to think that doctors should be better trained to deal with mental illness?

[Empusa]

I'm getting so sick of having to deal with doctors who don't seem to have a clue (at best) when dealing with mental illness.

Here's just a few of the fun comments heard over the years by me, DH and one of my friends.

DH - I've been struggling with depression since I was 7
Doctor - Why? Were you beaten as a child then? Haha!
DH & me -

Doctor to friend after hearing her describe her depression -
You can't be depressed, you are too articulate

While I was in hospital due to severe dehydration due to hyperemesis during my pregnancy, DH went to the doctor as his depression was getting worse
You and your wife are very stressy people, that's probably what's making your wife ill. [...] You should have made a different decision when you found out your wife was pregnant. The child will probably get taken away from you.

After being told that I'd been stopping myself eating as a way of self harming
Well you aren't underweight so it's nothing to worry about

When being told about DH's long history of depression the doctor asked if he took any street drugs. Then refused to believe him when he said no. And repeatedly brought it up through out the appointment.

Mental health provision is shockingly bad where I live, even my doctor admitted that.

They prescribe you anti d then tell you to come back in six months, if your lucky you then get referred to first access which is supposed to act as a signposting service. You get one or two sessions with them then they write you off and tell you to go back to your doc. Or they tell you to pull yourself together, this happened to my now ex.

Its virtually impossible to get any further than first access here, you have to attempt suicide to get any help.

IMO, GP's are too quick to hand out pills and not get to root of problem.It's the pill culture. There is a waiting list for CPN's but yet many unemployed Mental Health Nurses .

OP, I actually feel your pain re ill informed eejits. I have an ASD daughter who has depression, anger issues and sadness and issues with self harm. Spoke to National Autistic Society who suggested I look into CBT.I have looked at various studies (inc stuff published on Autism) which suggest CBT helps with stress/anxiety , but according to some fuckwit at CAHMS, no it doesn't .Apparently he knows more than Tony Attwood, NAS, Cambridge Uni and Uni of Baltimore. Grrrrrr.

Sorry-thread drift

I have major depressive disorder, eating issues and i self harm. My current GP (who i see every 4 weeks) has been fantastic. Its taken me 4/5 years and many different GPs at my practice to finally feel comfortable enough to be properly honest.

One of the GPs i had would diagnose people using patient.co.uk

Something to bear in mind when you see a DR looking up a medicine is that they are checking the dosages available and contraindications (I asked!)

We were on the pint of chaning GP surgery as DH had seen all of the GPs and been dissapointed with how they dealt with him. We only stayed as a new GP started and he's been brilliant with DH. Sadly some times you just have to keep trying until you find the person who fits for you.

Am a bit at the comments you had!

point of changing.

Some GPs are terrible with mental health. I chenged GP from one who was dismissive and downright rude to me about my MH problems, to another who is lovely.

You have the right to change GP without giving any reason. I suggest you shop around - some are very understanding.

There should be better training. Mental health problems account for 50% of all ill health, so it's wrong there are so many GPs who seem to have a poor understanding of Psychiatry.

YA definately NBU

I was going to the hospital every week to a clinic specialising in dealing with eating disorders. They were working on getting me to ignore my weight and to eat more, on a regular basis to get control of binge eating till I was sick. My GP at the time set me back years when he told me there was nothing wrong with me other than being greedy and I should just put less food on my plate . My consultant was not impressed.

Another one told me I could overcome my difficulties with a bit of will power and a more positive attitude . My difficulties are a result of being autistic.

This is where the postcode lottery is alive and well IME. My DH was medically retired a few years ago due to chronic bipolar disorder with a double depressive element and unfocussed anxiety, and he has a history of suicide attempts. Where we lived previously (NE England) he had a sympathetic GP who referred him to an excellent psychiatrist who he saw fortnightly, or weekly when he was particularly bad. This psychiatrist also referred him to both a professor of psychiatry who oversaw his medication regime (including a spell as an in-patient on a research ward to ensure no unbearable side effects) and a psychologist for CBT.

Now we live in the Midlands, he sees a different GP every time he makes an appointment, one of which said "it's not possible to have all those symptoms" . He was eventually referred to a psychiatrist who is supposed to be continuing the medication programme set out by the professor. When he told the new psychiatrist that he saw his previous one once a fortnight, new psychiatrist laughed and said "well you won't be seeing me anywhere near that often." He has seen him twice in 18 months, to date. My DH had to do the chasing up to get a replacement copy of the meds plan after new psychiatrist 'mislaid' the original. His care coordinator (not a qualified MH professional) is on long term sick and he has not been reallocated to anyone else. It has got to the point where I have just applied - and thankfully been approved - to reduce my working hours just to be around to give him more support/care in the absence of any kind of professional support.

I'm at once disappointed and relieved to know we aren't the only ones to deal with this shit. :(

But I agree with those who've said trying to get a referral is like getting blood out of a stone, and even if you do there's no guarantee that will get you any further. DH had one "specialist" tell him he was "too mad to be helped"

The other problem we have is that DH has severe panic attacks, especially as he is trying to sleep, so years ago he was put on the highest dose of zopiclone and told to take it every day for a fortnight. That would be a seriously addictive sleeping pill which they don't like to prescribe at all anymore. Of course, after a fortnight on it the same doctor gave him a repeat prescription for it. Unsurprisingly DH ended up addicted to it. He's tried multiple times to come off it on his own, as nowhere has ever offered him any support. Without it though he doesn't sleep at all and has multiple panic attacks (he'll suddenly start screaming and trying to run away). So his doctor today told him zopiclone was bad and he wouldn't be prescribing it anymore, and that DH just had to stop it cold turkey. This is despite DH telling him the anxiety has been much worse recently even with the zopiclone. Tonight is going to be horrific :(

is zopiclone addictive? I thought the point of it (and zolpidem) was that they were not!

(not that would be surprised if they were, have a friend who definitely can't cope without it now)

That is terrible Empusa. In general mental health problems are very very poorly understood by the medical profession. The very idea that someone can be mentally ill and not just "down in the dumps" or "not trying hard enough" is totally beyond some doctors, even psychiatrists.

I had a fantastic GP in Ireland who recognised that I was reluctant to have treatment and who kept calling me to come in for appointments and who used to ring me just to chat to me and check if I was alright. She really went above and beyond, and helped me hugely. Unfortunately though she referred me to the psychiatric unit at the local hospital where I was regularly insulted and sneered at by the psychiatrists. They sent me to see a MH nurse who truly was a miracle worker. After four hour long sessions of talking to her I suddenly saw where my problems were coming from, very clearly, and since then I have bene able to take control of my recovery and I haven't had a relapse in four years (after about 15 years of depression ranging from very low level to very serious). Working in MH takes a very special kind of knack and understanding that a lot of people just don't have. I think GPs shouldn't deal with MH at all - they should refer you straight away to a specialist, same way they would if you had suspected cancer. Unfortunately the funds don't exist for that because MH is just not seen as important. The impression my psychiatrists gave me was that if I wasn't suicidal they weren't interested. It didn't matter how bad I felt as long as I wasn't going to die any time soon.

I believe they originally thought it was less addictive, but that's turned out to be wrong.

"The impression my psychiatrists gave me was that if I wasn't suicidal they weren't interested. It didn't matter how bad I felt as long as I wasn't going to die any time soon."

Oh yes, that comes across quite clearly doesn't it? :(

I have been, and still am being treated differently by doctors and it all started when I became very depressed and suicidal after the sudden death of my Mum.

I could go to the doctors with anything from a chest infection to arthitis pain and be told that it is "all in your head" and be treated like a complete timewaster. Last time I went, I was having back pain that hadn't subsided for weeks and saw a new doctor at the surgery and her attitude towards me totally stunk. I would ask for access to my notes to try to see what kind of loon they have me down on there as, but don't they censor the notes if anything is likely to cause the patient distress?

deepbreath Oh yes, I get that too. I've had bad back problems for about 4 years now, most probably due to my previous jobs. But thanks to the depression it must all be in my imagination. Same as the hyperemesis in pregnancy, that's obviously all in my head.

Oh deepbreath my DH gets that too. He has scarring on the lungs from a childhood illness and is prone to chest infections. He had chest pain for nearly two months and saw three different GPs, the first two both telling him it was psychosomatic before the third finally read his notes and prescribed antibiotics.

Zopiclone is not addictive in the sense you need more and more for it to work, but there can be terrible withdrawl symptoms.

My Mum and I both had problems with zopiclone withdrawal. Although it was horrid, we did manage to get off it. Withdrawal made us both sleepless, which defeats the object really! Wouldn't take it again.

I had terribke dizziness and was unable to lift my head off the pillow -I had to cut down gradually which took about a month, reducing the dose slightly every day.

Mental health is a mindfield. The right professional makes all the difference. There is a troublesome element that being the right sort of patient can help. I think people and professionals just dont believe in the existence of mental health problems unless they've experienced them.