Mark, you have lots of good info to offer, however, your knowledge of Canada doesn't seem part of it.

Doctors here are not reluctant to refer and prescribe. Doctors are not the gatekeepers of the health care budget, they make referrals and prescribe to the best of their ability with no thought as to cost. (Its one of the downfalls of the system). It can be a long wait to see specialists though, that is true, but that is BECAUSE too many unnecessary referrals are being made.

The issue I am actually having is a group of doctors in one clinic who are obviously not well educated about concussions and pcs and the various possible complications.

What I am trying to do is gather information from CREDIBLE sources to try to educate my doctor and get what I need. Obviously I am not explaining my circumstances well enough to him on my own.

Starr

Starr, is there another clinic with concussion expertise that you can get a referral to? My doc is one of the top specialists in Toronto, and he offered to refer me to the Sunnybrook TBI clinic if depression became an issue (Sunnybrook has a team approach to dealing with mild-to-moderate brain injuries - among other docs, they have a neuropsychiatrist on staff). I didn't end up needing the referral, but the clinic has a very good reputation (I know of one person with a TBI who spoke very highly of them) - perhaps there is a similar clinic in Ottawa?

Greenfrog, thanks for your suggestion. The Ottawa Hospital does have an Acquired Brain Injury Program and when I mentioned it to my doc, he seemed to think I would not qualify, for the outpatient program, because in his words "You are not injured enough. It is intended for patients that had prolonged hospital stays and serious accidents. There is nothing wrong with you that time won't fix."

They do accept some self referrals, so I will try contacting them next week and see if I qualify for that. It would be good to at least be assessed by them and see if THEY seem to think they would have anything to offer me.

Starr

I wish your doctor realized that even though time might fix all your impairments, getting some therapy would fix them faster and that would reduce any depression or anxiety that they are causing you and allow you to return to being a productive citizen again.

Please keep us posted.

What kinds of articles from reputable sources do you need? Are you having trouble conducting research online and finding articles that your Dr. would take into consideration?