Chatative
01-20-2014, 04:39 AM
Hey all,
So I've just had my appointment with the Doctor.
He was great - he'd actually booked a double appointment so we had plenty of time to talk!
He thinks that it's not unusual to have anxiety following serious health problems, which in my case was Schizophrenia. All the problems I had with the illness & side effects of the medication, the lack of structure to my life & the reliance on family & health care professionals. As such he reckons that as I am re-adjusting, my stress doesn't really have an outlet & is manifesting as health anxiety. As for the trouble keeping on top of things & them building up, again it's a lack of routine.
He said he wants me to set aside 30 minutes every day, at the same time to do household tasks. Force myself to do the whole 30 minutes but that's it. If I don't finish, it doesn't matter. In the end of the day, 30 minutes a day is plenty of time to get most chores done if you are doing it every day. I personally think there are underlying issues but I'm happy to try & go along with his plan & see what happens.
Other than that, he said if I have any health concerns just to ring the Doctors. The Doctor actually calls back before making an appointment, so it's not like I have to go in & out of the surgery all the time. He said not to call for everything but if anything was persistent or particularly worrying. If I need blood tests or anything else, then I'll get them but being as I've done loads already, in the absence of any serious symptoms, the Doctor should be able to re-assure me over the phone.
He didn't give me detailed explanation or discuss things like my irritability, brain fog & trouble sleeping but I think the reason he didn't do that was he doesn't want to reinforce my concerns or make me more anxious.
He said my state of mind seemed reasonably good despite my anxiety & that he didn't think it would be anything to worry about in the long term.
I'm very happy with my appointment overall - I could have just got a Doctor who asked me a question or two & prescribed me medication; instead I've got one who obviously has a very good understanding of anxiety problems & for who medication isn't the answer to everything.
He's told me to come back again sometime next week to discuss if I've made any progress or not. Although there is no quick fix, not that I ever thought there would be, it's comforting to hear a good prognosis.
I'll be asking for this Doctor by name every time I call now unless it's urgent :p
So I've just had my appointment with the Doctor.
He was great - he'd actually booked a double appointment so we had plenty of time to talk!
He thinks that it's not unusual to have anxiety following serious health problems, which in my case was Schizophrenia. All the problems I had with the illness & side effects of the medication, the lack of structure to my life & the reliance on family & health care professionals. As such he reckons that as I am re-adjusting, my stress doesn't really have an outlet & is manifesting as health anxiety. As for the trouble keeping on top of things & them building up, again it's a lack of routine.
He said he wants me to set aside 30 minutes every day, at the same time to do household tasks. Force myself to do the whole 30 minutes but that's it. If I don't finish, it doesn't matter. In the end of the day, 30 minutes a day is plenty of time to get most chores done if you are doing it every day. I personally think there are underlying issues but I'm happy to try & go along with his plan & see what happens.
Other than that, he said if I have any health concerns just to ring the Doctors. The Doctor actually calls back before making an appointment, so it's not like I have to go in & out of the surgery all the time. He said not to call for everything but if anything was persistent or particularly worrying. If I need blood tests or anything else, then I'll get them but being as I've done loads already, in the absence of any serious symptoms, the Doctor should be able to re-assure me over the phone.
He didn't give me detailed explanation or discuss things like my irritability, brain fog & trouble sleeping but I think the reason he didn't do that was he doesn't want to reinforce my concerns or make me more anxious.
He said my state of mind seemed reasonably good despite my anxiety & that he didn't think it would be anything to worry about in the long term.
I'm very happy with my appointment overall - I could have just got a Doctor who asked me a question or two & prescribed me medication; instead I've got one who obviously has a very good understanding of anxiety problems & for who medication isn't the answer to everything.
He's told me to come back again sometime next week to discuss if I've made any progress or not. Although there is no quick fix, not that I ever thought there would be, it's comforting to hear a good prognosis.
I'll be asking for this Doctor by name every time I call now unless it's urgent :p