Hi again,

For some reason I didn't catch the part about you
being 18 and in college. I might have some more names
for you. My research into Chicago resources produced
results. Hallelujah!

I can fax or send you a list but some quick names for
the benefit of the rest of the group are:

Doctors requiring insurance or high prices:
Dr. Brad Olsen, Arlington Heights
847-577-4530

Dr. Zabrin Inan,MD, Chicago
312-952-3054

Karen Smith, PhD
312-357-0777

Centers - with for No Insurance required:

Harper College
847-925-6266

UIC, Center for Applied Psychological Services
312-996-2540

Email me to get a bigger list sent to you. I would
also like to talk to you about your situation in
school. I have some ideas and deal with this a lot.

Take care,
Melaney
--- Keara Conness <keara786@...> wrote:
> Melaney,
>
> God bless your heart for taking on a job like that.
> There isn't very many resources at all available for
> young adults w/ ADHD at all. I orginally started out
> at St. Mary's College in Notre Dame and they at
> first were very helpful(administration, counseling
> center) but after I was "officially" diagnosed they
> wanted NOTHING to do with me at all! I had the head
> of the freshman advising program tell me that there
> was no reason why I should have even been accepted
> to St. Mary's, my counselor who I thought was behind
> me tell me that I would never succeed in college to
> go ahead and give up that dream. My psychiatrist was
> the only one supporting me. He got me off all the
> meds that were causing me so many problems and he
> worked with me to find the right medication for my
> ADHD. And he was free through the college. After a
> lot of thought, I decided that I had to transfer,
> find a college that was supportive of students w/
> LDs and ADHD. I was stuck between two colleges
> closer to home. DePaul in
> Chicago(Lincoln Park campus) and Benedictine.
> DePaul didn't have anymore housing and the over two
> hour commute was just too much, so I transfered to
> Benedictine. Since then, i have been getting pretty
> good support resources. My only issue with them is
> that if you don't know EXACTLY what kind of help you
> need, they won't help you. For someone who is new to
> this whole LD and ADHD issue, I am still trying to
> figure out what helps and what I need. My
> psychologist that I found has been extremely helpful
> with that and my grades are higher than they have
> ever been!
>
> I agree. I strongly believe that psychologist and
> psychistrists should all have basic knowledge about
> ADD/ADHD and other LDs so that they can help their
> patients. However, the more of these people I see,
> the more that I see that this isn't the case. It
> seems that psychiatrists/psychologists and even any
> type of doctor may specialize in psychiatry or
> gynecology or something else but they really focus
> on a few disorders rather than the whole genre. For
> instance, I have severe endometriosis and when my
> OBGYN felt that it was out of her ballpark, she
> referred me to a reproductive endocrinologist. These
> doctors are trained in treating women with hormonal
> problems that affect their reproductive system. My
> mom and I all together called atleast 50 different
> ones in the surrounding area and NONE were willing
> to treat me because I was NOT trying to become
> pregnant yet(I was only 18!!!!). Many REs have
> focused on infertility and only deal with
> infertility issues and nothing else. I ended up
> having to travel to Chicago, over an hour away to
> find a doctor that would treat me and even now he
> has stopped seeing any women who are not trying to
> become pregnant. I can't believe how difficult it is
> to find a psychiatrist that is on our insurance
> company's list and that is experienced and good at
> treating young adults with ADHD. I have been given
> atleast 20 different names or more from this group
> and from my psychologist, even my advisor in the
> psych department at Benedictine but NONE of them are
> covered under our plan!!!!! It's extremely
> fustrating. I have just started a new job w/
> Marshall Field's and I don't qualify for benefits
> for another 6 months or so, so I am stuck on my
> dad's insurance until then. Medically it's a
> wonderful policy, we're under HumanaChoiceCare but
> for mental health, it's awful!
>
> The psychiatrist I first saw was ignorant. She
> believed that if I had ADHD, it would have been
> caught earlier. My school psychologist even called
> her begging her to help me, to get me tested. I beg
> my school psychologist who was an angel to call her
> several times to show her that indeed i did show
> signs of ADHD and that even smoking improved my
> school performance significantly. However, she
> insisted that it was anxiety and continued to add on
> tranquilizers and anti-psychotics. Unfortunately, we
> were unfamilar with the whole mental health
> profession and just followed her directions. As we
> became more educated, we backed away and ran! LoL!
>
> Well, I have to go! I have an appt to run off to and
> I haven't even taken a shower yet!
>
> Keara
>
> Melaney <gggirlgeek@...> wrote:
> I empathize with you, Keara. I have had similar
> experiences with Psychiatrists. And I have found
> good
> ones after spending time and energy. I am
> continually
> shocked at the lack of support and resources for
> adults with learning issues in a huge City like
> Chicago. For my job, I am trying to find places for
> prospective college students to get evaluated
> without
> Insurance. I think I have bitten off more than I
> can
> chew. Sometimes I think people just want to throw
> you
> away if you haven't figured your life out by the age
> of 18. The resources for children are countless.
>
> I DO expect pyschiatrists and psychologists to know
> their way around ADD to a functional degree. It is
> one of the most common disorders that a mental
> health
> professional can treat! I am constantly meeting
> people that are possible candidates for evaulation
> and
> I think it is important for the mental health
> professional to be able to rule out ADD when dealing
> with all the other disorders. They should at least
> know what it looks like so they can refer out.
>
> I must also comment that it is a pretty serious
> thing
> to diagnose someone so mentally disturbed that they
> need hospitalization. That can tear up someone's
> life. It is a doctor's job to know the difference
> between a pissed off patient and a severe diagnosis
> requiring an institution. Most doctors are very
> cautious about such a thing.
>
> And you are right, the treatment room for any doctor
> is sacred ground and not to be interrupted for
> casual
> purposes. Any mediocre doctor with a valid license
> respects this. I have worked in doctors' offices
> quite a bit.
>
> Another doctor you could check you list for is Dr.
> Kaplan, Psychiatrist, downtown Chicago.
> 312-782-0319.
> He is not the best I have ever had and he DOES
> answer
> calls during visits but he is nice and he will give
> you the medicine you need without much question.
> Great for no-frills medication maintenance.
>
> You can also go down your insurance list and call
> the
> psychiatrists and ask each one about their ADD
> experience. That is what I did when I got
> evaluated.
>
> Oh, and another option is to see a decent
> psychologist
> and have them call your MD for the prescription. A
> psychologist did this for me for a while too.
>
> Hang in there, girl. I'm glad life is looking up
> for
> you.
>
> Love and peace,
> Melaney
>
> --- keara786 <keara786@...> wrote:
> > Hi, I'm new and was diagnosed w/ ADHD once I
> entered
> > college three
> > years ago. I have had three different
> > psychiatrists....two of them
> > who were very odd and one who I loved but I moved
> to
> > another state.
> > Currently, I am thinking of changing my medication
> > but I know that my
> > family doctor does not feel comfortable doing so,
> so
> > I need to find
> > someone that is. I am a junior/senior at
> Benedictine
> > University in
> > Lisle looking for a physician that could work with
> > me and managing my
> > medication. Does anyone know of anyone?
> >
> > Thanks!
> > Keara
> >
> >
> >
> >
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