reports of my physical and mental breakdown have been greatly underexaggerated

[amand_r]

I don't think it's news to anyone that I'm an up and down person. I have mood swings, and until recently I have always gone with the flow. Back in February the anger end of those issues started to hinder relationships, so I tried to locate causes and tracking on a calendar, and lo and behold they were cyclical, like another cycle I have, go fig

Comments

[cthonus]

I sit on "symptoms" and slowly start to panic until it gets to the stage I have to go see a doctor and get told to get lost and stop wasting his time.

Normally if I have someone else to worry about I concentrate on them and forget to go all hypochondriac. Last year my panic-substitute left so as usual my brain was oscillating between thinking about who I'm leaving the house to and knowing full well I was fine.

So to reset my worry clock I decided I'd get another doctor's appointment and be told to go away.

Guess what? He sent me for a blood test the next week.

So for the next six days I was worrying about what I was being tested for. Come the day I steeled myself for the worst and sat in a waiting room full of old and obviously sick people. Nurse came to get me and went through with prodding me with the needle then said it was all over.

I asked if I was being tested for blood cancer as the doctor hadn't explained anything. She almost laughed and said it was merely a routine test for blood sugar levels etc they do for everyone. I could have shot someone at that stage.

After that? I went home and started feeling progressively worse COS I'D PICKED UP SOME FUCKING VIRUS IN THE WAITING ROOM!!! Jeez...

[amand_r]

I have to get bloodwork done, too, in fact mental note to do it tomorrow, but here, they tell you what they're looking for. Mine is a standard thyroid, cbc and other test. But blood tests are a good idea sometimes, and mine have never turned up anything bad, per se. Low calcium once.

I pretty much wen in there sure what was wrong with me, but I was almost relieved when he acknowledged that yeah, that was what was happening, my symptoms weren't just body tics, and we could do something about them.

Oh, and the not having cancer part. always nice to hear a doctor say that.

[cthonus]

I think if they amalgamated the US and UK health policies things would be much better. Your side of the pond would get free medical treatment and our side would get better access to therapists. There's certainly a stigma here about admiting to seeing a psychologist/psychiatrist and there really shouldn't be.

[amand_r]

It's a lot more common here. I have been dealing with the whole issue of mental health in myself and others for almost 20 years, so I have long got over the whole stigma thing, and I don't see it often. It's just a thing. My husband died and I saw a therapist. I would have been bonkers not to, actually.

This one though, I do have to pay for myself. My health care used to cover mental health, but my new plan doesn't. But you don't have to wait to see one, and that's a plus.