How can I increase my chances of getting an appointment? And maybe my assumptions are valid?

22-year-old womana year ago
Hello, I am a 21 year old woman. Two years ago, I was evaluated in psychiatry for an anxiety problem and I came out with a diagnosis of ADD. After a few months, my doctor and I realized that the diagnosis was wrong. A year ago in February, my family doctor gave me a request for a psychiatric re-evaluation. I called the clinic and sent them the request. After several months of not hearing from them, in October, I decided to call the clinic again. I was told that they had never received the request. I sent them the request for a second time and the receptionist scheduled an appointment for January. This week, one week before the appointment, I receive a call telling me that my appointment was going to be cancelled due to a lack of necessary documents. I call and try to understand the situation, then they explain to me that they did not receive the request and that I had to start the process of requesting the doctor again. I explain that I have sent the request twice. The receptionist tells me that there is nothing she can do and that I will have to start the process over. I tell her that my family doctor retired last November and that I don't have a family doctor right now. She told me that I would not be able to get my appointment because I did not have a family doctor. I then called 811 since I am affiliated with a doctor's bath. A nurse explained to me that another nurse would be calling me later in the week to see if I was eligible for a walk-in appointment with a neuropsychologist. It should be noted that I am studying in the intervention field and I have some ideas of what my diagnosis could be. My symptoms are quite intrusive at times but I am afraid that she does not see the need even though I have been waiting for a year to get this appointment. I would like to share my hypotheses with the nurse without sounding like a hypochondriac.
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David Maurier · a year ago
Hello!
To get an appointment at the clinic more quickly, I'm afraid I don't have any miracle solutions... Would the clinic accept a request from a doctor who is not your family doctor? If so, it is possible to use the website Bonjour-Santé. This site allows you to find a medical clinic that takes walk-in patients in your area and that has availability.
Since, legally, only doctors can make a diagnosis, I cannot establish one for sure. However, I would be happy to explore your hypotheses with you if you can describe your symptoms in detail!
I look forward to answering your questions!
David Maurier, Pharmacist
22-year-old woman · a year ago
First of all, I am a person who is quite anxious, I have a lot of performance anxiety and social anxiety. I always feel like in my social interactions I'm doing something wrong or that people don't really like me, etc. For performance anxiety, an example would be that I make a lot of to-do lists (homework, reading, etc) that are unrealistic to accomplish in the time frame I give myself, which makes me anxious when I don't achieve my goals.
Furthermore, I am quite methodical in the sense that I have to follow a certain way of doing things. For example, at work, if my colleague doesn't do the tasks as they should or as I do them, it will frustrate me and my emotions will become overwhelming.
Also, I am a perfectionist. When I plan something for example a trip or an activity, I will plan it to the minute which means that when something unexpected happens, again, I feel overwhelmed and overtaken by my emotions. I will start to feel anxious. A second example, when I knit or do other hobbies and finish a project, it is not uncommon that I am not satisfied with it and that I start over again several times.
I also have, a lot of behavior similar to obsessive compulsive disorder. I organize, sort or color code all the time. For example, when I transcribe my lecture notes, I may start over again because I got the color wrong or I made a mistake and instead of using a correction fluid, I will start over my entire page. So you can guess that this can take me hours of work.
I also notice some behavior that could be hyposensitivity. For example, I always take my shower very, very hot to the point that my skin is red but I don't seem to feel the heat. I also listen to a lot of loud music and I always turn all the lights on in a room to the maximum.
There are also other little peculiar behaviors such as I am often on my toes, my face is pretty neutral in my facial expressions, I seem to have a pretty big sense of justice too. For example, I once ran after a raven to try to save a baby rabbit that had been caught. I also have a hard time looking at a person for a long time when I'm talking to them, I'll glance around and occasionally give them a little look but nothing more.
There are other things though that I can't think of right now.
As I mentioned I am studying in the field of intervention and I feel that my symptoms are similar to autism spectrum disorder, giftedness or obsessive compulsive disorder.
I am aware that you can give me a diagnosis but what do you think?
Thank you very much for answering my questions
Have a nice day!
David Maurier · a year ago
Thank you for the clarification!
Indeed, some of the characteristics described may suggest an anxiety disorder or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. In addition, these 2 diagnoses have several possible sub-diagnoses. Obviously, through teleconsultation, it is virtually impossible to make a precise diagnosis even for a psychologist, for example, because too many questions must be asked of the patient. A face-to-face discussion is usually necessary. In addition, many different diagnoses share very similar or even identical symptoms.
An indispensable tool in mental health used to make diagnoses is a book called the DSM-5, maybe you know it? Since a medical consultation seems difficult to obtain, I think you could take a look at it to see if you recognize all of your symptoms in the descriptions of the different pathologies. Obviously, this book should not be used for self-diagnosis. A consultation with a qualified professional will always be necessary. His or her consultation can help you see the complexity behind such diagnoses, and he or she may be able to reassure you by being able to put into words what you are feeling.
So, some of your hypotheses seem to be valid, but as you already know, a consultation with a specialist will still be necessary.
22-year-old woman · a year ago
Perfect, thank you very much!
David Maurier · a year ago
Good luck in your endeavors!

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