Um, is it time to stop going to a pediatrician?

[little_libra]

i'm 19. since i was 11, i've been dealing w/ something bizarre that has totally brought my quality of life down down down.

i had a swollen lymph node for 6 months in spring 2001, the year i got my period. was supposed to have it removed but didn't because it went down. (they told my mom to keep a check on my thyroid annually. i don't think she really did that. i got it checked recently, but didn't have a full panel thyroid test like i should have so my results were seen as "normal"). during this time OCD started. then i had panic attacks. i've had anxious thoughts all the time since then. i couldn't concentrate in school and my grades went down.

i have brown discharge everyday, and it's really annoying, but the nurse practitioner said it was fine. indigestion (food sitting in throat--EW) and stomach pains everyday. when i'm cold, i tremble. when i'm hot, i sweat excessively. i get tired super easy and need to "rest" a lot. i'm 5'6 and 113 lbs...been accused of having anorexia by people's parents in high school. it's hard for me to sleep through an entire night. i peridiocally wake up starving or feeling nauseous. and i have random pelvic pain a lot too.

i can't just be carefree because something in my body is always "off". actually, i've felt "off" for a few years now. they, the group of pediatricians i've been going to since birth, blame it on anxiety. and i did too. so i read self-help books, went to psychologists (suggested by the pediatricians--and they didn't help)/high school counselors/ college therapists, prayed, ignored my problems, got involved in stuff--hmm...i still don't feel good. figured i just have problems so i took Zoloft and felt WORSE. i'm a virgin and never been in a relationship though i've been asked several times but since i don't feel like i'm all "here" and i can't predict how i feel from day to day, it's hard for me to maintain much...i'm so unstable =(

i eat healthier than most ppl, love the fruits, veggies, rice, beans, steak, etc. i see a holistic therapist who i love, but i think i need to go back and try another med, like Luvox. i just wanna get my life together and quit trying to repeatedly get to the "root" of my problem -- i know my childhood sucked but i think i've accepted it by now. i am a pretty strong young lady who has gone thru a lot, despite the fact that i look like i'm 14.

so what the heck? do you think it'd make a difference if i stopped going to the pediatricians and sought help from somewhere else?

[little_libra]

i have a really hard time dealing with stress (physical and mental)...and i've been this way since i was a little kid. it's like it affects me even when i'm actively trying not to let it affect me -- like my body. and if i get relief, it's transient. and when i try and train my brain to work thru stuff, i get a horrible headache and i feel sick.

if it helps any...my dad has anxiety issues too but self-medicates with alcohol...so now he's an alcoholic. i have a family history of substance abuse...maybe they all have mood issues too. i wouldn't know because no one says a thing about it even though we have a couple of eyebrow raising relatives.

maybe its just in my genes and nothing but meds can help me

[Ahryin]

Umm...you are 19..in most states you are considered a woman so WHY are you still going to a childs doctor? You need to see an OBGYN! As well as an adult doctor. Pediatrics deal with children and childrens issues...granted they are still doctor but think about it...do they see this type of thing every day. I understand you feel secure because you have been with them for a long time...but and thats a big BUT are they giving you the best direction and advice for your health and wellbeing? I'm surprised they haven't ref'd you to another doctor.

[Ahryin]

You can also look into hollistic healing...like yoga and meditation etc
I think it would best benefit you if left pediatrics

[little_libra]

hey ahryin you helped me before lol

well i'm back.

idk...i just now started realizing how stupid this is...i guess cuz i look young i never really saw myself as a woman which is really faulty thinking. idk, it seemed logical to me before.

since i had to take a semester off of school my health insurance is nonexistent, but am enrolling in community college temporarily. gosh i hope i can get the mystery solved soon because this is ridiculous.

i always tell myself i'm gonna do yoga or meditate and then i just don't do it...well whose fault is that...mine...i do breathwork though if that counts for anything

[Ahryin]

Its says you are in the east coast..if you are in school you would or should qualify for state issues health insurance...check it out chicka

[CrystalChord]

I would say try and get a doctor and an OBGYN. I still haven't got an OBGYN (I'm 21, so that's really bad), but I have an appt. in January to see one, and I just saw my regular doctor this summer. I stopped seeing my pediatrician when I was eighteen.

I would say do what you can, and try and get state-issued health insurance. Hang in there! ^_^

[WildChild]

Usually a pediatrician will "graduate" you out and recommend you start seeing another care provider. That they would still see you at 19 is strange. Is this actually a family practice doctor?

[LanaBear]

Usually a pediatrician will "graduate" you out and recommend you start seeing another care provider. That they would still see you at 19 is strange. Is this actually a family practice doctor?

I agree - It sounds more like maybe a GP rather than a pediatrician. I'm shocked a pediatrician would see someone who was 19.

[little_libra]

the place is called "[my hometown] Pediatrics" ... and everyone there is like either in their teens or younger lol...i don't see adults in there unless they're parents...

don't worry, i'm not going back there...i'm working on getting a new doc right now...also, my grandma is a nurse and she just told me i should get a new doc, get the full thyroid test and yeah...she was looking me over and looking at my eyes and was like "yeah something's not right"... so now i know at least i'm not making this stuff up...plus, she had her thyroid taken out a couple years ago, and two of her sisters and her niece have thyroid issues too.

i just have this really "off" feeling that's been w/ me for a couple years...physically and mentally "off"...its so weird. but i'm hanging in there. it'll get figured out.