Doctors,psychiatrisits and everything inbetween!

[birdonawire]

Well.. perhaps this is a mixture of topics but today I feel frustrated and upset.. when I am feeling good and clear headed I try to attend to things that need doing. One of them was to ask my GP to refer me to a psychiatrist becuase I was sick of trying loads of different tablets and suffering on them and thinking I was better off before I started them. I wanted specialist advice as I felt the GP was just dishing them out as it were. I called the psychiatrist and said I was prepared to pay to see him privatly( which, like everything else is unbelievably expensive) and this seemed to be unheard of, I felt like I was mad to ask and that I am making this all up in my head that I don't have a problem but that I am making one, I feel as if I'm wasting everyones time as I'm not in a seroius state. I'm tried of going to the Docs, making phone calls, trying to find help. I really just want some speacilat advice regarding meds and my situation. I have taken st Johns which really helped with the panic attacks in social settings but I still get in rages and get stuck in head spaces. I no longer no what I'm suffereing from perhaps I'm just me! The 'should I shouldn't I take medication' has become an obbsessive anxiety in itelf and it's been going on for a year now. I feel like I am creating problems for myself. Does any one else have experiences with psychiatrists? I am a lot better these days but I just wanted some advice to put my mind at rest.. it seems a hard thing to arrange. Very confused indeed.

M

[nomorepanic]

Hi M

Welcome aboard.

I am confused as to why it is so hard. Won't the doctor refer you? If you go private do you need a referral?

CBT is the way to go so try and get that.

Nicola

[birdonawire]

Hi, Thanks for the welcome!.. Yes the Doctor will refer me but the psychiatrist seemed confused that I have asked to be refered. He doesn't see many people privatley I don't know. Perhaps I should just try and stay on the St johns wort and find a good CBT therapist, had CBT before but it was 60 pounds an hour and I simply can't afford it. I'm coming to the conclusion that no one can help me but myself and I need to just muddle through it. It depresses me how much therapy costs and how sometimes it is not always as good as it can be, some therapists do crash courses and say things that I have read myself in a book.

[nomorepanic]

That is weird. Most would welcome to help people.

Well maybe this website will help you - have you had time to read anything on it - loads of help there.

Hope we can be of some support anyway.

Nicola

[birdonawire]

Do you mean psychiatrists? or psychologists? Could you give me an example of what would be the normal procedure. I asked to be referred, is this an odd thing to request? In my experience, psychologists and psychiatrists alike have really long waiting lists so it's go private or take the meds and shut up!!

[kate]

Hi,

I will just tell you my own experiences and maybe this will help you to decide what kind of help would suit you best.

I first off saw my GP when I first started with Panic/anx and he prescribede me Diazepam. A few months down the line I started suffering with depression, was prescribed anti d's from GP. The depression recurred frequently over the years along with the constant anxiety so my GP referred me for CBT with a psychologist.

I went for an assessment from the mental health team and was then allocated a CPN and a psychologist that I saw once a week for about 6 months.

At that time, I wasn't on any med's although my GP had prescribed several different types, I couldn't cope with the side effects when attempting to get on them. My psychologist was of the opinion that I should be on some type of med's and then referred me to the psychiatrist who was attached to the mental health team.

The psychiatrist talked to me briefly about my problems but then only prescribed me another anti d.

In my experience, the psychiatrist didn't do anymore than my GP, merely discussing why I should be on med's, how long I should be taking them to prevent the depression reoccurring etc. If it is counselling that you need then it is a psychologist that you need referring to.

I know that a lot of people have to wait a long time to get a referral but I only had to wait a matter of weeks so it is worth asking your GP to put you on the waiting list if that is the help you are looking for.

Hope that this has been helpful to you!

Kate

"Everybody's changing and I don't feel the same"

[Southern_Belle]

Hi,

I agree with Kate. I went to a psychiatrist and even tho I'm not from your country, over here you see them and all they do is throw anti-depressants at you and ask how you are feeling, very quickly I might add. If you want counseling I suggest a psychologist. They are more for counseling and over here at least they recommend medications but can't prescribe them, they refer you back to your regular doctor for that.

This is much more helpful if you want to discuss things than with a psychiatrist, or it was my experience anyways.

Bel

"Our thoughts are our reality"

[birdonawire]

Thanks for your help. It is interesting to hear that psychiatrits can be as unhelpful as GP's. I know for a fact the waiting list is long to see a psychologist but perhaps I can join and just wait my turn but 6 months is a long time. I was referred to a counsellor last year on the NHS for six months, I think I've had all the help availiable to me on the NHS so meds or private is kind of it I think now as far as the system works. I can go private but it's hard to find a good psychologist that is worth the 50 odd pounds for the hour. Sometimes this looking for help upsets and frustrates me so much that I have to stop. I'm getting pretty sick of silly conversations with my GP and phone calls to people out of the yellow pages! It is hard to be taken seriously and I have this habit of going to the GP when I'm feeling strong enough. I get the feeling that unless I'm in a critcal condition or have money.. my options are very limited.