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sammie96
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12 Dec 2013, 5:39 am

I thought I had a pretty good relationship with my doctor...then again, I have worked with doctors, and I know how they talk about their patients....
Anyway, I went to see my doc a few days ago. I mentioned that I believed I was on the spectrum, and she made a disgusted face and said "We don't diagnose adults with autism, and even if you did have it we couldn't do anything for you. And say you had autism as a kid, what does it matter now?" She's pretty miffed at me because I don't want to keep trying bp meds (make me exhausted and depressed).
I want to try another provider, but she already knows me so well - and I'm not sure if I took her comments the wrong way.



cberg
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12 Dec 2013, 6:00 am

Your doctor was obscuring her lack of interdisciplinary ability. If she's been a good physician, fine, stay where you are, but you probably left the zone of professional detachment most general practitioners inhabit. Just my two cents, but regular exercise can stand in for bp meds in the vast majority of cases, and your doctor took an oath to point you towards help in any event she can't be of any. Just stay healthy enough to forgo the meds and inquire about experienced psych professionals within your healthcare system, A.S. ONLY matters in the present.


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sammie96
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12 Dec 2013, 7:40 am

[quote="cberg"] regular exercise can stand in for bp meds in the vast majority of cases, and your doctor took an oath to point you towards help in any event she can't be of any. Just stay healthy enough to forgo the meds and inquire about experienced psych professionals within your healthcare system, A.S. ONLY matters in the present.[/quote

Unfortunately, I've tried everything: running - I'm a half marathoner, good diet, quitting caffeine, getting my sleep apnea treated. It's still running sky high. I don't really care. If the meds worked and did not send me to the verge of suicide, I would happily take them. They don't really understand my philosophy: I would rather have a decent-ish quality of life and live for a shorter time, than take all these meds that make me feel like garbage and live to be 100.
I was surprised, too, that she suggested I might have had it as a kid but probably don't have it now. I'm going to seek out another GP, maybe at a different practice.



Jensen
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12 Dec 2013, 7:46 am

If you had it as a kid, you have it now. Your brain just learned to compensate for certain things. Couldn´t you change doctor and seek out a new, who would have a little more "stretch".


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Halfmadgenius
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12 Dec 2013, 7:50 am

sammie96 wrote:
I was surprised, too, that she suggested I might have had it as a kid but probably don't have it now. I'm going to seek out another GP, maybe at a different practice.


That's what I would do. Getting miffed at you over a legitimate concern is uncalled for, even if she disagrees she should not have acted as she did.



OliveOilMom
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12 Dec 2013, 8:07 am

Doctors work for you. Unlike a department store or other such business, you are not bound by any kind of hiring practices or EEOC. You can fire a doctor for any reason your heart desires. You can fire them because you don't like their shoes, their office décor, their tone of voice, etc. If you want to try another doctor do so, however, interview them first. Make an appointment and interview them before you pay for the actual first visit.



sammie96
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12 Dec 2013, 8:40 am

Im looking for another doctor right now. Thanks! :)



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12 Dec 2013, 12:17 pm

I thought you got your diagnoses already?


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superluminary
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13 Dec 2013, 5:16 am

That sounds horrible, poor you! I think "noted and logged" is the correct response here.



sammie96
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13 Dec 2013, 6:18 am

League_Girl wrote:
I thought you got your diagnoses already?

I did - the day after my last appointment with my GP. Fortunately, I didn't have to rely on her for a referral to get my dx. I've had to see her a number of times over medication problems/adjustments, and I got the vibe that she considered me a little bit of a nuisance. I brought my son in to see her for a couple of things, too, and I really didn't like her reaction to my belief that he has autism. I've had that issue with several of the providers at that practice, so it's time to move on.
I contacted a GP I used to work with - he's only taking on a "limited" number of patients...so we'll see.



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13 Dec 2013, 1:01 pm

Sammie96 - your doctor should not have said to you what they did.

I was diagnosed as having Asperger's when in my forty's.

When I went to my doctor to go over my history of issues and asked him if it could be Asperger's he said he didn't think so but sent me to the psychologist at the clinic to get checked out. The psychologist put me thru the whole nine yards of testing and let me know there was no doubt I have Asperger's.

My psychologist also told me she later bumped into my MD in the hallway (after sending my MD the report of my diagnosis) and my MD (who has been my doctor since I was in my early teens) said to my psychologist: "It didn't look to me that eggheadjr had Asperger's". My psychologist told me she laughed and replied "Clearly you weren't looking very closely doctor." When I saw my doctor next it appeared to me he was embarrased he did not catch my Asperger's earlier.

In my experience most doctors and specialists take a diagnosis of Asperger's in an adult quite seriously when advised of it. I've only run into one medical specialist that did not. When I told my doctor about it they promptly found me another specialist.


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