topic Trying to avoid going back to hospital in Depression

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

crackers14 — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 08:44:17 GMT

hi i have depression and its not being treated at the moment and i feel like if it doesnt get treated soon ill go back to the hospitial which i dont wanbt to do .

any advice is helpful

crackers14au

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

White_Rose — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 18:12:57 GMT

Dear Carolyn

Welcome to the Beyond Blue community. I hope we can give you the support and advice you need.

First I notice that you have two threads that are almost identical. Can you decide which one to use and ask BB to remove the other. You will get replies to both but the responses will be split between them and much of the continuity will be lost.

What do you mean when you say your doctor will not treat your depression? If you are taking a herbal remedy (St John's Wort?) then you will need to discontinue this before taking prescription medication as I understand these two preparations are not good together.

Have you been diagnosed with depression? This is the important first step. If your GP is unwilling to help the find another GP. Go to the Tabs at the top of the page and look at Get Support/Find a Professional. This will take you to a search function for GPs with mental health treatment experience. This is searchable by postcode.

If your stay in hospital was due to depression, has the hospital referred you to a psychiatrist or psychologist? If so then I urge you to make an appointment with that person ASAP. It may be your GP feels he/she does not have the expertise to manage your illness.

Would love to know about you. I hope you will write in again.

Mary

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

crackers14 — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 10:33:45 GMT

hi Mary im taking executive b stress forgp mula and my stay in hospital was due to the fact i had a break a down and have been diagnosed with a mental illness but my GP is leaving it up to my psychiatrist and i have a psychologist who i see on Tuesday but i downloaded a hypnosis tape and am using that .

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

White_Rose — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 16:11:20 GMT

Dear Carolyn

Great to hear from you. I am still a little confused about your situation. I gather that you have a psychiatrist and psychologist helping you. Is that correct? And you are also using a hypnosis program and taking a vitamin B supplement.

So what is concerning you about your depression treatment? Have you been prescribed any medication such as antidepressants?

Do you feel you are not getting enough help or that you are not getting the right help? Or is it that you feel you are not getting well? Unfortunately depression takes time to disappear. Depression likes to mess with our brains and tell us we will never get better so why bother. This is not true.

Our steps to recovery are often small and slow, frustratingly so at times. And that horrible feeling of being in the dark and alone is awful. It's then you need your courage to hold on and move on. You will get there.

Going back to the help you are receiving, are you seeing these psychs regularly? I am concerned that you may be using a hypnosis program instead of seeing the psychologist, but I may be misinterpreting your comments.

What sort of treatment are you receiving from the psychs? Sorry to keep asking questions. I hope you do not feel that you are getting the third degree. It's just that I do not fully understand where you are and what is happening for you.

Please know that the folk at Beyond Blue are supportive and caring. We will help you as much as possible but we are not medical people. We have heaps of experience gained through our own journeys and we are happy to share this with those who write in here. The difficulty is not knowing much about you which means that others with the most similar experience may not necessarily respond to you.

So can you tell us a little about yourself? Only tell us the information you are happy to share. Although this is an anonymous site people sometimes feel it is difficult to talk about themselves. And that's OK.

Please write in again and excuse me for not understanding your situation. I hope we can change that soon.

Mary

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

crackers14 — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 04:55:58 GMT

Hi Mary

I have a psychologist that i see once a month and a psychiatrist and a doctor but the psychiatrist is treating me for a different illness and the doctor is leaving it up to them . but i havent any friends that i can talk to .

I am using a hypnosis program to stay relaxed as i find if I have something to do then I wont get depressed and I also have high stress levels .

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

White_Rose — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 06:10:19 GMT

Dear Carolyn

It's good that you have something that helps with the stress and depression. Have you considered meditation as well? This is a fantastic way to let your body recover and re-energise.

I have a suggestion for you. Can you contact Beyond Blue directly? You can phone 24/7 on 1300 22 4636, go online with the Web Chat, just clink on the link at the bottom of the page, or send an email for a private answer. You can see all three options at the bottom of the page.

May I also suggest a visit to your doctor? This is the proper person to discuss your concerns with about your treatment. If you believe you are not getting anywhere your doctor should know about it and refer you to someone else. This is his/her responsibility. If the doctor will not discuss this then find another GP. Click on Get Support/Find A Professional at the top of the page. The list of GPs is searchable by postcode.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Mary

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

crackers14 — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 08:15:11 GMT

hi mary

I see my psychologist tuesday so ill also see if doctor gow can fit me in but i doubt it

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

Pixie15 — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 22:38:36 GMT

Hi Carolyn,

I have read through this thread but have not seen the other one that you started so please forgive me if I am repeating something that has already been suggested.

If you are already being treated by a psychiatrist for another condition. I am wondering if this is why your doctor is reluctant to start any additional therapy. Is it possible to contact your psychiatrist and see what they recommend for you? Is your psychologist treating your depression or the other condition that you are seeing the psychiatrist for?

White Rose is correct I think. It does not seem right that your doctor is dismissing your concerns? If you do not know this doctor well you might want to seek another opinion.

thanks,

Christine.

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

geoff — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 00:22:22 GMT

dear Carolyn, excuse me for chipping in, but your post is one that intrigues me, as what I can gather is that your doctor seems to want to be on the outer of all of this, and that your psychiatrist is treating you on one problem, while your psychologist is treating you on another concern, but if you are suffering from depression they could be well and truly linked together, however by using two different psych's it may get rather confusing.

My other concern is that you are trying out an hypnosis program which doesn't actually put you into a deep relaxation period, which however may have been suggested by one of the psych's but not agreed to by the other psych. so it can get a bit confusing, so I'm just wondering if you have a preference to either the psychiatrist or the psychologist, because it doesn't seem as though your doctor wants to get too involved.

Hope that you can get back to us, and I also hope that all these questions won't put you off replying because we'd love to hear back from you. Geoff.

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

Neil_1 — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 02:45:16 GMT

Hi there Carolyn

I hope it’s ok to call you Carolyn, as Mary has been calling you that, but for the life of me, I can’t see where you put down Carolyn as your name. BUT I must say, that Carolyn is a much nicer and better name than ‘crackers’.

Ok, so you’re off to see your psychologist on Tuesday, which is great. Hopefully that will be a very beneficial appointment for you and you can get a number of things discussed and off your chest – with a result that they may be able to give you some coping mechanisms to help you out at the moment.

Do you find the hypnosis program to be beneficial to you? Perhaps does it help with your high stress levels also??

It’d be great if you can keep posting here and I would love to hear back from you again.

Kind regards

Neil

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

crackers14 — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 08:44:55 GMT

hi well today i saw my psychologist and he suggested that i stay relaxed and listen to the tape and see my dr and keep on taking the pharmacy medication which is for stress i hate large crowds and i hate people calling me schizo and other hurtful names .

so I will see how i go but its really helping me to have people to talk to

carolyn

and the reason its crackers is because the board wouldnt let me post otherwise

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

geoff — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 22:52:02 GMT

dear Crackers, thanks for getting back to us, and you're not the only one who hates large crowds, because I do.

How do you think you are going with the psychologist, or does he have any better advice than to keep seeing your doctor, because the doctor is only going to push you back to the psychologist and/or the psychiatrist.

Do you feel as though all they are doing is pushing you around in circles, just curious. Geoff.

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

White_Rose — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:18:53 GMT

Dear Carolyn

Great to talk to you again. I am really bemused with your psychologist and doctor. It seems to me that if your doc is not going to take charge of your treatment you need another doc.

The role of the GP is to co-ordinate a patient's treatment and make sure it is producing positive results.They also give their own treatment where they have the skills. Now it's not unusual for a doc to leave all the counselling to a psych if the doc feels it is not their area of expertise. What they are responsible for is to refer you to a competent practitioner and follow up on outcomes. And that means they should be aware of the strengths of any psych in their area.

Now you go to a psychiatrist and psychologist for two different illnesses. Do either or both report to the doc? They should be making annual reports at the very least, preferably more often, so that the doc knows what is going on. You should also be given a copy of these reports.

I know from experience that the GP will often say they cannot do this because it is not their report to give. This is not correct. Federal law says any patient can see any information about themselves in the doctor's file providing it does not refer to another patient, in which case that info must erased first, or seeing the report may be dangerous for the patient. Relatively few reports come into this category. When my doctor refused to show me something she had received from the psychiatrist I pointed out the provisions of the Privacy Act and she immediately handed over a copy.

It seems to me from your posts that your GP is very "relaxed" about his/her duties and you may be better off with another doc. If all the psychologist is doing is to tell you to stay relaxed, listen to the tape and your doc, he does not appear to be doing much for his money.

Look, you seem reluctant to disclose your various diagnoses, and you have every right to keep them private. The reason for my comment is that someone, probably many some-ones, will have the same or similar difficulty as you and can offer a specific form of support. But as I said, it is entirely up to you. I am not being nosey.

I am interested in what other assistance your psychologist is offering you. Also what the psych thinks your doc is offering. I keep coming back to the need for these people to work together and get their communication act together. It seems you are being shuffled around with no positives outcomes.

Please do not be offended by my rant.

Mary

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

crackers14 — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 07:49:29 GMT

hi mary

I see my gp on the 23rd april and have a record that comes out just incase there is a problem so ill take the stress med from the chemist and listen to my relaxation tape and see my doctor about it i dont like being on too many meds because i get confused but the psychologist is wonderful

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

White_Rose — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 23:40:23 GMT

Dear Carolyn

Good to hear from you. Sorry for not responding earlier. I must keep missing your posts. Am I to understand that you get uptight or stressed when you see your GP? This is not good and would explain a great deal. I think I have commented in an earlier post that if you are uncomfortable with your doc, then find another one.

Yes, I have to agree with you about medication. Too many pills and it feels as though you rattle when you walk. And that's without any potential side effects. You may not need meds, but if the GP suggests it, have the discussion about the intended effect and potential side effects and also about your concerns.

Sometimes when I see a doctor of any sort I realise I have forgotten to ask something or tell them something. So I write down all my symptoms and questions beforehand. It's a list with a couple of words to remind me of what I want to say. Doing this may help your nervousness.

It's good you are happy with your psychologist. Being able to trust this person really is vital to having a good relationship and to your own therapy.

I look forward to hearing from you again.

Mary

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

Dr_turtle — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 11:14:58 GMT

G'day just a bit of a thanks first to the organisers and all involved in BB .only just made the step out into depresion recovery in last few days .after living in it for 40 years ,a case of shut up and don't let anyone know .the effects of that deeply ingrained mentality has had disarsterous effects for me over the years and some of the consiquenses I'll have to live with for much longer .

i wet into complete melt down recently and out of it asked for help at last and received two short DVDs put out by BB .within minutes I was identifying with the people's experiences all the way through .cant explain what a relief that was after so many years .just saved a life .am looking forward to workin through it all and finally having a quality of life worth living.thanks.

Trying to avoid going back to hospital

White_Rose — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 23:58:58 GMT

Dear Dr Turtle

Welcome to Beyond Blue. It's good that you have found your way here and also found something helpful.

If you would like to continue posting about your situation, could you start a separate thread please. The responses to you and your comments in return will get mixed up with Carolyn's posts and make both sets difficult to follow.

Just go into the Depression forum and click on New Thread at the right hand side at the top of the page. Then follow the prompts. I look forward to talking with you.

Regards

Mary