Posted by Lucia Francisca on December 22, 2005, at 16:09:25
In reply to I lied to my doctor... I feel awful.., posted by spriggy on December 22, 2005, at 14:38:07
Hi spriggy. Yes, I can relate. I never really know how much to divulge about my mental illness and family history of mental illness (My dad has bipolar disorder, like me. One of my first cousins is diagnosed as schizophrenic.) Especially to primary care physicians or even other health care practicioners that may or may not need to know. I guess you just need to make sure that any meds you may be prescribed don't interact with your psych meds.
I think it's hard to deal with a family history of mental illness--my dad was hospitalized several times for psychosis and severe insomnia when I was little. But it's interesting to me to see the similarities due to, I guess, both physical and environmental aspects in terms of mental illness amongst family members. Hopefully, there are some helpful coping skills your family members have used that you can use also. At least my father has been on Lithium for like 20 years, and my search for a better med for me has led to Seroquel, which has been helping me a lot for the last 2 months. I know families in which there is a really obvious history and incidence of bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, etc., and some members just don't or refuse to get treatment.
Anyways, I'm rambling on...
Take care, Lucia
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> I have a new doctor (rheumy) and I had to fill out 4 pages of health history.
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> Well, of course, it asks for family history and it asks about mental illness.
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> I checked "no" (which is a lie). I know that is wrong but I am sick and tired of being linked to my dad's bipolar and my mother's OCD/GAD-whatever else she has that makes her so mean- disorder.
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> If I told the doctor, " yes my father is severely bipolar, as was his mother (paternal grandmother), as is my maternal grandmother also, and my mother is severely OCD and mean as all get out, and my sister is ADD with bipolar.." well... where does that leave me any hope?
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> Then if we start asking about great grandparent's, well... they might as well just lock me up now.
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> I have this family heritage on both sides of serious mental illness/dysfunction.
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> In fact, they should probably have my family living in one of those hospitals where they do ongoing research studies on genetics and mental illness.
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> So I lied. I just said, " no." No family history of mental illness.
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> Anyone relate?
poster:Lucia Francisca
thread:591297
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051221/msgs/591309.html