Blue, I just want to congratulate you for making it through your bankruptcy hearing with flying colors despite all the bumps in the road. You should be very proud of yourself! I'm glad that you rewarded yourself with that Rocky Road ice cream!

I would avoid your neighbor like the plague. Her decision not to take you to your hearing, and how she did it, showed her true colors, and really was a blessing in disguise. You have enough to worry about without her baggage dragging you down. It sounds like she is TOXIC and may also be dangerous.

Do you have more than one pet? I'm so sorry about your kitty's medical problems. By her behavior, she sounds almost feral. I'm sorry that because of what happened to her, she can't return your love (((HUGS)))

I know that some providers aren't listed when I search for one on my Medicare Advantage Plan because at the time the the list was made, usually at the end of the previous year, they were not accepting new patients. Sometimes that does change during the year tho. Sometimes it's worth a shot to call practices with more than one practitioner to see if anyone who takes your insurance is accepting new patients again because new ones may have joined them during the year, or other patients may have moved on so there are openings now. Around here, it is very common to wait months to get in to see a psych doctor, and it usually isn't a psychiatrist... most of the prescribers are NPs. I would make some phone calls because this new pdoc sounds like a jack***.

Yes, Vit. D is a fat soluble vitamin. But if he drew your level once, he could easily draw it again to make sure you are not over-supplementing, which would take months. If you have a medical doctor, he/she could monitor this for you, or you could just start the supplements, and insist your pdoc order more blood tests. You can't keep your Vit. D level in the basement now that you know that's where it's at.

As far as lithium goes, it is generally a safe medication, as long as your levels are being drawn regularly, you are being monitored for sx of toxicity and side effects, and your dose is being adjusted as needed. By refusing even a trial on lithium, your new pdoc is admitting that he doesn't trust himself to do that. It is a widely used drug that is effective for many people, and is associated with a low incidence of suicidality.
That being said, long story short, both my pdoc and PCP dropped the ball, and although I was aware that my levels were too high and I protested (I was full-blown manic most of this time), I now have CKD stage III (I have a condition called medullary nephocalcinosis), and the most likely cause is the lithium. But I stand by what I said above.

One option in lieu of taking one of the newer meds, is to piggyback more than one in a combination that you have not tried before. There must be a couple of meds that you have not had side effects from, and maybe one or two that you have had a little success with, but not enough? It could be a combination of an antidepressant and a mood stabilizer, or two ADs or MSs. I have exhausted almost all my options too, including most of the new meds. I can't take some of them because I can't take antidepressants because I'm Type I, so I know how it feels to be stuck in this spot, and also to risk (and to actually be in) the Medicare donut hole.
I don't know how this jack*** would feel about this approach though...

I hope he will be willing to give you more Klonopn. 1/2mg 2X day does not seem like enough for someone with Agoraphobia, and the amount of anxiety you are describing, to me

I am hoping for the best for you at the appointment with this new pdoc. I hope that he can come up with something that will turn out to be effective and affordable for you. If all the fanfare for him is justified, he should be capable of that (((HUGS)))