Bandwagons and diagnosis.

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Does anyone feel like they cannot admit to having traits of different comorbids incase people think you're being fashionable or easily led? I know I do.

I have obvious, atleast moderate symptoms of dyspraxia. Tics since I started highschool and it was a few years ago I figured they'd probably be called mild Tourette's by some doctor if I told them everything. In the past I've had mild OCD features but not enough to get checked out, just some niggly habits and intrusive thoughts.
When speaking to people with these disorders I get apologetic if I hint at having them, or thinking I do in case it sounds like I'm saying ME TOO without thinking it through!
I hate it when disorders become fashionable and it makes me so angry when people say "oh I'm soooo *insert disorder here*" like it's a joke. I am not a mental disorder hypochondriac and I matched my features with these comorbids after years of speculation, I take my health seriously. I can't approach my parents without feeling super embarrassed either.

Yes, I feel exactly the same way. And with good reason - doctors seem to generally treat everyone like a hypochondriac unless the doctor decides - without any input from you - what's wrong.

When I saw the psychologist yesterday to discuss the very strong possibility that I'm bipolar and need to be medicated, after a 2.5 week severe manic phase with intense paranoia which was very dangerous, the first thing she asked me was "did you know what bipolar disorder was before you talked to a doctor about it?" I said no, a doctor years ago suggested it as a possibility to me, and before that I didn't even know what it was. Her next question was "did you research it after your doctor said that?" I answered of course I did.

From that moment on, she treated me like a hypochondriac and didn't take anything I said seriously. She went so far as to encourage me to self-medicate with alcohol and drugs, and "just not worry about it" if it happened again. She told me she was 90% sure I'm not bipolar, even though my symptoms fit the description EXACTLY. All because she assumed that I was a hypochondriac, all because I knew something about the condition before I went to talk to her.

If you say "I think it might be this" they will go to any lengths to find another explanation for what's wrong. Even if it makes no sense. This doctor literally said to me "sometimes these things just happen and no one knows why. You're probably fine."

This is how doctors/shrinks have always treated me. It has to be their idea, otherwise there's nothing wrong with you, so go on your merry way and let your life deteriorate around you because you made the mistake of admitting you knew something about the condition before going to see them.

That doctor is a moron. Sorry, but-- STUPID.

You might consider whether they might be right, and you might consider how you are presenting yourself (I'm assuming you're here because you're an Aspie, and we don't always come across that well-- which, yes, frustrates the living s**t out of me, and I would pay handsomely for a therapist who could teach me to talk so people will listen)...

...but it's my personal opinion that that doctor is a moron.

Now, with that said-- I am a hypochondriac. I was raised by a hypochondriac grandmother-- her great fears were asthma and Type 1 diabetes, so she convinced me that I had asthma (I wondered why I never had any attacks, like the other asthmatic kids I knew-- the excuse was that we managed it well-- she even had the pediatrician on board) and had my blood sugar tested EVERY SINGLE TIME I went to the doctor (every time I got so much as the sniffles).

Of course she saw all the symptoms-- every time I went to the bathroom it was excessive urination, if I didn't go to the bathroom it was lack of urination, if I asked for a glass of water it was excessive thirst. If I wanted to play I was hyperactive, if I wanted to sit it was fatigue...

My fear?? Well, I'll give you THREE GUESSES. I learned to recognize the REAL symptoms of various bodily ailments, and not to worry UNLESS I see REAL symptoms...

...so I drive myself crazy worrying that my kids aren't mentally sound and developmentally typical.

I don't know what to tell you, folks. Nobody should be afraid to tell the doctor what they think, and everyone should be taken seriously.

The doctor was definitely a moron. And I am not a hypochondriac. I come across as one because I'm so analytical in my descriptions of things. I foolishly want to give the doctor all the relevant information, so I list my symptoms in a clear and organized way, which makes it look like I memorized a list of symptoms from Wikipedia or something. Apparently being intelligent and well-informed about illnesses is automatically equated with being obsessive or overly anxious about one's health, when really I'm just interested in it, and I enjoy collecting and organizing information. I know plenty of details about conditions I don't have. I can list all the reasons I'm *not* sick with something just as easily as I can list all the reasons I think I probably *am* sick. But no one ever considers that. They just hear someone who knows a lot about what might be wrong with them, and go straight to dismissing me as a hypochondriac, without ever considering that maybe I really just know what I'm talking about.

I don't have anxiety about being sick. But when something is wrong, I want to know the reason, and I want to know what I should do about it. After a lifetime of not getting proper help from "professionals," I have learned to do some research on my own before going to a doctor. If I have an idea of what might be wrong, I can compare my symptoms to the lists of symptoms online, consider whether it's really likely that I have the problem, and if the chances seem high enough to merit concern, I will approach a doctor and ask their opinion. If they say "nope, you don't have that because of XYZ" then I say okay, thanks, and go on about my life. One time I was experiencing derealization and I saw a doctor about it and he explained that these symptoms are almost always caused by simple anxiety, then the symptoms cause further anxiety, which make it worse. He recommended I take a week off of work and just relax, gave me some mild sedatives to take in the evening, and said if I didn't feel better after that week, to come back. I followed his directions and then I was fine, and I stopped worrying about it.

On the other hand, when a doctor says "no, you probably don't have that, because you seem pretty okay to me," I know they're just dismissing me without considering anything I've said. You're right, BuyerBeware: everyone SHOULD be able to tell a doctor what they think and be taken seriously. But I've discovered that, unfortunately, most of the time it doesn't work. The only time I can ever get the doctor to listen to me is by distorting the facts. I have to say "a friend of mine had this condition and they told me I might have it." I can't list my symptoms and present a well-reasoned argument about why I suspect my problem is this. You have to pretend to be an idiot, so the doctors can say "AHA, well I know what's wrong because I'm a fancy doctor and I'm smarter than you." Otherwise they'll never help.

First and foremost, I can enjoy playing devil's advocate, so this is what's going to be most of my post, supporting the doctor you've complained about, even though I personally don't like most doctors for various reasons, and even though I've felt like I'm being interpreted like a hypochondriac for a large chunk of my life too, even though eventually I found out, (with my pushing the issue and getting a lucky dr. who would test me for it) I have an auto-immune disorder which could, in fact, explain ALL my symptoms :-)

(I guess I just feel like it's incredibly useful to understand fully what might be going on in the other person's head such that you can deal with them correctly, that they're not, in fact, merely stupid, but have their own reasons.)

The first thing is to realize that a doctor is an individual, with individual wants, thoughts, desires, ways of approaching things, etc. If you assume that the doctor is trying to bring in all their knowledge, and is using themselves as a basepoint (as all people do) for which to deal with patients, you might not think so poorly of them. With that said, not all doctors will approach and talk to you the way that suits you. Like the doctor who prescribed you anti-anxiety meds for the night, and explained that stress can cause you the symptoms you have, you...agreed with them. You understood them, you felt like they weren't dismissing you. However, the doctor who said you're worrying too much, you felt like they were dismissing you. But what if they weren't? What if you aren't fully understanding the doctor's thought process behind their 'diagnosis' of you?

They might believe that you, in fact, have been bipolar recently. But, they might also see that in the past, you have NOT BEEN bi-polar. I'm assuming since you yourself didn't present it as a lifelong thing, that you probably have only experienced the exact/all symptoms of being bipolar fairly recently, with only tendencies for being bi-polar in the recent past. The doctor thinks and KNOWS that hypochondria, (can also be replaced with placebo effect), is not just a 'passing' thing but a very strong, real one. seeing yo have issues, maybe or maybe not fitting into a category that has been well-defined, (like bi-polar disorder), and, INCREDIBLY importantly, know that the 'treatment' for bi-polar disorder is sketchy, they then think 'Well, if I know they have these tendancies, but they're only presented a full-blown disorder recently, it might help tremendously if the patient (you) perceive that they can help themselves more than I can help them. This means the patient (you) will work out for themselves what's best for them, will not waste time and money trying to find solutions in the healthcare system which, quite frankly, is inadequate in treating that disorder, and will hopefully come to an understand within themselves how best to deal with their own issues. I (the doctor) am not a psychiatrist, and I will barely be able to scratch the surface of what's wrong with this person, nevermind being able to treat them effectively. I (the doctor) know patients and even friends who treat themselves with alcohol, and it seems to work as well as any drug that I could prescribe to them. Therefore, I should down-play their symptoms, in the hopes that the patient will believe me, and therefore they will go back to their previous 'not quite bi-polar symptoms', via the placebo or 'believing' effect, and this is ultimately the best outcome possible that I can think of'.

Am I making sense?

I'm, personally, am NOT amedical doctor, but I am a person with a strong interest in cognition, and from what I've know, treatments for bi-polar disorder aren't very good. Given that, you should truly consider if you want drugs (for this is what the difference b/w you and the doctor is all about; doesn't matter what the doctors SAYS, it matters what the doctor DOES, ie: prescribe something)) that have a not-very-good record of helping, (far from curing) bi-polar disorder.

*phew* It's hard playing devil's advocate, but I really do think that doing so makes one realize things that one would otherwise not think about.

My personal history is one of no primary care physician (I'm in Canada and people are suppose to have family doctor's which know all about you, but I live in a city where, unfortunately, family doctor's are in high demand), so I'd go to walk-in clinics, present symptoms (could never present all of them at once as there's this time stresss, the dozens of people behind me in line who also need medical help, and only 1 hour left for the doctor until they're supposed to stop working...), so I'd see a different person every time I went in with complaints about something. And I was pressured into disclosing only specific complaints. Soooo, I only would often present or 'be concerned' with complaints that made sense to each other, like for instance, my hands hurting a lot and my feet hurting a lot, but I wouldn't mention my constant bloating or the mild symptom of being tired and having poor concentration, because the doctor was so friggin' rushed that that would be 'too much' for them to handle, since they don't have regular patients and took a job where treating 'regular' patients isn't supposed to happen.

Anyways, of course, being me, after years of finding no diagnosis for myself, despite my worsening health, I tried to find out what exactly was wrong with me that the doctor's could find. Turns out I had celiac disease. -I- had to ask for a doctor to check for it, -I- had to pressure them into it, -I- had previously been timid in doctor meetings, for fear that I'd be deemed a hypochondriac for my non-specific symptoms.

I applaud you for mentioning ALL your problems, for delineating them so well to your doctors, regardless what their reaction is. More information is never a bad thing, Ever. Especially in your case, it sounds like you can simply visit another doctor to help you if the one you find isn't helping you. Don't be ashamed or feel the fool for presenting all your symptoms, or for mentioning things that aren't seemingly symptoms. YOU know yourself better than any doctor can, so it's up to you to portray who you are to your doctor.

Although I understand the point you're trying to make, in this case I'm quite sure this is not the explanation.

I told the doctor quite clearly that I have a history of these things, although I had never had such a severe episode of mania before. I told her that a year ago I had a similar episode, less severe, and that I had always had episodes of severe depression interspersed with periods of high energy and anxiety. I told her that my doctor in university told me I showed signs of bipolar disorder and suggested I try the medication, but I refused because at the time I thought I could handle it. This time around, I couldn't handle it, and my friends all pushed me to get some treatment because they were so worried.

Her response was merely to ask if I knew anything about the disorder before seeing a doctor, and when I admitted that I knew some things about it before I went to see her, she immediately dismissed me. She told me that if I was bipolar, I would have completely different symptoms than I had (which is either a lie, or she's an incompetent quack). She seemed to think I was vastly exaggerating the problems I had. I told her I was paranoid, and she said "it sounds like you handled it fine." I told her I was afraid of endangering the children I work with and she said "it sounds to me like you wouldn't do anything to hurt them." I pointed out that no, of course I wouldn't, but in the condition I was in during these 2.5 weeks, I came very close several times to doing things that might have endangered them. She said I "seemed fine" to her and I probably just shouldn't worry about it. That I should "keep doing what I'm doing" and I'd "probably be fine."

Then she spent half an hour trying to persuade me that I have a "fear of the future" and "inability to plan" based on the sole evidence that I don't have any plans to have a family.

The key here is that she wasn't trying to reduce my anxiety. She was outright dismissing all of my symptoms as "nothing," all with a patronizing tone and slightly amused facial expression.

Also, the treatment for bipolar is not sketchy, according to the people I know who are on lithium. Like with all medications, it doesn't work for everyone, but it seems that for most people the results are very positive and with minimal side effects. I wasn't there asking for medication - in fact, I made it clear that I would prefer not to be medicated unless it seems necessary - but she laughed at the idea that I would ever take medication to try to prevent another such incredibly frightening and dangerous episode, while in the same breath accusing me of being unable to plan for the future.

If it is a viable option, the next time you have an episode like that, encourage your friends (before an episode strikes) to agree that if another episode happens, they should bring you to an ER. That is the only viable option you have outside of finding a new doctor. Once in the ER, you will get diagnosed and get meds. You may have to be observed, but at least you won't be in fear of harming anyone and you will get a better doctor on top of it.

Doctors treat me like a hypochondriac all the time. I have only ever had the diagnosis of Anxiety/Depression and a therapist suggested ADHD a few months ago. All I want is definitive answer so I research a lot. I suspected fibromyalgia at first 5 years ago due to aches, sensitivity to pain/temperature, brain fog and I matched symptoms pretty well. I told my doctor and he did not test me, just put me on anti-depressants. My memory was still awful, I became a slob and really did present symptoms of ADHD. I also suspected Asperger's too due to my social anxiety and found out that Apsies can be sensitive to pain/stimuli, have memory probems and be socially awkward. I asked the therapist and she blew me off. So now I'm 23 I can't work due problem regulating my mood, getting overwhelmed and am treated like a hypochondriac when all I want it to be able to function some what normally. It feel like no one even believes me. I n no way do I want to go around saying Oooh I have this or that. I want to be acknowledeged, understood, and taken seriously.

I can relate to this. My doctors have always seemed to think I'm a hypochondriac. I'm not. In fact I tend to ignore health issues. But as soon as I say I think I have this they dismiss it. Like when I had tonsillitis I told the doctor I had it and he laughed at me but I was right. I usually go in prepared because I know they will dismiss me if I don't have the knowledge. I generally tend to just give my symptoms and not suggest it is something and let them say it themselves
I only go to the doctors when I'm really sick. I used to go a lot for stomach pains and every time they'd say I'm fine till around 15 they said it sounds like IBS. Took them from around age 7 though to 15 to dx it. I even had a dental surgeon tell me I should be a chemist/pharmacist because he asked me to write down the names of all medications I'd taken in the last six months or year and I remembered them all and spelt the names correctly lol

I've had my "medical hypotheses" dismissed too.

Like, I have consistently told my psychiatrist that I have problems with "freezing" in place. I am now realizing it's a concentration issue. It is like I get too distracted by my thoughts and I forget that I'm supposed to be walking (it usually happens when I'm walking).

Every time I've seen my doctor, I've brought it up. "Ah, that's just a tic," he says. And maybe he's right. But he never asks me any follow-up questions. It would be nice if he delved further and at least pretended to be concerned.

I used to come in with a long list of complaints when I would see doctors. I don't do this anymore because it flags you as a hypochondriac. So does mentioning potential diagnoses. Many doctors confuse curiousity with hyper-vigilence. So now I just sit down in the chair and try to be as succinct as possible and dumb myself down.

Also, I think many doctors don't want to add many diagnostic labels because it makes them look bad, like their either hedging their bets too much or they don't know what's really wrong with you. Like the guy I have now probably thinks "Tourette's" is a good catch-all for everything that's wrong with me, so there's no need to add any additional descriptors. I can kind of understand this desire for efficiency.