Late 40s recently diagnosed with ADHD and taking meds - AMA!

[TiredDonut]

I'm a woman in my late 40s and was diagnosed with ADHD about six months ago and have been taking medication for four months. If you'd like to ask anything, please do as I'm happy to share my experience, especially if it helps others

I’m mid 40s with ADHD but have never taken meds for it.

What are you taking and how does it help? Any side effects?

I take Elvanse 30mg. I know it's not the same experience for everyone but it's been life changing for me. The only side effect was a bit of fuzziness for the first couple of days and I need to avoid caffeine (as it can increase heart rate).

It has helped me focus and I don't get mid afternoon crashes of exhaustion any more. My sleeping has also improved, but the biggest impact has been on my health. I was self medicating with alcohol and drinking too much which has stopped - I just don't feel like I want or need it. I sometimes have a small drink the evening but just one and most nights I don't drink at all. I've also stopped snacking which I was really bad for and I've found the motivation to go swimming three times a week. I feel much better, healthier, fitter and I've lost around 18lbs.

My daughter has been taking Elvanse for a while. Can I ask more about how it feels to be taking it? How do you feel in yourself? I’ve always wondered…

Wow what an amazing result! How did you get diagnosed? I'm a similar age and pretty sure I have ADHD (also drinking too much wine) but the long process of getting a diagnosis has put me off.

What were your symptoms? How long have you directed ADHD for?

I feel much more focussed and motivated but my head is also quieter, it's like someone switched the radio in head my off. My husband says I'm quieter in myself, I don't do a brain dumpy offload as soon as I come in from work which I used to!

What did the process involve? Was it NHS and private?

It's been a long, and expensive road.
The GP I saw was very dismissive, didn't really take it seriously and said there were no services in my area for adults. I moved and changed GP and tried again and the is time my GP was very supportive. He said there are services for adults in the (same!) area and worked with me on a referral. I had to fill in questionnaires and wrote a supporting document/letter which he used to shape his referral. I was accepted onto the waiting list for assessment/diagnosis and in February this year I received a letter saying they were booking appointments for people referred in :"December 2020, so I was looking at a two to three year wait.

I looked at private options and found someone nearby who was listed on the Bupa website. I had to complete a long questionnaire and online assessment, my husband did the same (about me obvs!) and I had to dig out and send over my old school reports, which thankfully (and amazingly!) I still have!

I then had a face-to-face 45 min meeting with the psychologist and my husband, then a further three hours without my husband. This was followed up with an in depth report, which confirmed my diagnosis, and a one hour follow-up video call.

I was then referred to a specialist prescribing pharmacist who I had a two hour video assessment with you to discuss possible medication options, which led to me being prescribed Elvanse. I have been having monthly video calls to discuss my progress, the last one will be in December, then it'll be a four month review and then yearly.

This has cost around £1500 I'm totally and the prescription is private, costing £92 a month. After my December review, pharmacist will discuss a 'shared care' arrangement with my GP, which would mean that (if my GP agrees) my prescriptions will move to the NHS but I will still need the private teary reviews and any changes to my medication would have to be discussed and agreed with the pharmacist.

I feel extremely grateful that I'm in a financial position to be able to pay for this and I'm angered by the lack of funding that means others won't have access to NHS help without a long wait.

OR private

See above, the NHS wait was two to three years, so I went private, it I had great support from my GP.

I’m mid 40s , self diagnosed ADHD / ADD with HCPs suggesting it inc a psychologist and high scores on screening test. I do feel exhausted , snack lots for the dopamine highs and am overweight. Really interested to hear that medication has helped with these problems.
Have you experienced RSD and did the Elvanse help? Do you feel less overwhelmed?

I didn't know anything about it until someone close to me told me they had been diagnosed and I looked in to it to help me understand them better. I was struck straight away that I was reading about me!

Symptoms I have include :

• Lack of motivation
• Poor concentration - not staying on tasks and jumping from one task to the next without completing the first
• struggle with life admin, finances and housekeeping (crap at adulting!)
• talking over people, struggling to listen, loud, poor at conversations!
• struggle to keep in touch with people
• disorganised at home and at work
• extremely forgetful, always losing things
• underperformed at school and at work (not concentrating in classes, in meetings, missing deadlines)
• can hyper-focus on things I find interesting
• jumping from one new hobby or project to the next

That's just off the top of my head!

I've always been this way, I just thought I was a rubbish adult and a bit of a crap person.

My school reports were quite an eye-opener!

It is so interesting to read this. Glad that it worked out for you and best of luck.

I'm on the waiting list following an nhs pre assessment. I'm finding there is a huge lack of resources directed at women our age.

I'm feeling overwhelmed and distressed by it and also angry that I've been abused by NT people, not listened to, ignored and felt alien all my life.

How do you come to terms with it all and how do you manage going forward with regards support needed and boundaries?

Thank you!

Thanks so much for the in-depth info, it's very helpful! Also frustrating that you weren't able to access the help you needed through the NHS.

Yes, I've experienced RSD a lot in the past and yes, I think the medication has helped. I can think more clearly and yes, I get less overwhelmed, although I do still have moments!

ADHD has been massively under-diagnosed and misunderstood for a long time, particularly in women. I'd encourage you to talk to your friends and family. I'm very lucky that my husband is super supportive (and being part of the process has helped him to understand me better and get less frustrated). My friends have also been a great support.

There's some good books out there, I got a lot from Square Pegs by Kim Raine and Dirty Laundry by Roxanne Emery and Richard Pink. My husband read both of these too.

Thank you

Thank you for posting this @TiredDonut

My Ds (now 19) is NHS Dx'd with Aspergers, Dyslexia & Clinical Anxiety.
I'm convinced he also has ADHD. As everything will be attributed to the above, despite known comorbidity, he feels he has no options for his 'broken brain'.
If he was Dx with ADHD he might be able to take medication to ease things.
Our GP is hugely unsupportive (of anything, even a simple blood test) so that's out. I wonder whether it is worth going private if your NHS GP is so unhelpful?

I am on the journey to get clinical assessment for this so very interested in this thread.

@TiredDonut I downloaded and listened to that book Dirty Laundry and half way through but none of them are my symptoms yet my GP, therapist, ADHD friend and all other friends are sure I will get a full diagnosis. I am not untidy, I am not disorganised and a lot of other things Rox seems to be. Im financially ridiculus with spending, very impulsive and reactive and I seem to be currently hyper focusing on my recent ex though.

@TiredDonut OP I have pm’d you.

So many people would have these symptoms though. I think half the population must have ADHD.

@Babyroobs half the population DO NOT have adhd. More than half have ignorance but I can assure you that it is not easy to get a diagnosis and unless you have been diagnosed then it makes no odds to the percentages of the population as you need to have a diagnosis for it to be true and this does not come easy. What does come easy is education on the subject. Perhaps run your fingers over the keyboard for google instead.

Thanks for your reply, I've only just seen it!

I was diagnosed ADHD in February. I hated rhe assessment, it was horrible, triggering and very upsetting for me.

I was pushed about meds but I have refused them. I hate the thought of taking meds regularly, I can't do anything on a regular basis anyway!

Still waiting for autism assessment. I'm honestly not sure I've been diagnosed correctly.