A lot has happened since my last post about mental health . I've had two Community Psychiatric Nurse appointments; to discuss my main problems and where to start with treatment. I've also had a very thorough assessment with a Trainee Psychiatrist, and a Consultant Psychiatrist.
First CPN Appointment -
My vlog below explains how my first CPN appointment went but to summarise; I was asked similar questions to those at my initial Community Mental Health Team assessment. I was also asked how I'd been since my assessment, and my main reasons for asking for help from the Secondary Care team. I explained how my last therapy session had gone (see My Mental Health Timeline and my vlog A Referral to CMHT for more details), the kind of help I felt I needed (beyond therapy) and the fact that I thought I might have Borderline Personality Disorder.
Once the CPN had asked all the questions she needed to, she gave me her impression of what support she believed would be best for me. At first she wondered whether Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, at Primary Care level, would be more suitable. After I explained more about my needs, however, she decided that some short term therapy for specific problems may be what I need at the moment. She also said that she would get a Consultant Psychiatrist appointment for me, to review diagnoses and medication.
Second CPN Appointment
My second CPN appointment was carried out at home. She asked how I'd been since the last appointment; to which I answered "a bit all over the place again". We went over my responses to questions about my main issues now, any relevant information from the past and any significant events in my life that may have led to my problems now. She asked me to explain my mood swings, how often I have them, how extreme they are, whether anything triggered them and how I coped with them. We went over the medication I took, and whether it helped me at all. Finally, she asked me some more specific BPD-based questions (relationships, mood swings, impulses, feelings of numbness etc). She concluded by suggesting I do some Self Compassion work with her and a support worker. She felt that this would be a stepping stone for me. I will be meeting the support worker (and CPN) on 11th April for this. I also have another CPN appointmen on 24th April, so will let you know how these went.
Psychiatrist Appointment
A couple of days after my CPN appointment, I had a psychiatrist appointment. I saw a trainee psychiatrist for this, and was asked a lot of questions to cover a whole variety of mental health problems. As well as questions about depression, and various anxiety disorders, I was also asked about my experiences with paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, mania, impulses, and any instances of aggression. The amount of questions asked were exhausting and overwhelming, but I was glad that I was given an opportunity to talk about the kinds of symptoms I had that didn't just fit anxiety and depression. It helped me to remember the things I needed to talk about too, and I honestly don't think I forgot to mention anything! I have had a hallucination and some delusions before, although these aren't regular occurrences at all. I do get mild hypomania sometimes too, and have had impulsive behaviour (although these don't tend to go further than urges now).
The psychiatrist took lots of notes on what I'd mentioned (even things I weren't sure had happened often/severely enough to be relevant) and also asked about my request for a BPD assessment. After asking questions, more specific to the Borderline Personality Disorder diagnostic criteria, she discussed my responses with the consultant psychiatrist. He came into the room, and asked me more questions (to be absolutely sure, I guess) and then confirmed I had Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (aka Borderline Personality Disorder)
The consultant also discussed medication with me. He felt that I should stay on the Sertraline 200mg as it helped a bit, and suited me. In order to help balance my moods, he also prescribed the anti-psychotic Aripriprazole. I'm to take that at 5mg per day for a week, then 10mg per day.
Overall, I'm really pleased with the support I'm getting from the mental health team so far. I was so nervous about opening up about the diagnosis I thought I had, and what help I felt I needed. It was a bad start with the therapist, so I wasn't holding out much hope, but I'm glad I didn't give up! As well as support, as this blog post title says, I've felt validation.
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