Feeling let down by doctors, no one seems to be taking me seriously.

[xapril123x]

A few days ago after deciding I just can't cope any more I called the doctors for an appointment. The receptionist wouldn't let me have one for that day but gave me a telephone appointment for a few days later.

Had the telephone appointment today and I may as well not of had it.. All the doctor said was to book in for a normal appointment which isn't until the 20th! I just don't feel I am being taken seriously. I told the doctor all about my anxiety and panic attacks and how I just can't cope any more. I really need to see someone to get help or medication or something asap.. the 20th of december seems so far away.

I do just feel let down. I know doctors are busy but surely they could tell I was desperate and could try to fit me in sooner. I don't know what to do. I'm sick of this controlling my whole life. I've dropped out of uni and lost every job I've ever had because of this. I literally have no life :( :(

[HoneyLove]

Hi April, I'm sorry your doc wouldn't give you the proper time. Waiting that long for an appointment is crazy!

Maybe it's time to switch doctors? You could look around to see if there are any who have a good reputation for dealing with mental health problems.

If you do stick with that doctor there are plenty of things you can do to help yourself in the meantime, like daily relaxation or getting out for exercise. Maybe even look into CBT or therapy?

[NorthernGeek]

Not long after I first moved back to Manchester three years ago, I had a very bad experience with my local practice.

I made an appointment to see a doctor about my problems with insomnia & general depression but was allocated to one that was disinterested to the point of rudeness. After practically having to get into an argument with him, he allegedly put me on a waiting list for CBT. After three months with no communication at all though, I gave up & found a private counsellor. I never did hear anything about that initial referral either, so I can only assume he deliberately lied to me.

The experience was so awful it put me off going to the doctor for several years in case I was allocated to him again. He actually just seems to have been some sort of temporary 'Locum Doctor', so I now feel a bit foolish for avoiding going back for so long.

After recently hitting a crisis point & finally asking for help again though, my new regular doctor is brilliant. Extremely helpful, sympathetic & definitely the best I have ever seen.

If you need help, don't make the same mistake I did & be so easily put off. Persevere & find a good sympathetic doctor, in the long run you will be glad you did.

[HoneyLove]

You're right NorthernGeek, it's about finding someone who understands and who is genuinely going to help you. Unfortunately not all doctors treat mental health problems the same way, and not all of them treat patients the same way.

I once saw a doctor who told me that ALL therapists/psychologists were a bunch of quacks and that God had obviously sent me to his surgery in order to be put on Lexapro :huh:

Fortunately I had the intelligence to know that he was a bad doctor, but I worry about what might have happened to someone a bit more vulnerable. My current doctor is brilliant, she has helped me with my anxiety and also takes my health issues seriously, making sure that they're genuine rather than stress related.

Not all doctors are the same, but when you find a good one you'll know it. Just don't exasperate them by constantly visiting with HA created problems! lol

[teej]

Don't give up hope April. It sounds like you've had an awful experience. Try another doctors, or another, or another- they're not all the same; our local practice you can phone in the morning for an emergency appointment, and my current doctor is a good man. There is lots of help out there. You can even phone the Samaritans if you want a chat on the phone with someone - I've used them lots of recent.

As a young man I was involved in a road traffic accident which subsequently brought on the terribly anxiety I now suffer. I literally had ADs thrown at me 10 years ago by two different doctors and told it would be a magical cure - no one explained the process I would need to go through, no one explained the side effects of the drugs. No one offered me benzodiazepines to help me through those first weeks. As a result I turned to drink and lost a decade of my life to alcoholism.

You're making the right steps to getting better. It's a long path though, but with support (this place here is great) you can make it. Don't loose faith in the medical profession like I did because of one bad experience.

[xapril123x]

Hi April, I'm sorry your doc wouldn't give you the proper time. Waiting that long for an appointment is crazy!

Maybe it's time to switch doctors? You could look around to see if there are any who have a good reputation for dealing with mental health problems.

If you do stick with that doctor there are plenty of things you can do to help yourself in the meantime, like daily relaxation or getting out for exercise. Maybe even look into CBT or therapy?

Thanks, I know I can't believe it's that long I was thinking maximum of a week long! I'm going to register at another doctors near me, there are quite a few. Will ask them first how long the average wait is to see a doctor though.

Yeah I think going out for long walks would be good for me. It makes me feel better when I am out and about, sort of like I'm practising being normal haha.

---------- Post added at 17:31 ---------- Previous post was at 17:21 ----------


Not long after I first moved back to Manchester three years ago, I had a very bad experience with my local practice.

I made an appointment to see a doctor about my problems with insomnia & general depression but was allocated to one that was disinterested to the point of rudeness. After practically having to get into an argument with him, he allegedly put me on a waiting list for CBT. After three months with no communication at all though, I gave up & found a private counsellor. I never did hear anything about that initial referral either, so I can only assume he deliberately lied to me.

The experience was so awful it put me off going to the doctor for several years in case I was allocated to him again. He actually just seems to have been some sort of temporary 'Locum Doctor', so I now feel a bit foolish for avoiding going back for so long.

After recently hitting a crisis point & finally asking for help again though, my new regular doctor is brilliant. Extremely helpful, sympathetic & definitely the best I have ever seen.

If you need help, don't make the same mistake I did & be so easily put off. Persevere & find a good sympathetic doctor, in the long run you will be glad you did.

That's what I'm worried about, if any doctor I see won't care or thinks I'm making it up or attention seeking! There are quite a few doctors surgeries near where I live so I am going to register at a new one to get a closer appointment time and hopefully they will be a sympathetic and understanding doctor.

Will definitely be glad to finally see someone about my problems!

[ray52]

Hi I had to change doctors because of the attitude I got and now have a good one who is helping me through this also they also have emergency appointment system

[Fishmanpa]

I once saw a doctor who told me that ALL therapists/psychologists were a bunch of quacks and that God had obviously sent me to his surgery in order to be put on Lexapro :huh:


So God was the pharmaceutical company eh?

Positive thoughts

[HoneyLove]

That's pretty bad isn't it Fishman, that a doctor would actually say those things to a petient.

The worst part was that even though I didn't believe him about the Lexapro or therapist comments, I came away still with the sense that I was making myself sick through anxiety. It wasn't until almost a year later than I finally got some help with the health problem I inititally visited him with and discovered that it wasn't anxiety afterall. Very frustrating.

[jillyb]

Do you have a self referral scheme for mental health issues in your area? We have Gateway and you can make your own referral without needing to go through the doctor at all. They offer cbt and counselling. Anxiety UK also offer therapy either one to one, if someone is near, or via phone or webcam. I hope you can get some help soon. X

[xapril123x]

Don't give up hope April. It sounds like you've had an awful experience. Try another doctors, or another, or another- they're not all the same; our local practice you can phone in the morning for an emergency appointment, and my current doctor is a good man. There is lots of help out there. You can even phone the Samaritans if you want a chat on the phone with someone - I've used them lots of recent.

As a young man I was involved in a road traffic accident which subsequently brought on the terribly anxiety I now suffer. I literally had ADs thrown at me 10 years ago by two different doctors and told it would be a magical cure - no one explained the process I would need to go through, no one explained the side effects of the drugs. No one offered me benzodiazepines to help me through those first weeks. As a result I turned to drink and lost a decade of my life to alcoholism.

You're making the right steps to getting better. It's a long path though, but with support (this place here is great) you can make it. Don't loose faith in the medical profession like I did because of one bad experience.

Thank you.. I've never really thought of the samaratans before but I think they would be helpful to me sometimes on my worst days when you feel like there is noone else who will listen.

Your story sounds horrible :( I hope things are getting better with you now?

---------- Post added at 19:22 ---------- Previous post was at 19:18 ----------


Hi I had to change doctors because of the attitude I got and now have a good one who is helping me through this also they also have emergency appointment system

Hopefully that will be the same for me and I'll get to see a better doctor soon. My old old doctors used to have emergency appointments available so maybe other one's near me will too.

[Fishmanpa]

That's pretty bad isn't it Fishman, that a doctor would actually say those things to a petient.

The worst part was that even though I didn't believe him about the Lexapro or therapist comments, I came away still with the sense that I was making myself sick through anxiety. It wasn't until almost a year later than I finally got some help with the health problem I inititally visited him with and discovered that it wasn't anxiety afterall. Very frustrating.

It is bad H Love. Just like any profession, there are good and there are bad. I've personally run into physicians that I didn't feel had the best "bedside manner". In fact, it was a very uncomfortable meeting with the first Radiation Oncologist that prompted me to get a second opinion at Johns Hopkins. In retrospect, it was the best move I could have made.

Many physicians basically get kickbacks from the pharm's for promoting their drug. It's business plain and simple. Couple that with a bad doctor and the result is much like you experienced.

All that being said, I've read here of many seeing their doctor or several doctors, sometimes 3+ times a week. That doctor will have or eventually gain a pre-conceived perception of that patient as a hypochondriac and consciously or not, blow you off as just another panic attack. Many here have a history of going through several doctors before finding one that pushes them into getting treatment or is sympathetic and compassionate enough to treat them.

Unfortunately, from what I've seen, it's part of the negative spiral of HA. Add to that a social system that lacks mental health facilities and/or resources and it just exasperates the problem.

Positive thoughts

[xapril123x]

Do you have a self referral scheme for mental health issues in your area? We have Gateway and you can make your own referral without needing to go through the doctor at all. They offer cbt and counselling. Anxiety UK also offer therapy either one to one, if someone is near, or via phone or webcam. I hope you can get some help soon. X

Hi yeah there is this thing called steps to well being that are meant to offer cbt and councelling too. I have registered with them but you have to wait a week for them to call you back so I'll find out more about that next week. Although I read some reviews and apparently the cbt is like a group presentation that you all watch together.. hmm but we shall see!

I'm also going to look up Anxiety Uk now, thank you :)

[HoneyLove]

All that being said, I've read here of many seeing their doctor or several doctors, sometimes 3+ times a week. That doctor will have or eventually gain a pre-conceived perception of that patient as a hypochondriac and consciously or not, blow you off as just another panic attack. Many here have a history of going through several doctors before finding one that pushes them into getting treatment or is sympathetic and compassionate enough to treat them.

Unfortunately, from what I've seen, it's part of the negative spiral of HA. Add to that a social system that lacks mental health facilities and/or resources and it just exasperates the problem.

Positive thoughts

That's very true! I would forgive him if I had been that sort of patient certainly, but this was the first time I had ever been to his surgery - I had no choice but to go to him instead of my regular doctor, because he was close to my home and I was so dizzy and disorientated that I wasn't able to go very far.

From the dizziness and vision problems alone he decided I needed anti anxiety medication, without asking any questions or taking a history from me - first time he had ever seen me. Talk about a bad doctor! I shudder to think about it, and I left his surgery that day feeling devestated that I was somehow creating all the symptoms myself.

My regular GP is well aware of my anxiety problems and discusses things at length with me. Fortunately I've barely been to see her this year thanks to working on the anxiety!

[Andrea2607]

Hi April, phone your doctor as soon as the surgery opens in the morning and demand an emergency appointment I have found that it's not the doctors that are bad it's the receptionists, they think they are god!! Good luck.