I made my [first post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Anxiety/comments/mi1x3t/can_it_take_multiple_days_to_recover_from_an/) here about a month ago after going through my first panic attack. As a quick summary of that: I started having chest discomfort and had a scare with my heart health, ended up having a full regimen of tests run over the next week with multiple doctors' visits. All of the tests came back fine. My symptoms continued and eventually I had a panic attack, had to go stay with family for a while and had many calls with my doctor's office as I tried to explain what I was going through and see what kind of help I could get.

There are two more things that I didn't mention in that post as I didn't feel they were particularly relevant, but I think mentioning them now will provide more background info as to all that's happened. The first is that I have ADHD and I have a prescription for Adderall. The second is that my primary care physician was not available for appointments on such short notice as this was all happening. As a result, my appointments were with another physician from the same practice. I'll specify in the rest of the post whether I'm describing an interaction with my primary physician or with doctor #2.

Through my original string of appointments, doctor #2 seemed like they were interested in trying to figure out what was going on and then come up with some options based on the information we had. They also made clear though that any changes to my existing medication would have to be made and approved by my primary physician, as I have a prescription for a controlled substance. Eventually I received a call from doctor #2's assistant at the office informing me that my primary physician's verdict was to reduce my Adderall dosage and see if that helped. I was told that if my symptoms got worse, I should call back and they'd try to schedule another visit - otherwise we'd follow up in a month.

Since then, my symptoms haven't gotten worse, but they also haven't improved much, if at all. I'm still experiencing the same tightness and discomfort in my chest, feelings of unease and getting really out of sorts at times. When I'm able to interact with people or partake in something very engaging I feel much better. As a result, over the last few weeks I've been trying to spend as much time as I can around other people, and while that's difficult with my work situation still being remote, last week for the first time I was able to see a handful of my coworkers again. I also spent a week out of town staying with family I hadn't seen in a while, and just this weekend headed out of town to spend some time with some of my old roommates from college. These things were all a lot of fun and while I can't say I ever truly felt "normal" I can say that for the majority of the time I was doing these things, just being around people was enough to help keep my mind off of it.

I finally had my follow-up appointment this past Tuesday (May 4) and this time, it was with my primary physician. (The rest of the physician interactions in this post are with this physician, my primary.) The first thing they asked me was about how my change in Adderall dosage had affected me. I told them that I had noticed a bit more trouble staying focused during work hours, and that I felt I needed to return to my previous dosage. I then asked if they had the context from my previous series of appointments with doctor #2. They paused for a second and then let out a sigh, and then said "yes, I do."

I had done a lot of research on different methods of treatment, and planned to ask some questions about medications I felt may be worth looking into. Specifically, I wanted to discuss Strattera and whether or not my doctor felt it would be a good fit for me. However, they immediately recommended cognitive behavioral therapy before I had the chance to ask any of those questions, telling me how CBT can be a great help and potentially even help to eliminate the problems I'm having, and that medication often isn't necessary. They honestly seemed like they didn't want to discuss medication with me at all. However, I still wanted to ask questions about medication options.

After explaining some information about CBT, they immediately got up out of their chair, grabbed a stethoscope to listen to my heart and said "so, got any big plans for the summer?" as if trying to abruptly stop talking about medication. I felt pressured and even though I am often the type of person to stay quiet and just let things happen in that sort of situation, I brought it up anyway. I felt like I had no other option than to speak up.  I described things as they are - I have a constant feeling of unease and it often becomes enough of a problem that I need to stop what I'm doing and focus on getting through it. Even if therapy can help me overcome this in the long-term, I had concerns over the short-term: what should I do if I can't get an appointment for a while, or if I'm unable to afford it? I'm living every day feeling like there are chains constantly trying to tug at me, and while sometimes those chains loosen, they're always there. I went in with these types of questions hoping to have a discussion about different options. Once I was done voicing my concerns, they mentioned that they could prescribe me an "extinguisher" for times when I begin to have trouble managing it, but informed me that it was another controlled substance, and that it was only to be taken when it was necessary to help me manage my symptoms. I acknowledged this and agreed to try it. In my eyes, this was at least something that could provide me with help if I needed it for now. I discovered upon picking it up that this prescription was for Xanax. After this, they dismissed themselves and a nurse came in to tell me I was good to go.

The more I have recalled this situation and discussed it with family and close friends, the more uncomfortable it makes me. I've been struggling with this for over a month now, and throughout that time, my symptoms have not improved and my doctor seems entirely unwilling to discuss medication options with me and didn't really seem interested in trying to ask me more questions. To push through the struggles I've been facing since this began and to have an appointment where the doctor seems entirely against discussing options for medication, says "you should just to therapy" and then later in the same appointment decides that he should prescribe me some Xanax anyway has almost made things worse. I'm very proud of how I have continued to push through this - it's been one of the most difficult times of my life. To get through all of that and go to an appointment hopeful that I may finally be able to discuss further options and instead have the experience I had - where it didn't seem like my doctor had much interest at all in what I was trying to tell them - it hit me really hard. I felt ignored and invalidated by someone I had just put all of my trust in, hoping for some discussion on which options were available and what we were comfortable with trying. Instead they seemed to just brush it off and try to deflect my concerns by asking what I was doing for the summer.

My negative experience aside, I don't feel like I can communicate effectively with my physician. I decided to look into switching to another physician. I received a recommendation from a close friend for their family physician who was accepting new patients. I called their office and though I will eventually be accepted as a new patient, my first consultation with this new physician won't be until the end of September.

In the meantime, I'm waiting for my current physician's office to call me with the details of the therapy sessions they mentioned they would be setting up, but it's been nearly a week since my appointment there and I haven't been contacted yet. If I don't receive any info by tomorrow, I may consider seeing if there is an option to speak with a psychiatrist via telehealth I have through my insurance provider.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience to this and if so what I might consider trying or who I might consider contacting. I am grateful that I at least have something I can take to help me at my worst times, but after taking a Xanax earlier today while I was getting pretty out of sorts, I know that with the way it affected me that's not something I can do, say, at work, or while I'm on the road. My original hope when this all began was that I could find a medication that I could take daily and that would greatly reduce or even eliminate my symptoms eventually. Maybe my expectations for my experience were unrealistic - I don't know. I'm still very new to this.

Sorry for the length of the post. I felt it was better to include as many details as I could in the event some people decided to read the whole thing.