Affordable Psychiatry/Psychopharm

h0h0h0 · July 2009

I have a friend who has moved recently and is struggling to find an affordable psychatrist that will prescribe her a current maintenance of prozac/fluoxitine. Does anyone know of one who will provide her with a long term refillable script and is financially affordable? I know family practitioners will do this sometimes but she is new to the slope/south slope area and doesn't know where to go. She is also a student as well so no health coverage at the moment and the health coverage she has forces her into some shady hospitals.

ALl of your help is really appreciated as she is very frustrated with the health care search in Brooklyn for a simple script.

scarlett · July 2009

If she finds a doc who readily passes out scripts without long term therapy, can you puh-leaaaaaaaaase pm me the name of the doc?

MOD · July 2009

The walk in clinic that used to be on Atlantic around Henry street did psychiatric prescriptions. They moved a few blocks away, I'm sure you can do a search here and find the address.

carmen · July 2009

if she is a student she should use her student health center. Most psychiatrists won't give more than one refill at a time without a "medication maintenance" appointment at least once a month.

h0h0h0 · July 2009

Yeah it's the cost of
medication maintenance stuff that messes her up. A 250$ appt for a 15$ medication that she has been taking for 10 years with only a six month maintenance checkup is doable but not monthly. SHe doesn't have that dough.

carmen · July 2009

tell her to go to her student health center. Also it's probably not a great idea to be on prozac for 10 years with only one check-in every 6 months.

opossumqueen · July 2009

Mamacita wrote: The walk in clinic that used to be on Atlantic around Henry street did psychiatric prescriptions. They moved a few blocks away, I'm sure you can do a search here and find the address.

Dr. Joan Stroud is the main doc there I think. They're closer to the courthouse now but I can't remember the address.

seeley · July 2009

Carmen wrote: tell her to go to her student health center. Also it's probably not a great idea to be on prozac for 10 years with only one check-in every 6 months.

If the Prozac works for her and she has no other issues, what's the problem? Do you think she ought to be in therapy? Maybe she actually has a chemical imbalance that the Prozac fixes.

I hope your friend can find some help, h0h0h0. One question for you--you said that "the health coverage she has forces her into some shady hospitals." Do you mean they engage in shady practices? If so, that sucks. Because that's what I would have suggested--to go to a hospital clinic.

carmen · July 2009

seeley wrote: [quote=Carmen]tell her to go to her student health center. Also it's probably not a great idea to be on prozac for 10 years with only one check-in every 6 months.

If the Prozac works for her and she has no other issues, what's the problem? Do you think she ought to be in therapy? Maybe she actually has a chemical imbalance that the Prozac fixes.

brain chemistry is amazingly complex (and the medical profession openly states that we really dont know how SSRI/MAOIs work) and I dont think anyone should be blindly reliant on a drug for 10 years for ANYTHING without behavior/lifestyle modification therapy. Even people with diabetes regularly monitor their blood sugar, have regular doctor visits and alter their diet to deal with their insulin issues- i dont think mental health should be treated any differently.

mylkshayk · July 2009

I think internists/GPs would prescribe meds if you were agreeable to following up. Their required follow-up time isn't as often as a psychiatrist's monthly psychopharm visit. Probably the doc would want to see your friend within a couple months at first (since the doc would be new to her), and then it would be at every few months- or up to six month- intervals. So yeah, look for an internist with reasonable out-of-pocket rates. Even if she has to plunk down $200 or so for the initial visit, it will be cheaper in the long run than getting a psychiatirst who requires monthly appointments! Since your friend has been on this drug for so long with good results, I can't imagine any internist would have a problem prescribing it with several months' refills.

But I second what one of the previous posters said, which is to advise your friend to start with her school's health center/clinic!

And that is my (non-professional!) advice...

h0h0h0 · July 2009

Thanks everyone!

withachaser · July 2009

i'd second going to a pcp or school clinic, not a psychiatrist. lich walk-in clinic? if your friend has been on fluoxetine for ten years and it works for her and she tolerates the side effects.... this has been one of the most studied psych meds ever. your friend should not need to fork over that kind of money monthly to a psychiatrist, so she can be asked if she's still okay, about her side effects, etc. i'm a huge supporter of therapy, being a therapist, but believe it is only effective when the patient is motivated for treatment. mandating it as a condition to getting a 'script for a low-risk maintenance med is about $$, not the patient's best interest.

Affordable Psychiatry/Psychopharm

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