy nervous breakdown and

b)have the psychiatrist you were scheduled to see die, not know about it and call to confirm your appointment, which is still weeks in the future.

Either of those situations seems to result in prompter service.

hey jeaniebug, no prob. A couple of things i was going to point out is that seeing a psychologist wouldnt help u get the proper meds, if that is the way you wish to choose. Going to the psychologist may help u mentally and spiritually if ur good, but they do not have medical degrees and thus cannot prescribe medications. Now, about getting appointments with psychiatrists, i know its really hard to do that, but an option for that is to go to ur regular doctor and tell him about your problems in terms of depression and overwhelming feelings and that its is serious. Generally, your regular doctor will refer you to a psychiatrist and the psychiatrist will usually gladly accept a referral from a colleague of his.

the 'client from hell' technique in which you basically say it isn't working until they rotate you around to what works, eventually they try everything and when it works they think "phew" just keep saying this isn't working until you can find what helps.

the 'client from hell' technique in which you basically say it isn't working until they rotate you around to what works, eventually they try everything and when it works they think "phew" just keep saying this isn't working until you can find what helps.
Hmmm, mspen,

I have always been extremely tenacious. I do believe in being a pest sometimes. I have had to a lot of advocating for my daughter who is profoundly hearing impaired, and I refused to take "we don't/can't do that" for an answer. I think otherwise the Troll/receptionist would have stopped me. (See 1st post).

Great news, the psychologist who does test for ADHD called and I have an appointment in 2 weeks! Aaaaaaaah! (Singing a high note and holding it here) +++ "3 Cartwheels" Yeah, baby!!!! "Running Man!" +++ "Lawnmower!" :D :D :D Paula

This is an office that I would not deal with any longer. YMMV. Bad attitudes like that? Buh-Bye!

Seeing a Testing Psychologist would help you get the medications you need. They do the testing (working memory; executive function; etc) and WRITE THE REPORT saying you have ADHD.

You then *take*/*send* the WRITTEN REPORT saying you "have ADHD", which gets you the medication from the MD/Psychiatrist.

Most ADHD Psychiatrists don't accept self-diagnosed people. You have to get the TESTING done and bring in the WRITTEN REPORT.

(My partner is a Sub-Specialist, so I know how these Testings and Referral Procedures work. One cannot refer themselves to a Sub-Specialist any more than they can phone up a Heart Surgeon and say "I think i have blocked arteries and need surgery.)

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I have been takin Wellbutrin XL 150mg all week. I have virtually NO side effects. I do feel a bit less depressed. No more weird dreams. Dry mouth is about the same as zoloft was. Will be going to 300 mg now and hope to see better mood. My anxiety seems to be a bit better, although I have had a very stressful week at work. So I'm not sure. Overall, I'd have to say I'm very impressed with Wellbutrin. :p Paula

Today is day 7 on Wellbutrin XL 150 mg. I feel like a totally different person. I have more energy especially in the evening. I notice myself feeling "good" or "Happy" and that has not been the case for almost 20 years.

I have decided not to increase to 300 mg until I take the 150 for a while. Just to see what happens.

I still have good moments and bad moments, but I'm quite impressed. I guess I needed the norepinephrine and dopamine much more than the serotonin of the other antidepressants I have taken. None of which really worked, except to take the edge off and make me more sedentary/ overall lower affect. :D :D

I got in to see a new psychologist today, who does tests for ADHD and for bipolar. Great news, he has a Ph.D. and is a neuropsychologist!!!!!

The difference between him and most other therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists I've seen is like night and day. He talked to me for over an hour and took a complete history. He scheduled me for a series of several tests one week from today.

They will evaluate the tests and then I will get back to see him 3 weeks after that. He works in the neurology part of the largest clinic in town, just down the hall from other neuro folks including a great psychiatrist. He even asked me I had ever had any relief from stims! (No I have never had a prescription for stimulants.)

What a huge relief. The interview was hard because I get emotional, but I laid out all the facts and was completely honest. So I feel like I've been through an emotional wringer, but I do feel like I will finally get the help I need.

Thanks SolarLife, Crazy Feet, Healthwiz, Peridot, Tracy, mspen, QueensU, and everyone at ADDF and on the bipolar and Lamictal threads for your continued support. I have been exploring the world of bipolar in the last week or so. It seems very likely that it may be at the root of my depression. Although I think it is very likely I am both bipolar and inatentive ADHD.

My biological father was hospitalized most of his adult life for bipolar. Probably my older brother who drank himself to death by age 40 was as well. I have had a huge problem accepting any kind of reference to a dx of bipolar. My father was reduced to a nearly vegetative state, lower than eggplant I'm afraid CF, but he may have been in a lithium plus "thorazine-like" state when I last saw him. He was nearly incoherent, which is a place I do not want to go.

So I am exhausted, but I have more hope than I have had in my entire life. I will have a diagnosis by February 19. Just before my birthday!

And I will never have to darken the door of the XYZ mental health clinic or put up with a 15 minute appointment with a psychiatrist who won't listen, answer questions or do any testing. If anyone happens to live in Montana, I would be glad to share this doctor's name. :D :D :D :D :D

It is irritating when that stuff happens and other people who don't have ADHD can go to a GP and just say "I cant focus" and walk out on 90 mg of adderall per day etc

It is irritating when that stuff happens and other people who don't have ADHD can go to a GP and just say "I cant focus" and walk out on 90 mg of adderall per day etcYes! Although my perspective has shifted with time to think things over and read more about bipolar. If I gone straight to stims w/o trying a mood stablizer it could have made things worse. I am very glad to do all the testing, because that way we can stop guessing about the "real" diagnosis. And if I do have bipolar, that will be the key to at last getting the correct treatment.

BTW, day 14 on 150 mg Wellbutrin XL. Depression somewhat improved, energy improved, BUT anxiety also increased. Haven't gone to 300 mg because I don't want anxiety out the roof or if I am bipolar could be the wrong thing to do. :eyebrow:

About the cost. There is a generic type of Welbutrin, not sure if for all types. It is about half the cost. The brand name is quite a sticker shock until that deductable kicks in.

Depression and dysthymia(spelling) show up in clinical practice more often than adhd. Generally, I think doctors treat for depression first, then go from there. Not saying this is right, just the way it is.

Many doctors are paranoid about patients seeking controlled substances(not you). Give wellbutrin a try, if that doesn't help he may offer you a stimulant trial. As you establish a relationship with your doctor, he may be more open to the adhd diagnosis and treatment.