About me

Funding is bad for adult assessments, but don't give up!!! It took me more than a year (and that was classed 'urgent' ) but now I'm fully diagnosed. It will happen but you have to remind your mental health sevices as often as you can and tell them of the urgency.

I asked my psychiatrist for a diagnosis and as he was not an expert he couldn't give me one but wrote a letter stating that in his opinion I had aspergers but was waiting for the official assessment. I found this letter helpful even though it wasn't a diagnosis because people would take me more serious than before. You never know, something like that might help you while you wait for something more official.

After diagnosis things are not all that good anyway... again to do with low funding. Not to put you off but don't expect miracles. You will get help but have to do a lot of legwork.

I wish you all the best

I am now off all medication which I am finding hard but I am proud of myself. 

When I saw my GP and asked her about the CMHT she said you can contact them 9-5 for support my GP said that's what they are there for fair enough the CMHT offer this if you need to speak to someone in crisis eg but don't offer any long term support and don't want to offer finding out a diagnosis like ASD. 

As I am not doing CBT anymore as I can't afford it I have decided to do a one off private food introlence test and advice about my nutrition as I have a strong feeling that I have some food introlence - ( maybe why I am feeling so tired and generally unwell a lot of the time ) - has anyone on here had a food interlonce test done ?

Its my birthday today but I am kudy not feeling myself just want to curl up in a ball under my duvet crying I feel rather depressed and very anxious when I saw my GP a couple of days ago I was shaking because I was so anxious but my GP didn't take me seriously and said that I def have a viral illness. 

I know its ok to take the medication all has been discuissed with my GP

Marjorie195 said:

Is the drug safe for your babies?

I think Sez is very well aware, according to her previous posts, that taking any more drugs than necessary is not ideal. I am normally very averse to over medication but there are occasions where a moderate amount can provide a benefit that is worth the risk. I think that it would be better if she could get some sensible CBT etc from the nhs but she doesn't even have a confirmed diagnosis yet. The need for sleep and calm suggests that, on balance, Sez should not be over alarmed about the use of her medication. I would hope and encourage Sez to take this discussion to her GP or CMHT for more professional advice on her particular circumstances.

Sez,

You can keep posting here as long as you like and we don't charge anything! I have found the forum to be really useful for exchanging ideas about different ways to think about things.

Private therapists can be useful, as I found for a short spell, but they probably won't have a very focused approach in actually helping you confront and challenge your ideas and thought processes.

You are probably more normal than you think. It is entirely normal to want to start a family. I wondered if part of your desire to be alone in your bedroom was a natural response to being pregnant. Do you think that part of this is "nesting"? i.e. spending more time on making sure that the babies have a good home to come into and less time on socialising/finding a mate. I don't think that this is the whole story by any means but I suspect there may be an element of that going on at the moment.

I'm going to assume that you really do have an ASD condition in spite of the absence of a formal diagnosis. A lot of what you do sounds very typical for someone with an ASD. However, I am not a doctor so there is a risk that I might not understand you correctly.

Your reluctance to stand up and demand a diagnosis is understandable. It is hard work and often completely unrewarding to keep battling when you get nothing in return. ASD people often divide into two camps at this point. Some people take on the system and obsessively fight every inch of the way. Other people take an opposite course and withdraw from the struggle completely and end up as hermits. Neither course is ideal and both courses end up with damage to the individual through exhaustion of obsession or through not getting the assistance that they really do need. I really feel afraid that you will fall into the latter group and that you and your babies will not get the help you really do need. You are right in saying that the nhs has enough to do but they really do want to deal with cases like yours where a correct diagnosis and a sensible course of treatment can save an enormous amount of time and trouble and expense in the longer term.

Is the drug safe for your babies?

Therapy session didn't go well I am not really getting anywhere as I don't open up enough to tell the therapist what is going on just say part of it in small bits which isn't helpful for me at all and feel like I am wasting her time she also said today that she has to increase the price from £15 a session to £50 so not sure what to do now I need support I really do but I can't afford £50 a session its to much £15 was ok just about so stressed out now have taken diaxepam so that should calm me down and make me sleepy so I can get some sleep normally only use that medication for panic attack but could feel a attack coming on so doing this will stop the attack. 

Congratulations. I hope all goes well. 

Happy to announce that I am expexting twina and that they are healthy. 

not getting anywhere and it isnt fair to chase them up on it they have enough to do 

Sez said:

From the report letter that I got from the CMHT said that when I saw them I was in a content mood and didn't seem that depressed but yet they still said they are going to reffer me to the sabp diagnostic service 5 weeks on and I haven't heard nothing and I can't be bothered to chase it up they can't think its important to find out if I am autstic or not as they would of done it straugje away if it was impotrant the CMHT are awful I was so close to getting on the bpd support group and then suddenly I see a different doctor from the cmht are they are saying possibly autistic and the bpd is no longer what I do have despite having that diagonis from the CMHT for about a year. 

It is much more important to you than the CMHT that you get the right diagnosis. It is in your interests to chase them and make it happen. They may well be hopeless and inefficient and probably overwhelmed with work but that need not stop you from getting your diagnosis sorted out. I think a diagnosis of autism would be far preferable to BPD so I would be really keen to get that clarified.

I Approached my gp/chmt when I was feeling well, for the simple reason that I could discuss my past treatment and concerns for my future. When I am ill, I am unable to tell them what is wrong. I had obtained a copy of my medical records after I had come off medication. I could understand more how I felt and was having flash backs to the time I was very ill. I could see clearly from the records that I had been unable to communicate how I had been feeling, and that the medication had suppressed my problems rather than treating them.

I also wrote to them , after my first meeting, to add all the things I had been unable to say at the first meeting. They had brought another person with them, and I was put off by that unexpected change. They invited my husband to the second meeting and he surprised me by his clear explanation to them, of what it had been like for both of us, for me to stop taking the antipsychotic after 20 years and have emotional ups and downs again. I could clearly see a change in their demeanor at the second meeting. Their faces showed concern, but they only offered a statement of wishes form and said that I needed no help at present because I was well.

I let them fob me off with that. The process had been exhausting for me. They told me that I could contact them any time if I felt there was something they could help with. The statement of wishes form upset me when it arrived. It included questions about what clothing I like to wear and how I could be calmed down if I became distressed. It also asked what I liked to do during the day. I became quite fearful that they were thinking that I would have to be put in some sort of institution if I would not take the medication. I did not fill it in.

I have been left feeling, that once again we have had a breakdown in communication and I am afraid to go to them if I need help because they do not understand and they may now just have marked me down as refusing medication. They never tell me what they are really thinking. It is as though I am excluded from having a say in my own health care.

I know how u feel if u appear ok to the CMHT then they just assume everything is going well and that you don't need support but so many people when seeing the CMHT don't let there real true feelings go I am one of these people. 

From the report letter that I got from the CMHT said that when I saw them I was in a content mood and didn't seem that depressed but yet they still said they are going to reffer me to the sabp diagnostic service 5 weeks on and I haven't heard nothing and I can't be bothered to chase it up they can't think its important to find out if I am autstic or not as they would of done it straugje away if it was impotrant the CMHT are awful I was so close to getting on the bpd support group and then suddenly I see a different doctor from the cmht are they are saying possibly autistic and the bpd is no longer what I do have despite having that diagonis from the CMHT for about a year. 

It's a bit of a catch-22: if you appear to be well when you presented to the cmht then they won't see the need to spend money on a diagnosis that wouldn't require any treatmenet. A bit like doing an catscan on someone out of curiosity. If you can paint a more explicit picture of the stress and anxiety that you are suffering then they may be persuaded to act. One thing that this encourages is that problems can be left to fester until you need emergency admission. if you have a good going crisis and start breaking things or threatening people in the street then you will get a diagnosis pdq. You can go private and then you won't have to prove the same degree of need.

NAS11521 said:

[quote][/quote]

It isn't really possible to be sure whether you have asd on your own. The free aq test can suggest it but you need a doctor to really confirm this. I self diagnosed myself in the first place but I didn't really take it very seriously until I was diagnosed. At that point I suddenly felt that I could start to understand what was going on.

I agree entirely.  Also, self-diagnosis feeds the belief in the general population that being 'autistic' is just a fashion/fad.  Too often saying that one is on the spectrum is greeted with a kind of knowing smile and obvious disbelief and only an official diagnosis gives legitimacy to the claim.

I find this so negative and discouraging. I tried my gp and was referred to the cmht, who told me I was well at the moment and not in need of help. Do people really think these things?

I cannot speak about aspergers to any person  other than here, because I have no confidence. I believe most of the time that I have found the answer, but cannot force my mouth to say the words to anyone. Too many doors have been closed in my face, I cannot face the thought of one more doctor offering me pills for anxiety and me not being able to find the words to explain how things really are. If I could start the process by email, I might stand a chance, but they do not engage with patients by email.

ASD itself doesn't need medication! However, it does often lead people into depression and anxieties that might lead to medication. There are a lot of people who find that these medications are not effective for ASD people who get depressed etc.

It is likely that you will be offered cognitive behavioural therapy to deal with your depression and this is probably the best thing for you. You basically have to learn that you can outwit your anxieties and depressive tendencies. If you can learn a few ways of dealing with people more successfully then this will make your life more comfortable and less stressful.

Private diagnosis is accepted by the NHS but it won't suddenly lead to any magical treatments that you weren't getting before. It should persuade them to move away from drug treatments to CBT but you may have to wait awhile. I was diagnosed privately and my local autism services have no issues with this. They are actually apologetic about the queue for diagnosis being so long. Private diagnosis is not cheap and you may be charged £700-£1000 for this!

How do I cope not knowing if I am austic or not ? Waiting to find out with tests eg but this could be ages as its the NHS ? Has anyone done a private assesment if so will the NHS accept it and would you be able to get treatment on the NHS ? - wondweing what the treatment is for asd ? - is it like talking - counselling or medication itself like diaxepam what is the best medication that can be taken for asd ? I have been feeling very low and down for quite a long time and havent been able to motivate myself to do much apart from going to work I am hardly eating much and I am not sleeping well at all only a few hours each night which I know is not enough I feel the depression and anxiety and possible asd is controlling my life at the moment I just want to be happy in life as would everyone and most people are but I have little energy and struggling to cope with each day as I am low on energy and not putting any effort in to anything eg - my work how I look eg didn't have a very good day at work I reported some thing that was wrong to the hr department and the person who I reported at work found out about it and was like why did you go and do that I was going to pay you at the end of this month but he doesn't that's the trouble my life is so hard ATM :(

That's sad to here Sez that you've had a tough time.

Yes but waiting and could be waiting for ages