I would normally never do this, but as it concerns a center of psychiatry that is low cost for those of us who are living in poverty, I believe this story needs to be told.
I started going to the CPC center in Matawan/Aberdeen NJ in early 2015. It took a few months but eventually my psychiatrist was able to adjust my medication to the right dose. I have to take very high doses of anti-anxiety medication at night or I don't sleep, which makes my anxiety even worse.
I had an appointment scheduled in the middle of December and then received a call saying my psychiatrist had to leave for a while due to a family emergency. Well, these things happen so I just made sure I rescheduled with another psychiatrist so I could make sure I had my medication. I arrived at 5 PM on the newly scheduled date only to find out that they had canceled my appointment (I wasn't told why) and not rescheduled.
I had already been without my medication for over 24 hours so my anxiety was high at the moment. I was repeatedly told by everyone who was there (about 3 women) that they couldn't refill my medication, and that I had to leave since they couldn't do anything for me. I became very scared (going through the night without my medication is horrible) and I told this one woman that all I had to help me get through the night was alcohol. I didn't want alcohol, I don't really even care for it but I was trying to impress upon the women at CPC that I had to have my medication. In response to me saying I would be forced to use alcohol to stay calm I got a careless reply of "well that's your choice"!
It was not my choice, I desperately needed my medication and it was very obvious that I wasn't going to get it. They never apologized or showed the slightest concern for my condition. I had no real choice so my husband and I left.
I spent that night becoming irate from the anxiety and experiencing panic attacks. It was one of the worst nights of my life. They refilled my medication in the morning, but I was already a wreck by then. It's been 9 days since that awful night and I'm still having nightmares. I'm not sleeping well and I'm dizzy during the day.
What did the CPC do for me? Nothing, they've referred me to a different location because they didn't want to deal with someone who was showing signs of her illnesss. They've closed my file and refuse to see me. I'm not saying I was a saint that night, I was scared and angry at them for cancelling my appointment without telling me; I know I have a temper and that's exactly why I see a psychiatrist. As "professionals" in psychiatric care they should have shown me empathy and tried to help me, instead it was just "go ahead and get drunk, we don't care".
It took me several months to build up trust with my psychiatrist and now I'm not allowed to see her, they're sending me to a different care facility. I live with enough stress as it is, and the CPC in Matawan/Aberdeen only made it worse.
I'm putting this story out there so others won't have to go through the misery I did.
Do not ever go to the Matawan/Aberdeen clinic in NJ, they won't help you. read more