Need an experienced Adult ADHD Psychiatrist in Seattle

[SteamPunk]

Any help would be appreciated!

I was diagnosed years ago as anxious and ADHD. I am on Zoloft for the anxiety, and now want to get some control over my restlessness, difficulty with focus, impulsivity, procrastination, sensitivity to criticism, etc., etc.

I'm looking for a good psychiatrist in the Seattle area with experience treating ADHD adults.

Can any of you recommend such a person?

- Lauri

[CynthiaH]

I live in Tacoma so am not personally familiar with the Seattle psychiatrists, but Don Baker, MA, ADHD therapist in Seattle, highly recommends Dr. Philip Lindsay and Dr. Sue Wood. There is also Dr. Ted Mandelkorn on Mercer Island, a developmental pediatrician who also treats adults with ADHD when his practice has openings. If you call the office of ADD Resources (www.addresources.org) which is located in Tacoma, we can give you more leads.

Cynthia Hammer, Director, ADD Resources

[Andrew]

ok for posting.

[Zintradi]

Originally Posted by CynthiaH

I live in Tacoma so am not personally familiar with the Seattle psychiatrists, but Don Baker, MA, ADHD therapist in Seattle, highly recommends Dr. Philip Lindsay and Dr. Sue Wood. There is also Dr. Ted Mandelkorn on Mercer Island, a developmental pediatrician who also treats adults with ADHD when his practice has openings. If you call the office of ADD Resources (www.addresources.org) which is located in Tacoma, we can give you more leads.

Cynthia Hammer, Director, ADD Resources

do you have a doctor recommend in tacoma?
I need to get evaluated
-thanks

[ssseeker]

I know this post is old but it really helped me out today, so I wanted to give an update about what I found.

Dr. Philip Lindsay, MD mentioned above is in downtown Seattle, accepts Medicare as well as others and is accepting new patients. 206-622-5454.

Dr. Sue Wood accepts a lot of insurance except she is not accepting new patients for Medicare right now. She is in North Seattle (97th & 3rd.) 206-362-4141.

[ssseeker]

Also, in Bellevue there is a nurse practitioner that specializes in medication for ADHD adults. I found him to be kind and understanding but a bit inflexible with his policies.

Alan Simons, ARNP 425-451-4422
http://www.alansimons.com/contact.htm

Nurse practitioners are another great option for treatment when you are limited by insurance or money. Their appointments are traditionally 50 minutes instead of 15 so they get to know you. I actually prefer them as my primary care physician because they listen better.

[nodwag]

...for what it's worth, I would have to not recommend Dr Lindsay. I found his approach in treatment for Adult ADHD to be archaic. He hesitates to look outside of the box that he is comfortable in, and will try to cram you in there with him. He will start out with low dosages, which is good, but will ramp you up to max levels over multiple visits, even if you're telling him that you're not comfortable with the side effects. His response to every indication that something isn't feeling right is "let's try a higher dose". If I'm telling you that my heart feels like it's going to explode out of my chest and I'm having lapses in awareness (like, say, when driving or something) I'm just thinking that the best approach may not be to increase the dosage. He did this to me a number of times and every time I had to fight him to come up with some other alternative. We finally did hit on the right drug and the right dosage, but it was a 2+ year struggle to get there. I know, my fault for continuing to see him...

My other issue with Lindsay is the way he would draw out a routine visit with inane questions, long pauses, leaving the room to check on something, or "thoughtfully" browsing medical journals to come up with new ideas. This, of course, is not suprising when they bill on 10 minute increments... Sadly, this office is all about the money and the front desk staff will treat you like crap if you have any issues. I didn't mind when I was only paying the co-pay, but when I switched insurance providers and they didn't cover Lindsay, I kind of choked at the monthly $450 bill for my drawn-out 30 minute visit just to get a refill on my prescription. Many times, that was twice a month or more when ramping up on new meds as he would want to see me once every one or two weeks...

Anyway, just wanted to share my experience. I'm sure many people have had excellent experiences with Dr. Lindsay, but for treating my Adult ADHD, it was not the right match.

[technoluxe]

I was just researching alternate adult ADHD psychiatrists in Seattle, saw this thread, and just *had* to respond. I have been a patient of Dr. Lindsay's for almost 4 years, and my experience is very much like nodwag's. I'm glad that my meds are stable and I now only need to see him for refills, because my sessions with him are almost comical.

First, his fees are outrageous. His office will charge $150 for appointments that are canceled less than 48 business hours in advance. Unlike most doctors these days, Dr. Lindsay's office doesn't do phone reminders. (The conspiracy theorist in me suspects that missed appointment/late cancellation fees provide a nice little revenue stream for them, so they don't bother calling patients a day or two ahead with reminders in the hopes that a patient forgets to show/cancel so they can collect.) As far as the appointments go, a refill appointment lasts about 15 minutes. A regular 30 minute appointment can cost over $400.

I wouldn't mind the cost if I thought that the sessions were useful. Like nodwag mentioned, Dr. Lindsay asks the most inane questions. Often, he'll ask me questions that I've already answered, or questions that don't even apply to me. For example, I haven't worked in over two years. Even though he makes notes, I still have to remind him that I don't work when I sit down in the chair and the first thing he asks is, "How's work?" Sometimes, later in the session, he'll repeat questions: he will ask the *same exact* question ten minutes after I've already answered it and we have moved on to another inane question. (Maybe he has ADHD too? Ha, ha.)

Long pauses during sessions are not uncommon, and I often feel like he's spacing out. I realize that his job must be really boring, but for the price he's charging, he could at least make an effort to *pretend* like he's engaged. He'll spend time in an appointment looking through the PDR, or a journal, or some other thing -- in one session, he spent seven minutes flipping through an atlas to see where a certain country was.

Furthermore, Dr. Lindsay isn't up on the latest research and medications. I get the feeling that he's no longer maintains an active interest in ADHD (if he ever did), and is just going through the motions and getting by.

I recently switched insurance that doesn't cover Dr. Lindsay, so between my experience with him and the exorbitant cost, I've decided to look for someone new.

Anyway, your mileage may vary with Dr. Lindsay, but this is just my experience. Hope that helps.

[markmyword]

All you have to do to discover who I think is one of the very best docs I have ever been evaluated or treated by for ADD is search "ADD psychiatrist seattle" and you will find Ron Sterling MD. He has a very informative website at dearshrink.com and a page there devoted to adult ADD allaboutadultadd.org Honest the best doc I have ever been evaluated and treated by and I have been to tons of them who misdiagnosed me. long story. Maybe some other time...

[Gina]

Originally Posted by nodwag

He will start out with low dosages, which is good, but will ramp you up to max levels over multiple visits, even if you're telling him that you're not comfortable with the side effects. His response to every indication that something isn't feeling right is "let's try a higher dose". If I'm telling you that my heart feels like it's going to explode out of my chest and I'm having lapses in awareness (like, say, when driving or something) I'm just thinking that the best approach may not be to increase the dosage. He did this to me a number of times and every time I had to fight him to come up with some other alternative.

I just have to jump in here, not with any experience of the physician in question, but just to affirm that I hear this kind of thing ALL THE TIME at our local Adult ADHD discussion group. You call the doctor because, after starting the medication, your hair's on fire, you've grown a third leg, your skin's turned green, and what do you hear: INCREASE THE DOSAGE.

It's gotten to be the very un-funny joke. And if we didn't hear it so much, we'd have to conclude people were exaggerating. But they're not!

Yes, sometimes increasing a dosage will help to overcome side effects. But it seems to be done by some physicians in such a blanket way. I've seen people be pushed into mania by too-high doses of the AMP stimulants, for example, not to mention increased heart rate with those and even Strattera.

START LOW, TITRATE SLOW. That's the maxim. And monitor positive and negative effects with a rating sheet. Better focus and less distractibility should NOT come with increased aggression, anger, etc.

Patients really need to be their own advocates and recruit a friend of loved one, too, for providing objective feedback and even for joining you in physician visits -- not only to help you remember what the doc said but to evaluate the doc!

[ssseeker]

Wanted to post back about my experience with Dr. Lindsay. A previous poster said his office is all about money. They were right! I traveled two hours to get to his office. The staff said they accepted my insurance. But when I arrived they went into a "conference" with Dr. Lindsay behind closed doors, and he refused to treat me! They literally said they didn't feel I had enough money to see him 2 or 3 times a week. What a quak! I have been dealing with this for 15 years, and worked in the office of an ADD psychologist. There is no need to see a patient 2 or 3 times a week unless he is near hospitalization. In that case, a doctor would go ahead and send him to a hospital because he will be treated, regardless of income.

Basically, they knew my insurance wouldn't cover it because it's excessive. Sometimes the insurance companies are right. It's rare, I know. The Dr. shouldn't have signed up with that PPO if they didn't want to accept it! (Good luck finding one that will.)

I still haven't filed a complaint about Dr. Lindsay with my Insurance because I wanted to move on with my life. But I will soon!

Now that I see he's a terrible doctor I'm glad.

[ssseeker]

Regarding over-medication: You do have the choice of not taking it, you know. Stimulants are unique in this way. You can take whatever amount you want. If the doctor gives you too much, or you've had more coffee than you're supposed to, just take a smaller dose. With the short acting kind you can split them. Use a pill splitter from the drug store. I personally just use my teeth. They have a line in them designed for this purpose. This allows me to get my optimum dose. I take 1-1/2 in the morning and only 1/2 in the evening because I have a hard time waking up, and a hard time winding down.

For long acting (time released XR) stand up for yourself. Tell the Doctor what you want and if they can't see reason get a new Doctor. Seriously, there is no excuse for this. Be firm but nice. I have had a hard time getting a doctor to raise my dose, but never lower. You're heart should not be racing out of control. And losing touch with space and time is really scary. That could indicate a diagnosis other than ADD and you should look into this. There is a small degree of this with ADD when hyperfocusing but nothing that a clock in front of you won't cure. (I actually put my watch in front of me during therapy appointments. It helps.)

Personally, I have noticed that the long acting does nothing for me if I increase the dose. It's strange. It either stays the same or I get more tired. With the short acting, heck yeah! I have to be careful.

If you are feeling anxious that day be careful too. For example, if I have a job interview I take a half dose. I guess the brain chemicals are on overdrive when you're nervous. So essentially, you are already stimulated. I have had it make me too aggressive in this situation. I can also get agitated and easily startled. That is when you've had too much.

[fontaine]

I'm cutting and pasting this from somewhere else, my review on Dr. Lindsay, and will elaborate further.

I would not recommend Dr. Lindsay at all. Your mileage may vary, though. I was going to him for adult ADHD and he was not very perceptive in dealing with me most of the time. In fact, I would tell him of my horrid side effects and mood swings due to the medications that I was taking and his response was "I'm glad to hear that Vyvanse is working out for you." WHAT? I truly believe that unless I was bleeding in his office that he was completely oblivious to me. Part of the reason that I no longer live in Seattle and the demise of my relationship is partly due to Dr. Lindsay, I truly believe that. What was supposed to be a helpful doctor resulted in frustration and some unhelpful medications. However, my ex-bf didn't have the same problems I had with Dr. Lindsay (he is a still a patient), so again, your mileage may vary. People, do your research and remember that these doctors have powerful (and dangerous) medications at their disposal.
Insurance: Blue Cross / Blue Shield

I'll stick to this and also add that it's a shame that he's still practicing with all of these horrible complaints from fellow patients. Class action suit, anyone? Jeesh. I reread the above from the other posters with disbelief and sadness.

The other thing that I wasn't cool with and that I found distasteful about his practice was that he'd meet with pharmaceutical reps in his office with his door wide open. You could hear EVERYTHING that they talked about.

When other reps would come in during other times, he'd drop everything for them, including making you wait for your scheduled appt. When you finally would have to leave because you couldn't wait any longer, he'd then take you in his office and spend literally 90 SECONDS to talk to you and send you on your merry way. It happened to me, folks.

I'll say though that his receptionist, Ronlyn (spelling?) is tops and was very sweet. It was such a discrepancy from Dr. Lindsay that it was surreal at times.

Totally random aside, sort of, is that in doing a little more Googling on Dr. Lindsay, I noticed that his son Scott is married to the daughter of Christine Gregoire.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/fa...0gregoire.html

Very interesting.

Again, it's so tragic that this guy is still practicing medicine to the detriment of his patients.

[ADDdiane]

I found this discussion by serching ADD psychiatrist seattle and I read the whole thing a month ago and chose to get an evaluation from Dr. Ron Sterling. Everything markmyword said was true!

I have been struggling with all kinds of anxiety, worrying, difficulty with even going out to the store and much much more and have been treated for depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorder with no real changes, but years of suffering. I ended up recently with numbness and other kinds of pain and weird symptoms that were evaluated by neurologists who could not find an answer to what was causing the symptoms. I have to tell you, I have been through the health care mill.

so I was evaluated by Dr. sterling and he conducted a 120 minute evaluation that was extensive -- lots of questions, gathring information and educating me about ADd. It was the best medical attention I have ever gotten. I am 32. I have been dealing with symptoms I could not understand since teens. Dr. sterling said I fit the criteria for ADD to a level of 97% and explained to me what causes ADD and how it can be treated and that in his experience untreated adults who clealry have beeen dealing iwith ADD for years often end up with periferal nervous system problems that are often diagnosed as fibromylgia that practically always clear up with proper ADD treatment. He also told me about how anxiety can be a huge part of ADD.

I didn't believe him, really. Iam very cyncial about medical care. But, he was right. ritalin turned out to be the wrong med for me. Adderall turned out to be like a miracle. Practically no anxiety anymore, nor worrying, getting to sleep really good without racing thoughts. you name it, it has been fixed. And the numbness and weird neurological symptoms went away. I could go on and on and on about this. It is just plain sad that I had to be so misdiagnosed and untreated for so long. I have been crying about the loss of all that time and effort and the possibiliities my life would have had if treated properly. Dr Sterling says I am having some bereavement for those lost years and he is helping me deal with it, not just give me meds, but actually talk with me.

One thing I also did not believe was that dr. Sterling told me that 70% of the time ritalin works for ADD, but 30% of the time it does not and you need to move on to some other medication. He calls the type of ADD a person has by the name of the med that works. ritalin ADD, adderalll ADd, dexotroamphetaime add, etc. and he explaind how although the neurotransmittor problem is the same for all ADd, dopamine and noepinhephrine, that the location of the problem in the brain is different or more complex and that some meds apparently target some parts of the brain differently than others.

ritalin was awful for me even in low doses and I was really disappointed and didn't expect anything different from adderall, but it was compeltely different! Dr sterlings advice is be aggressive about finding the right med and 98% of the time if you fit the criteria for ADD you will find one or a combination of two meds that will make a differenc in your life.

He's right. I highly recommned Dr. Sterling!

[raindots]

This has been a fantastic thread to stumble on, guys, thanks. It looks like Dr. Sterling isn't in my provider network for my insurance. I went to Dr. Lindsay years ago to get Dx'd and I don't remember one way or the other if he was outstanding or wandering. I DO remember the $350+ bill and my reaction to that!

I wondered if anyone has been to see Dr. Sue Wood. I saw her name mentioned in this thread and tried to do some searching but came up with mixed results. Any good experiences? Bad?

Thanks!