all over again....

[historyteach]

The pdoc Trevor is seeing is questioning Trevor's diagnoses.
He doesn't think Trevor is bipolar afterall.
And he's known Trevor for all of - what - 20 minutes?!? Yup, 2 visits, and he changes the diagnoses the Mass hospital made; and the meds. Put him on an anti-depressant again.
How long before the next mania attack?
And how much damage will it cause...

To be sure, Trevor did not give him full and complete information. I think he's back in denial. He said he's doing well, (not), and that he was doing well while in prison, and not on meds, (not). Both then and now, he's gone through episodes of mania, evidenced by verbal aggression, hysteria and aggitation. He's ignoring how well he did when on a mood stabilizer in Mass.

I am so sick and tired of these RI doctors who ignore the best medical evidence and keep their heads in the sand. All to save a dollar. Mass is a leader in the treatment of dual diagnosed patients because they recognize the necessity of treating both the mental illness and the addiction together to prevent relapse. RI has consistently refused to do so, even as their own research says the same!

Sorry, I'm jsut venting here out of complete and utter frustration. I cannot believe that, once more, some moron doctor isn't taking a full history and isn't contacting family members for information concerning his past. Enough is enough!

Shalom!

[PaperDolls]

I'm sorry you're going through this Teach. Is it possible for you to call the doc and give him you're point of view? My therapist told me to be very assertive with my pdoc when I'm not feeling well and if I don't think the meds are working.

Boy, I sure wish there was some sort of test they could do to definitively diagnose someone with a mental illness. It would be so much easier.

hugs to you.

[daydream]

Hi Teach,
I don't know who Trevor is, but I sure hear your frustration with the situation. I'm assuming from your post that no one else was present during Trevor's time with the doctor. If that's not the case, then the following may not fully apply.

I treated mental health patients for many years and I can tell you, even those who treat get frustrated too. Ocassionally someone really snowed me (major pride bust-up), but often I knew someone was giving me a load of crap, but there wasn't anything I could do about it if the person refused to LET me talk to others for information. Sometimes I convinced them to sign a Release of Information to family members, but sometimes they refused. In the states there are strict confidentiality laws and mental health providers who break them face fines upward of $25K, not to mention possibly losing their licenses (and jobs). One thing that really can help: With severely mentally ill patients, family members often called me, worried and wanting me to know things. I had to tell them that I could not tell them anything (due to confidentiality laws), but that I was free to listen to whatever they had to share. I could then use that information to get the patient to volunteer more information. I also could ask the patient to participate in a family session, where more information could come out.

So, it could be that this pdoc isn't really stupid, that he's doing what he can with the limited information he has. Unless Trevor provided the pdoc with previous records, then the pdoc has no way of knowing more than what Trevor told him. That's Trevor's fault, not the doc's.

I hope you will speak with the pdoc. If you ask him, he most likely will never tell Trevor that you called. I really hope things work out and that Trevor is or will be put on the right medication for him. Sending you calming (((((((((hugs)))))))))