Hi John! If you could only cite one new thing to bring up with my psychiatrist next week when I see him what would that be (based on your findings from the conference)? ************************************************************* Great question, Virginia. Here's my answer: I want you (ie the psychiatrist) to see me more often. Why? Based on new studies posted at the conference and my conversations with leading psychiatrists, patients get much better results with their meds by seeing their doctors more. I need to go through my notes on this, but my impression is that this probably affects the outcome of our illness far more than which particular meds we happen to be on. So what do you talk about in these extra meetings? You want to be assessed each time with a sophisticated survey that measures mood and quality of life. No more "So how are you doing?" "How are things at work?" Too vague. Specific questions, precise measurable answers. It's called metrics and it can track your progress, revealing things you and your pdoc were'nt aware of (such as whether you're getting better or worse). Next: Mood charts or life charts. Basically, you do your "homework" and go over it with your psychiatrist. Finally: Real medical advice. Your psychiatrist went to medical school. You want real advice on what your meds are supposed to do, what specific reason you are taking them, side effects etc. You also need real advice on lifestyle concerns such as diet, sleep, and exercise. I hope to amplify all these points in a future blog. So if you see your pdoc every three months, ask to see him/her in one month. If every month then in two weeks, and so on. You get the picture. If your health plan won't allow for this, maybe plan for an occasional extra visit out of your own pocket. John