Separating mental and physical health issues and being taken seriously (potential chronic fatigue)

[incrediblytired]

I'm currently working with a psychiatrist and my GP to figure out whether my mental health issues are limited to severe depression and anxiety, or whether there is something else at play (after a lot of research I'm pretty much certain I have bipolar type 2, but my psychiatrist doesn't listen to me, which is another problem all together) but during this process something else has come up that I don't know how to address.

For many many months I've been struggling with extreme exhaustion. I've always had a rough sleep schedule and often have bouts of insomnia, so I chalked it up to that (not to mention the, you know, depression), but the more time passes the worse it gets. I'm tired ALL the time, and no matter how much sleep I get I'm still miserable and tired afterwards.

It's affecting my life to the point where I can't make myself wake up and get out of bed, I nap all the time, and I'm sore and cranky. This hasn't been helping my declining mental health at all. I took leave from work several weeks ago for mental health, and I'm so grateful for it because I have no idea how I'd manage employment in this condition.

After googling, it looks like I tick a lot of boxes for chronic fatigue syndrome. The problem is, I'm too scared to talk to my doctors about it because I don't want to be seen as just making things up for attention or have it brushed off as just a part of my depression.

What are other people’s experiences with this? How do you get people to take you seriously when you already have so much going on and you just KNOW they're sick of you? Does anybody else have similar stories to share? Advice?

[white knight]

Hi, welcome

For years I felt tired, had afternoon naps and snored. I had a sleep study and found I had moderate sleep apnea.

i also recommend you try a new doctor. I swap doctors at the same clinic all the time so I get different opinions.

If I have a psych that doesnt listen - I try another.

here is a few threads you can google

Beyondblue Topic a good nights sleep

Beyondblue Topic sleep

TonyWK

[Nurse_Jenn]

Hi incrediblytired,

Welcome to the beyondblue forum. Great to see you reaching out here as there are many people who have concurrent symptoms of both mental health and physical health. The mind is a very powerful place and it takes time and persistence to find out where symptoms are coming from.

I agree with White Knights suggestion on getting a second opinion. Health professionals generally respect that you want to get another persons advise to your symptoms especially if you are not feeling like you are making any progress on your recovery. You can discuss this with your GP on gaining a referral to a different psychiatrist or you might approach a different GP. Sometimes asking around your community to find out if there are any GPs who have a strong interest in mental health can get you to the right GP faster.

One thing that has caused me some concern is that you have stated your psychiatrist doesn't listen to you and that you are uncomfortable approaching them. This sounds really tough. An option could be to bring a support person that you trust to advocate for you at your appointments. This way you can get your support person to help you drive the conversation about what your needs are such as being heard and feeling like you are a part of making decisions about your recovery, and exploring other causes of your extreme fatigue such as chronic fatigue syndrome or other medical causes.

Another option could be to write down what you want from your psychiatrist and GP and bring in a letter for them to read in front of you. The letter could include goals about what you want at appointments and what you would like to work on in the short term and long term. This way you don't have to start the conversation, but they will know what your goals are and might give them a push to go in the right direction with your recovery.

There is also an online program called Mindspot that is free and can help people with some strategies in their worry and low mood. This could potentially give you enough strategies to have the conversation with your health care providers and find the assertive voice so you can be more active in your health care planning. www.mindspot.org.au

Please keep us informed on how you go and keep posting around the forum. There is so much support out there.

Wishing you the best possible outcome,

Nurse Jenn