Just had a bad GP experience.

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Hey guys, I know this is no shocker to people with AS but I just had a joke of an experience with my GP. First off, i'd like to say that I only went to my GP because I had to get a referral from him, so it is a necessary evil to go through one. So what happened was I went to my GP half an hour ago to get a referral to a psych, during my appointment he asked how I was doing on my medication (Celexa for anxiety/depression) and I said good good, he asked me the basic questions are you sleeping blah blah yes sir sure am. So then I asked him if I could have a referral to a psych, because although my meds help take the edge off, I still am struggling through day to day life. He asked me what was wrong, so reluctantly told him I think I may have Asperger Syndrome and the first thing he spits out is "No, there is no way you have Aspergers you would not be able to look at me". I instantly knew this was going to be one of "those" visits with an ignorant GP. He asked me if I had friends, I said ugh kind of.. they are my girlfriend's friends so they are technically mine too. He told me that I just have "some social anxiety" and need to hang out with people more and I will feel better. I told him that i'm not AFRAID of people, I just don't feel comfortable around them because I don't understand the social norms and what is expected of me, he then told me "s**t happens" (yes he actually said s**t happens) and that I would learn how to blend in once I relaxed a bit. Since he told me I don't look/seem like I have AS, I told him that you can't look at someone and just say whether they have AS or not, then he just said that I seemed normal enough and have nothing to worry about. He still gave me a referral to a psych so I win in the end and had to slay the evil GP to pass through the level and receive the letter of referral. Even though he disagreed with me, I told him I still would like to see someone so he said okay and signed me the slip and told me to have a good day. I didn't dare to bring up my sensory issues etc... will bring these up with a real professional.

Good luck to anyone else who has to try to tell their GP they have AS.

Well done you for standing you ground and not being put off.

Sucks

I didn't have this problem with my GP, thankfully I think he was too ignorant to even question my suggestion of AS...and this is also one of the advantages of my GP surgery being so rubbish, I rarely see the same GP more than once so they can't make judgements about me.

Don't get me wrong, I HATE GP's and have had many many MANY terrible experiences with them due to their ignorance and general incomparable, not relating to AS but many other things. In all fairness though I can perhaps understand them when they respond like this, chances are lots of people who do actually have other problems such as social anxiety assume they may have AS, GP's may have to deal with this a lot...that's not to say they have the ability or right to say you/we/anyone doesn't have AS, but I can get their dismissal, a bit.

I'd love to see how GP's work - it's obvious from time to time they get some sort of training on mass, or a memo sent to every GP in the country that tells them how to respond to X idea put them by a patient, or 'if a patient comes in with X problem every single one of you MUST tell them they are wrong and actually it is Y...no budging on this fellow GP's!' GP's share a brain is what I'm saying

Good for you.

Hmm. Nice GP.

When you get your referral you might want to consider deliberately being yourself and not doing any acting. Just do the things you would do in private when you let your guard down. Allow yourself to rock, or stare fixedly at the wall, or talk in a babyish voice, or just do whatever you normally do without censoring yourself.

Of course, I may be wrongly assuming you were forcing yourself to be "normal" and look your GP in the eyes. Perhaps you weren't. Perhaps you are one of those Aspies who doesn't have an issue with eye contact. If so, the same applies in reverse: you shouldn't have to act and be someone you're not. Just look them in the eyes if that's what you normally do. If they start saying you can't be autistic, remind them it's a SPECTRUM DISORDER and not all of us have the same traits, and if they don't understand that then they're not in a position to be making any kind of diagnosis.

Maybe that was his way of trying to reassure you, albeit one that only an NT doctor could think would be successful. At least you got what you came for, a success you acknowledge.

As others have said, and I should as well, well done for standing your ground and getting what you wanted out of the exchange.

I'm sorry your GP was an idiot.

Mine referred me to a psychiatrist with no problem whatsoever. Perhaps because when I went to see her I was utterly unable to speak and handed her a note! Clearly, there was a probelm. I was very grateful as I went in expecting to have a bit of a struggle with her, but my worry was for nothing.

As for the psychiatrist, I wrote stuff down and handed it to him - again because I couldn't say it. I focused on my individual difficulties and suggested at the bottom of the third page that I thought I might be on the autistic spectrum, but that I really just wanted to know what was wrong so I could learn to manage better; I am sick of the intrusive suicidal thoughts (one of my most distrubing stress reactions), self-harm, meltdowns and shutdowns, and general stress and frustration of not being able to participate in situations I want to participate in.

Once I had used this method to communicate my initial concerns I found I was able to answer his questions openly and honestly and to just be myself - no trying to "fake it" as normal, and no trying to "show off" my ASD traits. Just me, as I am. So he could see ME and make a fair assessment.

At the end of the one and a half hour appointment, the psychiatrist said he thought it was highly likely that I was on the spectrum, that the stress/depression/anxiety I suffer is a directly related to that (or rather, directly related to "adapting" to try to function in society), and that there was no sign of any other mental health problem or psychiatric illness. He wants to undertake further assessment in conjunction with the psychologist from the local autistic society just to be sure.

To say I was relieved that my concerns were taken seriously is an understatement.

I hope your psych appointment goes better than your GP appointment.

Good for you standing your ground.

I'm sure this must be a very NT thing. So many stories of so many doctor's thinking that reassurances that you 'don't seem like you have Asperger's' is somehow comforting. I suppose the average NT WOULD be relieved to hear that they don't have any obvious signs of what is considered a disabiling condition. Unfortunately, those of us that have come to the conclusion that we are indeed very different find only dispair in that sort of dismissal of our concerns.

Go into that psych eval armed. Write down your concerns. Take in results of the more details online tests. You shouldn't have to fight but often adults seem to be made to feel that way.

Good luck!