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Clues_Of_Blue Possible ADHD
  • replies: 10

Recent conversations with my counsellor, family, friends and partner have shed a different light on a whole bunch of things that have been normal for me for as long as I can remember. Like most people, when I heard about ADHD, it was usually about li... View more

Recent conversations with my counsellor, family, friends and partner have shed a different light on a whole bunch of things that have been normal for me for as long as I can remember. Like most people, when I heard about ADHD, it was usually about little boys bouncing all over the place. If you're not specifically looking, it's not at all clear it's something experienced by girls and adults of both sexes as well, and the symptoms are surprising. My sister has recently discovered she has it. It runs in families, but that's only one box checked. Mind running constantly, like two or more radio stations blaring all the time. Check! Constantly getting distracted and bouncing from task to task to task, forgetting each as a new one (or one I started earlier) presents itself. Check! Insanely lengthy (and plentiful) to-do lists everywhere, reminders and alarms - and still forgetting important things (like meds) regularly. Check! There's a lot more, but that's the gist. I have a referral to a psychiatrist in hopes of diagnosis (or ruling it out, but somehow I don't think so) - and I'll be stewing on it at least 3 months, as the dude's booked up until June. I'd like to hear from anyone who has been diagnosed, about the journey there. I'm somewhat concerned about being taken seriously and listened to, as everything I'm reading suggests even professionals are often poorly educated about ADHD and an adult has an uphill battle getting a diagnosis for this - a female adult all the more so. I'm writing down every example I can think of, of symptomatic behaviour (so many notes!), and could do with an idea of what sort of questions they will ask - a lot of what I'm reading suggests adults and women present very differently to little boys, but the little boy symptoms are often what they base diagnostic criteria on. Sounds like a problem area right there. I'd also like to hear about symptom-related experiences, coping strategies and therapies that have helped people here. I've already read a few good tips, like having someone around to keep you "on task" when possible to get things done around the house, regularly tweaking routines to keep boredom from undermining attention to important things, aiming to achieve something small early in the day to break the sense of getting nowhere for the day ahead (boy that's a big one for me, I struggle when I don't do that). I could waffle on for ages (following that daisy-chain of runaway thoughts), but I'll stop there for now. Blue.

JaneC76 Why won’t anyone help me? Am I too much?
  • replies: 3

I have PTSD, I have an NDIS plan as I’m unable to work because of it. Ive been unwell for around 8 years, with multiple in patient stays. I’ve been doing well up to around March then it’s been very up down due to numerous triggers & general stressors... View more

I have PTSD, I have an NDIS plan as I’m unable to work because of it. Ive been unwell for around 8 years, with multiple in patient stays. I’ve been doing well up to around March then it’s been very up down due to numerous triggers & general stressors. As a result I’ve also had problems with insomnia to varying degrees. The last week there were some nights I had no sleep at all. I had my long standing appointment with my psychiatrist on Monday & told her the situation. She sounded frustrated & asked had it not occurred to me to ring her for an earlier appointment rather than wait so long. It hadn’t. I don’t want to be a burden & will try my absolute best to manage on my own. She prescribed a medication to assist sleep. It didn’t work & she didn’t follow up with me like she said. At this point my husband is concerned. I can’t function. I’m not sleeping or eating so he rings on Tuesday but hears nothing back. So I decide to skip some daytime meds in the hope of finally getting sleep. And voila it works, I sleep some. Not much but at least it’s something. Wednesday morning I have appointment with my psychotherapist who works in the same place as my psychiatrist. although this is Victoria where we are currently in lockdown I sob over this FaceTime appointment. Therapist says she is emailing my psychiatrist to ask whether I should have a hospital admission & whether I should be skipping medication. My therapist says don’t worry either me or your psychiatrist will call you back or if we can’t get a hold of you we will call your husband. But we will call you today. Its nearly 11pm & no ones called. Is it me? Am I doing something wrong? I’m constantly told I should reach out more but when I do I get nothing. The whole situation feels so hopeless for me.

Davey_NSW Withdrawal from medication
  • replies: 7

Hello everyone, I’m coming off almost 15 years of an SSRI, which is being managed in conjunction with my GP. I have managed a reduction in my dose and have now been completely off my meds for about 2.5 weeks. I am still experiencing withdrawals such ... View more

Hello everyone, I’m coming off almost 15 years of an SSRI, which is being managed in conjunction with my GP. I have managed a reduction in my dose and have now been completely off my meds for about 2.5 weeks. I am still experiencing withdrawals such as insomnia and foggy mind. Any tips on how on how to manage these withdrawals and how long I can expect to experience the withdrawals?

softdrinksandwich Antidepressant effects changing in first few weeks
  • replies: 2

I started taking medication 3 weeks ago to deal with severe OCD, anxiety and depression. My first week was strange as I adjusted to the medication - I was feeling better but really I was feeling different. Thinking differently, acting differently, it... View more

I started taking medication 3 weeks ago to deal with severe OCD, anxiety and depression. My first week was strange as I adjusted to the medication - I was feeling better but really I was feeling different. Thinking differently, acting differently, it was all an adjustment. I also had some minor side effects - nausea, dry throat, insomnia. The second week I felt amazing - my head was clear, I was thinking positively, and while I felt so different, I felt so good. I'm at the end of my third week, and things have changed again. My intrusive thoughts have returned significantly, and I'm once again much more anxious and stuck in my own head. I'm sharing this to understand if anyone else has had similar experiences. Is it a negative thing that the meds worked really well at first and have now tapered off this week? I want to be clear and say I do plan to keep taking the meds, as I know they can ultimately 6 weeks to really work long term. But this initial rollercoaster has had me concerned and perhaps I want to be reassured that it's all part of the process.

Zoomah Genetics
  • replies: 9

Have some good news on my treatment. I was starting to lose hope as no medication was working and I was only going down down down. In December I decided to try the public system with mixed results... mostly negative. However, this has all changed now... View more

Have some good news on my treatment. I was starting to lose hope as no medication was working and I was only going down down down. In December I decided to try the public system with mixed results... mostly negative. However, this has all changed now that I had an ACTUAL appointment with my psychiatrist. Before it was just with case workers and such. Turns out the psychiatrist I got was amazingly good at his job. My previous psych had tried the different types of drugs with no effect so this one went "Hmm, not effect. There must be a reason for that." So he got a genetic test... which was expensive for me. Turns out that normal medications will never help me because I have a mutation on my gene that prevents me from producing some chemicals properly. For me this is great news because now I have an actual treatment plan instead of guess work. I'm weaning off the drugs (not looking forward to the next 4 weeks... probably end up in hospital) and getting custom made supplements to give me the chemical my body can't produce. He's 80-90% sure this will let me get on with my life and respond to therapy. Even better, people in my family with depression can now get the genetic test and hopefully it will help them. Isn't modern medicine great? Still a possibility for it not to work but at least there's some hope. The actual mutation is so unusual that he's taking my case to a guy in the US. Lots of people have the mutation on their gene but mine is in an unusual way.

MrRoss Just help so fed up
  • replies: 1

Hi there am I the only one that can't see a psychiatrist without paying I have emailed 20 now no luck. It's very hard because I have been unwell for the last year and a half been diagnosed what's the autoimmune disease that is affected my Spine so fi... View more

Hi there am I the only one that can't see a psychiatrist without paying I have emailed 20 now no luck. It's very hard because I have been unwell for the last year and a half been diagnosed what's the autoimmune disease that is affected my Spine so find it difacult to walk some days lost my job because the RTA took my driver's licence of me because of my sickness. I understand its the right thing to do but it still hurts trying to get Disabled pension that's a nightmare waited over a year to see spine specialist to get a report for my claim dr told me I needed to pay for it private. And to top it all off my little brother died yesterday in the UK and I can't afford the $7000 it cost to fly at the moment because of coved19. Just having a really hard time NDIS have asked me to give a list of things I need help with but how do I know what they give help with to ask being dyslexic doesn't help plus the drugs I'm on make me a bit dizzy that my rant over thanks for reading

Unit1 Inadequate help for the lovelorn
  • replies: 12

I had composed a bit of an essay for this but then I find it is limited to 2500 characters. Mine was over 16,000 so I have to forget all my carefully composed thoughts which I hoped would get across my feelings - so here it is in bullet form: * I am ... View more

I had composed a bit of an essay for this but then I find it is limited to 2500 characters. Mine was over 16,000 so I have to forget all my carefully composed thoughts which I hoped would get across my feelings - so here it is in bullet form: * I am a 50 years old male and never been able to have a relationship due to a crippling fear of intimacy and a range of internal and external barriers to long to discuss in 2500 Characters. And no I'm not a creep or mysogynist. I am profoundly lonely and despite craving the companionship, affection and sexual contact of a woman I cannot overcome the barriers, so I live a stifled empty life. I have been ridiculed and patronised for my situation so i just hide now. * After a suicide attempt in my twenties I had15 years of therapy and medications which did not help one bit and now I find myself feeling like it is all over and I cannot believe that therapy can help me. I have delved deep into my problems with various counsellors and psychiatrists so there is nothing more to add to my knowledge of myself. I know my limitations well. I recently thought about therapy again but I see the same promises... * I think my personality and deep seated confidence problems are not very treatable. I think claims of therapy efficacy for such things is baseless or exaggerated. * I would find it less frightening to take my own life than somehow challenge my fear of intimacy in order to have a woman in my life, so I feel like my future will either be a slow lonely decay or I will suicide. * I'm sick of the b------t promises of the world of counselling. It is a field of health care that is far too young and under-developed trying to fix massive, complex and poorly understood problems to be of much help to many people. I have seen many friends similarly promised much from counsellors only to find no real lasting outcomes. Once a promise of help fails - the hope dies further still. I wrote a lot more but what is the point. Maybe someone will try to cheer me up with words of encouragement but that will not help any more than the ineffective "nothings" counsellors have offered me over the years - but still, thank you for reading. Happy Valentines Day from a miserable git.

coach77 Wanting a new therapist but wary
  • replies: 1

I'm not doing great these days and feel like I need to talk to someone but I'm super wary after being jerked around by three therapists in the space of a year. After being bailed on and been greeted with a shrug after opening up I'm very concerned ab... View more

I'm not doing great these days and feel like I need to talk to someone but I'm super wary after being jerked around by three therapists in the space of a year. After being bailed on and been greeted with a shrug after opening up I'm very concerned about the number of unserious/unprofessional operators out there. I'm also frustrated by the all the time and money I've already wasted, and the fact the authorities found these therapists' behaviour utterly unremarkable. It gets hard sometimes and think I should find someone professional to talk to but then I remember what a crap shoot it is. Surely there's a better way?

LimeGreenTea How long does it take to get a first appointment with a psychiatrist?
  • replies: 15

I recently talked to my GP on the subject of my mental health, they gave me a referral to a specific psychiatrist and said to make a booking with them. I did as they said but the earliest possible booking is for November (for future reference it's cu... View more

I recently talked to my GP on the subject of my mental health, they gave me a referral to a specific psychiatrist and said to make a booking with them. I did as they said but the earliest possible booking is for November (for future reference it's currently June). Is this normal?

NeekieJ Withdrawing from meds & time off work
  • replies: 1

Hi all I’ve recently changed medications after the one I was on was no longer effective to managing my depression and anxiety. I’ve been off the old tablets for 3 days now (early days yet, I know) and am dealing with the brain fog, dreadful anxieties... View more

Hi all I’ve recently changed medications after the one I was on was no longer effective to managing my depression and anxiety. I’ve been off the old tablets for 3 days now (early days yet, I know) and am dealing with the brain fog, dreadful anxieties and all those wonderful things that comes with weaning off these types of medication. Because of this I haven’t felt up to driving which is a huge part of my job. (I got in my car to move it and it was like I had no idea what to do!) I told my boss a month in advance what was going on, when I would be looking at changing medications and that I may need time off. She was amazingly supportive. After trying to work and being sent home due to a severe panic attack, I took my doctors advice and took the week off. I saw my GP and psychologist again at the end of that week and as I’m still feeling the effects, was advised by both to take another week off. I approached the 2IC today (as awesome boss is off sick) who told me it was not doable for me to take that much time off, that I should have told them sooner and that she would “have to redo the roster now” (with a few other choice adjectives sprinkled throughout). She also said that if I’m not coping, then my hours will be cut back to 8 hours/ week, currently I do around 20 hours/ week due to other health issues. She then waved me out, said rest up and Ill see you in a week. Guess I’m just looking for advice here. Did I do the right thing? Should I have spoken up sooner? Has anyone else experienced this in the workplace? I’m feeling so confused and always try to do my best at my job. I feel like there is still so much stigma around mental health and the profound effects it has are still so misunderstood.