RX - Primary Care doctor vs. Psychiatrist?

[radioheart]

How many of you were given your antidepressants by a primary care doctor and how many of you were diagnosed by a psychiatrist?

I guess I am trying to figure out if I was ever actually depressed or just going through some normal teen angst that has resulted in taking antidepressants for the past 10 years and being completely dependent on them.

I went to my primary care doctor when I was 18 or 19 and she gave me a paper test with a bunch of "How are you feeling?" type questions and told me I was depressed and prescribed Lexapro. She never told me to see a therapist or anything. I took Lexapro for about 5 years. Then I started Celexa. Then in 2009 I started Pristiq after a terrible breakup completely debilitated me and the doctor I was seeing at the time decided Celexa wasn't working anymore and I needed something for more serious depression.

Pristiq has been amazing and I feel great on it.

But do primary care doctors really have the knowledge and background to prescribe antidepressants? Do you say you were "diagnosed" with depression if you didn't see a psychiatrist who diagnosed you?

What if I was really never depressed at all and my doctor had no idea what she was talking about, and some talk therapy is all I needed? What if I have never been depressed and now I'm completely dependent on antidepressants I will probably never be able to get off of?

These are the things I think about.

[Cheldoll]

I have Kaiser for my insurance and my PCP won't even touch mental health stuff -- she shuttled me off to a psychiatrist ASAP. I don't think anyone can say all primary care physicians have or don't have the knowledge/background to prescribe antidepressants, and I would like to think that if your doctor didn't believe she was qualified to diagnose you she'd send you to a specialist... but I know that mental illness is something people thought they understood when they really knew shit about it.

I recommend seeing a psychiatrist or even just a therapist to work through your concerns. They seem totally legitimate worries to me, but our situations are different.

[kb9vgh]

Similar to how I was "dealt with". Was prescribed Zoloft about 10 years ago by primary care doctor. No discussion other than him putting his hand on my shoulder and saying "let me help you". And he wrote out the prescription. I do not think this was a bad thing. In fact, I do believe it was a good thing as I do think the zoloft helped me with my obsessing and worrying. On my own, about two years ago, I found a talk therapist and she assisted me as I changed to a new primary care doctor. (That's a whole different story). She steered me to a psychiatrist who had me on escitalapram (sp?). This last month she is trying me out on Pristiq instead and it seemed the very first day I felt better. I look forward to trying out this new drug. I been on it one month. She gave me samples for another month. FYI I am also on Vyvanse. I hope Pristiq helps you. I never really felt that great with zoloft or escitalopram, or in life in general. So to answer your original question if my primary care diagnosed me with depression or anything else when he gave me the zoloft, I don't know because he didn't tell me or discuss it with me. But the psychiatrist has me diagnosed with depression ADHD OCD. She is really not sure if I have bipolar because she only sees the "highs" which she thinks is the H in ADHD, in my behavior and inability to sleep. She is still trying to figure me out. I am enjoying the process. I do know that all the bad things happening to me in the last five years I do not know what I would have done without the therapist and psychiatrist, although I don't go often. The Mental Illness Happy Hour has helped em immensely. Good luck to everyone here in their journeys. I would love to keep in touch with anyone else on pristine or with similar diagnoses. -K

[kb9vgh]

oh shoot I can't believe I spelled me em and typed pristine instead of pristine and I don't know if there is any way to edit that last post. AAAAUUUGGHHH! OCD, now all day I will try and find a way to edit it! LOL

[wd82]

Healthcare worker here, honestly, it's a case-by-case basis. It depends on where the doc was trained, where are their interests, and their comfort level. I've met primary care docs with more compassion and intuition than many psychiatrists, and other docs that treated mental illness like a dirty word. The only way to find out is be frank and ask about their comfort level.

[Chopper]

This post is super old, but I feel the need to chime in here. I was prescribed Welbutrin by a primary doctor once after complaining that my Effexor wasn't doing the trick anymore. It led to a suicide attempt and hospitalization because it was such a terrible choice for me. I would suggest to anyone do NOT let a primary doctor deal with your mental health issues, they are not trained to do that. This can be dangerous! I also take Pristiq and it works extremely well for me, it changed my life. If my primary doctor who prescribed me Welbutrin had the knowledge of a psychiatrist she would have known Pristiq to be a better choice since it is a variant of the same chemical composition as Effexor. Based on my personal experience, I would advise not to take chances with stuff like that.