This was a reply to a comment to my last post from MM, but it got to be so long that I just decided to make a post out of it...
Thanks MM. It is always a relief when someone really gets what I'm experiencing. I am looking for a DO, and fortunately, our insurance does also cover naturopaths. Our family doctor is really good in that he doesn't make me feel anxious, and he does understand that a lot of my health issues are anxiety related. I understand that too, which is really half the battle, but sometimes I am asking myself, what is causing me to be so anxious?
I think there are often real physical things going on that create that brain chemistry and hormone soup. That's what I'm trying to get to the bottom of, and my doctor tends to pat my hand and say, "Just take an antidepressant; it's easier than trying to do the hard work of changing your lifestyle and diet when you're already depressed." He also doesn't have the time to sort it all out with me.
That's okay. I've become a pretty amazing doctor of my own self. I've also appreciated my doctor for recognizing that. I usually go in and tell him what my problem is and what I want his help with and he'll do it. For some reason, though. I am really nervous about taking that step. I think I've figured out the whys of that also.
Last time I saw my doctor it lead to a very scary series of events. The possibility of cancer existed, and I was facing a procedure under anesthesia, which is something I've never done and terrifies me. I managed to dodge that bullet because things worked themselves out before the date of the hysteroscomy arrived. I had developed a very thick lining in my uterus - over an inch thick! I attribute that development to my dermatologist who insisted a shot of cortisone would make me so happy and change my life. That shot did clear up my severe eczema very nicely, but I started bleeding a couple of weeks after that and didn't stop for a month.
I went into a deep depression and period of severe anxiety after that. I took both an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety medication. My sleep became so disturbed and messed up even with the drugs or maybe because of them.
I came out of all of that feeling fine and well, but I haven't seen a doctor since. Which leaves me where I am now: experiencing uncharactaristic indigestion and bloating over the last year, which I think is probably a perimenopausal symptom. I should see a doctor to rule out other things, which would relieve a lot of the anxiety I have about it all. A really good doctor might even be able to help me balance the hormones which I suspect are creating the extra anxiety and related symptoms.
I'm still sitting on all of that. For now.
