Health Update 2 May

I’ve had my MRI results and I have bulging vertebrae from the lower back to the sacral area – never heard of that one before but always happy to learn something new!

I am much less stressed now that I know there is a real reason for the pain I am in. I had been so worried that it might be bowel cancer due to the symptoms I have and it is very reassuring to know that I don’t have a life threatening condition!

It is good to know that I was right to be concerned about my back problems and that it wasn’t ‘all in my head’! When you have a mental illness it is very difficult to convince health professionals that a concern is real and not imagined. I remember when I had an anaphylactic shock the paramedics that came were quite happy to listen to me until they asked me what medication I took. On learning that it was Quetiapine for bipolar disorder they told me they were leaving.

I am not a drama queen and I wouldn’t have called them unless it was absolutely necessary and I was determined that they would not leave my house without me. They didn’t and I was fortunate enough to actually be in the hospital when my life was draining from me, the only bad side it that my youngest daughter had to witness it. I can imagine it was very traumatic.

My advice to anyone with a mental illness that feels there is something else wrong with them  is to rule out anything that can be due to hypochondria (i.e. in the mind), make sure you are eating healthily, taking supplements if necessary to see if the problem will go away. If it doesn’t and you still can’t get your GP to listen to you, write them a letter clearly outlining your symptoms and why you are concerned and if you don’t feel that you can do it yourself get a friend or family member to help you. That way, if there is something really wrong with you and they miss it, you have evidence that you informed them and it will help if you end up needing to claim compensation.

As a ward visitor I have been told by many patients that their physical needs are ignored while doctors focus on their mental health condition. Not being listened to will more often than not make us more depressed. The key is to not let them ignore you and to do it in a non threatening way. People with a mental health problem on average, die 20 years younger than those without them. Doctors are frequently ignoring people with mental illnesses, people have died because they have not been listened to (click here to visit Rethink’s webpage on the issues and view their campaign).

I feel that the hospital investigating my back problems discharged me without sending me for an MRI because of this issue and am fortunate that my doctor referred me for the scans. My condition has worsened since they discharged me and could have been picked up at least a year earlier.

Don’t let it happen to you!

the inexplicable is not a synonym for insane

Reblogged from recovery network: Toronto:

Excellent opinion piece by Globe and Mail’s   André Picard on the unfolding case of Anders Breivik and how it cuts open the chest cavity of our society to reveal deep assumptions about violence, evil, inexplicable acts of violence and mental illness.

And then he holds up the dual myth-lies that feed these assumptions: the equation violence= mental illness and mental illness equals violence 

Read more… 1,111 more words

The inexplicable is not a synonym for insane!

Schizophrenia: A Recovery

Reblogged from recovery network: Toronto:

• 

 Jonathan Benjamin describes his experience falling into mental illness, with depression,  hearing voices, thinking he was being visited by an angel then possessed by a devil, of self-harming, diagnosis, diagnoses, feeling numbed by medications; hopelessness; suicide – arrest- being sectioned and psychiatric discharge.

He talks of seeking help, running away from hospital; feeling let down when doctors said “there’s nothing we can do”; of  being scared of what was happening to him and being scared to talk about it.

Read more… 320 more words

This guy's story of recovery is amazing!

Ward Visiting Diary Update

Those of you who have been visiting my blog may notice that my ward visiting diary is no longer on this blog page. It’s now a private page just for me and perhaps at some point I will share it with the charity I work for.

I decided to do this as I want to share my blog more widely, specifically with patients; and I’m aware that, although I have not given any details of a patient they will be able to recognise each other from the activities I mention and I would then be breaching the confidentiality agreement I made with the charity that I work for: Canerows and Plaits which is part of Sound Minds in Battersea, London. This also means that I can now name them which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time as they do great work.

It was there that I went after my breakdown. It really helped having somewhere to leave the house for. I’ve been working for them voluntarily one day a week as a ward visitor. I produce their quarterly newsletter and photograph events every now and then. They provide an invaluable service to people suffering with mental illness.

Health Update 9th April

It’s been a really bad time for me pain-wise but I’ve at least had an OT assessment and have had handrails installed around and outside the house. I also was prescribed a perched stool to help me wash the dishes. As our kitchen is small, it’s more of a hindrance than anything else as there is no space in front of the sink for my legs when I’m on the chair so I have to sit in an awkward position.

My ward visit on 8th March was difficult as I was in a lot of pain and I forgot to write it up which is a shame. I’ve now had my MRI which was on 31st March so am awaiting my results. I haven’t been motivated to update my blog as there’s just too much going on, however, I managed to do a visit last week as the pain was manageable – I wish it was now I am in agony.

Health Update 12th December

I was really pleased with myself this weekend. I managed to get quite a bit of housework done, dusted, swept the stairs, doing the washing, sorting it and putting it away AND washed my daughter’s hair which is always a major drama. I am paying for my productivity now though as my back is hurting a lot and I’m having difficulty making it up the stairs – by the time I get to the 8th step I need to lie down and it’s a major effort to manage the last few steps.

It’s a shame I can’t always do ‘a little often’ as the dust and mess wouldn’t build up so much, especially the washing but lifting the basket of clothes is not always easy so I have to do it when I can.

I have six pillows supporting me on my bed and have been updating a blog that I manage for another charitable organisation. If I could only get a job where I could work from home on the laptop I’d be sorted. I hate being unemployed, even though I’m not on benefits but there are so many barriers, not only my health but the fact that it will be very difficult to find accessible childcare for my teenage daughter.

I have faith that things will work out alright in the end and that something will come along that I can do.

In the meantime, I’ve got an annoying knocking on the door. It’s very windy outside and the knocker is continually on the go. It’s almost midnight and I don’t know if I’ll get to sleep any time soon. I just wish that social landlords/councils would stop using the cheapest materials. I had a new door fitted a couple of months ago and the knocker is so light and flimsy that I’m forever having to go downstairs to open it to no-one. Not good for my mental or physical health but I guess it could be worse – I could still have my old door. That was an embarrassment as is my fence, a photo of which I’ll post so you can see. People think that those of us in social housing are given everything – little do they know that it’s those that have learned to work the system and generally never worked that get the most. Those of us that have a social conscience pay dearly.