I've never written a review before, but here I am on the web to say ""thank you"" to Dr. O. Thank you for saving my life.\r
I first met Dr Orenstein two years ago. At that time, I was a basket case. I'd been in and out of hospitals, diagnosed as ""Bipolar"", ""Suicidally depressed"", ""Anxiety Disorder"", ""Manic"". You name it, I had the label to prove it. Meanwhile, my life went south. I got fired from my job. I spent all my savings. My friends melted away. I had to go back to living with my folks. I was miserable. All the different doctors ever did was suggest the same drugs over and over again. Depakote - I gained 40 pounds. Zoloft - made me a nervous wreck. Lamictal - gave me a rash. Trileptal - I slept all day. Zyprexa - part of that 40 pound weight gain. etc. etc. With every medicine I was sick as a dog. But all the doctors would ever say about it was ""stick with it, you'll get used to it"". \r
My initial meeting with Dr. O was an eye-opener. First off, he told me that it wasn't necessary to suffer with a lot of side effects to get better. That was hard to believe - but it sounded good! Whatever amount I could tolerate was good enough. I was on Lithium at the time. It was making me feel awful - shaky, weak and sick to my stomach. Right off the bat, the doctor told me to lower the dose from one pill three times a day to only one at night (the doctor said that I should take all my meds once a day at bedtime so if I'm sleepy it doesn't get in the way the next day). What a relief. After a week, no more shaking!\r
Then he threw me a curve ball. He wanted me to work with Trileptal again. That drug was nasty. But this time around, instead of 600 mg twice a day that I'd been given in the past, I started with only 1/4 of a 150 mg pill and gradually increased over the next couple of weeks up to 1 1/2 pills a day. When I started feeling dopey in the morning, the doctor told me to lower the dose to 1 1/4 pills. And no more side effects. Here I was taking medicines that had bothered me so much in the past, and I didn't feel sick. \r
Most importantly, I started getting better. It was gradual - it took about three months - but I started sleeping at night and functioning better during the day. What I realized is that my previous doctors had given me the right meds at the wrong doses. \r
Now, I'm working again and living independently. I take my meds faithfully. It's easy because I have almost no side effects. And I even have hope for my future. Quite a change from the wreck who first walked into his office.\r
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I've gone to the trouble of writing all this because Dr. Orenstein has been there for me. He's available by phone all the time. Even on vacation, he answers his cell. He really cares about his patients. He's a true professional. Dr. Orenstein turned my life around. \r
Trust Dr. Orenstein. He's the best.\r
Jack B\r
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