Today I went to see Dr. Guyer. He is a Psychiatrist. I was referred to him by Dr. Muna Beeai, my new primary care physician for my ADHD. He practices at 131 Kercheval.
I was called yesterday and asked to come in at 10:45 AM to fill out paperwork for an 11:00 appointment. I left home at 10:21 AM and walked to the office and arrived at 10:44. I was given sheaves of paper (TONS) to fill out and sign and my insurance card and driver's license was copied. Then I waited until after 11:30 and was called in by Dr. Guyer himself.
Dr. Guyer seemed nice to me. I liked him. He took a short oral medical history relating primarily to the ADHD. Then we talked about meds.
I would prefer to try to find lifestyle ways of approaching my health wherever possible, to minimize invasive meds and maximize positive healthy lifestyle changes. Meds always run the risk of long and short term adverse reactions and side effects and with my allergies to many meds, I would prefer to avoid them wherever possible. I was disappointed that both Muna Beeai and Dan Guyer talked first about meds. But I think there are two reasons for this. 1)this is what our healthcare/health "insurance" system expects and requires: a quick consultation and prescription of something to fix/mask it, and 2)the actual causes of the problems I have are probably not within the area of expertise of these doctors. I am of the opinion (rightly or wrongly) that most of my problems are caused by food and substance allergies and that I probably need to see a competent allergist. (I realize this may not solve the problem either, but taking a med to mask a reaction to an allergy doesn't solve the problem, but just adds a new problem while partially masking the old one.)
Unfortunately, I don't remember the names of all the meds we talked about. One was pro-something, not provera, provita or ? and worked on the histamine center of the brain to cause a release of histamines. It is a wakefulness drug, but not a stimulant. I had several concerns about this. Dr. Beeai was just saying I should be on an ANTI-histamine, because of my many allergies. And histamine is associated with fibromyalgia. One test for fibromyalgia is the histamine scratch test. So adding histamine could exacerbate my allergies. Also, I don't have a problem with wakefulness—I am almost always wakeful, including all night. I have a problem with tiredness and an inability to release wakefulness in order to sleep. I am almost always wakeful, almost always tired, but rarely sleepy. Tired and wired. He also suggested trying a combination of things, but I said that because of my many negative reactions to drugs, I would prefer to try one thing at a time and then if I tolerate that well, add another. He agreed that that made sense. I'd really prefer not to take any drugs at all. Finally, he decided to give me Rozerem which is a sleep aid that works on the melatonin receptors in the brain. It helps a person fall asleep, but doesn't keep them asleep. There's supposedly no hangover like with Ambien CR and it is supposedly wholly nonaddictive. He gave me samples and I am supposed to go back in two weeks. My next appointment is Wednesday January 17, 2007 at Noon, room 390.
I had to sign a paper when I arrived saying I would be responsible for whatever fees the insurance didn't pay and another paper for today's charges, which looked like they were $314.00. Since with our medical insurance, we apparently have to pay HALF of the fee, that would be $157!!!! They did not ask for any money now so I assume we will be billed. It seems like a lot to me. Unless it really HELPS (and I have my doubts, to tell you the truth [nothing against Dr. Dan Guyer who seemed nice and competent]), it might be financially expedient to not go. I can remember when I used to go to the doctor as a child and the whole fee was $10—not the copay, the whole fee. In total, for an office visit. I have a lot of doubts about all this medical care helping me in any way. I hope those doubts are wrong, because otherwise, it's like flushing money down the toilet.
After the appointment, I walked back home again. Because I walked around the block the long way coming back, the whole walk was about 47 minutes. Thus, I do not have to walk again. I could, however, walk for pleasure.
I will begin taking the Rozerem tonight. I will report back.
2 comments:
Did you talk at all about either Lunestra or Cymbalta? Lunestra is a sleep aid; Cymbalta is an unusual anti-depressant in that it treats physical pain associated with depression (and other conditions) independently of mood.
You really might want to ask one of your doctors about it if you haven't already. If you Goggle Cymbalta and fibromyalgia, you'll get a bunch of hits. It is a fairly new drug, but preliminary studies seem to indicate it helps ease the pain of many women sufferers of fibromyalgia. You prolly know all this.
My other Doctor, Dr. Beeai, has mentioned the Cymbalta and said we would talk about it next visit. WAHN! I think I may need to see an allergist.
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