Always having to ‘treat’ or ‘cure’ myself

[Willowtree_21]

Hey everyone,

This is on my mind often and I wanted to see if anyone could relate or share advice.

I have struggled with numerous mental and physical disorders throughout my childhood and teen years. Very much a neurodivergent person with anxiety! 

What really frustrates me is that for most of my life me, or my parents originally, pretty much had to figure out all my unique issues without the support of medical or mental health professionals. My parents were literally dismissed when asking if I was autistic as a child - I was diagnosed several years later. The same happened when I got chronically ill as a teen.

I also struggled with food intolerances, anxiety and chronic illnesses through my teen years that we treated through a really good diet. It is such an alternative approach and most people don’t believe that diets play a big role in how you feel but it was absolutely the case in my experience. Literally was the difference between me functioning and being bedridden. We had to use these rigid restrictive diets to manage my issues as no one could recognise the disorders I have, let alone address them.

I have a couple of people now who can help but I still don’t feel like I can rely on most medical professionals. They just don’t know how to help most of my issues unfortunately and it gets really tiring. Makes you feel invisible and that you have to carry it all.

[white knight]

Hi welcome,

An interesting discussion. There is many things that the professionals miss, are not good at or even misdiagnose (I was so from ADHD to bipolar). So this I put down to medical staff-  1. Human error 2. lack of experience 3. incompetence.  

Not much different to other professions really, In the 70's as a taxi driver in Melbourne the only way to learn was to actually travel along those roads/highways to recall where they were. Customers expected you to know where to go. So learning by medical professionals must be hard as one day they need to treat patients on their own. My GP is young and studies up on a problem I present to him if he doesnt know much about it then rings me with a more complete conclusion. We cant always rely of older or more experienced GP's.

Let's say a Dr asks a depressed patient - "do you get enough sleep". Patient thinks sleep isnt an issue so the topic goes away. However an experienced GP might know that good sleep is essential for mental illness patients so order a sleep study only to find the patient has sleep apnoea and therefore needs a CPAP machine which improved the patients mood. 

The other problem is the grey area of illnesses. Some people go their whole life not being diagnosed with an illness. This could be due to the illness not being prominent (borderline) or denial or other reasons. 

So I'm sympathetic towards doctors for the above reasons and yes it means we often dont get the treatment we deserve, but IMO it is part of life, the imperfection of the medical professions is normal because they are humans, they make mistakes, they cant learn everything from a university and they cant be accompanied by a senior doctor forever. 

So thats the reasons autism was dismissed when you were a child and that in your case diet was more important than doctors took seriously. What is the remedy to this? It is getting a second opinion and a third if you think you need it. That is an action you can take and is a wise move.

TonyWK

[Ehmel]

Hi,

Firstly, holistic treatment can be a great complementary treatment or option when conventional treatments aren't working (obviously, this isn't the case for everyone, I'm speaking in general terms). So kudos to your parents; it sounds like they were ahead of their time.

Have you spoken to a professional about your anxiety? It sounds like you have been through a lot growing up with your health, so it isn't surprising that you don't trust medical professionals. Perhaps seeing a therapist to unpack your anxieties will help.

Advocating for yourself is also so important. If you don't think you are being heard, there is nothing wrong with ending the relationship with that particular professional. You need to have a good relationship with them to form the bonds you need for adequate treatment. Trust yourself, go with your gut; if they are not the right person for you, then back yourself. You might find voicing your concerns may make them listen to you.

I hope you find the support you need; all the best.