Mental Health - Struggling

Nashota

Hello,

I have mixed mental and physical health conditions which are currently being flared up by a PIP review and the medical centre that I'm registered with.

The PIP review is just causing me issues because I'm dreading having to have an assessment as I find it difficult to speak to people, I can panic and disassociate which happened at my last review so it's causing me a lot of anxiety.

On top of this I've been trying to deal with a complaint and medical record concerns with the medical centre that I'm registered with for almost 2 and a half years, they don't listened when you request things, for example yesterday someone called here and asked for me, the thing is there is a note in my records stating that I need a communications partner and that my son is one of the partners, so why keep asking for me, secondly they tried to book me an appointment to attend the medical centre when I'm also down as being housebound, my son totally forgot and had to call them back which in turn caused him anxiety, they then changed it to a telephone appointment. Also yesterday a GP wrote me a supporting letter for something which was very nice of her however, it didn't have what I asked for in it, she seem to totally ignore the fact the letter needed to state certain things, so I then had to email and tell them I don't think I can use the letter.

The medical centre constantly ignores the fact that I struggle to speak on the phone, I feel that because I've not been diagnosed with anything as of yet the relates to those struggles they ignore it.

I also want to request an assessment for a different mental health place because the one I was referred to was awful, can I ask to be referred back to the place that initially assessed me in 2012 and can I ask just to be diagnosed? I've tried various treatments but nothing has helped, I just want to be diagnosed at this point as I think it would make life a tad easier at this crappy medical centre. I can't move to a different place as they are all as bad where I live.

Pardon the rant, this stuff that happened yesterday has caused me to feel quite anxious and unwell today.

Rosie_Scope

Sorry you're not feeling too good today @Nashota, it does sound like a stressful situation to be in. Please rant away as much as you need to, that's what we're here for 😊

It sounds like it's well worth asking to be re-referred to the original place. Perhaps if you're able to write down how you're feeling about the situation and pass that on to your medical centre they might be able to refer you back?

Are you able to email any concerns to them or do they insist on having phone conversations?

Nashota

Hi @Rosie_Scope thanks for responding.

Do you think they'd do that if I asked? I always thought you were stuck to whatever was for your area but the NHS site says you have a legal right to choose.

I could email, but the question is, will it actually get to the GP and will she respond to it. Part of the problem is that they are short staffed.

I do have a phone appointment about my headaches at the end of the month that my son will be doing for me, he has my consent and is down as a communication partner, if I don't get any joy from emailing, do you think the GP would mind if my son asked while he was speaking to her?

I was going to see if it was something my advocate could help me with.

As you can see, I'm a bit here and there and not sure what to do.

Rosie_Scope

That's understandable @Nashota, it's a complicated situation. Hopefully there's a way to get things sorted for you though 😊

It's difficult to say whether they'll manage to pass the email on to the GP, but the worst that could happen would be that they say no. I realise that might be a pretty bad worst case scenario to consider if you're struggling, but it's worth a try if you're feeling up to it.

I once actually sent a letter in the post to my named GP about something I was struggling to discuss in person, and they did respond to that. I can't promise whether that would work for you or not, but that could also be an option to try.

When it comes to the phone appointment, sometimes GPs only want to talk about one symptom at a time, but this varies by each practice. You could ask your son whether he can mention it, and if not, perhaps they could make you a further appointment to discuss what you'd like to happen next.

It does sound like something that you could discuss with your advocate, they're all about trying to make your wishes heard so that's a good place to start 😊

Nashota

The letter is a good idea if the email doesn't work, thank you.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to me as well.

Cantilip

My GP is excellent and I have a complicated autoimmune disease which she knows about but by no means everyone in general practice does. In order to be sure she personally sees what I have to say, I write her letters, real old-fashioned letters you put in envelopes! This actually started during Covid. It works. There's a message form on their Website which is ah, um a less successful means of communication - most recently by the time I've said something three times it sinks in. I have my doubts who deals with these messages, such as locums wet behind the ears.

Nashota

I actually got into a bit of a debate with one of the people responding to an email just for a request for a passphrase/linkage key so I could link the medical centre to my NHS account, I said to them I had linked my mobile to my system account so that a linkage key could be sent as someone told me I could only get it via my mobile and at the end I put "email only due to me having anxiety" the person seemed a bit dense, no offence and even quoted me as saying email only, I started to get really annoyed and anxious and told them that I had literally explained that they could send the key via mobile and then explained that I said email only because I have anxiety and even though I have a note in my records to say I have a communications partner, I've had 2 people call and ask for me and then insist on carrying on talking to me even though I've stated I struggle to use the phone and have communication partners, they then apologised for the confusion.. The practice manager is also useless, she said she'd update me when she got back from leave, she's not contacted me at all. The medical centre isn't fit for purpose at the moment.

I've gotten to a point where I don't trust the staff there at all.

I might just do as you've both suggested and write a letter to the GP if my advocate can't help.

Nashota

I contacted a place here called Wellness in Mind who have offered me 4 weeks of emotional email support and they will send me coping techniques, I figure it's worth ago, not that I understand what it means exactly but it's better than nothings.

Rachel_Scope

That sounds great @Nashota! Definitely worth a go, it could make a big difference. Will you let us know how you get on?

Nashota

Hi @Rachel_Scope I will, they start next week Friday, I'm still trying to figure out what it means by "emotional support", like what sort of things do they talk about, what do they ask etc. I'm a bit anxious about it to be honest, but I'll try it non the less.

Rachel_Scope

It may be that they ask you to get everything off your chest and then give you some coping mechanisms. You only need to talk about what you feel comfortable with 😊 It should be about you feeling better, not being worried. I really hope it makes a difference. We're here in the meantime and always will be ❤️

Nashota

Thanks @Rachel_Scope

Nashota

I'm not sure about the emails.. I don't understand how it works, I don't understand if it's the same day each week, if it's random, nothing, while she did ask me if I was anxious for any particular reason, when I responded she never replied and hasn't since.

I'm not sure it's worth it if I tell her what's stressing me out and then she waits a week to respond because that's not really helping my anxiety.

Bluebell21

Hi @Nashota Could you perhaps explain to her that having to wait for a week for a reply is stressing you out. Ask her if there is any other way this could be done. Good luck.

Nashota

Yeap, I emailed her and said I didn't understand how it worked and if it was just once a week.

If it is just once a week, I'll let her know that I appreciate her offering emotional support emails but for me that wouldn't be helpful, it's a bit weird asking someone if they are anxious for a particular reason then not responding for days? Even more so when I told her that I was very anxious and that my anxiety had been worse as of late or am I overthinking it.

Nashota

It is just once a week but it's better than nothing and I'm also hoping that me sharing things with her about my struggles and such will then show the staff at the medical centre that I do indeed struggle with my mental health, they also don't take my physical health seriously, I did have a GP once stated when I complained about something that because I do go in often and take painkillers that my fibromyalgia is in minor, when the same GP said to me that painkillers don't really help in relation to FM lol.. and they also knew full well that I struggle with anxiety. what is the point of constantly asking for help with something that I've already tried to get help for and have tried different things to help myself.. The GP that did my appointment the other day is saying I need to go in for a blood test, when she was told I should be down as housebound she said the policies have changed and are stricter and when I see the nurse I'm to ask her if she can do home visits the next time when previously she turned up at my door without me even having an appointment with her. They don't seem to understand that I also have mobility issues.

Do you think it would be helpful if my son emails them and tells them about my health conditions and struggles? He's down as a communications partner which the GP also ignored the other day and asked for me when she'd already received a letter with all of the info in it about my headaches..

Pardon the moan, but this medical centre has gone down hill since 2021, it was never brilliant but it never took 2 and a half years for them to address complaints.

Nashota

Just to add, they think booking the appointment for 8am helps.. yes it might help my mental health a bit but I have to get to the place in order to attend the appointment in the first place lol.

Rachel_Scope

Hi @Nashota. I'm glad you've cleared up how often the appointments are. I think it could be a good idea for your son to get in contact with them to explain your needs. It can be hard to get Drs to put things in place for you so you need to be clear about your struggles and what you need. Let us know how it goes.

Nashota

My son ended up emailing the medical centre to explain that I cannot attend the nurse appointment and why, he explained it wasn't just my mental health conditions that make it hard for me to attend, that it was also my physical health conditions most of which are in my records that make it difficult and cause me to have mobility issues and falls. He pointed out the fact that I'd had 3 OT assessments between 2021 and 2023 and that I'd been prescribed aids, been given advice for other aids etc.

He also mentioned that staff members keep asking for me when they call, including a manager and GP despite there being 2 communication partners in place and requested that if someone calls here they just speak to him, I'd already given him full consent via letter to speak on my behalf and to have access to my records if needed as well, I'd already explained to the GP in the info sent to her prior to the appointment that Aidan would be doing the appointment and why, plus what she wanted to ask me was already in the information so she had no need to speak to me and he made a request for home visits if/when needed which would be rare as I don't make appointments, I don't trust the staff there which I've already told them. Prior to registering at this medical centre I was pretty proactive in relation to my health and tried all sorts of stuff to help myself both mentally and physically. They only need to go and look at my records. We made sure to ask under the Equality Act 2010.

No idea if it'll help in regards to home visits but the GP told me to ask the nurse for home visits when I went to the appointment but I wouldn't have done that due to my anxiety, they seem to lack understanding in relation to my mental health as well and I'm not going to keep repeating myself or sending them information to explain if they can't be bothered to look at it or make notes and read my records and such.

I've also given the person doing the emotional support emails permission to share info because I'm thinking it might help with the medical centre, but we'll see.

Nashota

Unfortunately I'm not really finding the emails very helpful.

Does anyone know if I can ask for just a diagnosis without having to have treatment? I have tried various kinds of treatment and haven't found it helpful, I'd like a diagnosis to better understand myself and so people like GP's take me more seriously but I find that when you want to be assessed they focus on treatment regardless or can I say I want an assessment with a view to have treatment at a later date?!

Nashota

Yet another issue with the medical centre.

This isn't the first time this has happened, I went into my system account and just happened to look at "future appointments" because I was wondering if the medical centre had been nice enough to book a blood test for me to have at home as I was classed as housebound but now they are saying that I need to attend, so my son has emailed them about it to explain I can't physically get there, anyway, I then noticed there was an appointment booked for a flu jab, I never asked for it, no one asked if I wanted to have it, nothing, this isn't the first time that this sort of thing has happened, I had one booked on my behalf before but that time I had my mobile connected to my account so I received a reminder, the appointment was cancelled because I don't want to have the flu jab and if I did I'd go to the chemist that's near me, they do them there, I also had a nurse turn up without letting me know to do a blood test. I mentioned this has part of a complaint that I made and spoke to a manager about it in February.. it's a good job that I checked because that would have gone against me as non attendance.

I'm really starting to hate the staff at the medical centre and I only hate probably 2 people, it's not a word that I like to use , they cause me no end of issues and ignore the fact that I have communication partners and various health conditions, they've caused me to have panic attacks, to be in a lot of pain, I even disassociated on one occasion, I can't move until the complaint and medical record concerns are addressed either, I have emailed them to moan at them about it, but they probably won't respond because they're a tad ignorant.