Dear Reader,
Remember my first blog post ever about switching psychiatrists after 3 years? Well, yesterday was the day I was supposed to meet my brand new psychiatrist at the Casa De Amigos Health Center in Houston. I was so excited and nervous about the appointment. As I stayed in the waiting room, I couldn't help but be on edge.
A whole hour passed before I was able to see him.
When I finally did get to see him, I was surprised at what he told me: "So you are supposed to be taking medication X, Y, & Z."
Each medication that he listed seemed foreign. I wasn't taking any of those medications. In fact, those exact medications he mentioned were prescribed to be nearly 2 years ago, when I was first hospitalized at the Houston Behavioral Hospital.
"But doctor," I tried to explain myself. "I am not currently taking medication X, Y, & Z. I am taking different medications that were prescribed to me--"
"No," the doctor interrupted me, very sure of himself. You are actually taking the medications I mentioned beforehand. Here's proof that these are the medications you should be taking. Look at this screen."
I looked at the screen. There were a long list of medications that were prescribed to me, but something just did not seem right.
"I think these records are outdated," I tried telling the doctor. "I was hospitalized again at this same hospital last year in December. Is it not in your records?"
So we both discovered, after a brief phone call to the records department that it was indeed NOT in my records at all.
And another thing I had to mention to the doctor. I could not afford a $95 psychiatrist appointment in January, so I did not go to one. I ran out of all of my medications except for Lithium, which I continued taking. The doctor concluded that the Lithium was good for me, and decided to add on another medication as well. He also thought it was best that I see him in 1 month as opposed to 3 months, the usual time span between psychiatrist appointments.
I walked out of the doctor's office confused. For one, they did not even have my most updated record on file. How could that be? Secondly, I would have to scraggle up change again to make another $95 appointment--he only prescribed me a month's worth of medication. And lastly, I was not sure if the NEW medications he prescribed would be best for me. I missed my old psychiatrist.
Tomorrow, I'll be making an appointment with my OLD psychiatrist instead. We might not agree on everything, and his office is further away than the Casa De Amigos Center, but I STILL hold a certain amount of confidence in my old psychiatrist that I am willing to test again for the sake of my mental health AND sanity.
Thanks for reading!
Gisele
Remember my first blog post ever about switching psychiatrists after 3 years? Well, yesterday was the day I was supposed to meet my brand new psychiatrist at the Casa De Amigos Health Center in Houston. I was so excited and nervous about the appointment. As I stayed in the waiting room, I couldn't help but be on edge.
A whole hour passed before I was able to see him.
When I finally did get to see him, I was surprised at what he told me: "So you are supposed to be taking medication X, Y, & Z."
Each medication that he listed seemed foreign. I wasn't taking any of those medications. In fact, those exact medications he mentioned were prescribed to be nearly 2 years ago, when I was first hospitalized at the Houston Behavioral Hospital.
"But doctor," I tried to explain myself. "I am not currently taking medication X, Y, & Z. I am taking different medications that were prescribed to me--"
"No," the doctor interrupted me, very sure of himself. You are actually taking the medications I mentioned beforehand. Here's proof that these are the medications you should be taking. Look at this screen."
I looked at the screen. There were a long list of medications that were prescribed to me, but something just did not seem right.
"I think these records are outdated," I tried telling the doctor. "I was hospitalized again at this same hospital last year in December. Is it not in your records?"
So we both discovered, after a brief phone call to the records department that it was indeed NOT in my records at all.
And another thing I had to mention to the doctor. I could not afford a $95 psychiatrist appointment in January, so I did not go to one. I ran out of all of my medications except for Lithium, which I continued taking. The doctor concluded that the Lithium was good for me, and decided to add on another medication as well. He also thought it was best that I see him in 1 month as opposed to 3 months, the usual time span between psychiatrist appointments.
I walked out of the doctor's office confused. For one, they did not even have my most updated record on file. How could that be? Secondly, I would have to scraggle up change again to make another $95 appointment--he only prescribed me a month's worth of medication. And lastly, I was not sure if the NEW medications he prescribed would be best for me. I missed my old psychiatrist.
Tomorrow, I'll be making an appointment with my OLD psychiatrist instead. We might not agree on everything, and his office is further away than the Casa De Amigos Center, but I STILL hold a certain amount of confidence in my old psychiatrist that I am willing to test again for the sake of my mental health AND sanity.
Thanks for reading!
Gisele
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