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12 Sep 2012, 6:07 am
12 Sep 2012, 7:05 am
12 Sep 2012, 9:25 am
12 Sep 2012, 9:53 am
Jeanna wrote:
I think others here have already asked this before, but I'd really like to know if it's even worth getting an official diagnosis.
For starters, the psychiatrist I went to was vey unsure about a lot of things. She initially prescribed me with concerta because I was diagnosed with ADD when I was younger, even though she said she didn't think I actually have AD(H)D at all, and (horror of horrors!) when I went to get the script filled, the pharmacist told me she'd prescribed the wrong medication, and had to call her up to change it.
The next time I saw her, she started asking me questions pertaining to Asperger's, but she was really unfamiliar with the content and had to pause a few times to re-read it herself. Then she told me to bring a family member along with me to the next session because she wanted to ask them questions. I told her that wasn't possible because I didn't want my family to find out I was trying to get a diagnosis, and she got really rude and started "snapping" at me, telling me she HAD to see someone in my family. I explained that my family is unsupportive of me getting any kind of psychiatric help, and she just got even angrier and said unless I brought a family member along with me, she wouldn't be able to do anything. I will never ever let my family find out, because when I was diagnosed with ADD, they most of them treated me like I was possessed. My grandfather wanted to get a pastor to "pray for the evil spirit to leave" me, and I NEVER want to go through that again.
Besides all this, I'm a poor university student and I can't afford $35 (after subsidisation) to see the doctor each time, and my school is very unsupportive of people on the spectrum. They actually refused help to an autistic boy, and he had to drop out because he couldn't cope. They also refused to let me do a double degree because I had to declare my medical record and they found out that I was diagnosed with ADD.
Right now I don't know if it's even worth my time and money to get a diagnosis. I wanted to know for sure at first, but now I feel like I can live without that because I don't think the risks of getting a diagnosis in a society like this one are worth it. Still, I can't help but feel that an official diagnosis would make me feel a lot better because it would explain so much, like why I can't look people in the eye, and all the meltdowns.
For starters, the psychiatrist I went to was vey unsure about a lot of things. She initially prescribed me with concerta because I was diagnosed with ADD when I was younger, even though she said she didn't think I actually have AD(H)D at all, and (horror of horrors!) when I went to get the script filled, the pharmacist told me she'd prescribed the wrong medication, and had to call her up to change it.
The next time I saw her, she started asking me questions pertaining to Asperger's, but she was really unfamiliar with the content and had to pause a few times to re-read it herself. Then she told me to bring a family member along with me to the next session because she wanted to ask them questions. I told her that wasn't possible because I didn't want my family to find out I was trying to get a diagnosis, and she got really rude and started "snapping" at me, telling me she HAD to see someone in my family. I explained that my family is unsupportive of me getting any kind of psychiatric help, and she just got even angrier and said unless I brought a family member along with me, she wouldn't be able to do anything. I will never ever let my family find out, because when I was diagnosed with ADD, they most of them treated me like I was possessed. My grandfather wanted to get a pastor to "pray for the evil spirit to leave" me, and I NEVER want to go through that again.
Besides all this, I'm a poor university student and I can't afford $35 (after subsidisation) to see the doctor each time, and my school is very unsupportive of people on the spectrum. They actually refused help to an autistic boy, and he had to drop out because he couldn't cope. They also refused to let me do a double degree because I had to declare my medical record and they found out that I was diagnosed with ADD.
Right now I don't know if it's even worth my time and money to get a diagnosis. I wanted to know for sure at first, but now I feel like I can live without that because I don't think the risks of getting a diagnosis in a society like this one are worth it. Still, I can't help but feel that an official diagnosis would make me feel a lot better because it would explain so much, like why I can't look people in the eye, and all the meltdowns.
Hey, you have the same Aspie score as me!
Well, looking at your situation, I would say logic points to NOT getting a diagnosis, because you have a useless psychiatrist, unsupportive family, and an unsympathetic university. Getting a diagnosis would seem to do you more harm than good.
But I can totally understand wanting to have a diagnosis to have peace of mind and validation and closure, that sort of thing. Still, I feel that since you are not going tell anyone about the diagnosis anyway, and no one is going to ask for prove of it, then it's good enough for you to self-diagnose. You know the symptoms, you know whether you fit, that sounds about enough for your purposes.
12 Sep 2012, 12:41 pm
12 Sep 2012, 12:53 pm
