I recently moved house (about two and a half months ago now) and the first thing I did upon getting into the area was make an appointment at my new GPs, where I explained that I have a history of pretty severe mental illness (ie some kind of psychosis, I never got a diagnosis, possibly bipolar disorder, postnatal psychosis or scitzophrenia) which has led to me being in A+E so many times I have lost count, picked up by the police, on strong medication etc. I am now off all medication against medical advice due to being pregnant. I have managed to avoid a relapse, which I am pretty proud of, I have had to be really strict with myself but have had the odd problem (ie small hallucinations, mild depression, a bit of paranoia that has seemed daft when I have calmed down etc). In my last house i was being visited once or twice a week by my mental health team, so I was pretty certain I would get half decent support in my new area. However, my referral has come through and it is for the beginning of next month! So that is more than three months since I asked for help! and that's not even with a specialist team (I used to be under a psychosis team and sometimes a crisis team and there was talk of getting a perinatal team involved as well before I moved) so it could be even longer before I get the help I need.
What if I have an episode before then? I can generally feel them "coming on" beforehand and can get the support in place usually before I get to the point where I can't look after myself or DD. What if support isn't in place by the time I give birth? That was the catalyst last time, a second traumatic birth could have serious consequences for my mental health.
The thing is though, I'm pretty sane at the moment, so I can't exactly book another appointment with my GP on the off chance that I feel ill can I?