Re: How to find a Doc?

[Anonymous]

My 2 cents worth.

I find the whole process a little daunting. I think it is a mix of how I approach decision making, and the state of healthcare in Ontario.

Finding someone to diagnose was not that difficult for me. I had a friend with ADD who had seen Dr. Turgay, and was diagnosed by his office in late 2008, early 2009. Finding and getting treatment is another matter. Part of it was the initial procrastination, and also some wishful thinking. “Maybe I can manage this on my own”. Fast forward a couple of years, with a lot of challenges and frustration.

At the moment, I recognize and EMBRACE the idea that I need a team around me to help create the structure and sanity that I so desparately need in my life. So, specific to the doctor thing…. In my mind, seeing a psychiatrist who did therapy, and had experience would be the idea scenario. One stop shop. This person can understand where I am at mentally, emotionally, physically and also be looking at co-morbid issues that I deal with such as anxiety and depression. They can work with me on medication, and work with me on cognitive therapies in conjunction with dealing with physical/neurological.

The reality seems much more fragmented…

I have a therapist with whom I can deal with emotional and cognitive issues. Only partially covered by my benefit plan. This person will have a great understanding of what my day to day life is like, my challenges, my blind spots, etc. But they are not medical doctors, and my not have a great understanding of what medications may work for underlying issues.

I am trying to find a family doctor after moving back to Toronto fairly recently. This is not easy, let alone find one that has some experience with ADD. I have a history with a walk-in clinic, but not the same as working with a specific doctor. So this is part of the puzzle I need to sort out.

I am looking at one of the ADD specialist clinics here in Toronto that, with referral, can do some psychological testing, to help understand my specific issues and related conditions. There will be some fees on top of what OHIP covers, and not sure yet what those will look like. But it seems to me that understanding the broad view of my condition is important so that a doctor/therapist is not treating part of the condition in isolation.

Coaching support – I am starting with an ADD coach this month. Not sure if I can afford it, but feel like I cannot afford to try.

All of the above puts me in a classic decision making paralysis condition. It starts to seem complicated, I am afraid of making the wrong decision, and it is hard to know where to start. The danger is continuing to be paralyzed, fiddling while Rome burns, so to speak. But, I am doing my best to keep things moving forward. As I mentioned, working with an ADD coach.

This is my current perspective. Are things simpler than I am making them? If so, how? If not, then that sucks. It does not seem, at the moment, that there is really a multi-disciplinary “one-stop-shop” available. And while sites like this do an AMAZING job of pointing to the resources that are out there, when decision-making and followup are already a challenge, for someone with un-managed ADD, it all can seem a little daunting and overwhelming.

I am going to keep on keeping on, persevering, and if I learn anything along the way, will be happy to share.

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