Published on 12, July, 2020
I’ve had a rather traumatising morning and was wondering if this was a problem other people on the spectrum have encountered?
4 years ago I had shingles. The past couple of days I’ve been getting horrendous burning pain that feels like shingles did last time. It’s a bank holiday so we phoned 111 and ended up going to an outpatient clinic at the hospital. The doctor (male) said he needed to examine me. My mum was with me, as was a chaperone (female nurse) and we explained to him that I was autistic and that I was very stressed at the thought of being examined as the pain was around the groin area and I've never had anyone have to examine me there before. I had hoped that would be enough to make him mindful of being delicate. He was not. It was horrible. I was lying on the bed, holding onto my Mum’s hand, crying my eyes out and having to shut my eyes. He said he couldn’t see any blisters so couldn’t give any antivirals in case it wasn’t shingles, which I completely understand (I study biomedical science at university and was worried that this scenario would happen), but his whole manner was wrong. He was very unsympathetic to my extreme distress and kept saying how he was “only helping”.
Several years ago I had a similar experience where a female doctor needed to listen to my heart through a stethoscope and started pulling my vest up without my permission because she was frustrated that I was trying to cover myself up given my mum was in the room. So I got very distressed at the feeling of exposure and her lack of sympathy or delicacy. (This was before I had my autism diagnosis)
I would be very interested to hear of anyone who has similar stories, as maybe this is a problem that really needs to be advocated for in hospitals
I know the topic has gone cold but I need to vent and I guess I can't at home.
So.. I've just come from a Dr's appointment and I'm angry pluss sad but definitely more angry, I had posted on here a day or so ago about applying for a blue badge I have had issues with the train specifically.
I've started a new job and now have to take the train to work as the parking is too expensive and few to boot, the train is driving me nuts and I'm having meltdowns before I even get to work(a good look it is not!)
So I applied for a blue badge under the new law I though I would be eligible, ha stupid me for thinking that(application rejected) so I thought a letter from my S**t GP's would help in the appeal prosses that ideological crack dance that I'm forced to participate, anyway the GP goes on to first of all to say "didn't you expect the train to cause me problems " after a little more belittling he then suggested I get a new job so I now feel stupid for going there and asking for help different song same lyrics, he said he would write a letter of course there will be a cost, but only because I'm abnormal, he did hower throw in a little tit of wisdom about how some people miss use the blue badge.
I hate letting people know I'm autistic it's like permission to treat me like an idiot! Anyway rant over I'm still seething but I guess that's life.
Quite frankly I'm not surprised you're seething. That is a disgusting way to be treated by your GP, I'm lucky that I know have a very nice doctor but I have had some really passive aggressive and condescending ones too and looking back I wish so much I could have reported them for their terrible attitudes towards me. How on earth are we supposed to trust our GP when they talk to us with all the resect offered by 70's throwback misogynist.
I'm sorry you are going through this and that your Dr is being so frustrating - I had other words to use there but I've only just joined this forum and it would be such a shame to get banned already.
Yep, they are probably similar to the words I have chewed this evening.
I just don't get it!
Before I knew that I was autistic I had struggle quietly never letting on that anything was out of place, but now i thought I could find some peace by getting support and some understanding.
there is no support anywhere and no understanding even from people who are educated, am I wrong in looking for support I feel like I am and that I'm less for even accepting that I'm autistic.
what would I do 100 years ago how would I have lived, there was no one around then to help.
Who am I to ask for adjustments, I just feel like crap.
. said:Before I knew that I was autistic I had struggle quietly never letting on that anything was out of place, but now i thought I could find some peace by getting support and some understanding.
You absolutely deserve peace, support and understanding. How your GP treated you today was horribly unprofessional. I am so sorry you had to go through that.
. said:after a little more belittling he then suggested I get a new job
If that's his attitude to patients, I would suggest he gets a new job.
I completely get the stress of commuting on trains; as much as I hated my last workplace and colleagues, I think the daily train commute is what finally triggered my latest burnout. While I coped fine going there and back on the train for my interview, it's very different doing it day in, day out, especially at the start and end of the day when we're most tired and thus most susceptible to sensory overload. Coupled with regular disruption to the timetable—general delays, strikes, bad weather etc.—the chaos on top of the sensory stuff was just too much.
I hope you can get a blue badge to help you. Could you also work from home one day a week (say, Wednesday) to break it up a bit?