Re: How much therapy before adding meds?/

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I'm a bit confused on this. Are you saying you did not get the help

you needed because of conflict in the diagnosis? What is the

credentials of the Medical Dir. of Beh. Health and what do they do, I

am not familiar (Canadian). I hope you did get help eventually?

In our case we did have medication induced psychosis at the time of

admission. But I know severe OCD can look like psychosis, amongst

other things when it is not.

Barb

>

> I work at a hospital and took my son to the ER. I called the

Medical Director for Behavior Health and they assisted and did the

diagnosis. Unfortunately, we had to sign our son out against medical

advice since the ER doctor diagnosed him as psychotic and wanted to

admit our son who was 11 at the time and didn't take the Behavior

Health's doctor's advice.

>

>

> Lk

[Guest guest]

Ok, I get it now. Have to agree on a child needing his family at

that age. Hardest thing I have ever done leaving ours even at 15,

but it was what we needed to do at that time.

Wow, a psychiatrist that specializes in OCD that you could get into

in a few days. That is a foreign concept for me... Wish it existed

in my neck of the woods. Emerg is the only way to get seen by anyone

quickly, but no OCD experts... The psychiatrist we got to see asked

US what we wanted to do for treatment! We did get a very thorough

assessment that determined our son had OCD, which we alreay had paid

privately to have assessed, plus a big fat question mark as to what

else was going on. Basically told they had no answers for us and

then we had to wait another two months to be referred on for more fun.

In fairness, our son was a tough case, but I do believe if we ever

did get to see someone with more expertise the arc of the illness as

well as some of the insanity we experienced might have been

lessened. Will never really know...

Barb

>

> We did get the help from a psychiatrist w/ our HMO. The medical

director gave me his opinion on not admitting (on a Friday) and

making an emergency referral for Monday w/ the psychiatrist who

specializes in OCD. He said my son needs his family now more than

ever vs being institutionalized. They would have flown him to a

hospital on another island that takes 11yo adolescents since our

hospital takes only from 13 yo.

>

> The original medication was a tranquilizer to calm him down. Our

psychiatrist and the med director wasn't too keen on it. The ER docs

don't specialize in Behavior Health, esp. In kids.

> Lk

>

[Guest guest]

Great info. Just to add what has been my observation -- you take

child to ER, if they get admitted (or sent to a psych place), the

main thing done at those places is decide on a diagnosis (or two),

put child on meds, get them stable that week or 2 or 3 (acting better

and calm) and then discharge them with a call to local mental health

to set up follow-up appts there (if no present doctor or therapist

elsewhere). Just saying it seems that being put on medication (or

changing present meds) is the main thing done after initial

hospitalization from an ER and then discharge home with meds and

recommendations for services. That just seems to be what I observed

the most with " after-hours emergencies " of the clients at our mental

health center. Stays seem to be until stable OR only as long as

insurance will continue to pay/authorize.

Quick thoughts and typing,

>

> Unfortunately, I think the answer to the question/the solution is

rather complex. Being on both sides ( mother of now 12 year old boy

dx with severe OCD at age 3 AND being an ER doctor) I see both sides