topic Re: What to do after losing faith in medical professionals? in Treatments, health professionals and therapies

What to do after losing faith in medical professionals?

Trans22 — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 00:55:05 GMT

I find myself in a situation where I never want to see another medical professional associated with mental or physical health. Multiple GPs, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, 3 psychiatrists, & other mental health care professionals have let me down (a miracle that I'm still alive?). Given that this is a mental health forum, I will focus on mental health side. The psychologist that I had been seeing for about 16 months ditched me when the going got tough - I remember hearing words like "I was too fragile". A psychiatrist prescribed me medication that led to my losing consciousness. I ended up in a private mental health facility where my first psychiatrist merely listened - no treatment offered. Staff at the facility didn't seem to care about my being triggered many times per day, until a nurse came to see me the day I announced my decision to self discharge (due to multiple incidents involving other patients). I eventually got assigned to a psychiatrist who seemed interested in caring for me, but they prescribed me medication that caused another serious health issue (if they look at my health record they would have been aware of the problem I'd face). As a result of all this, I've been off work for about 25 weeks and never want to see/trust another health professional again. I've already informed most of the people involved that I will never walk into their premises again.

Hey Trans22, Thank you for sharing what is happening for...

Sophie_M — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 03:22:02 GMT

Hey Trans22,
Thank you for sharing what is happening for you. First of all, we are so sorry to hear that your experience has been such a challenging one. It can truly be so disheartening when we have the courage to reach out and for it not to feel very helpful at all.

It can take some time to recover from such an experience and to build up a level of trust again. We hope that this is a time that you can treat yourself gently. You made it through a really tough time and that is something to feel proud of.

We acknowledge that talking to a health professional may be the last thing you feel like doing, and that is completely understandable. If you do ever feel up to it, you can give us a call at any time on 1300 22 4636 if you feel like talking to someone. We are here for you, and you don't have to go through this alone.  QLife are another great organisation to talk to, too. You can call them on 1800 184 527 or check out their webchat. If that is not what would be helpful right now, that is totally okay too – we hope that our lovely community here can be a good source of support.

Once again thank you for being so open here. You never know who might be reading this and feel less alone in their journey.

We are here for you 24/7 😊

Kind regards
Sophie M

Re: Hey Trans22, Thank you for sharing what is happening for...

Trans22 — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 04:39:40 GMT

Thanks Sofie. I have a medical condition that isn't helping and is going to require several months of patience on my part. The symptoms of my situation that I've suffered are depression (severe), difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, lack of energy, & feeling non-functional. My workplace has been really understanding with my slow return to work and I now realise that my GP has made the correct calls on my capabilities as far as work is concerned. I've been taking baby steps in the right direction. I have weekly checkins with a rehab person at work, who has required that I get a new mental health care plan and a referral to a psychologist. I have one in mind that I clicked with in 2021 while doing leadership coaching sessions. I expect that I'll follow though on it in the next few months. Work has a fairly comprehensive safety plan in place for me. The symptoms of my medical condition seem to be easing, albeit very slowly. Most importantly, my sleep has improved from 2-3 hours/night without medication to 5-6 hours/night without medication - I hope to soon no longer be reliant on medication that helps me sleep.

Re: Hey Trans22, Thank you for sharing what is happening for...

Eagle Ray — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:13:30 GMT

Dear Trans,

I really feel for you and understand the frustration with the medical profession. In recent weeks I also felt at the end of my tether trying to get the right help for complex mental and physical health issues. The most challenging issues I’ve had recently are linked to severe mental health effects that have arisen from very dysregulated hormones while going through perimenopause. But recently in the city I was able to see a hormone specialist who was totally on the same page, really understanding and has tweaked the prescriptions I’m on in a way that I can feel is really helping. So sometimes when it feels all is lost, along comes the right person or people to help. Having said that I’ve had to research such people to find them but it’s been worth it. So I really hope the psychologist you have in mind works out. It sounds like you have a few people giving some support such as the rehab person and your GP at least assessing your work capacity accurately. It’s really good too your sleep is improving. It makes such a difference.

So just wanted to send you some support and let you know you’re not alone in feeling frustrated with the medical profession. It’s finding those key people who can really help you and it often takes some time and effort. I hope you keep feeling better and find all the support you need.

Take good care,

Re: Hey Trans22, Thank you for sharing what is happening for...

Trans22 — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 09:21:30 GMT

Thanks Eagle Ray. The nurse that spoke to me on my last night at the mental health hospital said that I was going through a really bad menopause. The way I think of things now is that medicine is all about bell curve statistics and I was/am a statistical outlier. The supervising endocrinologist said words that led me to this way of thinking - my medical history supports it.

Re: Hey Trans22, Thank you for sharing what is happening for...

Eagle Ray — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 02:12:41 GMT

Dear Trans,

The understanding between hormones and mental health impacts seems to be still poorly understood among a lot of health professionals. I’ve read about multiple cases now of individuals who’ve ended up in the psych hospital because of perimenopausal/menopausal mental health impacts that go beyond the understanding of what most doctors think when they think of menopause. Late October and again in January I came close to admitting myself to the nearest psych hospital. In my case the right balance of hormone meds is working and starting to give some of my life back. I had to search to find a hormone specialist who was on the same page and really understands what’s happening. So I feel so much for what you’ve been going through and I know it can be exhausting and demoralising trying to get the right help. I really hope things become easier soon and you can find the right supports to help you through. Being a statistical outlier would make it more challenging and you need those health practitioners who are really with you and getting you on your journey. I really hope you can find those supports and that your journey becomes easier going forward.

All the best,

Re: What to do after losing faith in medical professionals?

therising — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 07:17:38 GMT

Hi Trans22

I'm so glad Eagle Ray has been able to give you a relatable perspective and much support. It can make so much of a difference when someone's able to say, I understand how you feel because I can relate to some of the overwhelming, stressful and/or depressing challenges you've faced.

When it comes to specialists, I figure the best ones are great detectives. Like any great detective, they'll listen carefully to the witness (the person who's witness to all their own symptoms or feelings), they'll seek plenty of clues (both the obvious clues and the least obvious ones) and they'll open their mind to possibilities. Their job is not to simply focus on the usual suspects.

It's terrible that you've had to go through so much challenge, so much torment and so much upset to be able to reach the conclusion that you fall outside the norm when it comes to certain conditions. I think when specialists will only diagnose through textbook cases and/or only reference similar cases to ones they've come across before, it doesn't do the patient/client any favours. Give me a wonderful detective any day, one who'll wonder to the degree where they'll ask around to see whether any colleagues have come across what a patient/client seems to be suffering from or they'll do some other further research into it.

While I've never cut a GP or specialist out of my life for misdiagnosing, I have cut them out for refusing to listen carefully to me. I figure, if you're going to ignore clues from one of your best witnesses, you're not the best detective for the job. I recall some years back when I presented to my GP with what appeared to be an anxiety attack. These symptoms had started to become more frequent and they were increasing in intensity. My GP said 'We'll start you on anti anxiety meds'. My response was 'No, I don't experience anxiety. This is not anxiety. I need you to figure out what it is'. He insisted I make another appointment to discuss the meds further. I sought a 2nd opinion as things started to get worse. Long story short, the 2nd GP ordered a brain MRI scan and based on what I consider to be a miracle, I was having a full on migraine in the MRI machine. What I had been experiencing were silent migraines (migraines without headaches) that were setting off my nervous system. The 2nd doctor listened carefully and wondered. The first one refused to listen or wonder beyond the idea of anxiety.

I think there are times where we gotta push things and be insistent. There are times where we have to fully trust what we feel and not be led to doubt our self or our feelings/symptoms. And there are times where we should be referred for continuing investigation, as opposed to simply being told 'Sorry, can't help you' or 'What you're going through is just a part of life' (grrr😡). Btw, got told that 2nd one by a GP after making an appointment based on a serious and depressing lack of energy. Second opinion revealed sleep apnea. There should be a money back guarantee at the end of receiving no help or no difference at all. After all, we're not paying for no answers or to experience no difference at all. Based on our experiences, I think we're eventually able to develop a good sense of whether someone's an excellent detective or not, if our time and money are well spent or not. A key clue is if we become excited by their attitude, as opposed to being disheartened by it. Two very different feelings indeed.

Re: What to do after losing faith in medical professionals?

Hope — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 10:12:02 GMT

Hi you are very brave for disclosing this I had a physiologist betray me a number of years ago and haven’t been able to face one since.
I have a couple of supportive friends but I too wish there was something better in the system.

I do however have to rely on GPs and acouple specialists but it would be nice to think I could discuss something with a professional without feeling I may be betrayed again. There is stuff holding me back in my life I’d like to resolve for good

Re: What to do after losing faith in medical professionals?

Eagle Ray — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 22:42:26 GMT

Dear Hope,

I just thought I’d let you know that I too was severely betrayed by the first therapist I saw who acted in a highly unprofessional and damaging manner. However, I did eventually find a really good psychologist. I’ve also told her about that first bad experience I had so she knows I have vulnerability around trust. So it is possible to find a good person to work with. It can take some trial and error though and it is really important to only settle with a therapist who feels right and you know you can trust them. I did have to try a few more before I found the right one and I learned to quickly discontinue with anyone whose approach was not working for me. There are some articles online I’ve read in the past on red flags to look for when trying to find the right therapist. It might be worth having a read of things like that but also listen in to your own intuition if you do try therapy again. I just wanted to encourage you that it is possible to find someone who is a good fit and is trustworthy. It can just take a bit of time and effort.

Take care,

Re: What to do after losing faith in medical professionals?

Hope — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 08:43:36 GMT

Thank you for your advice, im yet to decide if I will give another one a go my trust was broken serverly in this area.

Re: What to do after losing faith in medical professionals?

Eagle Ray — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 09:44:51 GMT

Dear Hope,

I really understand. I was really severely harmed by the first therapist I saw who was highly negligent, unprofessional, did some unacceptable boundary transgressions and was actually abusive. I felt like I'd been damaged almost beyond my capacity to repair myself as I had trusted this person to be safe.

What I learned from it was I am actually a more grounded, balanced person than the therapist was. So perhaps you can take heart in knowing that you are standing on more solid ground than your therapist and stand tall in that knowledge. Often you have to do some healing around the additional harm accrued from seeing a bad therapist but it can also be a good learning curve about learning to pick up on red flags and sensing into who is a trustworthy person and who is not. I have increasingly been learning to listen to my body which lets me know when something doesn't feel right. I've had a tendency to override this intuition in the past and then end up in some bad situations. I'm now listening to my intuition and things are working out much better.

There are of course avenues for formal complaint if you want to go down that path. I didn't simply because I felt too damaged and it seemed like it would just create more stress in my life that I didn't feel I could handle. It is something I could still pursue at some stage but I have to feel like it is worth it. It would be really to protect others from similar harm.

Take care and remember there are helplines you can call if you feel you need to talk things through with someone. There is the BB helpline on 1300 224 636 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. I'm not sure of your background/history but I have found The Blue Knot Foundation to be excellent who specialise in complex trauma. They are on 1300 657 380. They are available daily but unlike the others are not 24/7. They are from 9am-5pm eastern states time.

One of the best things for bad interpersonal experiences are some good interpersonal experiences which can be very healing. If you can have some positive and caring interactions it can really help.

Take good care,

Re: What to do after losing faith in medical professionals?

Trans22 — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 01:34:09 GMT

I hope things get better for you, Hope.

MY UPDATE: I'm moving at a slow pace, a pace I'm comfortable with. My workplace is helping by requiring me to see my current GP on a regular basis. I've reached out to my first psychologist and we've had some Email correspondance, but no appointment has been made yet. It feels like my physical health issues have improved a little but that could be wishful thinking on my part. I recently made some choices that I think I can live with, which should mean no more psychiatrists. I have started looking for a new endocrinologist. My mental health state is definitely improving - I'm getting better at living in the present. Taking myself offline (mostly) has definitely helped & I'm trying to find a hobby that will help minimise my online time. It's not a perfect picture but it's a better picture than I imagined when I started this discussion.

Re: What to do after losing faith in medical professionals?

Eagle Ray — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 01:22:20 GMT

Dear Trans,

It is wonderful your mental health is improving and that it feels your physical health may be as well. I think moving at a slow pace makes sense. I’m glad it is helping to have that ongoing support with your GP and your workplace is supporting you with that. It’s good to have that contact again with your first psychologist too. I’ve found that after everything hits the wall and feels hopeless, somehow it’s followed by a recovery and healing phase which is gradual in nature but there is eventually a path forward and things get better.

I don’t know anything about the dark web so all I can say is take care with medications. I hope you can find a good endocrinologist. It is really worth finding someone on the same page as you who understands you well and is also a good listener who can be present with you. It can make a phenomenal difference when it comes to medical encounters.

A hobby you enjoy can make a huge difference. For me it is photography that gives me a focus (both literally and figuratively) that takes me out of mental health states I’ve been struggling with. It gets me out into the world too. I especially enjoy nature and wildlife photography and find profound peace when out doing it. I just go into a kind of connected flow state. I also enjoy street photography in urban environments too. It’s like a world of curiosity and discovery.

I’m so glad things are improving and, as you say, there is a better picture now than the one you could see at the beginning of this thread. Take good care and wishing you all the very best,

Hi Trans22, Thank you for your openness in sharing here....

Sophie_M — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 01:42:28 GMT

Hi Trans22,

Thank you for your openness in sharing here. It’s a really good place to have come to hear from others who understand what you’re going through. We can hear how difficult it has been for you, we’re so sorry that’s been going on.

It sounds like you’ve taken some really good steps in reaching out to find some new medical specialists, as frustrating as it can be sometimes we have to do research and have multiple appointments until we find the person we 'click' with. There’s some advice on the Beyond Blue website to help you prepare for this, and have a really productive conversation with them. As you might have heard, it’s not possible to request or receive medical advice here on the forums, however it might be a really good chance to hear from others on their own experiences with mental health difficulties.

Many members or our community will be able to relate to a lot of what you’ve been going through and be able to share some of the wisdoms that have helped them. In the meantime, if at any point you want to talk through what you’re feeling, we’d highly recommend calling the Beyond Blue Support Line on 1300 22 4636. The counsellors there are super kind and supportive, they’re understanding and can be good to talk to right in the midst of the anxiety symptoms. You can also reach them via Online Chat.

Thanks again for sharing. We’re here to listen and offer support, and you never know how your story might help someone else.

Kind regards,

Sophie M