Desperate for referrals. We can’t live like this anymore.

[Anonymous]

My family is it a breaking point with our five year old son. His violence and aggression are terrifying. Everyone in the family has had bruisers, black eyes, scratches from his rages. We are guessing it’s a neurological condition but haven’t been able to get anyone but a play therapist to see him. The wait lists are many months long.

To say we are desperate is an understatement. We have him on a dozen waitlists for a full psychiatric evaluation but we need intervention now as this is unsafe and untenable for the family. We took him to the ER at a children’s hospital this week following a fit of injury inducing rage and they refused to admit him or prescribe or recommend medication.

At this point we need to find a new pediatrician at the very least. We’ve heard some peds will prescribe adhd medication for the interim until we can see a psychiatrist. His current pediatrician has been so unhelpful it’s down right alarming. They refuse to see us unless it’s a scheduled well visit for a milestone birthday; otherwise it’s a 3 to 4 month waitlist to see her. I could go on about how awful this practice is but that’s for another post.

So a few questions - can anyone recommend a pediatric practice that would be willing to meet us on this level? Can anyone share the name of a psychiatrist that they’ve been able to get in with that doesn’t have a 10 month waitlist? We are in the Rockville area but would be willing to travel to DC, VA, etc.

Thank you for any assistance.

[Anonymous]

Oxana Jourkiv in Fairfax

[Anonymous]

This is PP. I’m VERY sorry your pediatrician has been so unhelpful, and I understand how desperate you are (truly), but a pediatrician shouldn’t be messing around with prescribing medications for a child who is having symptoms this severe. You need a psychiatrist. Would an OT help as well? Do you get survives through the school system? If not, connect with ChildFind.

[Anonymous]

And read The Explosive Child by Ross Greene.

[Anonymous]

I am so very sorry you are going through this.
Why did the hospital refuse to admit him?

Our psychiatrist is Dr Hemanth in Rockville: we see her now remotely, I am actually not sure she's still on Tower Oaks Blvd like she used to be, but here is her receptionist's email:
officemanagernsi at gmail.com

[Anonymous]

Next time you think you need to take him to the ER for his rages take him to Shepherd Pratt in Towson. They only admit during the day so don’t drive up at night. When you drive up understand that if he is admitted he will be admitted immediately and you will not be able to accompany him. You can come back the following day during visiting hours. In the meanwhile if he’s raging can you get Benadryl into him? That’s a go to medication in the moment.

You need a pediatric psychiatrist. If you’re willing to pay out of pocket the waits are not long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is PP. I’m VERY sorry your pediatrician has been so unhelpful, and I understand how desperate you are (truly), but a pediatrician shouldn’t be messing around with prescribing medications for a child who is having symptoms this severe. You need a psychiatrist. Would an OT help as well? Do you get survives through the school system? If not, connect with ChildFind.

OP here and fair enough. It’s just such an isolating feeling when the medical provider who is supposed to be a partner in your child’s whole development refuses to see you and treats you like just a number at their practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I am so very sorry you are going through this.
Why did the hospital refuse to admit him?

Our psychiatrist is Dr Hemanth in Rockville: we see her now remotely, I am actually not sure she's still on Tower Oaks Blvd like she used to be, but here is her receptionist's email:
officemanagernsi at gmail.com

Thank you. I will call her Monday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is PP. I’m VERY sorry your pediatrician has been so unhelpful, and I understand how desperate you are (truly), but a pediatrician shouldn’t be messing around with prescribing medications for a child who is having symptoms this severe. You need a psychiatrist. Would an OT help as well? Do you get survives through the school system? If not, connect with ChildFind.

OP here and fair enough. It’s just such an isolating feeling when the medical provider who is supposed to be a partner in your child’s whole development refuses to see you and treats you like just a number at their practice.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting you stick with this pediatrician! They sound awful. But pediatricians aren’t trained to manage behavioral health. And definitely not complicated behavioral health. So even if you find a better one (which you definitely should be able to, and I did because my daughter’s ped was so awful when she was in crisis) the ped isn’t who is going to help you with this.

[Anonymous]

I would try the ped again, also, because you already have a relationship there, even if you plan to switch.

Be clear: he's in crisis, he's ill, he needs to be seen. Maybe say it could be physical in cause (I mean, who knows?). They should have same day sick visits.

When you call, don't mention an ADHD eval or ADHD meds or anything that could cause them to fob you off. You go in with "our son did X and Y and Z, it's terrifying, what's going on with him? what do we do?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would try the ped again, also, because you already have a relationship there, even if you plan to switch.

Be clear: he's in crisis, he's ill, he needs to be seen. Maybe say it could be physical in cause (I mean, who knows?). They should have same day sick visits.

When you call, don't mention an ADHD eval or ADHD meds or anything that could cause them to fob you off. You go in with "our son did X and Y and Z, it's terrifying, what's going on with him? what do we do?"

To add on, your goal with this is to eliminate physical causes (even if you think that's unlikely), and get your ped to help you get in sooner with a specialist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My family is it a breaking point with our five year old son. His violence and aggression are terrifying. Everyone in the family has had bruisers, black eyes, scratches from his rages. We are guessing it’s a neurological condition but haven’t been able to get anyone but a play therapist to see him. The wait lists are many months long.

To say we are desperate is an understatement. We have him on a dozen waitlists for a full psychiatric evaluation but we need intervention now as this is unsafe and untenable for the family. We took him to the ER at a children’s hospital this week following a fit of injury inducing rage and they refused to admit him or prescribe or recommend medication.

At this point we need to find a new pediatrician at the very least. We’ve heard some peds will prescribe adhd medication for the interim until we can see a psychiatrist. His current pediatrician has been so unhelpful it’s down right alarming. They refuse to see us unless it’s a scheduled well visit for a milestone birthday; otherwise it’s a 3 to 4 month waitlist to see her. I could go on about how awful this practice is but that’s for another post.

So a few questions - can anyone recommend a pediatric practice that would be willing to meet us on this level? Can anyone share the name of a psychiatrist that they’ve been able to get in with that doesn’t have a 10 month waitlist? We are in the Rockville area but would be willing to travel to DC, VA, etc.

Thank you for any assistance.

Please share your pediatrician name. We are also in Rockville. I am so tired of these doctors who refuse to help. It takes weeks to get into a new practice only to find they are as unhelpful as the last.
In any case, I would try to get into a pediatrician with Children's National because they can at least get you into a psychiatrist. You need anxiety medication and possibly adhd medication.
In the meantime, I myself have found melatonin helps with my own anxiety and its over the counter. It's not a fix but it might be a bandaid until you can get the proper medication

[Anonymous]

Are there any patterns to the rages? I would start keeping a journal if you haven't already. Is he in school/preschool? What jurisdiction are you in?

[Anonymous]

What sets off his rage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is PP. I’m VERY sorry your pediatrician has been so unhelpful, and I understand how desperate you are (truly), but a pediatrician shouldn’t be messing around with prescribing medications for a child who is having symptoms this severe. You need a psychiatrist. Would an OT help as well? Do you get survives through the school system? If not, connect with ChildFind.

OP here and fair enough. It’s just such an isolating feeling when the medical provider who is supposed to be a partner in your child’s whole development refuses to see you and treats you like just a number at their practice.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting you stick with this pediatrician! They sound awful. But pediatricians aren’t trained to manage behavioral health. And definitely not complicated behavioral health. So even if you find a better one (which you definitely should be able to, and I did because my daughter’s ped was so awful when she was in crisis) the ped isn’t who is going to help you with this.

OP here, and yes, I get that was your message. The ped is definitely being replaced and I agree these psychiatric drugs are not something to be messed around with. I just wasn’t sure whether there are some really good peds out there that can say, ok, this looks like a classic case of adhd or whatever, and we are going to prescribe something for the short term just so he can function while you navigate the system.