How difficult have you found it trying to access psychiatrist?

[formidible]

My surgery referred me back to MH services regarding the tablets I'm on, my dependence on Benzodiazepine's and general mental health. I called the MH department myself on Friday and the lady I spoke with just said that from what she could see I'd been referred back to my GP with a recommendation regarding prescribing a mood stabilizer. I seem to be going round in circles. What I really want is a proper appointment with a psychiatrist. Has anyone else found this really difficult to get?

[Hidden]

Sometimes it is difficult because they have so many patients already. I just call Doc after Doc until one gives me an appointment.

I always eventually get one.

Benzodiazepines are super addictive so it’s tough to get off ‘em. Like insomnia is bad.

I slept 0 hours last night.

Chris

💁

[formidible in reply to Hidden]

Are you based in the US or UK Catman?

[Hidden in reply to formidible]

US - why ?

[Missy_D in reply to Hidden]

Only because our UK medical system is so very different to yours in the USA xx

[Hidden in reply to Missy_D]

How is it different than the US ??

[_Alex_ in reply to Hidden]

Use of psychiatrists is more routine in the US I believe, and psychiatrists in the US will directly prescribe to patients.

Of course psychiatrists in the UK can sometimes prescribe. But what often happens, at least in the NHS system, is that any actual prescribing is done by your GP. So you may get a referral from your GP to mental health services; get an appointment; a psychiatrist then sends your GP a letter giving their recommendation, and you (often enough) then get returned back to the care of your GP.

And that's if you can even get an appointment with a psychiatrist, because it's not always easy.

On the good side, medication costs in the NHS are normally either free (if you qualify for that) or strictly limited.

[Hidden in reply to _Alex_]

Hi Alex,

Prozac and Seriquel and Klonopin all high doses for 30 years caused 3rd stage liver failure, but did reduce all negative symptoms by about 1/3 or between 30 - 40 % consistently..

But I'm a really bad case because it was caused by a major traumatic brain injury TBI as a 1 year old baby, falling down a flight of steel stairs causing cerebral and cerebellum atrophy. Also had a major bicycle head injury at 35 and a seizure for 2 hours and lost my drivers license for this..

A long sentence but all way true.

Got the MRI brain scans to prove it.

The Neurologist said this caused my lifelong multiple emotional illnesses.

And said Nothing can be done. We cannot regrow your brain. Quite discouraging..

I never gave up anyway..

And I don't now either, obviously...

I'm gonna keep telling everybody everything I Know so you don't have to go through what I went through myself...

I'll try.

Chris

😎

[Hidden in reply to _Alex_]

_Alex_

Can you Please please please Help and contact Mratl83 and ask him what's going on ??? I really need your help. You are A doctor and you care about people. See if you can be of assistance to him please. Without your help I am done...

Chris

👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️

[_Alex_]

Personally I have been lucky (UK) and got a couple of appointments in a not too unreasonable timeframe. But I believe it comes down a lot to the local area and what resources they have.

The last time, I wasn't necessarily getting an appointment; I was told they would decide whether they just send a letter to my GP recommending something, or whether I would need to speak to a psychiatrist first.

[Blueruth]

That sounds like Kaiser. I have a PA in the MH field. I find them to be much more down to earth and accessible. They are also cheaper but don’t usually take insurance. It is worth it to pay from your HSA or out of pocket. Some will work on a sliding scale. My appointments can go for an hour. She really gets to know her patients.

[Missy_D]

I have had great difficulty accessing the NHS in general, and yes I know Covid19 has made things difficult but

The last time I saw a GP about my mental health and medication was December 2019. The last time I saw anyone from the Adult Mental Health Team was July 2017 (despite 2 referrals since from my GP surgery). I spoke to the CPN attached to my GP surgery a month ago. After the first time she made a follow-up appointment for a fortnight's time. I spoke to her a couple of weeks ago and she has made no further appointments so I guess she discharged me. The only contact I have (when they are available) is a 5 minute conversation with the pharmacist once a month to reorder my medication. If he isn't available then despite all the rules in my GP surgery saying you cannot have anti depressants or anti psychotics on repeat prescription and you must speak with a GP my request is authorised by the receptionist.

[formidible]

Yes. I'm in the UK too and having the same experience-had a phone call from a psychiatrist out of the blue over a month ago who said to just stay on current meds, but my MH is deteriorating so my GP referred me back to them. I called their office on Friday. They told me my case had been discussed in a triage meeting and that I'd been referred back to my GP with a recommendation for a mood stabilizer, so I'm waiting to hear more from the GP. It's just not good enough and I feel I'm being pushed from pillar to post instead of them giving me a proper appointment. I'll wait and see what happens when my GP calls but if I'm not happy I'm seriously going to kick up a storm and make a formal complaint if necessary.

[Missy_D in reply to formidible]

Yep I am getting to the same stage. Both the referrals back to Adult Mental Health Services came back with a letter saying that I had been discussed in the weekly triage meeting. The first one then went on to basically say I was no longer mentally ill and wasn't worthy of an appointment. I sometimes wonder if it is worth getting 136 so I actually get dome help.

[formidible in reply to Missy_D]

Sorry, but what is 136?

[Missy_D in reply to formidible]

It's were you are detained by the Police (but not arrested) but it does mean you get a full psychiatric assessment

rethink.org/advice-and-info...

[Blueruth in reply to formidible]

Wow. Is it MH that tends to be bad? When Kaiser was my health plan I used to run into similar issues with MH but regular preventative care was good and they feet high marks for general care.

I don’t like GPS or psychiatrists for meds. GP doesn’t specialize enough and every psychiatrist I’ve worked with has an ego. My Physician assistant reports to one but I never talk to her. I just pay cash because I don’t want to change doctors. Too many terrible ones.

[formidible in reply to Blueruth]

There is a clear difference between the US and the UK with regards to MH services and getting to see a psychiatrist. Our US friends should understand that we rely mostly on our free NHS which has suffered years of underfunding in Mental Health and just getting to see a psychiatrist is a lottery. Unless you have a really good insistent doctor your chances of getting the help and care you need are minimal, The only other option is to pay privately which can be very expensive. It's a very bad state of affairs.

[Blueruth in reply to formidible]

It doesn’t sound much different compared to Kaiser. Kaiser is a popular health maintenance organization. They are usually the cheapest option but a lot of people who don’t need MH love them. You still have to get approval from GP. Other plans don’t require that but they are more expensive. If you can pay out of pocket there are lots of other options ...of course...I have not submitted MH expenses for years. In fact most practitioners don’t accept insurance because the administration is much too costly and complicated.