Three ways to get the best from office visits:
1. Ask for the first appointment of the morning whenever possible. This guarantees that you won’t spend a half hour in the waiting room!
2. Take someone with you to ask questions if you feel too overwhelmed to ask them on your own. Whether you’re alone or with someone, it’s always a good idea to write down your specific questions before you see your HCP. I even tell people to hand the list to their HCP as it saves time.
3. Have a goal before you go. Is it to get new meds? Find a support group? Ask a specific question about bipolar disorder? Often we get to appointments and forget what we need from the HCP. I have often come out of the office and said- darn! I forgot to ask ….… and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to see him!
HCP visits can be short- it helps to make the most of them every time.
I have a chapter in Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder that goes into this with me detail. It can be complicated to manage an illness and manage office visits!
Julie
I’ve even asked people that know me really well to describe my behavior/moods on paper so that I can present this to my psychiatrist. I figure if he has information from a number of sources, it can’t hurt!
Sandra
Hi Sandra,
This is a fantastic idea! All of my friends know they have to tell me if they think I’m getting manic. It helps to have them looking out for me- even though I get angry that I can’t just have a good time! Julie
I totally understand how difficult it is to know when I’m getting hypomanic! Last summer, I should’ve just looked at my calendar to determine if things were not as they should be – July was a mass of black ink! I’ve worked really hard to avoid having so many things scheduled in a month or a week.
I, too, have folks looking out for me. They know to let me know if I’m getting hypomanic!
I’ve learned that if I want to shop, try shopping at Goodwill for some real bargains (I’ve even found Waterford crystal at our Goodwill store!) I won’t use credit cards, I’ll use cash. fortunately, that – and non-stop quilting – seem to be my “vices” when I’m hypomanic!
Sandra
My major hypomanic vice pulls from two of my most-loved hobbies – reading and film documentary-watching. I tend to check out way too many books (and DVD documentaries) from the library when I am hypomanic. My hubby and I have a good teamwork approach to this. I renew the materials for as long as necessary and then when they absolutely have to go back, he takes them back. My job is to not complain about it (sometimes I’d rather pay the fine and finish the materials!). 🙂 The system isn’t perfect but it works most of the time.
Hi,
Oh! you are so lucky your husband is there to help with library check outs. I have paid so many fines it’s ridiculous. My mom has to remind me about turning my books in when I’m not doing well. I wonder if they have a system where they can send you an email when your books are due? Isn’t it amazing how great it feels to be hypomanic and in a library! julie