Hi, Donna,
When mdocs see the Verapamil on the chart, they get very concerned and want to talk to me about my heart. One was rude and aggressive because according to his glance at the chart, I had not been in the office for 6 whole months and had not had my heart checked.

Sometimes I don't mind educating them.

Lately, I feel less accommodating.

Other classes of heart meds beyond calcium channel blockers are being used off label for bipolar now -- so those idiots could go to a conference or two and catch up. They could learn something sometimes.
I find mds to be the most incurious group of folks on the planet. . .

M.

I am sorry that you have had such a hard time with the mdocs....
Have you ever considered seeing a nurse practioner?
They are trained to treat the whole body, wholistically...
I am thinking about seeing one here.

mixed moods are awful...it is a shame it took that long to get you stabilzed.
Are you counting the days left?
hubby has 4 students graduating tomorrow 3 grad students....
sleep tonight, may the sleep gods be with you.
are you feeling any better?
beth

I understand. After all of these years that I've been suffering from these mental Health Issues,I've been through lots of derogatory experiences that where just not necessary. I've mentioned alot of them on other threads. They have made so many mistakes. Mistakes,Mistakes,and more mistakes.

When I go to a P/doc now,I go in there with my guard up. I don't swallow everything hook,line,and sinker that they tell me. I judge what they say,and throw some of what they say out. I object to some of what they say,and try to get them on track.

I spark with them sometimes,and wonder why this never changes. I realize that they just don't understand the complexity of these issues. I don't spark,when they don't force what they are saying,and I will disaggree with them sometimes.

I seem to get angry at these people who are suppose to help us. Not all of them. Just some of them. I just wish that they would listen,and try to understand. BF

Dear Friend,
I don't get angry any more. But I do get frustrated.
I suppose that I am angry in general at the whole system.
Let me add that I have run into some absolutely wonderful docs. But they move on or I moved on.

It would help if we didn't move and the docs didn't move and our insurance didn't keep changing -- we could find a good doc, let them get to know our issues, and then stay with them for years.

We wouldn't have to retell our story; we wouldn't have trust issues. And this magic doc I have in my imagination would help. We could get could care while being free of anxiety about the process.

M.

Dear Beth,
Happy graduation!
Graduation is a lovely time of year.

Classes are over here.
I still have administrative garbage to take care of. Maybe I will do one more week and then tell people I am not available -- maybe not even answer email or phone -- let someone else handle stuff for two months.

I hope that you enjoy seeing the nurse practitioner.
My close friend was a psych nurse practitioner. She said that nurses are trained in a totally different model than docs are.

I was mostly seeing a nurse practitioner at the mdoc's I am leaving. She was very good. But if I needed an MD, I had to put up with the weirdos. Plus, the office (phone people) is a problem that I am happy to leave behind.

I like the nurse practitioner much better than the PAs I have had to deal with --- I tremendously disliked the two that come to mind. In fact, they were instrumental in my leaving those mdoc's offices.

My pdoc is a neuro / psychiatrist.
He serves on a review board. He thinks that docs who use PAs and NPs are practicing bad medicine -- basically farming out work for cheaper labor to handle more patients and make more money. He told me to insist on seeing MDs. That's his perspective

M.

Hi Mari,

I hope you are already feeling better but i was thinking about this...

hey, that's today.

and i had until now missed that she was an internist - that is good. i had one once; mine was good anyway. they know a bit more about hormonal/endocrinological stuff as well, than unspecialized mdocs. that can be useful especially for women, but also for mood stuff. boy i feel terribly uneloquent right now. please excuse me.

anyway i hope your appointment goes well. please check in and let us know... either way. if it didn't... well, ya know... you can vent, rant... etc.

but i hope it works out and that she can help with your cough if it is not improving on its own.... ?

~ waves ~

Hi,
The appointment went well.
She asked a lot of questions about the Verapamil and whether I had tried other mood stabilzers. I told her we had tried everything available in the early 90s and that Verapamil was working well enough -- not interested in trying other stuff.

She decided that I was not well controlled with the bipolar.
I told her I don't tell the pdoc everything because I do not want to mess with new meds.

She asked questions about the sleep too.
Then she asked if I had taken Provigil (Alertec/Modavigil).
I just looked that up. I don't have trouble staying awake. I have trouble going to bed.
It's really hard to explain the sleep problem to people so it's ok if she didn't fully comprehend the life long struggle.
And she wants me to go for a sleep study for apnea with either the neuro sleep guy I saw in dec 08 or through her office.


Mostly she seemed like she was trying to be thorough and I appreciated that.
While I was there, her office people got ahold of my zillion tests from the ER 2 weeks ago and gave me copies -- Results were good. Thank goodness.

Then she gave me an EKG because of the Verapamil. whatev

And told me to come back for complete blood work soon.



She gave me an antibiotic for the lingering chest and congestion symptoms.

Most importantly, she said that if I am ever sick, I can call the office and they will see me the same day. She said that I can even just come in as a walk in.
That was marvelously comforting.


M.

wow
that is reassuring!
and it does sound like she was thorough.
I bet you are glad that is behind you...first meetings are very important but also nerve wracking.
I know how you feel about not wanting to switch meds for bipolar.
thanks for the update.
beth

This mdoc sounds like a real blessing.

She does sound thorough, which is great. it's ok she thinks your bipolar is not well controlled... perhaps it isn't but it is the "best achievable" and you are still in control of whether your meds get messed with on that.

i haven't looked into verapamil, but since it is a heart med, it occured to me that it may potentially have cardiac effects even when taken as a mood stabilizer, and that the EKG would therefore be indicated once in a while. next time you see her, you might ask her that. for curiosity.

anyway, i'm so glad it went well for you.

i also hope you get feeling well again soon with the antibiotic.

~ waves ~

Dear Waves,

Yes, she did talk about how Verapamil could give a normal person low blood pressure and stuff like that. But she was a bit vague -- like she was trying to figure out the bipolar aspect. She was also a little hyper -- talking fast. . . . Also making a suggestion and then explaining why it wouldn't work before I got around to answering. She also talked a little louder than one would expect someone to talk face to face in a small room.
I was happy when I left her office and hope that she is a good doc.

My blood pressure was fine.
I got the idea that the EKG was good protocol -- since I was a new patient with Verapamil on the med chart.

M.