No... really... talking to doctors...?

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mrspotatohead
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01 Jul 2013, 2:57 pm

I'm getting so tired of it... they seem each to have some expectation of how much you are supposed to know about a condition (doctors -- not psychs), but they won't tell you how much (and, no, it really doesn't depend on their age -- I haven't found *one* consistent pattern in that regard). You are supposed to just *know* how much information is too much and will make them too angry to care about you and how much is too little for them to figure out what to do.
They always assume that I am lying or exaggerating, when I try to be as honest as possible considering how subjective things like the 1-10 pain scale are. I always have to ask each doctor what they believe the 10 should represent -- some say it should be the most pain *you* have ever felt while some say it should be the most pain imaginable.
Then, even if I tell them that I likely have an ASD that I can't get assessed since I'm an adult and no one in the area does that for adults, they get angry and make terrible assumptions about me if I have a meltdown due to the stress of having to explain my illnesses to doctors over and over again who often don't understand or can't comprehend that you can have comorbidities associated with a main diagnosis that make life even more hellish.



mrspotatohead
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01 Jul 2013, 2:59 pm

and I've been searching everywhere for some sort of psychologist or counselor who can explain these things to me...



MjrMajorMajor
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01 Jul 2013, 3:08 pm

Over the years, I've found it's better to overexplain and use emphasis with doctors. At least, it feels that way when I'm describing symptoms but it's the only way they'll pay attention. I was having unusual symptoms recently that I now know were because of my thyoid. I had mentioned it to my doctor, but I don't think I was able to get the severity across so it wasn't followed up on at the time. I've learned that the last thing I should do is downplay any symptoms or health issues.



mrspotatohead
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01 Jul 2013, 3:27 pm

the whole "downplay" and "emphasis" ideas go back to being able to tell another person what you are feeling in terms that they would understand. since I have a TMJ disorder where my discs are displaced from the joint, I have the unique problem of explaining that kind of pain to a doctor who has probably never experienced it like that.
plus, they tried me on an antidepressant to help with the pain, and it did the opposite and messed with my mind so bad that it scared me and I almost had to go to an institution. *right* after I've finally weaned from the horrible drug, they want me to try another antidepressant, and nothing I can say will make them understand how terrifying that idea is right now. I finally explained it to one doctor as "I just got out of a really terrible relationship with this drug, and I'm just not ready to jump into another relationship with a similar drug anytime soon." But that was after being kicked around by several other doctors for not accepting antidepressants before I came up with that analogy. It's not easy to come up with an easily understood explanation for everything...



BeggingTurtle
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01 Jul 2013, 3:50 pm

I've learned, why ask a doctor for something when you can ask another autistic person from experience?


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hanyo
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01 Jul 2013, 3:50 pm

I have trouble with the pain scale. When I was in the hospital last year after surgery I had a nurse tell me you need to say 7 or higher to get 2 pain pills instead of 1. (at least in my circumstance)

I like these pain scales better. They are easier to interpret and match to my pain.

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redrobin62
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01 Jul 2013, 4:46 pm

They use the pain scale where I work. The patients always say they're at 9 or 10 so they can get the max dosage of pain pills even if don't show symptoms of pain.