Mental health, do Dr.s know/care how bad our QoL is?

Posted by shelleyW @shelleyw, Aug 16 4:02am

Do doctors/ therapists even know what QoL means for us "head cases"
Why did my neurologist, laugh, then diagnose me on the spot with Conversion Disorder, when I showed him a video clip of me involuntarily violently jerking in my chair and walked like I was like I was drunk. He asked why are you grabbing the chair (😱🤪), because I was trying to stay upright. I could not stop the jerking and it physically hurt and scared me some. He said "Oh, I didn't know you suffered with child abuse, as when you were young." It's not a sentence I will ever forget. The more I denied it, the more it looked like I was lying. I was devastated and choking back the tears, I quickly got out of his office. I am proud of myself just for just leaving...or he might have gone home with a black eye. He then had the audacity to put the diagnosis of Conversion Disorder in my file, so every single person who opened my file, this was one of the first things they saw. Conversion Disorder can be related to many issues, but by far most believe it is only due to childhood trauma. I saw that neurologist for 15 years, for only Botox for migraines.
I had to look it up cuz I didn't know what it meant. Holy S., then I saw super pissed at him. I finally got my psychiatrist to put a note (he's not allowed to remove another dr.s notes. But he told me that, it's actually against the law, in CA, to do what the neurologist did. In CA , a psychiatrist and a doctor, both must agree before making that diagnosis.
This discussion started with the statement below , authored by jania59. When I first read it, it really hit me in my gut. It is TOO true and thought, if we shared honestly, we might say/hear something simple to help each of us. If we share, we may say/ hear something simple that will be negative to us.

"Mental health has been pushed to the very back of progress in healthcare. There have been several campaigns to increase access, support, and melt the stigma away ".

I thought jania59 was more eloquent in her message, than I ever could be. The stigma of having mental illnesses, leads some outsiders to really hurt us, even if just with their words and ignorance of mental illness.
There are many many people who have mental illnesses or even just challenges. I have felt pre-judged by every new dr. I have had. It hurts me and it feels like it affects what type of treatment I will get from a Dr. When a Dr. blames depression for my itching, that dr. goes on the idiopathically ignorant list. Why is my depression instead of my pSS(primary Sjögren's syndrome) autoimmune disorder ignored.
I guess I should feel lucky in an odd way, antidepressants and anxiety medications have never ever worked for me, all I got was the horrible side effects. But at least another dr. does not see a list of psych meds, cuz they can't blame my problem on the "head meds". I am not against meds, if they benefit someone. My younger brother might well have lost his life without the meds, an exceptional psychiatrist, and support.
I'm am looking forward to learning from others, how you are feeling and what has been your experience in this quagmire called mental health. Jania, thanx for letting me share your thoughts with everyone.
Shelley W

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@mdk1960

Please get medical care for the mrsa asap. I got bacterial meningitis of my brain in May 2014 from chronic sinusitis. The organisms were pseudomonss and mrsa. I had a craniotomy to remove access left temporal lobe. I was on life support multi organ failure in medically induced coma etc. I had 5 years of allergy treatment after recovering. 13 arms of my immune system were deficient. He told me this was not your fault. Good advice about the components of a successful doctor visit. For me personally I checked for violations with the medical boards. I checked their education etc. For therapists it has been harder. The fact a professional was dismissive of you breaks my heart. I just began with another therapist recently who has a masters . So far so good. I would also check with the hospital my physicians were affiliated with for info.

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mdk1960, this may be a duplicate, I dropped my iPad. Are you serious about having a craniotomy, organ failure and 13 arms of your immune system deficiency?
This may sound like I don't believe you, THAT IS NOT WHY THE QUESTION.
This is a legitimate question from me, I I don't trust my brain much anymore. I had 2 recreational accidents 18 years ago, ocean and snow. My head took a beating in both, I am 65 now with the brain of a 165 year old. Thank you for your kind comment on dismissive drs., I really needed this today.Shelley

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Yes. All I revealed happened. May 2014. I emerged with a seizure risk but my eeg now shows a breach rhythm which is abnormal but non epileptic. I am not sure how to help you. I am always learning encouraging the neuroplasticity that began with this mess that happened to me. What I can say that is perhaps helpful is all the research I did and working with all my health care providers on a treatment plan together. I am not perfect but I do my best to do what they say. I am a retired nurse was RN. I was also a codependent which means I never said no. Even if I ended up sacrificing myself. I had a lot of trauma therapy and codependent therapy. I am getting this treatment again. I see my neurologist again early September and I will discuss a small reduction in my lamotrigine dose. I do not take much prescription medicine. Just 4.I do always try for the lowest dose for the shortest amount of time. I have 2 dogs who are my documented ESAs. I drive walk 3000 plus steps daily drive. The last time I took an antibiotic was 2020 for a UTI.

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I take esitalpram lamotrigine for seizure prophylaxis levothyroxine for hypothyroidism and losartan for hypertension.the losartan can also help with seizure prophylaxis- seizure prevention. The esitalopram may do the same.

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@mdk1960

Yes. All I revealed happened. May 2014. I emerged with a seizure risk but my eeg now shows a breach rhythm which is abnormal but non epileptic. I am not sure how to help you. I am always learning encouraging the neuroplasticity that began with this mess that happened to me. What I can say that is perhaps helpful is all the research I did and working with all my health care providers on a treatment plan together. I am not perfect but I do my best to do what they say. I am a retired nurse was RN. I was also a codependent which means I never said no. Even if I ended up sacrificing myself. I had a lot of trauma therapy and codependent therapy. I am getting this treatment again. I see my neurologist again early September and I will discuss a small reduction in my lamotrigine dose. I do not take much prescription medicine. Just 4.I do always try for the lowest dose for the shortest amount of time. I have 2 dogs who are my documented ESAs. I drive walk 3000 plus steps daily drive. The last time I took an antibiotic was 2020 for a UTI.

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mdk1960, I take zero medications for my MDD, PDD, BPD. They simply do nothing good for me, just tons of bad effects. My injuries were worse than I thought. I didn't even tell a doctor about the head trauma until I had a migraine that I truly thought I would die from landed me in the ER. After the injuries the migraines were 20-30 days a month, some would last for hours, some for weeks. My longest with no breaks was 13 days, 24/7. (which I had 4-6 a yr, prior to the injuries). The injuries, as a PT put it, broke my body into pieces, like a puzzle, inside, but couldn't put the pieces back in the right spot. Oh, I just thought of this, I am Humpty Dumpty. 🤯🤪😵‍💫

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