Going to a GP about a diagnosis

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hi, i've decided that tomorrow i need to start to get an answer and go to my GP about a diagnosis for AS. i was wondering what people experienced when they went to their GP's - or if they went straight to a specialist instead. this is just so i can get a better idea of what to expect

Wish I had an answer to help you out but I just wanted to chime in by saying I'm going to my GP tomorrow as well for a thyroid blood test and to ask about Asperger's Syndrome/Diagnosis. It's funny because my doctor is the only other person I've spent time with in the last year that can't make eye-contact during conversation either...I bet it's weird for other people to watch us talk, ha. I still feel like he's going to blow it off though :/ probably a rational fear when confronted with such a seemingly elusive disorder.

A GP cannot officially diagnose you (at least they can't here). Go straight to the specialist, unless the specalist asks for a recommendation. So maybe try and get one of the from the GP - that could help.

If you're in the UK, you will need to get referral from your GP for a diagnosis from a specialist- going straight to NHS specialist is just not an option.

When I went to see my GP, I took a piece of paper with list of why I felt I had AS on it. She actually said to me to not give her the list but to try to explain it in my own words- I think that this ended up being positive because she could SEE most of what I was talking about. At the end, I gave her the paper as well, as I knew that I would forget things. Writing it down actually helped me to clarify in my own head what I needed to say as well.
It has taken ages so far from initial GP appointment to current place in referral process, but I'm getting there. I'm glad that I got together the confidence to see my GP!

Good Luck with your appointment!

Lambey, I think I remember you are in the UK. Unless you plan to pay privately you don't have the option if going direct to a specialist ... If you want diagnosis done on the NHS you must go to your GP for a referral.

I was worried that I would not be taken seriously by my GP and, worse, that I would not be able to speak in the appointment (I often lose my ability to speak when under stress). I ended up writing one side of A4 in large print asking for a referral for an assessment and containing my "top 3" reasons why I though I might be on the spectrum. I didn't put too much info in because a GP appointment is typically only 10mins, and the GP can't actually diagnose you so there is no point in going into detail ... The purpose of the appointment was to get a referral.

When I got there I couldn't speak, I handed over the bit of paper and the GP read it and said "yes, I think we can arrange that" and made the referral. Was much easier than I expected.

You guys that have managed to get a referral at your GP's visit, was it a referral to a psych that is trained is ASDs? If you've been told that you will be referred it could be to a general psych without expertise in this area, which will make things a battle.

I went to my GP after having sent him a very lengthy but intelligent and well laid out report and covering letter, along with the results of a non-clinical assessment I had (by an AS consultant who has AS herself and has written books on it and has degrees in autism) who said I had it (used the AAA). The GP hadn't and wouldn't read my report and still asked me the very general question "so, tell me what your issues are" which was way too wide open and unspecific a question. I was still only referred to a general psychiatrist and so when I finally get my appointment, I will have to spend all my energy asking them to send me to an ASD specialist, they may resist this or they may try to label me with other things (and I've already had a parcel of separate labels which point towards AS). I hope you get to the right person at your first appointment.

Mine was a referral to a general psychiatrist who had a particular interest in ASDs in adults. There is no specialist where I live, so this was the closest they could get. The point of the referral is not only to assess for ASD but also to rule out any psychiatric illnesses that could be causing the same "symptoms". I saw my GP in Feb last year, then appointments with the psych in May, June & July last year. He diagnosed me as having an Autism Spectrum Disorder and referred me for a specialist assessment at the local autistic society - unfortunately due to funding issues that took a while to come through and I didn't meet with them until May this year. My ASD diagnosis was refined to Asperger Syndrome, but both the autism specialist and psychiatrist prefer to just use ASD.

I was in A&E last week having been taken down there by my occupational health doctor and as she was giving my medical history she said "and she's also on the autistic spectrum". I don't remember much of what happened while I was in the hospital but I remember that and although I have no idea if it changed how I was treated because I was out of it really, it felt good to know that it might be taken into account in how they looked after me. That's utterly irrelevant in this conversation but I thought I'd add it anyway ...

I have to add, it was the advice of YellowBanana that I read before I went to my GP- and it worked! Thanks, YellowBanana!

Update on the stupid situation I am now in with my diagnosis- as I'm over 25, I can't have funding immediately agreed for diagnosis, so have to jump through a load of hoops to get funding agreed from PCT. They will automatically agree funding for people 25 and under. I was 25 when I first saw GP, but diagnostic centre did not exist until I was 26, when I was referred.

Then, just found out that the GP who referred me in the first place is now leaving this week, and it looks like I'm going to have to start again, 16 months after it all started. So now need to go prepared to see new GP and start all over again. At least I've been seeing my new GP about my mental health issues, so it's not all completely new.
Feel like this-
Overwhelmed really, with how much we have to fight for. Why is nothing ever easy in this world? With current budget cuts, feel it unlikely that PCT will agreed funding, so probably isn't going to happen anymore.

well i've chickened out again, so thanks anyways for the replies - im still interested to hear more!

lambey - I chickened out many times before I actually made the appointment with the GP. There's no rush to do it. I also got someone else to phone to make the appointment because I really have a problem using the phone ... so would never have done it myself.

im the same. i recently got bad college results at A level and had to get my sister to phone and ask about me doing a 3rd year

yeah i could really do with someone to help me but nobody is interested + i feel awkward asking people.

I thought that I was the only one that is too chicken to make a GP appointment about this.

Apparently I'm not.

Definitely not. It's a really hard thing to do. First the difficulties of phoning to make an appointment, then all the uncertainty about how the GP will react when you find a way to tell them what you want. It's really f*cking difficult. But when the time is right you will find the strength.

I'm mostly worried about not coming across as sincere to my GP, as I make my case to him. I always worry about how I'm coming across.

And if my GP acts negatively towards me.

Also a big worry is being sent to see the wrong type of psychiatrist.

I've wrestled with this for months.

I went to my GP a couple of months ago to ask for a referral. I took my mum with me (because she is who normally goes with me - routine makes going less scary; I don't like going to the doctor's) AND my auntie who works with autistic people came in case there was any arguing to be done... lol. I couldn't speak when we got into the room so he asked why we thought I was aspie and my auntie and mum told him maybe 5 reasons from the huge list we had written. He asked me directly why I wanted a diagnosis and I managed to get something out. He then referred me to the local consultant who deals with adults with learning disabilities. That's the stage I'm at, I don't know what will happen next - whether the consultant or someone from his team will be assessing me or whether he will refer me to someone else (or whether he refuses to even test me and this turns into a battle :/).

Definitely not, I was scared too. I thought he might not take me seriously or perhaps he would think I was lying to try to get on disability (edit: welfare benefits) or something (I'm not!).