Help, my doctor was not very approachable! Dr Bilkey anyone?

[Anonymous]

I just saw my family doctor and I’m not too happy with her response. She didn’t bother to read the letter my psychologist sent her (we confirmed with the receptionist that it was scanned and on her computer) and she was not very easy to talk to. I can read body language and hers is very negative towards me. She doesn’t spend very much time listening to me and I don’t feel I can fully explain what needs to be said. It’s as if I have to rehearse a speech to talk to her and I never know what road she will want to go on so that I can give appropriate answers. I leave feeling as though I didn’t express what I needed to say so I’m really bummed out.

I told her I had done a week-long trial of Ritalin and that it really helped but she went off the deep end so-to-speak saying that it was a stimulant and addictive and that she wouldn’t prescribe it, that if she did, it would be a slow-acting version.

She said that she does not diagnose ADHD and that she wants a full psychiatric assessment. She mentioned that she could refer me to someone who was covered by OHIP but that there was someone in Barrie who was not covered by OHIP called Dr Bilkey (I live in Barrie). So I have called them for more information (I called twice and the number rang at an animal hospital, which didn’t make me feel any better).

Does anyone have any experience with this Dr. Bilkey? She said he would do a full day assessment, make sure nothing else was going on (like depression or bi-polar disorder, or anxiety) and that he would also give her specific recommendations for medication.

Does anyone know what the cost is or how long it takes to get in and how effective he was?

I have already tried to get a new family doctor but nobody will accept me in Barrie while I have a family doctor. So I’m not sure what to do in that respect. My doctor used to be nice and easy to talk to but now she’s not, and I don’t know why.

Susan

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[Anonymous]

It is important that you and your doctor have a good patient-doctor relationship. That way you are confident in telling him what you feel about you health problem. You mentioned that she does not diagnose ADHD, it is better for you to seek doctors that are indeed expert on this field. Medical malpractice likely to happen if the doctor is not that knowledgeable about a particular condition.

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[Anonymous]

i have seen bilkey s website .. there is also a psych name of Dr. David Teplin .. in richmond hill ,, sort of close, he is on the Caddac site .. talks about various treatments and sounds like he might have a clue. Had 2 psychs in Toronto years ago who should be shot, and a good lady psych here, damn hard to find. Caddac is in Markham seems to have more Ontario resources, few anywhere else.

Doctor sounds like idiot, change asap. .. have had too many doctors who spent the required 5 minutes for an exam and usually were no better than a Barbie Doll. sigh. Try the psychs and see if they can suggest an MD.

I wasted hours here trying to find out if any of the medical or provincial groups had any information on which md s had indicated any

experience with ADHD, short answer is no. It is difficult to find a good one but kind of important.

Gave up trying to get answers to stuff, lol wrong time i guess

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[Anonymous]

I am a patient of Dr. Bilkey. I was assessed by him three years ago and it was $1,000 dollars. He has a wealth of experience with both adult and child ADHD and I found him to be an excellent doctor. It was a pain having to make three assesment visits as he’s only open during weekday business hours especially if you’re not in Barrie but overall it was worth it. He sends a very detailed follow up report to your family doctor afterwards.

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[Anonymous]

8675309 – I agree, I’ve had three visits now with Dr Bilkey – he requested a sleep study before issuing his final report. My family doc finally did the referral but she totally missed the boat on referring me for a sleep study when I came to see her at my total worst (to her credit, she wouldn’t treat because she was not sure if sleep apnea might be a problem).

I’m very, very, very, very grateful to Dr Bilkey for that. I am being treated for narcolepsy and still have another appointment with Dr B, he said “treat the sleep issues first and then we’ll treat any residual ADHD”. I’m sure there’s still some residual, not sure what he wil suggest, but I so very much felt that I was in capable hands. He and the sleep doc psychiatrist TOTALLY got what I was saying, whereas my GP was rolling her eyes and cutting me off after a few minutes, and was especially unhappy that I had self-medicated (the psychiatrists both said it was confirmation for them since the meds helped).

Tea, there is zero chance of changing docs (shortage, and you can’t switch if you already have a GP), but I did get to see my husband’s doc yesterday and witnessed the total opposite end of the spectrum, a GP who was willing to step boldly in and treat rather than subject him to referrals and endless waiting. There’s a risk in either extreme, I think, but it was refreshing to see. My GP has a nurse in the office and these days when I have a problem I just ask to speak to her. She’s very easy to talk to and the receptionist will switch me through right away, so things have been a bit better on that front. But my doc is still very busy, difficult to talk to, you really have to do your homework first but I get the feeling she resents that – I guess it’s because there is so much crap out there on the internet.

Dr Bilkey is very thorough, and he seems to know his stuff. Looking forward to seeing him again. Unfortunately I don’t think my GP reads reports unless there is a need for her to take over treatment, so the report may just fall on deaf ears. However, I will be very interested in reading it!

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[Anonymous]

Hi and thankyou for the update. Too bad about your family doctor. We had a problem doctor when we lived in Statford.

His diagnosis was that I had sore knee syndrom. Sadly, we were not able to change doctors, small town, no availabilty etc.

Dr. Bilkey sounds very good, hope you and your husband get good help

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