Reply #4: I'm going to write this down while I have the focus. Mistakes we made.

[EFerrari]

1. Doug didn't shop for the right therapist. He went to a well known one here and, it was a really bad fit.

2. He didn't get tested. So, the therapist assumed his problem was depression and addiction and the underlying real situation went completely unaddressed. That cost us two years of dangerous hell and the therapist just wound up getting mad at Doug. That was singularly unhelpful.

3. We needed a team and American psychiatry doesn't seem to understand that the family is a great resource. Things got so much better when we found a therapist and a meds doc that understood this and went with a team model.

4. Know your drugs. No one gets a pill, takes it and skips away. It takes time to find the right cocktail if meds are indicated and occasionally, the cocktail needs to be tinkered with. (I sure as hell didn't know that.) Some stuff works right away, some takes a while to build up in your blood stream. It takes some patience. Darn. :)

A good doc will only make one change at a time so s/he and you can figure out what is working and what isn't working. But, do your own research on anything that is prescribed for you because YOU have to live with that substance, not the doctor.

That's what comes to mind now.