I posted a month or so ago about my DS getting "dumped" by his pdoc while he was in a partial hospitalization program. I, personally, felt very
hurt and confused because the only explanation I was given was that the pdoc felt he wasn't making enough progress with DS. Since he was
"dumped" we have had many issues and struggles with getting meds refilled.
SO -- we finally saw a new pdoc today. New pdoc asked me why we were visiting him today. Well...I didn't honestly know how to answer that question
because DS is very stable at the moment. I told him old pdoc didn't want to continue to treat DS. He then asked about DS's symptoms. I launched into
an explanation of the multiple diagnosis and how they were determined and HE CUT ME OFF. I immediately got my mama feathers very ruffled. I have been dealing
with my DS's mental health for years and this man dared to CUT ME OFF. He then explained to me that he did not want to have any bias towards my son based
on what some other doctor (who is choosing to no longer treat DS) may have thought. He said "I can only treat your child's symptoms to help him live
the best life possible, but I can't do that effectively with a biased opinion."
Can you hand me a tissue, please?
Now, that is not to say he doesn't think DS is BP -- he is only saying that he was not happy with several things concerning DS's past treatment. First
off, he said no child should be given Lithium. He said he only rarely gives it to an adult -- and that is after all other options are exhausted and only for a
short period of time to get the patient stabilized. He asked if old pdoc explained the implications of long term usage -- I thought he had.... New pdoc said
that it will effect DS's liver and kidney functions. He then asked when the last time was that DS had bloodwork done. I told him about the November
bloodwork and that there was an issue with the enzymes but that I was told to watch DS's diet. He went on to say that because of DS's continued use of
Depakote and Lithium, that is probably the root cause of the liver function issues -- not just his diet (he totally "got it" when I told him about
DS's carb cravings, which last 2 pdocs dismissed). Good news is that because he is young, his liver should heal itself.
He got back to asking me about the original symptoms. I explained the rage, manic-like behaviors, the suicidal depression, the impulsiveness and
inattentiveness. He then asked about the Focalin XR and why DS was taking that. I said it was to help with the inattentiveness at school. He said that even
with the XR, it rarely lasts more than 6 hours and for a child DS's size, it most likely doesn't last that long. That evidently helps explain the odd
behaviors at night, such as his constant roaming around the house.
Maybe the rest of ya'll have pdocs that "get it" and aren't pill prescribing factories, but I've run into many of those. I have NEVER
run into a doctor that is willing to express his opinion, which oh-by-the-way mirrors mine!
So -- we're going off of the Lithium, Risperdal and Focalin and going to stay on the Clonidine. He will be on Abilify, Clonidine and Concerta. Keeping
our fingers crossed....
Oh, and just to be sure I wasn't in total euphoria -- when I took DS to school, his teacher was using a very loud voice while instructing the class. When
I asked DS about it, he said she always yells. I, of course, went to the office and talked to VP who told me he would talk to the teacher, but that he
didn't know how the class had been behaving, etc. before I arrived. I told him that if this is how my child is instructed it was no wonder he was stressed
out and crying all the time at school and it needed to stop immediately. There is no good reason for a teacher to yell at a class as a normal means of
instruction.



