Hi, my name is Richard727!

Richard727

Looking for any advice on the following issues, sorry its long but no other way to explain:  

I am 58 years of age, living in Bridgend, South Wales, and I have been living with mental illness for 40 years and diagnosed for the last 30 which took a while to get use to but I had not had an admission for 15years until July 2020 when I had an emergency admission for 5 days following an allegation and marriage break down.  This was followed shortly after by a TIA, which resulted in me having my driving licence removed by DVLA pending medical reports, but with the pandemic, it took a very long time for any requests for medical information to even be looked at by the medical staff, even though I had made a full recovery.  I was rehoused in September 2020 to a second floor flat, and was settling in when I had Covid over New Year 2020/21 which saw me back in hospital for a short stay on day 10 of isolation and I finally recovered around 4 weeks after.  Last May 2021 I suffered a stroke? I say this as it happened the same way as my 2 previous TIA’s, and I was treated for this in the A&E before being moved to resus, high dependency, acute medical unit and eventually to the stroke ward.  I failed the swallow test in resus, so could not have food or drink which was only resumed upon arrival onto the stroke ward where the test was repeated and I passed, but this stroke? Was far worse than my two previous TIA’s, I had no feeling in my face, which is still the same now, I had no use of my right arm, hand and leg and as such I was bedbound for a while until I could be seen by the physiotherapy staff.  After what seemed an eternity in bed, the physio team started work with me, it was agony to find that it took half an hour to transfer from the bed to the chair which was beside the bed and the same again to return to bed, but I was determined to get back as much movement as I could, and they said I had done well after several weeks using arch frame and Zimmer frame, but then another few blows happened, I had an email from the RAF Air Cadets accepting my resignation from an email sent by me in anger over health and safety issues being ignored, then the stroke team informed me that there was nothing on the scans and therefore I had not had a stroke, but they were referring me to Neurology for possible stroke mimic, and then it became obvious that I could not get back to my flat on the second floor as there was not a lift.  Nothing I can do about the cadet situation, I was a volunteer who had done the role for 12 years for therapeutic reasons, and I would no longer meet the medical requirements now anyway.  The housing issue eventually got sorted through the housing association and after 9 weeks in hospital I eventually left for my new ground floor flat with Zimmer frame and the standard 6 week support, which did little for me as I seemed to cope well in the adapted flat, and because there was no diagnosis the physio was limited but did teach me how to use crutches.  Since moving into my new flat, another therapeutic volunteer role that I had enjoyed for 27 years was taken from me because the chairman discriminated against my mental health to remove me from the director post and also replaced me from the editor positions I held, this is still an ongoing issue as this is covered by the equality act as the group is both a club and an association, and I am waiting on a decision from the board as to whether he will resign or face legal action by myself.  The ironic situation is that the DVLA had sent my driving licence back to me saying I could drive which arrived with me on the day of discharge from hospital, so again I am not allowed to drive and the car I did have, had to be sold due to the cost to keep it parked and unused.  Mid November 2021 I saw the neurologist for a one hour appointment which involved physical tests and lots of questions, but the outcome has not helped me, as they say it cannot be neurological as it comes on gradually and they say it is a stroke despite the stroke team being adamant that it is not.  I was referred for another MRI and the physio again, the latter I now have an appointment this coming Friday morning, but I cannot have hospital transport even though I cannot get far, and I am still waiting for the MRI.  Also just to really mess me up, I have had to have new glasses since my last test 1 year ago, double strength reading from a year ago and new to me, distance glasses for everyday general use and driving, the front half of both feet are completely numb, my blood pressure has gone sky high so on new medication, and I have fallen on 5 occasions in the last two months resulting in medical treatment both at home and in A&E.  I am still no nearer to getting a diagnoses or knowing what to do for the best, the not knowing is difficult to get to terms with, but I still have weakness and restricted movement in the leg, and arm, cannot close my right hand and still numb down the right side of my face.  I am not sure if you are able to help in any way, but the situation with my physical disability is also having an impact on my mental heath disability and as I am left in limbo, I really am struggling with both.

Kind regards

Richard727

Ross_Alumni

Hi @Richard727

I wanted to wish you a warm welcome to the community, I'm glad to see you join us and I really appreciate you taking the time to talk us through what you have been through.

You've clearly been through a lot with your physical and mental health, so thank you for being so honest and open about it, it must be difficult to talk about.

What support, if any, are you currently receiving for your mental health? If you feel as though it is hard to manage at the moment it might be worth having a conversation with your GP to see if they can support you at all. Additionally, you have the option of referring yourself for treatment through the NHS.

It concerns me to read of the challenges you have had physically recently, in your post you mentioned having falls that have resulted in treatment being required. Do you have any friends or family members who can support you in the home? And have you ever had a needs assessment through your local authority to try and determine whether they would be able to support you at all with daily tasks and mobility? You can read more information about needs assessments on this page.

I'm sure you will find the community to be a warm and welcoming place, and I hope you enjoy your time on here. Please feel free to have a look around and don't hesitate to ask any questions that come to mind.

Richard727

Hi Ross_Scope, thank you for your reply, I learnt a long time ago that talking about issues is helpful in dealing with them as it acts partly as a form of desensitisation, but it also lets others know and aids them in what is needed to assist the person talking.  I do not have any support for my mental health, I had a review 5 months ago and were supposed to call back after 3 months, but they have not, and due to the virus they are over stretched and it could be 12 months before they get back to me, and the GP is only doing telephone appointments and can do little to help as they cannot go over the consultant to make changes. The falls are worrying as they have caused a V shape cut on my face which bled heavily but because my face is numb I was unaware until I managed to get myself of the floor and the bedding had blood over it.  I have Telecare installed and two 999 calls were made on two ocassions and the ambulances took over 4 hours to arrive with me, and on one occasion I spent 5 hours in the ambulance outside A&E as they had no trolleys.  I have had a needs assessment through the local authority but they deemed me of being capable, and I cannot even get support in the community as I have not got a diagnosis.  I do not have anyone local to me to assist as I am new to the area and I am unable to go far to socialise or meet new friends, my family are in Hampshire.

Ross_Alumni

Hi @Richard727

Thank you for your response.

Talking about issues certainly does help, it's good to get things off your chest and gather any useful advice that others have to share.

Regarding your mental health, it seems as though your GP is quite stretched at the moment and that the wait for some support is quite long. However, if you do feel as though things are becoming harder to manage, do continue to access your GP anyway just in case they can do something further for you. Additionally, organisations like Mind can be there to support you.

It's good that you at least have the telecare, but I'm sorry that you aren't receiving more support and that you have had falls. You could approach your council to have another assessment of your needs, just in case this time you would get a different outcome, but of course I would understand if you didn't feel as though it would be worthwhile.