Doctors/Hopitals sensitive to Auties'/Aspies' needs?

Post Reply New Topic

My wife is sooner or later going to have to undergo surgery to correct her scoliosis. She hates doctors, though, and the fear of this future surgery has brought her to tears several times, usually at night when she's trying to go to sleep. (She has insomnia, as I do.) She's reportedly thought about it for four years every night, and it's driving her crazy. She wants to know if there's a calming medication she can take. But also, she wants to know if there's a way she can go about finding a surgeon and/or hospital which knows how to deal with very emotionally sensitive patients, or even Auties/Aspies specifically. She wants someone who can "deal with" her, she says. Sometimes she outright refuses to go through surgery even though it will increasingly become a necessity, due to the increasing pain over time of a spine that keeps bending more and more, and the threat that it could puncture a lung or damage another organ. So, she needs the surgery, she's just having trouble finding the courage to go through with it. She's only 20, after all, and doctors and hospitals are seriously scary to her.

Any advice on this?

Temple Grandin has written about taking a low dose of an antidepressant to cure her anxiety attacks. She says it has to be a low dose (1/3 to 1/2 the normal dose), because of the different way the ASD brain is wired.

Ragtime, I'm currently getting medical attention because I have a high tolerance for pain and damaged my body but didn't realize to what extent. My neuropsychologist noticed that I was grimacing and grabbing my arm while writing and referred me to a friend of hers that is a MD specializing in occupational medicine. Luckily this MD wanted to learn more about people with AS. She is kind and has asked that I be given extra time for my appts. I've never had a doctor be so compassionate before. My wrist and elbow are a mess. Nerve conductive studies are to happen within the next couple of weeks. I haven't been sleeping because of the pain but didn't realize it was pain that was keeping me awake. I don't tolerate medicines and have a fear of taking prescription meds. I concocted an herbal tea of oatstraw and scullcap and after letting it simmer for 15 minutes added some hops. Turn down the heat and don't let the hops boil or they will taste bitter. Steep the hops for an additional 10 mins. I don't use any sweetener but I like the taste of bitter things. This tea helps me relax and I can sleep for at least 4-5 hours after drinking 1 or 2 cups. I went to a local herb shop to get the dried herbs. Play with the strength. What works for me may be too strong for your wife. Only drawback is when I started taking a thermos of this tea to work I got reported for drinking on the job. Turns out the hops made my breath smell like I'd just drunk a beer.
Best of luck to your wife. I have an intense fear of hospitals and doctors and can only imagine how hard it is for her to consider having surgery.