Lived Experience Forum

[Snowie]

So good to see you sis @outlander 

We seem to be going well with restrictions but my appointments are still through zoom or a phone call. 

I start ECT maintenance next Friday too which is in person so hopefully things will be getting back to normal soon.

Hoping your gp has some answers for you hun. You have been going through so much for such a long time.

Thats good that you can get a referral. It might be a bit of a wait but at least it won't cost much. Free would be even better!

[outlander]

thats a bugger @Snowie we have the option for phones or in person but it might be different in other parts of nsw. technically we arent a hotspot but because alot of people travel from where i am to a hotspot place theyve included us as one too. we just have to wear masks everywhere we go. hopefully it might change by the time the kids go back to school cause i know alot will struggle with the face masks being on the whole day.

oh thats good about ECT, will that be a weekly thing or..?

yeah i asked for reccomendations on a local fb site and someone inboxed me and said they know of someone who bulk bills and gave me the details. i double checked first of course but its been confirmed. i have a refferral already but not to this lady so ill get a new one tomorrow. they said its between a 3-6 week wait so its a while but when i think about it and how busy ill be over the next 3 weeks itll prob go quickly or i hope so anyway. im seeing the new gp. this will be the 3rd time ive seen her but unfortunatly the last 2 didnt go so well so im not sure if she will continue being a regular gp yet im giving it a little longer just to see how it goes.

[Snowie]

We still have to wear masks when we go out @outlander Hopefully they relax the rules soon but who knows what will happen.

The ECT will be a weekly thing so will just go in as a day patient. I am glad I won't have to go into hospital again and can do it as an outpatient. Easier on everyone that way. It will be around 6-8 sessions just depending on how I am going.

Hopefully this gp turns out to be good for you hun. It is good that you are giving her another go but can understand how difficult it is to find a gp who understands MI. Even more difficult to find someone local 😒

[outlander]

@Snowie i struggle with the frequent mask use but has to be done. i forget sometimes how many times i go to a shopping centre!

oh thats good that ect will only be once a week and only day too.

the first appt i had with her she was on the phone twice, went in/out once for other patient, and wasnt really paying attention to me, second appt she had to make 2 phone calls so i went in for 10 minutes and then got asked to wait in the waiting room for another 10 before being called back in. maybe tomorrow will be better

[Snowie]

Hopefully tomorrow goes better for you hun @outlander 

I would find that hard to cope with if my doctor took phone calls during my appointments.

Have you got any other plans for the weekend?

[outlander]

its my sisters birthday tomorrow as well so drs and her birthday but shes not doing much just has a few friends going to some trampoline thing and then home for cake so i said id see her afterwards. im looking aftera few horses still so ill be doing that. im very stressed about a few bills so i think ill be sitting down and seeing what i can do about those. ive already got payment plans in place but it doesnt seem to be getting anywhere.

what about you?

[Snowie]

Sounds like an ok weekend hun @outlander 

I hope you can get on top of the bills. It is so hard to keep up to date with everything, especially with all you have to go through. Is food shopping getting any easier or is it still expensive and diffcult to find things?

H got a new BBQ for xmas so has invited some friends over tomorrow night so he can show it off and do his first cook on it!!!

So will probably end up cleaning the house tomorrow and doing some food shopping for that. I would much rather not have anyone over but he is looking forward to it so will just keep quiet. Just means I will have to do all the socialable things which I would rather not do😒😒 

[outlander]

it is hard to keep on top of everything @Snowie im planning on making up some charts so i can see when all payments will be due and tick them off as i go so if i make extra payments i can tick them off. maybe if i see things are getting paid it might not seem so bad but pops managed to get a 700 bill in just 3 months with the carer and thats with some sessions cancelled! and i have to go and redo one of his payment plns because the actual service stuffed up so that missed payment (that was their fault) cancelled the plan and got sent to a debt collector so i need to sort that out as well. for something he doesnt even use mind you!

no nothing is any cheaper its actually harder now because of the added allergies. my bread went from $3 to now $7 for an even smaller loaf and only lasts 3 days and its not all that nice or $10 for 6 chicken tenders that are safe for me but everything is basically fruit veg and plain meats so no quick take away or even jarred things like spaghetti sauce because most have wheat, dairy or peanuts in it. basically everything has to be home made now.

lucky H! my step father loves cooking on his bbq too and often suggests holding things at mums house so he can cook on it. hopefully tomorrow night goes ok though and you can catch up with some of your friends too

[Snowie]

It would be hard @outlander Your pop seems to be able to rack up some big bills hun. 

The food bill seems just to be going up and up for you. Home made food is much nicer but sometimes convience is so much easier for us. It would be good if you could do a mixture of both. Hopefully the allergist has some answers for you, even though you have to wait awhile to see them.

I am sure tomorrow night will go ok, will just have to take some short breaks here and there. Am also hoping they don't stay too late 😒

[outlander]

unfortunatly i feel i have more allergies then what the blood test shows @Snowie thats why i also have to go so i can get further testing. i can make quite a few things but it just doesnt taste right. i tried to make an allergy friendly chicken alfredo but the sauce was disgusting and no matter which way i made it it was like eating playdough. there are a few recipies i want to try out but i have to collect alot of ingredients to some of them so each week i add in an extra one or 2 things like seasons i need so it wont break the bank. one of them requires around 6 seasonings plus other stuff too and thats only the sauce. even when i went away it was salads and chicken basically for lunch and for dinner

you can always excuse yourself to go to the bathroom and splash water on your face and just have a breather for a minute if you need or when you get plates etc our or put them in the kitchen itll give you a breather for a minute or 2