Null, Perhaps a list of your questions to help assess the situation. Take the Depression Test and give him a copy. Be in control and voice your emotions and feelings. Telling the doctor how you feel can give them more light on your situation. This is about you and your progress. Ask for a therapist referral as well and use this to assist you. Josie, Support Specialist

I really don't like my Dr. First, the wait in the waiting room is usually about 45 minutes past my appointment time. Next, they call my name and lead me to the business office to lecture me about a bunch of freaking bills from 10 years ago that I think I paid already. After that, it's on to the weigh in & escort to the exam room. The nurse was asking me about what's going on and I really couldn't talk because I was going to cry. Blood pressure and temp all OK. Now for the ordeal. It's kind of like getting on the airplane, how you think that you're actually going somewhere, then you end up spending the rest of the day sitting on the airplane on some God-forsaken tarmac somewhere. After about an hour pacing around a closet-sized room feeling crazy, getting angrier and angrier every minute, he finally shows up and wonders what my problem is! Sometimes I think I get sicker at the Doctor's than if I didn't go at all!! Then there's a couple remarks about my weight, then a long barrage of questions that have had the same answers for the past 10 years: "How's your wife?" "How are the kids?" "What's going on with your mother?" "Why doesn't your mother speak to you?" "Does she speak to your brother?" "Does she speak to God?" "Do you go to church?" "Why don't you go to xxx [different church name every time]?" Then either, "Why don't you have your children go to a different school because their school is no good?" or "Your children are going to a really good school. You should be happy about that!" DOC: "How's your job going?" ME: It sucks. DOC: "Why?" ME: I dunno. I'm bored with it. I think I will quit. DOC: "I don't think it's a good idea for you to quit." ME: Well, I don't think it's a good idea either, but I feel like quitting. DOC: "How about the people you work with?" ME: All the decent people got fired & I might get fired too. DOC: "Are you feeling sorry for yourself?" ME: Maybe. I dunno. Then he asks me why I stopped taking my medicine. I tell him how that it doesn't seem to help any so if I'm going to be depressed all the time & be sad anyway, I'll just not take it. Then he tells me that I'll just get worse if I don't take my medicine. Then he writes out the scripts. Sometimes it's for the same stuff, other times (like this last time) he'll write something new. If it's something new I tell him that I won't take it if it's not on the Wal-Mart list. DOC: "The medicine you need isn't on the Wal-Mart list." ME: I can't afford it if it isn't. On and on it goes with minor variations.

I don't really like my doctor either. I've been seeing him for over 20 years though, so at least I know him. When I think about changing I can't help but wonder if my new doctor would be worse and after going to all that trouble I'd just have to go back and maybe my doc isn't accepting new patients and then I would have nowhere to go. Plus he'd probably get angry with me too and I'd have to wait twice as long.

Rnprincess, Welcome to the Depression Center and thanks for sharing your story! In addition to the help you'll be getting outside our forums, we encourage you to begin keeping track of your moods using our mood tracker and working through our CBT program. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. We are here to help! Keep us posted. Danielle _____________________ The DC Support Team

oh yeah, I was also on lexapro

Hey guys, I know how you feel. I have been dealing with depression and ADHD forever (I am now 33 and 2 months post partum with my first baby) :) I have been to several therapists ranging from psychologists to Psychiatrists totallin 5 in the past 8 years. I have been on Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, Wellbutrin, and I am currently taking Cymbalta 60mg daily. I have taken the cymbalta for over 2 years now (even through my pregnancy....couldn't wean off it). It seems to be working ok until recently....I guess with the post partum stuff and then I started taking Yasmin birth control this month and I am a lot bluer than normal. I also started to retake Staterra 60 mg daily for ADHD and I am having problems really finding the words for things and just feeling really tired and blah. So my PCP added neurontin which I asked for topamax instead (for the added weight loss beneifts). I have taken the topamax for the past 2 days...and yuck....super sluggish and foggy. Not a good combo with a 2 month old. Oh she also gave me an "as needed" script of Adderall 10mg when I am feeling supper ADD....well I have been afraid to take that...until this am...I took the first one just to help lift me out of this fog...and nothing. I have an appt with another Psych doc who doesn't believe in meds for ADHD and a family marraige counselor for the post partum stuff next week, so we will see.

Confused, We are glad to hear you're feeling a little better today. Please do keep us posted on how you're doing. Danielle ____________________ The DC Support Team

Thanks all of you -- it makes me feel better to know that it's not just me being difficult. So I've found a sleep clinic and asked my doctor to refer me. And I've put my foot down about the medication, so my doctor agreed that I could wean off and we'll see how I feel. Trial and error, I suppose. Thanks again for your supportive words. I'll let you know how the sleep clinic goes, though it's a couple of months before they can see me. Take care, Confused

Hi: Reading your note was like reading my journal. (If i kept one!). I feel the same way about what came first the depression or the insomnia. I am so totally exhausted all the time. Some mornings I can't keep the tears from flowing because I feel so totally tired. I know my husband is getting tired of it all (no pun intended!). He has been there for me though for the last 12 years. Can't believe or understand why. I wish you all the best through this dark journey. We just have to keep believing that there is light switch there in that pitch black room that will soon be turned on...maybe tomorrow.

Confused & Search, Know that you are not alone! Many individuals struggle to find the right fit between themselves, their medications and their doctors. If you feel you're family physician isn't helping you in your search, you may benefit by working with a physician who specializes specifically in mental health. You can find services in your area through the following links: For the US, [url=http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/]click here [/url] For Canada, [url=http://www.cmha.ca/bins/content_page.asp?cid=4&lang=1]click here[/url] In addition to any outside help you get from mental health professionals and your medication, do be sure to continue working through the program. In tracking your moods and doing your CBT homework, you may be able to start figuring out what your negative core beliefs are. Keep persevering! Danielle ____________________ The DC Support Team