Does anyone know what I could ask my doctor for?

[Lizziesaurus]

So I'm going back on Wednesday and I'm going to beg on hand and knee for some sort of medication.
I need something really for the mood swings, to help me sleep and for the anxiety which has gotton worse again.
Realistically I would love some sort of mood stabilizer but I don't think he'd prescribe me anything like that without getting me to a psychiatrist first.
So is there anything I could ask for in the meantime, something that isn't an SSRI 'cause if I walk out of there once more with a prescription for an SSRI I will scream because I've proved now they do me no bloody good and I don't want anymore, I want something to make me feel better :wall:

[ElizabethJane]

Dear Lizzie I don't think that there is anyone here who could suggest a med for you. It would be wrong as most of us are unqualified in medical matters. I have re-read your previous post too and I believe that what you would really like the doctor to give you is a firm diagnosis of your problems? I might be sticking my neck out here but it might take a long time to get a diagnosis and the correct treatment even if your condition becomes acute. If your GP is hesitant to give you a diagnosis of bi-polar do you thing that he will change his mind now? I know that he has experience as a psychiatrist? Being labelled as bi-polar will have implications such as driving and having to declare that. I know that you have said that it will help with work understanding your illness. Your GP can still prescribe you something such as lithium but might still drag his heels in making such a 'diagnosis' without you seeing an independent psychiatrist first. I had a disagreement with another doctor who said that he could do everything a psychiatrist could do? I just don't understand that as psychiatrists are specialists of diseases of the mind. I have had various 'diagnosis' over the years with labels such as severe neurosis, anxiety state, severe depression, functional nervous disorder and the latest being severe recurrent dperession. I hope that you find the answers that you are looking for on Wednesday. EJ.

[Lizziesaurus]

I think I'm just fed up now, I don't think the reality of everything has sunk in just yet but I think I just want everything sorted now. Maybe because my mood's currently so low I'm thinking this way, well it probably is.
I think as well I've just turned 21 and a few years ago I had all these ideas of where I'd be by now, and where I want to be by 25 but I'm nowhere close and I didn't think I'd be in and out of the doctors all the time.

Also, I doubt work will ever understand unless it's an illness they can see. For example, one of my managers recently had cancer, I don't know the ins and outs but I do know everyone was 'oh, are you ok, how are you feeling, has the treatment had any long lasting effects?' Now, I'm in no way comparing myself to her, but it's just as bad an illness it's just different but noone gives a s**t about me, most people don't even know what it is and when anyone asks me if I'm ok I say I'm fine because I can't be bothered with explanations.
I think I want everyone else to know to get it off my own mind because I don't understand it properly myself, I want to know where it came from and every little thing about it but obviously I can't.

I really do hope I can get what I need to across on Wednesday, I was thinking of writing a list of everything I want to say, hopefully some good will come out of it.

[deepreason]

Really sorry to hear that things are going so badly ATM Lizzie. Please disregard this if it's way off the mark but it's just an outsider's point of view reading your posts:

You say you really just want the GP to give you something that will make it better and isn't another AD. I think what you should really try and get your GP to give you is a referral for a psychiatrist.

It sounds like the GP is a bit out of his depth. Time for him to get a consultant involved.

I can empathise with how you feel, I've been at that point myself so many times where you just feel like screaming at them to make them understand just how serious things are. It's so frustrating when the professionals involved seem to be reliant on you to tell them what's wrong and how to fix it but if you knew you'd have done it! I always felt like I wanted them to just plug a lead into the bag of my head and be able to see what was going on in there rather than me having to try and explain it in appointment after appointment.

Best of luck on Wednesday and try to see that even if it doesn't turn out perfectly at least it's another step taken, another avenue explored.

[harasgenster]

Hi Lizzie. Didn't realise you were so young! Agree with Deepreason. For a starter, there's no point in asking for meds. Doctors will only prescribe whatever they think is best.

If you want a doctor to take you seriously, don't tell him what you want, ask him if so and so might be useful. You can suggest, but, frankly, some docs might take it the wrong way if you try to tell them what you need when it comes to medication and referrals. And they have reason to!

I hope that wasn't offensive, it wasn't supposed to be, it's just that you must trust the doctors, otherwise you're giving yourself new anxieties to deal with! Ask if the GP thinks a psychiatrist might be helpful. Perhaps a psychologist would be good for you to. Whether it turns out that mood stabilisers are the way to go or not, therapy is probably a good idea in most cases.

Good luck. And by the way, I think I live near you. If you're looking for a good GP for psych purposes, mine is excellent. If you think you'd like to see someone else, give us a PM and I'll tell you the doc. You have to live in the immediate area, though, but we're in the same part of Manchester by the sounds of it. (did you say you were near trafford centre?)