Good Morning Lovelies, 

Getting help in regards to your health can be a very stressful experience! I often find myself getting overwhelmed and anxious as soon as an appointment comes in. Yet, over the past two years, I have gone from someone who couldn’t handle being anywhere near a doctor or nurse to fighting for my health in every single way. 

They are not to be feared and many will work the magic that they can to make you better. However, there have been times where I feel like I have not been listened to and overall sent away with no real answers. Therefore, I have gotten stronger doing the following things, which have helped me finally get the answers I need to get better this year. 

I wanted to share with you what I have found helpful in terms of getting to this point to hopefully help any of you who are in the same place as I was. I hope these are useful to you lovelies…

Take Someone With You: As someone who worries a lot, I often find going to the hospital, doctors or dentist a very overwhelming experience. I get very clammy and just want to run away. Therefore, I always take my mum, who is also my registered carer with me. She makes sure to listen when she knows that my anxiety, ADHD and autism are causing me to zone out, so that she can relay everything to me later on when I am calmer. She has also been there to help see what I mean if I don’t feel like I have been taken seriously to help with my argument for a different doctor. 

Try What They Suggest: Don’t fight everything that they say. I have tried and tested a lot of prescribed medication in the hopes to try and find the one that will help the most but sadly my condition couldn’t be helped by them. Yet, this is not to say that you won’t find the magic medicine, so don’t shoot it down right away.  Since being diagnosed with so many allergies, I have had to try a lot of medicine and gadgets to try and get some relief. Right now, I am trialling the hay-band, which is like a travel sickness band for hay fever.

Simply slotting it into the crease of my elbow, the band applies a certain amount of pressure onto a key area of the body to help stop some of the symptoms of hay fever from occurring. I have found that it is definitely helping a little lovelies, which means that I haven't had to take any medicine yet. I am praying that it saves me throughout summer. You can find out more about the band on their website lovelies.

Make A List Or Write A Letter: When I get overwhelmed, I forget absolutely everything. It is one of the reasons why I always take someone with me. Yet, something else that I have taken to doing is preparing for the appointment before it happens. I look back over all my medical history and write notes I want to bring up and lists of medicines I am on or have been to provide to the doctor or consultant I am seeing. This has actually been really useful for all of those involved, as it means that we don’t have to get lost in looking at the computer to find answers to questions. 

Find A Dedicated Doctor: Upon leaving the impatient ward for my eating disorder, I refused, utterly refused, to go to the doctor. I put off smear tests, asthma reviews and more to make sure that I didn’t have to go. It took coughing up blood for me to go to my doctors, who we had moved to during COVID. Seeing the team at work made me realise that with the right doctor there was nothing to fear. I now have three doctors at my local surgery who I know I can always turn to and feel safe in their hands. All three of them have put up fights for me and helped me with my lung infection, sinus issues and ADHD and Autism diagnoses and I could not be more thankful to have their support. 

Ask For A Second Opinion: After all of this, the biggest thing I have learnt and done is ask for a second opinion. When it comes to my sinus issues, I have been to four other hospitals before finding the one that I am at now. Each one led to being dismissed, causing me to spend hours in A&E and Urgent Care Centres. Yet, when I found the doctor I battled to see at the hospital I am at now, I got told I needed surgery right away and felt safe. If a doctor or nurse isn’t helping or working with you, ask your GP to refer you to somewhere else. You are not a problem for doing so, you are simply looking after yourself. 

I know that our health services are going through a lot at the moment, so please do be kind to them lovelies, but do think about yourself. Do not live in pain or accept a first opinion if you don’t think it is right. Ask for a second one or speak to someone who may be able to help you understand the situation better. Your health is the most important thing in the world and that is something that deserves to be thought for! 

Joey X