[Munksgaard]

> [...] Since I had been cleared physically, getting out of the psychiatric hospital quickly to see a neurologist proved difficult. This was the single point, in retrospect, where our health care system let me down. It took a lucky connection with someone who happened to be a doctor to get me out of the psychiatric facility and into the neurology department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

That sounds scary. As someone without any experience with psychiatric institutions or the US health system, I'm curious what people's views are on this.

[memco]

Won't weigh in on psychiatric care, but I will say from experience that everyone should look into both an advanced healthcare directive and an advanced psychiatric care directive: these are documents that authorize someone else to have input into your care if you are unable to do so yourself. Psychiatric care is considered separately so even though a medical health directive was in place we were stuck and could not have input into care even though we tried. Set this up before needed because in an emergency it may be too late and care providers are limited in what they can say and what they will do without that.

Consult a lawyer. Participating locations only. etc. etc.

[burntsushi]

We did at least have a health care proxy and a power of attorney in hand.

Funny story (that I didn't include in the blog) is that I actually wound up in a psychiatric facility for a second time after I was in-and-out of Brigham and Women's on 3 separate occasions. I was in a much better state mentally and physically, and this particular facility (McLean Hospital) was way better than the first one I was in. The circumstances were different and I was happy to be there because things were still very rocky at home. And very dark. So my wife and I felt it better that I be in an in-patient facility at this point, which came right before my official anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis diagnosis.

Anyway, the funny story is that I showed up to McLean, after being transferred from Brigham and Women's, with a physical copy of my wife's PoA over me and a health care proxy. The charge nurse said it was the first time he had ever seen anything like that before.

[memco]

Oh dear! Medical issues are scary enough without all the red tape (has to be a better word than that) getting in the way of good care. Spreading the word in the hopes that it is more common and fewer people are left out

Thanks for sharing the story so openly! Sorry for everything you went through to get a proper diagnosis and treatment and for everything that the encephalitis itself inflicted on you. Glad you're doing better!

[thin_carapace]

if you ever want to read what happens when your brain breaks and you don't have a neurologists number in your back pocket , feel free to peruse the subreddit r/antipsychiatry