First Psychiatric appointment with Consultant

[StartingAfresh]

Can anyone tell me what happens?

It's for my Dad. My DM is going with him even though they are seperated.

He got an urgent referral. He isn't suspected of dementia but has real memory problems and has lost control of his bladder and bowels. The GP has said this is due to him not caring rather than because he has any physical problems.

He is displaying extreme OCD behaviours and talks in riddles, if he ever talks at all.

He has stepped out in front of traffic a few times but rarely leaves the house. He doesn't go to bed until morning and sleeps all day.

Anyway, does anyone have a clue what happens at the first consultant appointment or how long it is likely to be, or what is likely to follow. He has been taking prozac for a week but with no effect that anyone can see.

Many tia

bump?

From my experience they wld take a detailed life history, including general background and mental health issues and find out a lot about current symptoms and state of mind. With me it was straightforward ocd, so put me on meds, and did not put me on list for cbt as i was seeing so,meone private and wld have taken months to go nhs for cbt

I guess with your dad they wld want to look at poss phys cause of symptoms so poss they may think he shld see a neuro or geriatric doc as well

From my experience they wld take a detailed life history, including general background and mental health issues and find out a lot about current symptoms and state of mind. With me it was straightforward ocd, so put me on meds, and did not put me on list for cbt as i was seeing so,meone private and wld have taken months to go nhs for cbt

I guess with your dad they wld want to look at poss phys cause of symptoms so poss they may think he shld see a neuro or geriatric doc as well

I imagine they wld sort out some support from cpn, communitry psych nurse. Btw prozac takes up to six weeks to work, the older ads with more side effects work quicker so he may be changed to other meds

The psychiatrist will want to work out what the cause of your dads change in behaviour is. That will include trying to get a detailed life history and description of the current problem from him, and also your mum.

Depending on the information that the psychiatrist gets from talking to your parents they may want to order other tests - possibly blood tests or a scan, so your Dad might not come out of the appointment today with a diagnosis.

The appointment will probbaly last for 40min-1hr.

How much of a support network do they rely on wrt treatement?

It's just that my mum hasn't lived with my dad for 20 years (although married) and in the last 3 months he has run up £40k of debts so a) she won't want to be his full-time carer (she was on the brink of divorce just before he got really bad - she blames herself consequently and b) she has to work because those debts need to be paid as they are her house

Which I have no doubt my dad did on purpose to trap her btw - perhaps not in a calculated way, but certainly with some level of intent.

All I can add is first appointments tend to be around an hour.

Thanks everyone, that's helpful.

He's showing lots of autistic traits, lining things up, tidying, pacing in an exact line back and forward for hours. My ds has autism. I don't know if he is doing it on purpose. He's capable of that.