22 February 2012

Preparing to see the psychiatrist.

I have to go back to see a terrible psychiatrist next week and I'm starting to feel some anxiety surrounding the appointment. This psychiatrist has told me I'll never get better, diagnosed me with borderline personality disorder even though I do not fit the criteria, and refuses to acknowledge my Asperger's diagnosis. He has terrible bedside manner and can be downright rude at times. Unfortunately, he is the chief of psychiatry at the only hospital in my city so I can't just switch to another psychiatrist at the hospital. I'm going to try to get a referral to a psychiatrist through the family health team, but that will take 7 to 12 months and I have to "fire" this psychiatrist before I can seek a referral. So, I must go back to see this terrible doctor at least once more to adjust the dosage of my medication before I fire him.
This borderline personality diagnosis bothers me quite a bit. There are people who have the disorder, but the trend nowadays is to label any "difficult", or should I say assertive, patient with the diagnosis as a warning to other healthcare professionals that the patient will advocate for themselves and will want to take part in decisions related to their care. This is an insult to anyone falsely labelled with the diagnosis as well as to people who actually suffer from borderline personality disorder. These doctors have taken a legitimate mental health condition and turned it into a label to be feared instead of treated.
I complained to the hospital about the way in which the diagnosis was diagnosed as well as the doctor's behaviour during our appointments. I got the response of "you may be extra sensitive because you have borderline personality disorder and you may have misunderstood the doctor's behaviour, we will not be looking into this matter". So I've been back to the doctor since I made the complaint because my antidepressant had stopped working and I required a dosage adjustment and he was as rude as ever. He told me that he doesn't know anything about Asperger's syndrome but I don't have it because I'm an adult and people only have it as kids and I'm just trying to undermine his diagnosis. He refused to read the report from the neuropsychologist that performed the assessment or contact her for clarification. So I have to see him again for another adjustment and I am feeling quite anxious about having to deal with him. I would like to explain to him how I feel about the way he behaves during our appointments so that I can say that I've tried to reason with him when I make a complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, but I don't want him to get offended and then not give me my prescription. I also found out that if I disagree with a diagnosis, the doctor must attach my written disagreement to the diagnosis in my file, but again I don't want him to get offended and refuse to give me my prescription. It would be a long 7 to 12 months without antidepressants.
I suppose I'll write up my disagreement and bring it with me, although I don't know if I'll have the guts to give it to him.

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