Finding a doctor who actually tries to help

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If I could literally have smoke billowing out my ears...

Long story short; I've been trapped in a rather poor network of doctors since 2006 (actually there have been individual crappy doctors from 1999 to then)

The doctor I'd been seeing there the longest just left. He had me on Adderall which helped for a while then I burned out and my family (complained) about what ADHD meds are made of. Other than filling out the scrips he didn't seem too deeply concerned with anything else. When I mentioned feeling agitation toward a family member while on Strattera (which I resumed because my household made such a to-do) he made it sound as if I was about to pull a Columbine and said "here try this Latuda" , which I brought home and was warned not to take since it is for schizophrenia.

First thing out of the new doctor's mouth was "How is the Latuda helping?"(Oh yeah and he wouldn't let me drink my can of Mountain Dew even though he had a full cup of coffee on the desk). I explained that I've never been DXed with schizophrenia and that someone pointed out what it was for, so I saw no reason to take it, and that my family had advised against it as well.

"They can't tell you what to take and what not to take"...Then he asked about voices and paranoia to which I replied "no" - I'm not schizophrenic and nobody has ever diagnosed me as such.

Then he said "what if you came in once a month, got an injection and didn't tell anyone?' - I'm thinking "Lithium" - I said "Of what?" - "Risperidone"...

This guy's not hearing a single word I say to him. I got up and walked out, got home and found that basically this so-called professional network is my only option with me having Medi/Medi insurance. Someone at a CHADD meeting said I could get plugged back into a local teaching hospital department, but how?

I don't know much about your health insurance or personal situation but I am going to pass on some advice I got from my therapist. I am having similar problems with my primary care/internist. She suggested seeing a D.O. rather than an M.D. I know you are looking for someone for your psych meds but perhaps a good primary care doc could find you a better psych doc. Like begets like and all.

Wow, that one doctor sounds just terrible. He's a guesser and a jumper to conclusions big time.

For the time being, it sounds like anything this professional network suggests, you probably should also look up on your own.

The local teaching hospital sounds like a better possibility, but may take a while.

There should be a sticky thread with advice on how to get doctors to listen

Glad you stuck up for yourself.

It's a pity but many doctors now are simply drug pushers. Legal ones, but still.

Thanks everyone for your replies, I succeeded at getting an appointment with a previous doc I'd seen briefly about 10 years ago. When I'd last seen him he was willing to refer me for ADHD diagnostic testing, I'm hoping he is still in a position to get me sent somewhere that will eventually tell me exactly what my condition is. Meanwhile on the suggestion of a friend I started writing a little 'speech' to present at future appointments

Whoever said "Tips on how to get care providers to listen" - AMEN to that

It sure seems like antipsychotic drugs are used as generic "anti-crazy pills" these days; and it sounds like you've been dumped into the "crazy" bin (hence their not listening to you -- they believe that crazy people always lack insight). Antipsychotics are regularly used to "calm down" people in prison, nursing homes, groups homes, or any other situation where it's legal to drug someone for being a pain in a** or an insurance liability (if you kill people (not that actually would, but if your doctor thinks you might) it could be bad for the doctor's malpractice insurance premiums).

About those shots -- one of them lasts about a month. Their normal usage is for forcing people who don't like taking anti psychotics to take them anyway.

If you want to mess with the doctor ask him to explain what "tardive dyskinesia" is (a permanent long-term side effect of antipsychotic drugs), or explain the elevated risk of diabetes with Risperdal.

Latuda has many purposes. I had to quit taking it because it made me sleepy. Otherwise, it seems fine. It's an antipsychotic but also used for depression.

If ADHD meds help you focus, and you do not show any signs of bipolar, do not let anyone give you any meds, likely antipsychotics, that take Dopamine out of the equation. It'll likely have the opposite effect to ADHD meds, with the added joy of heavy side effects as others have pointed out.