Going to the Doctor

[Breezer]

I've come to the point where I'm just so fed up with where my life's going (or not), that I really want to go and tell my doctor what I'm suffering and maybe get some medication.

Trouble is I just don't know where to start. I'm going to be nervous anyway, and he may think I'm just being silly as I've visited him for various other things (probably all conected) quite a bit in the past.

I'm scared he's going to just say it's all in my head, off you go son.

What do I say to him, will he even know what SA is!?!

He's a very good doctor and I've been his patient all my life, it's just a big step, I guess it will be "official" that I have a problem.

I don't mean to whine or anything, just a lot of you have been and are taking medication, do they help? Will he just refer me to someone else?

Any comments and suggestions are more than welcome

Breezer

[Cudlow]

first time i went to doctors earlier this year i felt exactly the same.

I explained that i suffered from anxiety in social situations and that ive read on the internet about social anxiety and that i think its that. I also mentioned that the blushing was the worst part of it.

So i was prescribed propanolol which is a beta-blocker which is meant to stop you blushing, it didnt work for me tho.

so i coped for another couple of months , went back and got some other tablets ive forgotten the name of , but were more anxiety based. these didnt work for me either.


so i left it for a few months , last week i went to doctors to see another doctor and he didnt understand SA at all, he asked me why i was depressed and prescribed me some prozac.


it just makes you feel not depressed but not necessarily happy


also the 2nd time i visited doctors, the doctor asked me if i wanted to try councelling , i went to 5 meetings with the councellor but i seemed to be able to talk to her easy and it made it seem like i was over-exaggerating my SA, so i just stopped going at the councelling wasnt going anywhere.

but u can always try councelling before meds , that'd be the right thing to do...

sorry for the essay!
lol

[Claireabell]

Hello Breezer

I wrote everything down on paper before I went to the doctors and handed it over to the doctor, state the way you feel and dont be ashamed of anything. I asked to go back on Seroxat because it has helped my SA in the past and asked to be refered for CBT which I start next Monday.

It was the best thing I had done in a long time. Good Luck and let me know how it goes, you know where I am if you want to talk

Claire

Originally Posted by Breezer

I've come to the point where I'm just so fed up with where my life's going (or not), that I really want to go and tell my doctor what I'm suffering and maybe get some medication.

Good for you! I hope you have more success at your GP than I did. I am in no way going to disuade you to going, but it has been my experience that medical support for SA is very limiting and subjective. Let's hope you get an understanding doctor, eh?

I first consulted my doctor about SA over the summer (three months ago). Like yourself, I was very nervous --- it's never esy having to speak to someone, anyone, about one's inner-most feelings. Especially not a GP -- I find people in authority very intimidating.

Originally Posted by Breezer

Trouble is I just don't know where to start. I'm going to be nervous anyway, and he may think I'm just being silly as I've visited him for various other things (probably all conected) quite a bit in the past.

I had the same worries as yourself. Suffice it to say I wouldn't worry. I know it's an odd thing, but once you start, it will all flow.

Originally Posted by Breezer

I don't mean to whine or anything, just a lot of you have been and are taking medication, do they help? Will he just refer me to someone else?

Well, I am still asking myself that question. The doctor suggested I had agoraphobia (this is after I had been interrupted by a telephone call that he answered, and before I had finished telling him I really was not very well...) Hence I was prescibed a course of beta-blockers (propranolol) to take.

They did me the world of harm. The side-effects made me irritable and very sleepy....

I am awaiting to go back to consult my GP (another one) to see if I can't see about something else.

I wish you all the best of luck with this.

-- Thomas.

[Cheekychap]

You`ve already taken the first step into accepting you`ve got problems just by making this thread. I really do advise you go see your doctor.

You said his a good doctor and you`ve seen him all your life so that will definitely work in your favour... at least it wont feel your talking to a complete stranger! and he sounds like the sort of doctor who will actually listen to you and actually TRY to help you.

I`ve had ongoing problems with depression and anxiety and everytime i go to see my doctor (once a fortnight) i tend to stress out everytime but when i actually get in there, sit down and start talking i feel the adrenaline pumping and that helps me get out all what i want to say.... luckily my doctor is how one should be friendly, easy to talk to and makes me feel at ease...

Claireabell made a good point if you really feel you cant explain how you feel to the doctor writing down how you feel and handing the note to the doctor would do the trick..... i`ve even done that myself once a few years back when i was in complete hell and didn`t know which way to turn.

The problem is if you just leave these things and think their "go away" they dont it will only get worse over time trust me.

As for medication in my opinion if your that bad it is a road definitely worth going down.. It might take a bit of swapping and changing to find ones right for you but they are no miracle cure though.

[undrentide]

Good luck in your appointment with your Doctor, if you dont feel they're helping you enough or fobbing you off with tablets then switch Doctors and find one that will listen to you!!
I went to the Doctors last Christmas after suffering from a few bouts of panic attacks and general anxiety and the Doctor there had the nerve to say i was a fit young healthy man and i basically had no right to be having all these feelings.... Now im 10 months down the line, i missed out on my Summer Holiday to Spain because i was scared of anxiety and panic attacks ruining things (as well as feeling the physical side of things like constant nausea and feeling drained all the time), and now im missing out on simple things like going to the cinema cos im so scared of having more attacks.
Im wishing my doctor had listened more to me, and i left the surgery in tears that day and havent been back since. Its only now that ive decided enough is enough and its time i got a hold of my feelings and that a new Doctor is going to be the first point of call.
What im trying to say, is dont leave things like i have. Write down your feelings and moods, perhaps just a few lines of how youve felt each day then show your Doctor. If he has been treating you all your life then he'll realise you need help, and whether that takes the form of medication or counselling or a mixture of both then you will both discuss the options available to you.
Personally for me, antidepressants havent worked and in fact made me feel worse i mean the anti anxiety/antidepressant drug escitalopram actually made me have more sever panic attacks, and i know drugs like diazepam only bring short term relief. Thats not to say medication doesnt work, it does bring relief to many people and relieves them of their problems. Just just have to try it and see how it goes, if its not right for you dont be scared to go back to the dorctors and say the current treatment isnt appropriate to you.
I wish you all the best in your recovery mate