So yesterday I visited a new office to get my meds refilled. I think this office will be better for me.
The climate in the office was different, it seemed a bit calmer and a lot less judgmental. The lobby was bigger, about 4 times the size. The office personal was further away too. Their receptionist area was larger, maybe that made for a calmer office. I know that when I worked at UOP and we were all on top of each other we were not happy. When you work in close quarters it is difficult to take a breath, let alone mumble your frustration away.
I remember one of the clinicians coming out of the back to see his patient out, he was rather jolly. He saw one of his other patients and he came out to him, sat down next to him, and shot the breeze for a few seconds, shook hands and returned to his office. He seemed nice, I was not assigned to him though.
WHen it was my turn to meet the new Nurse Practitioner, she came out, called me a few times before I realized she was looking for me, and tried to shake my hand, except my hands were full of candy from the vending machine and mail from the P.O. Box I had just picked up. I guess that is what ADD looks like when you get down too it. Hands too full of random things, brain too busy to acknowledge they are being spoken too, a hand bag overflowing with planners, things that still need to be done and it looks rather messy from a distance. That is how I met my new Practitioner.
It appears to me she is very experienced, she reminded me of an old co-worker, Stephanie. Stephanie was overly organized, not borderline crazy, downright anal-retantive. With Stephanie everything had to be done just right and in the right order, she knew if I missed a step and always came out to tell me in person. That is what the nurse reminds me of.
She was annoyed to find that the other office did not send over my paper file, especially since it had been 2 weeks since they made the appointment for me. When she opened the electronic file she was equally annoyed and disappointed. Things that should be there were not. Things like an actual diagnosis check sheet, patient questionnaires, blood work, and special notes justifying the use of a schedule one drug to the DEA, all missing. Nice to know that if the DEA audited my file I probably would have lost access to treatment, probably for months as it was sorted out!
Her office was significantly larger then the offices at the other location. It had more furniture, and if there had been a massage table instead of a desk it would not have seemed out of place.
She typed in all the things that were missing from my file. She suggested that I try an antidepressant that one takes three times a day. All I could think is if I forget to take the adderall at least once a week, how would I remember to take an antidepressant 3 times a day? So she said she would keep it in her notes and see how I did with a higher dose of Adderall XR. Odd, I did not ask for a higher dose. Yes, I was seeing a slight improvement in my ability to finish basic chores, and I had been able to keep a blog. You should know this is not my first attempt at a web journal, it is probably my 5th or 6th, I usually end up not adding any post after the second or third week.
So an end to this is she gave me a written prescription for 20mg Adderall XR, a requirement to see the lab about blood work and a diagnosis in ICD-9 format of V314.01. I had to look that up, but it is Attention-deficit disorder, with mention of hyperactivity. I don't recall being hyper. Unable to sit still, I fidget a lot. That is just normal for me. Can't sit through a meeting at work without tapping a foot, snapping gum, or messing with a pen somehow. But I guess that is how the describe hyperactive. Started new dose this about 2 hours ago.
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