Mental/Behavioral Health..
I’m beyond frustrated with Kaiser’s Behavioral Health department. I’ve had an ADHD diagnosis for six years now and still haven't found a treatment plan that actually gives me much relief.
Finding what works in psychiatry, whether it's for ADHD, anxiety, depression etc. - requires trial and error. Adjusting doses, dealing with side effects, or tweaking meds when they stop working is just part of the process.
Having zero timely access to a provider while in that ‘trial and error’ phase, is a huge problem. It’s a 5-minute check-in that could easily resolve a lot of issues quickly and get the patient right back on track but instead, they’re pushing it out sometimes by five weeks.
My psychiatrist recently started me on a non-traditional ADHD medication at the lowest dose. It worked really well for my emotional regulation at first, but after a few weeks, it became completely ineffective(because it’s the lowest dose and is supposed to eventually be bumped up).
I messaged my provider explaining that I had zero negative side effects and noticed a big temporary improvement, but I believe my body adjusted and it was time to bump it up. Instead of adjusting it they told me to schedule an appointment. Her assistant called to schedule, but the earliest appointment was five weeks away.
They even suggested I switch to a provider with ‘better availability’, only to offer me someone booked out even further!
It is completely counterproductive. If Kaiser is this overwhelmed, I don't understand why they don’t offer outside referrals for psychiatrists, like they do for therapy, instead of leaving their patients in limbo for weeks at a time. 😩