Bringing It Up With Your Doctor

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I thought that could possibly be your opinion from your earlier posts.

I obviously acknowledge the possiblity that I could be wrong in my self diagnosis. This is partly why I would like the opinion of a doctor/psychologist. I feel compelled to explain that I'm not normally in the business of diagnosing myself with obscure mental disorders, underneath everything and despite any appearances of my 'not being able to cope', I am actually a get-on-with-life kind of person. My mother, who previously worked with autistic children, has long suspected that I have Aspergers, and encouraged me to find out more about it, and I was struck by the extent to which the description really does resemble me. It actually annoys me that it's brought on a period of introspection. I'd rather be pragmatic about it. Hence, get a diagnosis.... and if a psychologists tells me I DON'T have it, and gives me an explanation as to why, then fine. I'll stop thinking about it then... and get on. And if I do get the diagnosis it will be of practical use to me, in my job, as I have previously explained.

I'm not even going to touch on the Doctors Get It Wrong Too! arguement, because I don't blame them for it. They work long hours in a stressful job. They can't think of every idea, and they're not psychic. If I walked into my doctors surgery and described my anxiety, it would be unfair of me to expect him to guess that I have AS, (supposing that I do). Since I think that I have good grounds to guess that I have AS, I am helping him to help me by mentioning it.

Yet you are more qualified? So you are saying there is no point getting diagnosis but you can't be one unless a doctor says so.

I think you are confusing panic attacks with meltdowns they are distinct things. It is possible to have both. Beta blockers can help with panic attacks sometimes. Anxiety attacks come from phobias. Meltdowns come from an overload of senses, information, brain freezes and stress.

Nobody doing a DIY diagnosis would go to a doctor unless they needed further help. If anything many doctors are starting to take what people say more seriously and so they should.

I may not be qualified but I DID catch on to the vague hints my psychologist was dropping and went away to research (I imagine he was testing the water as it were). I 'diagnosed' myself from all my copious research and then went back to him - whereupon he confirmed my dx officially.

So, I disagree that a 'lay' person can't dx themselves. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence and access to the web can soon work things out - though they have to be very honest with themselves. Most of the 'experts' in neuro and psych stuff are not at all qualified to dx ASDs - besides which, they have absolutely no idea of what it's like to be me. I've even had 'experts' scoff and snort at two very qualified psychologists' dx of my spectrum status. And GPs are, in my humble opinion, a waste of space.

If you can afford it the best thing is to go privately - at least the money buys you respect and courtesy. The only reasons for me were to get confirmation of some very puzzling and damaging lifelong issues and so that I can protect myself against all the abuses I've suffered (yes, even at the hands of doctors).