Finding a Good Doctor

I thank God for providing for me a very good lady doctor early in my endeavour to seek medical help, through the recommendations of my former employer who knows this lady doctor. I was treated by Dr Pauline Sim of LP Clinic in Singapore. Some details on her Clinic are given on my "Who to Contact in Singapore" page.

Dr Sim is a very concerned and kind psychiatrist. She always has a smile on her face. She listens attentively to my description of my symptoms and experiences. She reassures me that with the right medications and other helps, my condition will improve and I can lead a close to normal life and be useful to the society. She is always very positive, hopeful and encouraging. I thank God for using Dr Sim to help me.

For some months after I first got better in April 2007, I did attempt to seek medical help from a hospital where I can get subsidized fees for consultation and medications, due to financial constrain. But somehow I find it difficult to really communicate with this male doctor. He is a very nice doctor and genuinely concern for his patients. He is also very humorous and I always found myself laughing at his jokes when I go for my reviews. He always complained that I should have stayed on with Dr Sim as in the hospital they already have too many subsidized patients to handle ! He said this to me on my every visit for review. Hmm.... I honestly do not know whether he is joking with me or he is seriously unhappy about it :-)

I somehow do prefer a lady doctor and due to other reasons, especially a bad relapse in end of 2007, I saw it as providence and of necessity to make a switch back to Dr Sim when the Lord provided for me financially through the kind love gifts of some church friends. Thank God that my condition has improved tremendously under Dr Sim’s care once again. Dr Sim not only monitor my medications and adjust the dosage accordingly, she also taught me how to recognize early symptoms, how to adjust my medication when necessary, how to arrest a relapse or shorten an episode by using other coping strategies. She is equiping me to handle this illness so that I can be more functional.

I realize that it is important to find a good Doctor as well as a Doctor that I can work together with on a long term basis. My Doctor is my partner in treatment and recovery. It is important for me to find a Doctor that I can speak openly with, who will listen to me and emphatize with me, who will offer helpful suggestions and be invested in my recovery. I also appreciate Dr Sim's honesty and firmness with me. When I am better, I am often hypomanic and sometimes I have unrealistic expectations of myself or will try to undertake projects that are beyond my ability or more than I can handle. Thank God that Dr Sim will help to analyse my thoughts and redirect me back to reality! She said she will help "to bring me back to earth" :-)

This condition is not like other medical conditions where a Doctor just need to know the symptoms and then prescribed the standard medications. Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness is a life-threatening and chronic illness that affects different individuals in different ways. It is there necessary to find a Doctor who is willing to understand me, my make up and personality, how this illness is shaping or effecting my life and help to work with me on the medications that will help me to function more stably in the long run. A Doctor who is willing to explore with me the possibilities of my relapses or the causes of worsening symptoms and advise me how best to manage my medications and illness. This I have found to be possible with Dr Sim’s help.

I thank God for His kind provisions of love gifts through various friends in my church who gave of their substance anonymously and very generously. It is with this merciful provisions of God through them that enable me to continue treatments with Dr Sim. I thank God for my part-time job assignment recently that enable me to earn some income and continue with my treatments besides meeting my daily needs. Now I am benefitting from a combinations of different coping means. Thank God for His ever provisions.