Any tips on finding a Psychiatrist who understands ADHD?

[Ivriniel]

I posted this elsewhere in the forum, and someone recommended I repost it here:

After my diagnosis, the Psychologist suggested that I might want to try medication to see if helped. She sent me to my family Doctor.

My family Doctor didn’t feel comfortable prescribing anything to me, and sent me to a Psychiatrist. It was a horrible experience. Before I saw anyone, I was given a whole whack of checklists to fill out. From what I gathered he gave these to all his patients, regardless of what they were there for. Checklists with such subtle titles as “Mania checklist”. (Who does that if they want to get an honest response?)

Well, I made the mistake of clicking “sometimes” in response to the phrase “I am so irritable that I shout at people.” (Later when recounting this story to a friend, she explained to me the distinction between losing it because you are irritable, and losing it because

you are frustrated. I’m not an irritable person, but I have been known to lose it when I get frustrated. But then who doesn’t? )

When I got into to see the Psychiatrist, Dr. Checklist immediately seized on the irritable thing. Then he read me more checklists, and when he didn’t like my answers would just keep repeating them. Then he asked why I was there. When I mentioned that I had been to a Psychologist and been diagnosed with an LD and ADHD, you’d have thought from his facial expression that I had just presented him with the contents of a dirty diaper. I gave him my report to read, and he started disputing the diagnosis before he had finished the first page!

The rest of the appointment turned into him conceding that I might have a learning disability, but not ADHD. He kept talking about my “other problem” and gave me this big speech about how next time I had to fill in his checklists honestly. I told him I did, and he kept harping on the fact that I had checked that sometimes box, as proof that I wasn’t being honest. Um, hello? If I wasn’t being honest, would I have checked that? On a checklist titled “Mania checklist” no less? Of course when I attempted to argue with him, this was taken as further evidence of my “other problem” as well as my “irritability”.

Anyways, by the end of the appointment, I was sitting there, shell-shocked. He told me to make another appointment with his secretary for a followup. I went and stood by her desk, feeling like I didn’t really want to see this guy again, when I overheard him telling her the list of checklists he wanted me to fill in the next time I came in. When I heard “Personality Disorder” checklist and “Bipolar Disorder” checklist, I just turned on my heel and walked out. I wasn’t going to waste my time with some guy who had decided that I was mentally ill on the basis of some checklists I filled out in his waiting room, completely disregarding the work done by my Psychologist who had actually you know, taken the time to speak to me and run some actual tests before drawing any conclusions.

So anyways, anyone know of a good Psychiatrist in the GTA to ask for a referral to? I’m a bit scared to go back to my family Doctor for another blind referral after that mess. Don’t want to waste my time with another jerk.

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[Anonymous]

I hear you. I went to my family doctor and said that I was looking for treatment options. I was very clear that I wanted to look at both medical and behavioural treatment. My doctor seems to be against medical treatment at all, and suggested that I look at behavioural alone, after admitting that she wasn’t that familiar with Adult ADD and didn’t feel comfortable prescribing anything. I have no problem with that, but I resent that she seems to completely discount the option of medicine. I feel like a person who needs glasses and knows they could help, but is told to just squint harder. I would also appreciate a list of Psychiatrists in the GTA that specialize in Adult ADD so that I can take the reins myself.

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[Anonymous]

Here is a page containing a list of ADHD specialists operating in the GTA and surrounding areas: http://www.adrn.org/html/professionals.html

I hope that helps. The doctor I’ve seen for the first step in my assessment is on that page.

Cheers

http://mungosadhd.com

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[Anonymous]

The problem with a quiz is a belief that it somehow is more accurate than clinical experience. It is not.

http://totallyadd.com/story-behind-quiz/

This video explains more about the quiz story.

When looking for a doc, go to an academic site first like your University hospital. Adult ADHD clinics are often a part of those hospitals which is certainly true of the Greater Toronto Area. This applies to any place on the planet. Next, check with your local support network as Mungo rightly points out. And lastly, open the possibility to doctors who are willing to learn about this.

By the way: little trick- when looking for a new doc, go to the local medical licensing authority website search engine for new doctors and know that in July, all the new graduates are released and they are looking for patients. Getting a brand new doc is actually good in the world of ADHD because the new specialty exams have questions on adult ADHD and they have some training now.

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