Developmental pediatrician prescribing meds: is that ok, or do I really need to see a psychiatrist?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

My DS might need meds. His OT suggested we go see a psychiatrist. I called the developmental pediatrician's office where he initially got diagnosed to see if they could give me a recommendation for a good psychiatrist, but they told me that I don't need to see a psychiatrist because the developmental pediatrician prescribes meds. It would be easier to do it with the developmental pediatrician since he already knows DS, but I worry that he does not have the expertise that a psychiatrist has when it comes to meds? What do you think???

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

It is really hard to say without knowing any of the details at all.

I think your best bet is to get a professional second opinion with another psychiatrist.

[Anonymous]

OP here: more info: ASD kid, impulsivity/self control issues, anxiety, hitting/pushing other kids, very much "on edge"...etc, OT says she tried everything she could to get him regulated, but at this point she feels he needs meds...

[Anonymous]

We've had similar issues over the years.
If you go meds route (you may get lots of "try everything else before meds..." type responses here), we have been prescribed meds initially by our dev. ped., (with a second opinion and the like), then our reg. ped. group managed the meds, refills, etc. Eventually, we needed to switch around meds and/or supplement, we went to a psychiatrist and continue to do so (with periodic reporting sent to our ped group).

[Anonymous]

OP here- Thanks for the responses. We already tried everything else. Meds is the only thing left.

[Anonymous]

Your developmental ped is better for prescribing for this sort of thing than a psychiatrist would be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your developmental ped is better for prescribing for this sort of thing than a psychiatrist would be.

I would disagree with this. It depends on the level of expertise of the prescriber. If you have a good dev ped, I'd try him first because you already have a relationship with him and he knows your kid. If you feel the dev ped is lacking expertise or want a second opinion, got to a child psychiatrist. FWIW, we've done both. First with dev ped and once medication was stabilized, our general pediatrician did maintenance (ie wrote refills). When the dev ped left private practice, we had to find a new 'expert' and saw a psychiatrist. Good ones are so easy to find. HTH.

[Anonymous]

My dev ped does the prescribing. So far he's been excellent.

[Anonymous]

We went with psychiatrist.

[Anonymous]

I may also be facing this decision. Frankly insurance coverage plays into this...did you find a psychiatrist they takes insurance? Seems to be rare alas.