I saw the psychiatrist earlier today. I was quite cynical about seeing him as it was to be the same psych I saw at the beginning of this year who told me I wasn’t depressed and then promptly doubled the dose of the venlafaxine (an anti-depressant).
This time was a lot more refreshing. As I was sitting in the waiting room, Allison walked in, having been on a home visit, and offered me a cup of coffee. Sitting there, looking quite out of place as I was in a suit (I had a job interview this morning – didn’t get the job) another patient walked in and asked me how I’d managed to get a cup of coffee. I just shrugged and he said “but you work for the mental health don’t you? I mean you’re obviously not a patient” to which I told him that I was a patient, but a patient who had had a job interview that morning and who’s CPN walked through the door and offered me a cup of coffee.
The psych was very approachable and seemed to treat me much more like an adult. He accepted that the venlafaxine wasn’t working as effectively as it should and therefore we should try another anti-depressant. I am now to wean myself down to 150mg/day for a week, then 75mg/day after than whereupon I can start taking 60mg/day of duloxetine. After a week on that I am to stop taking the venlafaxine completely. He says he wants to see me again in 4 weeks to assess how the duloxetine is working.
Allison said that she still wants to see me tomorrow, despite briefly seeing me today. I really seem to have found a gem with her there. This weekend I am going to draft out a letter of complaint to the chief executive of the Chelsea & Westminster NHS over the registrar’s comments and treatment of me in A&E last weekend. I am then going to show it to Allison in the appointment I have with her a week tomorrow and then post it. I have decided that I’m not going to let him get away with the way he treated me, call it my stroppy side kicking in.
Ruth
