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Why Get Diagnosed?

Boggart

Hi,

I'm an adult (31), female, and I think I might have mild autism. I wanted a diagnosis, and the mental health team (with whom I'm involved for anxiety) gave me the AQ10 questionairre thingy, on which I scored 8/10, but when I took it back to my GP she said something like that they don't really have any facility to diagnose adults and it wasn't that important anyway- I should focus on my other health stuff. I have severe anxiety, complete agoraphobia (I don't leave the house at all except for tests / specialist appointments at the hospital), and emetophobia, and digestive problems for which I've had an intestinal bypass- that's what the specialist appointments etc are to do with. 

I like my GP a lot- she's been very kind to me helping with my physical health problems, and very understanding about the anxiety stuff. My previous GP was nothing like that, so I really appreciate her. I do not want to make her mad at me, or get her into any trouble at all, but I'm a bit disappointed I can't get diagnosed. 

I guess I'd just like some advice- what should I do? What would you do? Is there any way I can press this without making my GP dislike me? Or is it best to just drop it? Does getting diagnosed make any real difference to your life? Does it help with studying / benefits / would it affect the treatment I get for anxiety? I'm already signed off sick, and I don't know if I really need any support for the autistic traits- they've always just been part of my personality, but I'm not sure how much the anxiety is tangled up in it, or whether that matters at all for treatment purposes? I might be completely wrong, anyway- I might just be an oddball and not autistic at all! I have a lot of the traits, but certainly not all of them. I guess I just got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about it and I'd really really really like to know. 

Parents

  • Hi Boggart

    You explain your reasons for wanting a formal diagnosis very well, and they are perfectly valid, they're mine, too, and 'socks sums it up very well in answer to your last paragraph.

    This fear of putting it to your GP isn't unique, although you probably haven't picked that up - it's contained within quite a few previous threads. I have to say that some people report some resistance from their GP, but my personal experience was the opposite so I can't speak on the subject through having 'been there', only from what others say. However, some who had the same fear found that when they finally found it in themselves to put it to their GP, the doctor in question was very ready to get on board with them, much to their surprise. I would hope that you too would be pleasantly surprised by your GP. They aren't experts. They can 'pre-screen' you, but they aren't expected or likely to have any more than outline inderstanding - that's what Consultants are for, and you're only asking to be refered to one.

    I hope others who have had the experience will post some useful hints and tips for you. Also, I have no idea how people who self-diagnose use that knowledge, so again I can't comment and it isn't a choice that I would make anyway, I needed the professional assessement and you're right I think, when you suggest that others wouldn't find self-assessemnt easy to accept. However, for some people, getting a diagnosis seems to be an insurmoumtable hurdle, and we wouldn't want anyone who self-identifies to feel excluded from our community just for lack of a professional diagnosis - it would be cruel and isolating for some very vulnerable people if we said that, I think.

    I think it's vital that we 'stick together. We argue and fight sometimes, but we do it in the way that families do, so in a way, it's nice to be one of the family - we are few. If you consider how ready we are to accept and talk with you, and hopefuly make you feel welcome and included, well sometimes that's as much as we can do. In so many ways, this is by definition an isolating difference that we have, so those few of us that exist need to be especially supportive with each other, and I really hope that this is what you're finding with us.

    Sorry to ramble, I hope something there makes sense!

Reply

  • Hi Boggart

    You explain your reasons for wanting a formal diagnosis very well, and they are perfectly valid, they're mine, too, and 'socks sums it up very well in answer to your last paragraph.

    This fear of putting it to your GP isn't unique, although you probably haven't picked that up - it's contained within quite a few previous threads. I have to say that some people report some resistance from their GP, but my personal experience was the opposite so I can't speak on the subject through having 'been there', only from what others say. However, some who had the same fear found that when they finally found it in themselves to put it to their GP, the doctor in question was very ready to get on board with them, much to their surprise. I would hope that you too would be pleasantly surprised by your GP. They aren't experts. They can 'pre-screen' you, but they aren't expected or likely to have any more than outline inderstanding - that's what Consultants are for, and you're only asking to be refered to one.

    I hope others who have had the experience will post some useful hints and tips for you. Also, I have no idea how people who self-diagnose use that knowledge, so again I can't comment and it isn't a choice that I would make anyway, I needed the professional assessement and you're right I think, when you suggest that others wouldn't find self-assessemnt easy to accept. However, for some people, getting a diagnosis seems to be an insurmoumtable hurdle, and we wouldn't want anyone who self-identifies to feel excluded from our community just for lack of a professional diagnosis - it would be cruel and isolating for some very vulnerable people if we said that, I think.

    I think it's vital that we 'stick together. We argue and fight sometimes, but we do it in the way that families do, so in a way, it's nice to be one of the family - we are few. If you consider how ready we are to accept and talk with you, and hopefuly make you feel welcome and included, well sometimes that's as much as we can do. In so many ways, this is by definition an isolating difference that we have, so those few of us that exist need to be especially supportive with each other, and I really hope that this is what you're finding with us.

    Sorry to ramble, I hope something there makes sense!

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