Made appointment with GP - what will happen?

[3xM]

I have a bit of a history with depression, panic attacks and self harming but have been ok for years. However, recently, I have been feeling very anxious and this is preventing me from getting on with life as I should.

I have taken the first step and made an appointment with my GP, but I am now worrying what they are likely to do - will they just prescribe me anti-depressants and tell me to get on with it? Refer me?

Would anyone else be kind enough to share their experiences of what happened at the initial GP appointment?

Have just been to my GP. Basically I told her how I was feeling, and tried to be really honest. She asked a few questions, about sleep, eating, thoughts of suicide etc, we discussed previous depression and the treatment I had and whether it worked and suited me, then she gave me a prescription for antidepressants and asked to see me in 2 weeks.

Well done for making the appointment, I think that asking for help is really hard.

They shouldn't tell you to get on with it (if they do then see someone else) and they may offer counselling too.

Good luck, hope you feel better very soon.

Thank you for your answer. It's really helpful. I can't remember really what happened before, it was all a bit of a weird time.

Hope you feel better soon too x

Hello 3xM - I suffer from intermittent depression following a severe episode in 2010. I think the first thing to remember is that one third of all GP consultations are mental health related (higher in deprived inner city areas) and that 1 in 4 people will suffer from a mental illness at some time in their life, with 1 in 6 people suffering at any one time.

OK done with the statistics! Maybe it would be a good plan to write down your symptoms - in a list (and not leaving anything out) as this will help you and the GP. You can hand it over or use it to remind yourself not to miss out something, as it's all too easy to do in a quick GP consultation.

My surgery has their own checklist and she asked me the Qs on the checklist, as Canalside said, they were Qs about sleep, eating, concentration, feeling sad, suicidal thoughts etc. You had to say whether you experienced these things "all the time" "some of the time" "never" - that's an approximation anyway.

Only 1 in 10 people consulting a GP will be referred to a psychiatrist and this is usually for the more complex mental health issues, where diagnosis is needed. SO it's very unlikely they will refer you on.

Sometimes GPs ask if you want to be referred for counselling (this is usually CBT for 6 sessions) If you don't know about CBT you can google it for all the info. They will usually prescribe an AD but on a low dose to start with, and review in 2 weeks.
Well done for making that appointment..........and hopefully you will have "caught" it before the depression, as anxiety is usually the first symptom to show itself and the last symptom to subside in an episode.

Hope you feel better soon (oh and don't forget to mention the self-harm)

Thank you Nina thats a good tip about writing down symptoms. I will do that.

I had CBT before, I think.

I do feel a bit better now I have made the appointment, and having your answers has helped me not worry about it. It's also prompted me to talk to DP about how I have been feeling. He thought I was just being moody and lazy, but I was anxious about telling him why. He was really supportive and more understanding than I thought he would be, so that's a good start.

I haven't been self harming, though I have thought about it. One to put on the list.

first they should run blood tests to check for a physical source of the anxiety

i can recommend hypnotherapy for anxiety if it turns out not to have a physical source. works v effectively

I went to the GP for MH issues several weeks ago & was referred to a mental health nurse appointment for assessment. I then have another appointment with the same mental health nurse to agree future options, such as referral to a psychiatrist, medication, counselling, etc Not sure why there is this extra step in access to treatment. I presume it is to try to ensure you get the right help but it does introduce further waiting & uncertainty as to who is doing what. Maybe it is just how my local area manages it.

idlevice (love the name!) I think how MH is managed differs dependent upon the particular hospital Trust. There is a similar system where I live: 2 routes - one is primary care and that's when the GP sees you and then refers you to a MH nurse in the practice, who I assume sees you on a regular basis. Secondary care is when the GP refers you to a psychiatrist and then he/she diagnoses and treats and you get a referral to a CPN (much the same as MH nurse but in the community) I am in secondary care as I was an in-patient on a psych ward for 3 months in 2010 and everyone discharged gets a CPN and "overview" from a psychiatrist. If my CPN is concerned about me, she gets me an appt with the psychiatrist. Agree that the route you are on is not so good as it inevitably causes more waiting etc. Did the GP prescribe meds, as MH nurses can't do that?

I think the system is to try to cope with the pressure on GPs these days and to "refer on" whenever they can.

When is your appt 3xM let us know how you get on?

Thanks all for your input.

Nina My appointment is tomorrow afternoon. I will report back.

Well I saw GP, but he referred me back to health visitor team. It never even crossed my mind to speak to them, or that this could be a pnd type thing even though my dd is only 4 months. I called them and left a message, so just waiting for them to call me back.

is it post natal anxiety? v common. sorry didn't realise you had a small baby. hope hv is helpful

Hey merci don't worry, you couldn't have known! I hope so too, and that they call me back ASAP. Really want to get this sorted out.

Ah I didn't realise you had a young baby either 3xM - I'm a bit surprised that the GP referred you to health visitors, as they can't prescribe medication. Do you think it could be PND.........even if it is, the normal course of events is to be prescribed an AD of one sort or another. Did the GP mention meds at all, or maybe thought you just needed some extra support maybe?

I don't know maybe it is pnd?

He did mention antidepressants but wouldn't prescribe anything as I am bf'ing. He said he could refer me to counselling team but I would get more help more quickly through hv team. I guess once they have seen me I'll have a better idea of what will happen.

I think there are ADs you can take while breast feeding - hopefully someone will be along to advise you on that score. Yes you will have a better idea of how the HVs might be able to support you once they have made contact. Presumably you are a bit sleep deprived with a young baby and that can't be helping. Is this your first baby or does 3xM mean "three times a mother" and if so you have a heavy workload, though that's true as far as I'm concerned with one young child.