Chatative
05-21-2014, 03:16 AM
Hey folks,
A bit of context & update for those who remember me. Hope you are all well :)
I had my appointment with the Mental Health Services, which was interesting to say the least. I had slept very poorly for a couple of days & when I arrived I found there was not just the Psychiatrist I was meant to be seeing, but some other doctor there too. They never said why she was there... that really didn't put me at ease. I also expected more of a discussion based around the CAARS questionnaire I'd filled out but they pretty much made me describe my symptoms in such I way as I felt I was having to justify myself...
Anyway, they seemed to think that anxiety was the major cause of my symptoms: lack of concentration, poor memory & even the hyperactive episodes. They also said it sounded like the hyper focus might be down to mild Aspergers. It's not something I'd ever really considered but it seems to make sense - I am very quiet around people I don't know & have trouble knowing what to talk to people about. They said that said that CBT would be good for dealing with the anxiety & perhaps any underlying problems, i.e. AS if that is the case.
That was 3 weeks ago & I'm really having trouble breaking my current cycle of anxiety. That seems to be my problem, my anxiety seems to keep re-occurring for what reason I'm not sure. I know I get anxious when my routine gets thrown & supposedly people with AS are sticklers for routine. I don't want to self-diagnose though even if they just said it sounded like it might be that.
They had said the SSRIs might help if I wanted but I refused. With all my past experiences with medication I am very wary. I am starting to think however that using SSRIs for a few months alongside CBT might be beneficial.
I've just been prescribed some Promethazine to help me sleep. I still awoke many times during the night but I felt like I got a better quality of sleep. I'm sort of hoping that improving my quality of sleep & resetting my sleep pattern might help to reduce the anxiety but if not, then SSRIs would seem like the next step.
So, I know SSRIs it can be a bit of a rough start on them but I've certainly heard that they can blunt your emotions. Is this noticeable on low doses that are used for anxiety or is it something that is just characteristic of those taking higher doses for depression?
I'm not sure when I will be hearing back. I think considering my mental health history they have a lot to discuss. My Doctor told me yesterday it was not a case of "they haven't called back and it's been three weeks"... more, "it's only been three weeks". I see that as a positive though, had it been Bi-Polar or if they thought the diagnosis of Schizophrenia had been correct & it was manifesting somehow, I would have heard back very quickly. I plan to have decided whether or not to go down the medication route before they call back so I can bring it up then.
A bit of context & update for those who remember me. Hope you are all well :)
I had my appointment with the Mental Health Services, which was interesting to say the least. I had slept very poorly for a couple of days & when I arrived I found there was not just the Psychiatrist I was meant to be seeing, but some other doctor there too. They never said why she was there... that really didn't put me at ease. I also expected more of a discussion based around the CAARS questionnaire I'd filled out but they pretty much made me describe my symptoms in such I way as I felt I was having to justify myself...
Anyway, they seemed to think that anxiety was the major cause of my symptoms: lack of concentration, poor memory & even the hyperactive episodes. They also said it sounded like the hyper focus might be down to mild Aspergers. It's not something I'd ever really considered but it seems to make sense - I am very quiet around people I don't know & have trouble knowing what to talk to people about. They said that said that CBT would be good for dealing with the anxiety & perhaps any underlying problems, i.e. AS if that is the case.
That was 3 weeks ago & I'm really having trouble breaking my current cycle of anxiety. That seems to be my problem, my anxiety seems to keep re-occurring for what reason I'm not sure. I know I get anxious when my routine gets thrown & supposedly people with AS are sticklers for routine. I don't want to self-diagnose though even if they just said it sounded like it might be that.
They had said the SSRIs might help if I wanted but I refused. With all my past experiences with medication I am very wary. I am starting to think however that using SSRIs for a few months alongside CBT might be beneficial.
I've just been prescribed some Promethazine to help me sleep. I still awoke many times during the night but I felt like I got a better quality of sleep. I'm sort of hoping that improving my quality of sleep & resetting my sleep pattern might help to reduce the anxiety but if not, then SSRIs would seem like the next step.
So, I know SSRIs it can be a bit of a rough start on them but I've certainly heard that they can blunt your emotions. Is this noticeable on low doses that are used for anxiety or is it something that is just characteristic of those taking higher doses for depression?
I'm not sure when I will be hearing back. I think considering my mental health history they have a lot to discuss. My Doctor told me yesterday it was not a case of "they haven't called back and it's been three weeks"... more, "it's only been three weeks". I see that as a positive though, had it been Bi-Polar or if they thought the diagnosis of Schizophrenia had been correct & it was manifesting somehow, I would have heard back very quickly. I plan to have decided whether or not to go down the medication route before they call back so I can bring it up then.