Hey Melanie! Nice to meet you.

 

While in high school, I suffered from severe depression and sent to a psychiatrist. Through out highschool, my teachers, myself, and my case manager(the school psych) all believed that something else was wrong: ADD or ADHD. Many times I went to my case manager and explained to him my difficulties, desperately searching for answers. However, it was against school policy for him to test me when I already had an outside psychiatrist and I think(I am trying to remeber) I had a psychologist too. The case manager on several occasions contacted my psychiatrist at the time and expressed his concerns and my fustrations with school. Her solution was to prescribe more antipsychotics and tranquilizers. Well, I was able to sit still, I was sleeping in all of my classes no matter what I did. At this point, my teachers didn't even want me in their classes any more. They reached beyond understanding. This was my senior year of high school. Anyway, after many conversations with my parents, my case manager, my psychiatrist, and psychologist, I gave up for the time being. My case manager then suggested waiting till the fall when I would be in college and get tested through that. That's exactly what I did. I was hooked up with the counseling center there, assigned to a counselor, worked with the psychiatrist there, got off all the antipsychotics and tranquilizers, and saw a psychologist outside of school who did do all of the appropriate tests that are required. These tests determined that I had not only ADHD but also a processing disorder.  Since then, I have dropped my psychiatrist from home, switched to Dr. Philip Helding(who frequently read email, mail, and faxes, during my appts, including taking phone calls for 10minutes and more!!!!). Stayed with him for about a year or two and then left after sitting in an appt w/ him talking on the phone for 20 minutes during my appointment without even appologizing or anything! It was so rude and I was soooo sick of his inconsideratness. Then I found another psychiatrist who just left a very bad impression with me......So, for the last few months(almost a year), I have given up on finding a psychiatrist. My family doctor has been amazing and has been writing my scripts for Adderall. I always have to come in for an appointment to check in, but he has been very helpful. However, now with not so great asthma and being on stimulants on top of asthma meds that increase my heart rate(when I have a heart murmor), I am interested in possibly looking into taking Strattera. Also, the Adderall helps more than any other med that I have taken w/o major heart issues so I don't want to try another stimulant, but it wears off too early and I am still struggling with implusivity and getting going. I mean that I can function and all, but there's times when it has gotten me into trouble.

 

I do currently have a psychologist but all of the psychiatrist that he works with and has referred me to are not on my insurance plan. I have just started a new job about three weeks ago w/ Marshall Field's(YES, the one that was just sold to May CO.) and after 6 months, I will be eligible for health benefits which are great if they are anything like Target's were.

 

Well, off to bed. Another full-day of work tommorow runing around w/ my head cut off! LOL!

 

Keara

Sistah Jama! <sistahjama@...> wrote: