Not being given a diagnosis

[scrappy]

After 2 different (confident) diagnoses from 2 different psychiatrists, on moving to a new area with different mental health team I have now seen 2 different psychiatrists for long and arduous assessments. Both of them were reluctant to give a diagnosis, and carefully avoided answering my 'what is wrong with me' question. Is it usual for doctors to hold back diagnosis from you? I am not sure if I should be worried now about what they think is wrong with me.

 

[bupanishad2012]

Not being given a diagnosis?

I have found that no, no doctor (especially psychiatrists or psychologists) , want to let you, as the patient, know what's going on. They are very smug in their arrogance (or arrogant in their smugness). This drives me crazy! When you try to get real information from them, they are devious and deceptive, and usually refuse to discuss side effects of their favorite medicines. After all, WE are insane, and THEY are not---that is the assumption. Wrong! Why do they, as a profession, have the highest rate of suicide, for instance? My advice is to be an INFORMED consumer, even if you are sick, or mentally ill. I hate to be a "conspiracy theory" adocate (not really!), but the "head" doctors, especially, and the pharmceutical companies are in cahoots to test their pet drugs on people who are in need. This is unscupulous and illegal, in my opinion. Get INFORMED, stay INFORMED. After all, we now have the Internet, do we not?

 

[Dollit]

They could be not giving you a diagnosis because it's not straightforward and a conclusion hasn't been reached. Not every diagnosis is easily made or easily treated. And I would be careful about looking at the internet to find a diagnosis - that can be misleading and dangerous.

 

[ramboghettouk]

1st diagnosis was "there was confusion of diagnosis at mapperley but i have no doubt he is schitzoprenic and have advised the mother accordingly"

Another time a CPN said she had letters from 3 psychiatrists saying i wasn't schitzoprenic

At one point when i asked a gp to put me on sickness benefit "it's a label and labels tend to stick" he wrote to the shrink saying he thought i was getting better

Another psychiatrist said i was schitzoprenic, he said get 7 psychiatrists get 7 different diagnoseses

Been running at residual schitzoprenia for 2 yrs now, a record of agreement between shrinks

 

[Manicandmoody]

I've always thought psychiatrists would make crap surgeons, as they can never confirm or dismiss! I spent 10 years showing symptons of Bipolar but in my opinion no one would slap the tag on me for fear of being wrong! I got all the, its a phase, its typical teenager stuff, its depression, its post natal depression, its this its that. All i can say is talk through everything you think and feel, try keeping a diary it helps to show your moods and what levels you spend most of the time on plus it helps to re- read your downers when you are in a 'balanced' state.

 

[Apotheosis]

Is it usual for doctors to hold back diagnosis from you? I am not sure if I should be worried now about what they think is wrong with me.

I agree with bupanishad on this. Personally I don't think they have any idea of what they're talking about - I've had loads of different diagnoses; & lots of indecision; & they don't know what's wrong, & it may be this or that. They talk twaddle.

What is a diagnosis? - A subjective interpretation of presented 'symptoms' that fit ambiguous criteria that has been 'made up' at some stage by people who have had no personal experience of what they are observing. There are no tests for this stuff. In reality it's preposterous.

 

[faeriedreams]

Just Great

Well I don't know if this is actually stuff I want to hear. I go next week for an evaluation at my own doing. Are you telling me, they might not be straight forward with me? At one point in my life I was in therapy for 7 years, and my counselors seemed to be very straight forwarded. But now I'm going to a shrink, because I don't think I'm quite well in the head, and some of my past problems are arising again. I've had several different things diagnosed in the past, and talk therapy usually worked, but if my Dr. isn't going to tell me what is happening what is the use of actually going? Does this mean I'm going to continue to walk around knowing something is wrong with me, but no one will tell me what the problem is?

 

[Dollit]

We can't tell you what you want to hear if it isn't honest. Also we are not your doctor and don't know his particular method of working. We can only give answers based on our own experiences which is what we have done.

I'm sorry if you feel that's not what you need to hear but we're only human!

 

[lost_soul]

From my experience, you shouldn't want a diagnosis. I mean we all want to know "what's wrong with me" but a diagnosis is a label, that you can't live down. Once your known as schizophrenic or bipolar or whatever, the public misinterpretations and wrongful media-based classifications, will create a stigma you don't want. Friends and even family will treat you different when they find out. Not to mention forced hospitalization is all that much easier with a "he's such-and-such". I know some people will disagree but from my experience the label is something you want until you have it. Therapy without diagnosis is the same as with one, but without the stigma. Don't push for something unnecessary that you might regret.