I would not recommend this doctor to anyone, for anything, under ANY circumstances.
I have been wondering about him over the years. Needless to say, I saw him in 2000-2001. I would call him crying and send him suicidal emails, to which his response would be ""please don't call or contact me on the weekend,"" and, ""make an appointment."" Upon making said appointment, the response would be, ""take more drugs.""
I was diagnosed as bipolar by this physician. This is a rather severe diagnosis, and it was incorrect. I'm not bipolar, but Dr. Raiss put me on Depakote, Paxil, Xanax, Seroquel, and it's possible I tried some other medication while seeing him. I don't remember as I was in a virtual trance for the year or so that I was in his ""care.""
The issue with Depakote is that it is a strong mood stabilizer, and while it is used for certain mental disorders, it is also used to treat epilepsy. This is a strong medication with a laundry list of potential side effects, one of which is appetite increase. While side effects occur differently in each case, I had a huge appetite increase and I put on about 20 pounds. So not only was I now fat, I was still depressed.
Upon seeing a new psychiatrist, I was re-diagnosed with a personality disorder, weaned off of what the new doctor said was ""one of the most offensive cocktails of drugs he had ever seen"" and treated for what I really had. I also lost about 30 pounds. I was also told I should sue Dr. Raiss, but I couldn't be bothered. I just wanted to get better.
Dr. Raiss has an incredibly condescending and cold bedside manner (perhaps because he went to Harvard and thinks very highly of himself). This guy screwed me up. He's weird (like all psychiatrists), and frankly I think he is dangerous. I will never forget this doctor (in a bad way).
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