GP's Reaction to me asking for a referral...

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So how should one respond when a psychologist says my daughters body movements are related to anxiety and because she repeats the same movements over and over she is moving more towards OCD. My daughter's right leg tremors severely and yes it is when she is under stress, she knows she is doing it and says it is to regulate herself and reduce her anixety. She will also sometime do this when she is relaxing.

Isn't OCD related to objects you need to touch or things you need to observe to control your anxiety? And movement originated from your body is stimming???? Help! My daughter has other AS traits but at the minute I'm being brushed off. I am going to look for a specialist in diagnosing female aspie's but would appreciate being set straight on this if I've got it wrong because at the minute I feel like some sort of rambling nutty mom.

Unfortuantely, psychologists can become entrenched in their thinking. Your only option may be to find someone that specializes in ASDs. OCD is not uncommon among those on the spectrum, so even if she has OCD issues it does not eliminate autism.

Nope. Every day throws up some some communication or social difficulty. That's why I say every day is normal for me. They don't always end up with me in meltdown or feeling completely overwhelmed though. However, that does happen with startling frequency and it always happens by surprise ... I think I'm handling it but then all of a sudden it's all too much. I think if were more aware of my feelings perhaps I would be able to recognise the signs better...

I broke Rule #1!

I mentioned that I felt I might be on-the-Spectrum to my GP on an information update form in the office. During my time with him, he asked me about it by asking which spectrum I meant. When I told him, he asked me why I thought so; he also asked if I had done any reading about it. I said that I had and also mentioned that I had been a member of WrongPlanet His final reaction was to refer me to the back of my work benefits card telling me that I should definitely look into getting checked out.

I suspect that he might have felt something himself in this instance, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. He is the type of doctor who will tell me when he thinks I'm making much ado about nothing.

And yet, I still have doubts about what would happen if I did get to the point of getting a proper diagnosis.

So, I had a message a little while ago from someone... They mentioned how traits can be masked particularly in females with AS.

Does anyone care to enlighten me?

I'm not sure about the "masking"- in my opinion this is a myth, created by the fact that the same traits are interpreted entirely differently in males versus females.

Here's a great list of traits common to women:
http://help4aspergers.com/pb/wp_a58d4f6 ... d4f6a.html

Thank you Bethie that has helped a lot...

It put a lot of things into perspective... I am going to print this off... and colour code accordingly...

Thanks again...

My experience with the NHS is that you have to be assertive and very clear about what you want. Myself and several family members have been involved with them for many, many years without getting a diagnosis. We always went to them with our particular difficulties, looking for answers from them. What do they think the problem is, sort of thing. Complete waste of time.

My daughter and I moved to Sweden and were quickly diagnosed with Asperger's. This prompted other family members back in the UK to return to their GPs. This time they were much more direct, not asking the GP for advice, but politely informing him that they wanted to be referred to specialist for a formal assessment for Asperger's and then explaining why. It worked.

Your GP says these things are normally picked up in childhood. That is so not true. The pyschologist who diagnosed my daughter at 14 said that it doesn't normally get picked up in girls until their mid teens.

By the way, both my daughter and I mask a lot of our symptoms. People who don't know us well would never know we are autistic.

This is an interesting video on girls with autism, I don't know if you've seen it before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs5L2R2l ... r_embedded

Wow... This thread really drives home the whole Free Health Care thing doesn't it? I think I'll keep private insurance thank you very much...

GP's are very ignorant about asperger's...and about everything in general.

My GP's response was 'what are your symptoms', followed by 'who do you want to be sent to then?' - he didn't have a clue, and that played to my advantage, if a GP thinks they know something about a particular disorder, illness, etc. then they instantly assume they know it all. Most GP surgeries have multiple GP's working there, so you can ask to see another, if you still get no luck you could always go to a different GP's surgery all together. I don't think mentioning diagnosis is a problem, at least not in that case - you do have to be open-minded about whether or not you are on the spectrum (although I think when you know, you know), but GP's shouldn't let that get in the way.

Maybe I was lucky, when I was sent to the mental health team by my GP they found in my records that therapists I had in my childhood/teens had already suspected Asperger's - that did a lot to convince them to take my theory of asperger's seriously and got me fast-tracked. Of course, now I have to wait for all the useless GP's at my surgery to decide who's responsibility it is to arrange funding for my assessment.

And dear god privet health care is hell - unless you're a millionaire don't even bother, yes you do get better treatment but they're still not much better than NHS GP's and a hell of a lot more expensive.

I was at my GP back some 4-5 yrs ago and asked to be dx with AS and he looked and his palm pilot for a few sec. and said that "I didn't match the dx I was requesting" I was absolutely flabbergasted and stopped using him as a GP.

You must work for a good company and/or have a fair amount of money. Some of us don't.
Good for you. One of my biggest fears is losing my job and then trying to find access to healthcare. My employer has changed health plans twice with new doctors and clinics to go to. I had the flu earlier a couple of weeks ago. I had to see a doctor. I did not want to wait 20+hours at the er (true story) so I tried to find an urgent care that would take my insurance. I finally found one and it only cost $150 for two visits (co-pay cost). I probably need some therapy but I can't find any. I finally found a pyschiatrist that takes new patients. I need medication, since I have a mood disorder. The only ones I could see were wait-listed for 3 months. That's okay while I explained my plight to a family doctor I found (I only had to wait 2 weeks as a new patient) he gave me a script to cover while I waited to see my pyschiatrist.

The best I got was when I was a full-time student because the student health centers are great. Also if you are poor you can get the social services you need becuase there are programs you need. I am neither now so I am left to figure it out. Yes, I get $100/month taken out of my check for this private insurance.

I'm sorry, but I am so frustrated sometimes with the health care battles I have trying to access care.. . okay I'll just quit now I'm just getting upset.

BTW I am in the US, specifically Albuquerque, New Mexico if that helps.
My friend moved to Florida and apparently it is a lot better there.

Yeah, that's how you have to treat any doctor's appointment for any reason. But, if you need medication, a work excuse, or are legitimately scared of a medical symptom, what choice do you have.

I don't think anyone here has had a positive experience with the healthcare system, in the US or the UK. I'm in the US, and after losing all faith in my GP, I decided to ask around who knew a good psychologist to go to. I found one, but have to make an appointment tomorrow. Thing is, where I am, Northeastern Pennsylvania, healthcare is total crap. For doctors, if your not 50+ or under 18, your screwed. For psychologists, if you are not a drug user or abused as a child, you are also screwed. I've found little for treatment and care for autistic children, and almost none for adults. I found one guy who specializes in developmental disorders, but he doesn't take insurance.

This was my dilemma a few months ago, because where I live, there is no one to go to that specializes in AS or any other adult forms of autism. So, I'm trying a psychologist that takes my insurance. I'm looking for ways to reduce or eliminate my anxiety. I'm not concerned about what social skills I'm missing, all of the problems I have are caused by anxiety. I asked the receptionist of this psychologist if the psychologist can help me with "anxiety associated with AS". So she said she'd talk to the psychologist and get back to me if she can help. And so the receptionist did, and called me back and told me when she'd be in to make the appointment.

My plan of attack was to tell her that I'm asking for help with anxiety and nothing more. So I hope it goes well. The guy that specialized in developmental disorders who didn't take insurance helped me out a little, I went 3 sessions with him but stopped because it got too expensive. He told me to look at things from another perspective, and not to be concerned if someone thinks your weird or whatever. He told me that I don't have to social relationships with everyone and not be concerned about trying. It helped, it corrected my thinking, but is easier said that done. I hope this new psychologist will help too. Only time will tell.

There have been people who have had positive health care experiences in the US and probably in the UK, too. I used to have a fantastic OB/GYN and a perfect dentist. I moved 1300 miles away from them but life was wonderful when I had them and they were both covered by my insurance. For insurance reasons, I had to switch doctors, including my psychologist and psychiatrist. The old ones were great. The jury is still out on the new one. But it's not all a crap shoot.

I think a lot of us could never play this kind of game. I couldn't.

And I'd be happy if I had any kind of insurance at all.

I have to take loads of vitamin D because I apparently have a huge deficiency. Every time I go to the doctor, she prescribes a higher dose. It hasn't lessened my AS symptoms though. My doctor and yours should go golf together.