Neurologists and psychiatrists are just like any other doctor. Assuming you are in the U.S., the only reason you might have to go through your primary care physician is if you plan to use insurance and your insurance requires recommendations. In other words, it is very normal to just be able to call and set up an appointment.
The method I would actually recommend would be to first check your insurance and see if a referral is necessary. If so, call the neurologist and make sure they accept your insurance. Then call your normal doctor’s office, and just tell them that you are going to the neurology clinic you mentioned, and that you need a referral for insurance. Unless your primary care doctor is rather atypical, he will sign off on this.
Chances are that your neural scan will be normal. Then I would see about going to a psychologist for testing, using the same method as above. And if this is causing you a lot of distress, the psychologist can help you work through that.
All this said, I don’t know if you wouldn’t get more help by merely naming the medicines to a professional (or even here in IMHO), and seeing if there’s even a possibility of what you think happened.
I wouldn’t be able to point to a cause any more I can to a symptom, but I believe the prescribing practitioner erred in prescribing the medicine because I doubt I had any of the conditions either medicine purports to treat, so I could not have gained any benefits from taking them, only negative side effects. And since they both operate on sites in the brain, they might interfere somehow with the mechanism governing structural and cognitive growth.
I don’t how but I’m uneasy until I rule out the meds as a possibility.
It would have happened when I was young for my parents to consent to the surgery without consulting me.
I wouldn’t remember it because I would have been anesthetized. I only remember one instance of getting anesthetized but it was long ago and I can’t recall the duration or purpose. So anything could have happened.
Where would the scar for brain surgery be located and how big would it be? Can the incision be done at the back of the skull, front, forehead, side?
Abilify was approved in 2002, 2004, and 2007 for various purposes in the US. Depends on your definition, but doesn’t seem like “a long time ago.” As far as I know, neither is associated with the problems you suggest (you don’t specify what). Maybe if we knew, some of us could give some more specific advice. Although keeping with the fact that even if some are doctors, they can’t help you, but a neurological battery (many tests) could help.
I believe lobotomies were don by inserting instruments through the upper portion of the eyesockets, slightly pushing the eyeballs out of place during the surgery.
As such, they would leave no visible external scars. That was given as one of the advantages of the operation.
In many jurisdictions you have the right to examine your own medical records. In others you have no such right but can try asking anyway. So if you have some idea of their whereabouts (for example, you know the identity of your GP or health insurance provider at the time you suspect you were treated, or the institution at which you suspect you were treated), try asking for the records.
Hell, I clearly remember having eye surgery to correct Lazy Eye at age 10, and I went under general anaesthesia. Who knows what they could have done to me?? :eek:
The important thing is to get two scans of your brain. That way, you can superimpose them–if you see your initials, you know you’re okay and did it on purpose.
Actually, it’s an interesting question. How does medical science check for brain damage (other than looking through your CD collection for errantly filed Pink Floyd)? Is it a simple MRI that would show scar tissue? A PET scan? Vivisection?
Read up (or probably better if you don’t) on Walter Jackson Freeman and the transorbital lobotomy. This was the “icepick and a hammer” lobotomy depicted in the recent movie “Sucker Punch”. It didn’t require opening the skull or even a sterile operating room. Apparently Freeman used to travel the country in an RV and perform the operation at mental hospitals in the 50’s & 60’s.
There’s a series on PBS about the history of various types of surgery. On the brain surgery episode, they interviewed a guy who had the procedure done when he was 12 or so (he’s his 50’s now). They did an MRI on him, and saw some “holes” in his prefrontal lobe, so it was detectable.
How to tell if multiple threads have been merged together?
When this thread was young, it started out asking about side effects of antidepressants. Over time (post #24) it asks about secret lobotomies and how to tell if one had been done to it.
How do I know that the lobotomy thread I posted to was merged into the older thread? Are there scans for that?
I have merged three questions by the OP all related to brain function. Since these involve medical advice, I have moved the thread to IMHO from GQ. Sorry for any confusion resulting from combining the threads.
Note to the OP: As several posters have suggested, your best course is to obtain professional medical advice on these questions. Any information obtained on an anonymous message board cannot be considered reliable.