I knew this would happen (saw a doc about AS)

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So, today, I finally went to the doctors. *sigh* I'm starting to wish I hadn't.

She didn't understand what I was saying at all. I knew she wouldn't. Everything I said to her she followed with "well most people do that"... She was basically just ignoring everything I told her. She just thinks it's because I don't socialise enough because I don't go to any "after school clubs" (maybe because they never do anything I'm interested in and I had a bad experience with clubs when I was 7), but I do socialise and I did socialise a lot more when I was younger, so that isn't the reason. I know it's not.

She eventually just sent me away with a depression questionaire to fill in because she didn't really know what I was talking about. See, the thing is, I know I have mild depression, but that isn't the reason for these problems. I've had these problems since I was a little kid, but I only developed depression in the last 2-3 years because I had a very traumatic experience when we moved to ireland. Now, if I go back to her with this questionaire, she's going to tell me it's all because I have depression, when it isn't.

I never told my GP that I think it's AS or PDD-NOS, because likely, she'd have been very quick to dismiss it, like she was when I told her I thought I had PCOS, but I wish I had now. Maybe she'd have listened better.

I feel like this has all been a waste, and now, it's going down the completely wrong road and there's nothing I can do. I knew this would happen.

Did anyone else have problems getting a diagnosis? What did you do to sort it? What can I do to make her listen to me better? Every time I told her something, she'd just dismiss it. :/

Are you in the UK? Doctors really are hopeless here.

I am, unfortunately. You're right. The doctors here really are hopeless. They don't know what they're talking about most of the time.

Anniemaniac, I'm sorry your doctor is being dismissive. I have an appointment with mine tomorrow, and I dread it. Been obsessing over it for two weeks now. I am determined to stick to my guns, though, and will not leave his office until he gives me a referral.

I don't articulate well, so have written essays I will show him that express exactly what I want him to know. Without those essays, I would not get my point across whatsoever. You might want to consider doing that, and if the doc still behaves like an ignorant prig, you could find someone less priggish?

I've had a lifelong distrust of doctors, and rarely visit them unless I'm so sick I can barely function, so this is really stressing me out. But I must do it.

that is a very good idea. I can express myself much better in writing than I can when I'm speaking, so I will try that. I only wish I'd thought of it before I went today.

Thanks for the idea. I have to go back and see her in 2-3 weeks, so I will try to prepare an essay explaining things to her and give it to her then. Hopefully that way, she'll be able to better understand me and refer me to someone who can help.

It sounds like you're talking about a general practitioner. GP's often have very little experience with that and no experience with mental health diagnosis beyond depression. You need to find a place that has experience in that sort of diagnosis

You know this person is not likely TRAINED in these disorders, and *some* people who are not trained in a thing but who are wearing a cap of superiority will to disguise their not-trainedness just make the detrimental stupid mistake of still trying to sound like they know what they are talking about instead of admitting that they don't know and refer you on.


go to a real doctor who specializes. at least then you can trust more the diagnosis-even if you don't agree with it, and begin the second or third opinion approach.

Contact a group specific to Aspergers and have their counselor set up your appointment. It may be outside of your group medical, if so, but sometimes we have to knuckle down and out of pocket things.

I don't know what the healthcare system is like in the UK (I'm in Canada) but I'm guessing you need a referral to see a specialist? If that's the case, when you go back to see her, can you ask for a referral for someone who is familiar with the Autism Spectrum? Do you have anyone who can come to the appointment with you to advocate on your behalf? That would probably help because then you don't feel like it's just you and her and she can't dismiss you so easily. It took 4 years for us to find a doctor for my son that could see him the way I see him. And that was a child who was not going to "grow out" out these behaviours. I wish you lots of luck on your journey and keep at it until you get some answers!

I think this is a very good idea.I also live in the UK,and count myself lucky that my doctor listened to me from the start. and in fact having written material (and showing I'd done some in-depth research into the subject-he was very impressed) persuaded my GP to send me for assesment to a specialist in ASD. This happened in May/June, and I received my diagnosis in August.

I wrote all my info down, following the guidelines given in the NAS leaflet "how to get a diagnosis as an adult" and I also asked my doctor send me to a psycholgist or psychiatrist who specialises in Autistic Spectrum Disorders. BEcause I was nervous, I wrote all this down and mailed it to him. He called me in to discuss it, which was terrifying, because I was convinced he's think I was imagining it or being a hypochondiriac, but in fact he'ds just wanted to say that he was impressed with what I'd written and sent him, and would refer me.

I incluce for you here some links to some pages from the National Autistuic Society. I found these pages helpful.

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=212 General info on what Asperger's is

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1062 Info on autism and AS and what it's like for someone with autism/AS. It might be an idea to priont this out for your doctor. Even better to copy and opaste it into Word, take out the stuff relationg to "classic" autism and just give your doctor the Aspie-related stuff.

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=119 Info for people who are, or think they may be, on the autistic spectrum.

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly. ... 045&a=3341 How to get a diagnosis as an adult-this was of ENORMOUS help to me. It advises you how to set out your case and what sort of information to give the doctor, and what to ask for.

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly. ... 245&a=8018 Why get a diagnosis as an adult?-something else it might be worth printing out and giving your doctor.

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly. ... 045&a=3335 How to complain-Is your doctor still being a total A-hole? Then maybe complaining might get something done. This describes how to do it properly, in a way that might make them listen to you and take you and your complaint seriously.

And two thinks that may be very helpfult to print and give to your GP:

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=128&a=2225 Important facts about autism and AS for GP's.

http://www.nas.org.uk/content/1/c4/36/0 ... adults.pdf A GP's guide to adults with asperger's syndrome (PDF file-Acrobat Reader needed to open)

The NAS Helpline was also a great help. If you need any other advice ETC, I would direct you there-though first and foremost, I think the people here give excellent advice too, but the NAS know the legal ins and outs and how the health service works, and can advise you on red tape/beauracracy issues too.

Good luck, and keep me posted on how you do!

JulieArticuno

Definitely write it down. You should also print off some things about AS and make a list of your symptoms and things that you think don't fit (if that's the case). Insist on a referral. This sounds like a GP and speaking from my own experience, they can really do damage if you aren't careful. My GP years ago (and we are talking way before they knew about AS in the United States) gave me a prescription for 714's (Quaaludes, so now you know this was a really long time ago) and Darvon because I had cluster migraines and he thought they were depression based because of my eccentricity. This was the GP that delivered me as a baby! He had me taking that stuff three times a day for five years. I was a zombie with a 4.0 grade point. The last three weeks I took it, I blacked out and still don't remember, but I aced my finals so apparently I was functional at some level. A Pharmacist finally stopped it by asking me why a GP was prescribing this for me. He told me to go read up on the side effects and insist on seeing a specialist. After I read the side effects, I stopped cold turkey. By then, my skin was yellow. The stuff was literally shutting down my liver. I could go on, but suffice it to say, I have had no luck with General Practitioners.


My own advise would be to not even see a Psychiatrist because I have had no better luck with them. They always think I need to adapt to the NTs when I can function well enough to keep my job (and that is about all the NT contact I can tolerate outside of my husband and family). I feel like they think this is some Psychiatric condition I can control rather than the result of being wired differently. (You have to make your own decision there. I have no use for them.) I have the best luck with Neurologists (I happened on one for my migraines and he became fascinated with my brain). They seem to understand the difference at an entirely different level. I relate to them much better.