i think i caught one

i saw a new doctor today, he was on mass general's list of mood specialists, so i thought i'd give him a shot.

my first impression wasn't great. but he asked a lot of questions, good questions - and a lot of questions every other doctor hasn't thought to ask. when he realized i know about the disorders and meds, he spoke to me as such (didn't dumb things down for me).

though he seems more hesitant than i am about stopping one of my meds, he also understands why i want to stop it and is okay with that. he understands that i probably shouldn't be on antidepressants, and he sees bipolar as a spectrum disorder rather than a clear cut bipolar I / bipolar II thing. he was also not quick to assume that previous diagnoses are necessarily correct, but asked about symptoms and how those diagnoses were made. <-- all good things.

he was also understanding about the fact that i've had bad experiences with psychiatrists in the past (he even apologized for that!!), and that i'm hesitant to jump into a different med regimen until i'm settled on a doctor.

since i've been getting regular migraines (that have been getting worse) with the lamictal, he's having me cut back down to taking it every other day to see how i respond to that. since i can't handle the migraines any longer, i'm going to go with that suggestion for now. and he suggested taking omega-3 fish oils because they help mood disorders (which i knew, but was waiting to have a doctor before starting something else), so i'm going to start that as well.

since he was so thorough, we didn't get through everything, so he wanted to continue the session next week, so i'll be seeing him again on tuesday. plus, he told me to call this weekend if i needed anything or had any problems. and he wants me to call on monday just to let him know how i'm responding to the reduced lamictal. it was all kind of weird to have a doctor take so much time for me so soon. but i think i like him. he seems to know what he's talking about, willing to try figuring things out with me, and pretty compassionate and astute.