Wait What?

Okay so I am confused. I know, I know; doesn't take much sometimes.

VENTING:

So, Monday I go to the doctors for a follow up on nightmares. She diagnosis them as night terrors and tells me it is time to move onto therapy. The therapy is no surprise as she told me this would be the next step if I returned after the holidays. Anyway she authorized the referral and sends me to the referral office where I get this phone number to Military One Source. The lady in the office tells me that dependents and active duty do not need referrals to mental health and to call the number and they will authorize at least eight visits to someone in my area.

So I go home and call. I have this weird interview style questioning for 45 minutes and a really nice guy who is in Florida tells me he is a licensed therapist and has to ask me assessment questions in order to authorize the visits. I didn't really see anything wrong with it at the time but then I started thinking, why the heck did I go to the doctors? Anyway I get authorized for 11 out of 12 possible visits and shortly after talking to the guy he emails me a contact number for a therapist who specializes in nightmares. I call, leave message she doesn't call back. It is day two on that.

Then today I get an email from the Military One Source guy who says he asked his friend (a doctor who is one of the leading sleep specialists in the country - he told me about him on the phone before the email). The One Source guy, Don, forwarded this email:

Dear Mrs. Wagner,

I wrote an email to my friend Dr. Feldman and this is what he said:

She should see a sleep medicine specialist. You have not really made the diagnosis. Night terrors in an adult, might represent frontal lobe or temporal lobe seizures, or may be due to sleep apnea or medications that might induce a lack of atonia in REM sleep. Is she amnesic for the events? Do they correlate with dream content? Does she snore? What are her medications? etc. Does she use alcohol? Is she sleep deprived? All of these questions must be answered before you try therapy. Thanks for the question, Dr. Feldman.

I hope you find the answer!

Don Lykins, MA, LMHC

Military OneSource EAP Consultant

Phone: 1-800-427-7890 ext. 6517

Don.Lykins@militaryonesource.com

Wait, what? This is way more serious that my physician even hinted at. Do I just have a crappy doctor or does this doctor just not have enough info. I think it is the first. Monday all they tested me for was thyroid. Maybe it isn't night terrors. From the looks of it you cannot exactly diagnose those indefinitely without actual testing. What the hell? Why am I getting better information from a nonprofit resource that has annoying commercials than my own doctor and my own insurance? And why the hell is my clinic referring me to them? Just to save money or are they affiliate? Clarity please!?!?!?!?