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Lost in the Darkness searching for the Light
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: back in the World alive
I am currently:  
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Hello scaredandlonelely,
Forgive me for writing so much, take your time I haven’t been around RYL as often as id like and I saw your post and right now im able to write stuff so here goes .
You don’t mention where you live , im guessing in the UK ?, and you don’t have any info on your public profile, which is ok its up to you what you can share with us its just helpful for anyone here to help you as much as they can.
As Romperfry said going back to your Gp is a good idea even if that’s quite a few times, I understand your constant battle to get the help you deserve , it can be soul destroying ,depending on what your going through and where you live . I also understand some of what your going through, ive been through many experiences in my life and im still trying to recover from them .
Ive been assessed by my current Psychiatrist as having Symptoms of Borderline Personality disorder which is quite scary for me , as well as me having depression, anxiety and trauma issues, and self harming . Ive had to fight for a while now just to get people to listen to me and get the right person who understands about BPD to help me . A lot of people and some professionals are still afraid of People who suffer BPD , Its taken me a while now to get to where I am ,
please don’t give up .
You don’t explain what you’ve said to the CMHT and what their treatment of you was so its hard for me to be specific, if you could expand on what the CMHT said and what you said it would help us.
Your Dr can refer you to counselling unfortunately there is usually a long waiting list unless your current situation is serious. Your Dr should also refer you to your local CMHT, Go back to your current dr and Get them to refer you back into the CMHT, if they wont then please see another dr that is your right.
When you saw the CMHT were you seen by CPN Nurse to assess you, or did you see a psychiatrist who assessed you?. What did they recommend?. Its their job to assess people, their team should be made up of Drs, Psychiatrists, a psychologist (I tried to see one but never have) Community Psychiatric Nurses and social workers. They decide if you need a talking therapy by a psychiatrist or if your lucky the Psychologist, or they should give you a CPN to help you. If you were turned away by the CMHT you get dropped from their care the only way you can get back to them is to go back to your Dr and explain whats happened and get your Dr to refer you back into the CMHT. Ive been through the CMHT quite a few times now .
My current dr has helped me a great deal she referred me back into the CMHT, I have been given another Psychiatrist (that will be my 6th ) I have an appointment with him in jan 2010. I also have finally got an assessment of Borderline Personality Disorder and been told finally I will be put forward for a talking therapy called “ Mentalisation” but that doesn’t start till march 2010.
I want to tell you that depending on where you live will be a good or bad thing , a lot of CMHTs don’t have the funding or the expertise, which is worrying for us, my CMHT don’t even have anyone right now who is an expert therapist in Borderline Personality Disorder. When I was given the assessment of Borderline Personality Disorder , I naturally tried to find out what it was and how its treated, I found out therapies like CBT, DBT have been used to treat people with BPD. So naturally I asked if I could get CBT, DBT only to be rudely told its not available in the NHS go private. I was very annoyed and that’s where I put my complaint into the NHS. I was told that currently they are only just trying to train some of their Team in DBT but that is only just starting and that its likely they will train someone up by march 2010 in Mentalisation . My previous Psychiatrist is supposed to be knowledgeable in Personality Disorders yet his team don’t have the staff with expertise in Borderline Personality Disorder. Its shocking, but I want to say even though it may be tuff don’t give up and keep going back to your Dr, and to keep going back to your CMHT.
I ended up putting an official complaint into the NHS about my treatment from my psychiatrist and being promised that I was to receive further therapy only for them to refuse me any further therapy and go and find help privately.
Currently all the CMHTs are going through a change they were told by their commissioners that they were only supposed to see 100 patients a year and give them only 20 sessions of therapy each . Or see only a small number of serious cases like mine , who clearly need more than the 20 sessions and give them long term therapy . The current standing is for them to only give you 20 sessions and discharge you. And people like me who require more than 20 sessions were discharged from the CMHT and the psychiatristand told to go away . I managed to get 20 sessions of art therapy which was really helpful, and I personally was told I needed more than the standard 20 sessions and then I would receive further therapy like CBT, or mens group therapy, only to be discharged from their services. Because of my complaint to the NHS and my current issues they have managed to put me forward for Mentalisation therapy fingers crossed. Keep fighting don’t give up.
I was lucky to be told about a local advocacy group who are there to help us be listened to and allowed to put our point across. I would not have got where I am without their help.
I myself have seen 5 psychiatrists so far with varying assessments The NHS has some great people in it , its just hard trying to find the good ones who really care and who have the knowledge and expertise to help BPD sufferers. From my experience ive discovered where I live in Lancashire that the NHS funding for mental health is discusting and non existent and finding experts who have been trained in treating BPD are pretty non existent.
From my own experience, ive got a lot of issues so ive gone thru a lot of people ive seen between 3 to 4 Drs, 5 psychiatrists, 1 Art therapist ,two CPNs before I got to this place, now I know that sounds a lot, im not saying you will see as many professionals as me. What im saying is don’t give up keep telling them whats going on and that you need more support .
Im sure from your experiences so far you’ve been finding it hard, I hope you can hang in there ive nearly given up so many times but I wouldn’t be where I am today which is that there is some light at the end of my tunnel because I kept on standing up for myself and going back to my dr. Ive also seen more than one dr , if your current dr doesn’t listen or understand what your going through and doesn’t help you. Please please just request to see a different Dr one who listens to you , one who cares about you and one who can help you. You do not have to take one drs word for it .
Ive been round and round the NHSs system a few times now , normally you would go to your Dr talk to them about you being depressed and whatever else your going through. Your dr should then give you certain options , medication alone to help you. Or medication and a talking therapy, the NHS have been told to try and help more people by giving them a talking therapy first rather than just giving you antidepressants. Also your Dr is someone who can refer you to your local CMHT for assessment. Its their duty to see you and assess you by a Community Mental Health Nurse or by a psychiatrist . It is important to be as open as you can and not to let them fob you off at the first hurdle. As difficult as it sounds really being honest about your issues to the CMHT and your Dr are very important.
let us know how you get on
Dave
Last edited by bleedingdragon : 27-11-2009 at 08:19 PM.
Reason: added text
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