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Therapist in Miami area
BertaRecchia,
I can certainly understand your frustration. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find someone who is competent and experienced. Since you have had so many misdiagnoses and problems with finding any medications that would help you, I have another suggestion. You may very well have ADHD but one of the reasons doctors and therapists have a hard time diagnosing and recognizing ADHD or other disorder, besides their lack of experience in a particular area, is that sometimes an individual has several things wrong that can each hide or exacerbate the other conditions.
Imagine you went to a doctor with various pains and you have allergies, asthma, diabetes and a toothache. One doctor says, "I can clearly see your problem. You have asthma and once we treat that, you will be better." But even after receiving medication for asthma, you still are having pains. So you go to another doctor and he says, "Well of course, you have a toothache. No wonder you are in so much pain." And he proceeds to treat that. In the meantime no one picked up on your allergies or diabetes. You are still suffering and not very impressed with any of the doctors' abilities to help you, although you may have been fortunate to see some improvement. With physical health problems, that scenario is not as likely to occur, although it can. But with mental health issues, it is more common than you may realize.
The first step is to have a complete and proper diagnosis of all the conditions that are affecting you. Sounds simple enough, but in reality when it comes to mental health conditions, it may feel like more of a guessing game as you receive different diagnoses from different doctors and nothing seems to help. I've been there with my family. My husband, daughter and sister, just to name a few, have all had undiagnosed conditions that were never recognized or diagnosed by the various mental health professionals they had seen. They might have had one or two correct diagnoses but something else was still wrong, and/or the medication didn't seem to be helping.
I could write a book (and actually I plan to ) about our experiences, but I'll try to condense this and get to the point. We live in Florida, in Palm Beach County. After my husband came out of a mental hospital for suicide ideation plans, despite being on numerous anti-depressants through-out the years, and still no clearer idea as to what was really wrong, someone suggested we see a doctor who had amazing diagnostic skills and was very comfortable dealing with complex problems. He took on cases that other psychiatrists refused to treat, or that had been deemed hopeless by their doctor or psychiatrist. He was in the city of Okeechobee, in Okeechobee County out by the lake. It seemed a bit of a distance to us but he came so highly recommended that we decided to give it a try.
That day changed our lives. My husband was finally diagnosed with a condition we had never even heard of, even though he fit the criteria so well. And immediately, the doctor picked up on his undiagnosed ADHD as well. He spent a good three hours with us (first visits are usually two hours or more, depending on the complexity of the problems) going over all of his symptoms and problems thoroughly and explaining each of the diagnoses and how it affected him. He went over the different medications he used and why some of the other medications he had been on, did not work. He also explained how one condition affected the other and how and why he was going to treat him. He was also very optimistic and gave us hope. He was unlike any other doctor I had ever seen. I later learned that he had patients who came to see him from more than 40 different states and from as far away as Australia. I could go on and on, with the difference he made in our lives, later my daughter's, and on to various friends, neighbors and acquaintances.
I would highly suggest you visit this doctor. It will be the best investment of your time and money. I don't say this lightly. I have seen it over and over again. He's decades ahead of all the others. Not only are his diagnostic skills incredible, but he has treatment that works. Unlike other doctors, he will not give up until he has everything properly treated so that you feel great, not just a little better. You can find out more information about him, some of the conditions he is well experienced in treating, and how to make an appointment to see him. His website is www.biologicalunhappiness.com I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
In order for therapy to be the most effective, you have to know what all your diagnoses are or you may receive the wrong treatment or advice. He knows more about ADHD and its treatment than any other doctor that I know of. I could tell you plenty of incredible stories about people that I personally know whom he has helped. You may also email me at elaine5687@comcast.net if you'd like. I would be happy to help in any way I can.
I wish you the best.
Elaine
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26 May 2008 @ 1:03 PM
26 May 2008 @ 3:04 PM