I'm looking for a new psychiatrist again. It seems that whenever I find a good psychiatrist, they quit the practice or I move. And not all are good.
I have always considered myself as having an easy to treat case, medication works wonders for me. I actually have an entire personality switch and I like the person I am on medicine. I am nothing like the typical person with bipolar disorder who either starts medicine and then can't handle the side effects and must quit, or just doesn't feel relief and quits. I am one of the rare people who reacts well to medication.
But I need a *lot* of medicine for that effect. I need an aggressive doctor who isn't afraid to push the boundaries. A conservative provider is going to leave me unstable. I have maxed out more medicines than I can count and my response to anti-psychotics and anti-seizures tends to make me need dosages higher than the FDA limit for mood stabilization, I tend to need dosages in the range for someone with psychosis or with seizures.
And that's the problem. My last psychiatrist had a health issue and left the practice. The only other provider in the area is a nurse-practitioner who told me last appointment that she will not push the envelope, she will dose me to typical mood stabilization needs, not to my symptoms.
And that scares me. I'm already looking for a new doctor. But what can I say or what can I do to make sure I've got a doctor that will treat to my symptoms, not the typical model?