I’m an ADHD assessor that has ADHD - AMA

[DisabledNurseofTiktok]

This topic was incredibly popular on another social media site so I thought I would open it up here!

Im an Advanved Nurse Practitioner that assesses, diagnoses and treats ADHD. I have ADHD, and my daughter has ADHD.

if you have any questions about right to choose, assessments, treatments, or just ADHD in general ask away!

Hi, thanks for this, my child who is a tween has not had success on medikinet (caused sadness) and elvanese (this was the worst one caused multiple panic attacks). The first meditation made a brilliant difference for quite a long time until the depression hit. The second one caused panic and a racing heart. We are now investigating non stimulants as running out of options as there is a national shortage on another stimulant we could try. What is your opinion on the non stimulants such as intuiv (may be spelt incorrectly) also how likely is the impact on height. This worries me a lot. Thank you

What are your qualifications?

An adult male I know believes ADHD medication stunted his growth. He is short but not freaky short. Do you think he has a point? And if so how much difference could it have made?

NICE guidelines state

”Child and adult psychiatrists, paediatricians, and other child and adult mental health professionals (including those working in forensic services) should undertake training so that they are able to diagnose ADHD and provide treatment and management in accordance with this guideline. [2008]”

Evidence from childhood can be wide, for example, ASRS completed by family, school reports, self reports etc.

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty.

It is also classed as a ND condition.

Also your title is not grammatically correct. Are you sure you are qualified?

This worries me especially as there is no break in the non stimulants as they take 12 weeks to build up

So how many in the class?

I was really surprised to see you're a nurse practitioner. Yet, when I read your posts you speak as someone who truly understands this well. That gives faith.

I'd be concerned that a Nurse practitioner in the NHS would have such responsibilities and fuck it up! Misdiagnosis and perpetuating this ' over diagnosis ' mantra by sending people away and not diagnosing when they are actually ND/ADHD.

I see a design underway politically to undermine ND people, avoid diagnosis, avoid adequate resources in school and instead gaslight away without an assessment and diagnosis.

Any thoughts?

That's what I thought, yet this is the opinion of the head of our local NHS diagnostic service.

Children in care are more likely to have ADHD as their parents are more likely to have undiagnosed ADHD (hence the higher rates of addiction, offending, etc). However we need to be trauma informed when conducting the assessments as we need to rule out differential diagnoses. To be honest it’s normally pretty obvious if it’s adhd!

Thanks so much for this thread. We suspect DD age 12 may have the inattentive form of ADHD. She had an assessment with an educational psychologist for her diagnosis of dyscalculia who agreed with us there were red flags for ADHD. But said as the school aren't seeing any signs she wouldn't get a diagnosis unless it's being observed in more than one setting. Is this true? Her intelligence testing showed she was on the first centile for working memory and processing speed, which I understand can correlate with ADHD. And also a correlation between ADHD and dyscalculia. But just want to clarify about the one setting comment. Thanks!

Similar with my son's class. I know that at least 9 out of 30 have SEN needs which are recognised by the school. Another one speaks very little English. That's the ones I know of for sure.

School in a nice area. But LOTS of older parents and lots of parents who work in IT so not so surprising really.

No, I think it’s still massively under diagnosed, especially in women and girls!

People do get to assessment and refer a nil diagnosis.

Never!!!!

Ooh interesting question!

I think the excessive use of social media and phones is likely to be dopamine seeking behaviour in people with untreated ADHD.

Hi OP! Apart from medication, what are the benefits to getting a diagnosis as an adult? Is it worth the effort if life is unlikely to change dramatically as a result?

Yes, because autism and ADHD are genetic and hereditary.

Can a teenager who is already taking Fluoxetine also take ADHD meds? Or do they interact. In your experience, could depression symptoms be caused by untreated ADHD?

(Im going back to the consultant but just asking here).

My 7yo takes Methelphenidate IR (XL didn't go well) and it's almost perfect but he gets into a "zombie" state from 9-11am, hes on a low dose already. Have you seen this much and what is usually the next step? I've been so happy with it overall but the school find him quite dreamy in the mornings.

I haven’t had a formal diagnosis but I am quite sure AuDHD. My son has an ASD diagnosis and also exhibits ADHD symptoms. My mother has ADHD.
with this knowledge I have come to understand myself much better.
however I still really suffer with feelings of overwhelm, shut downs, busy brain, emotional disregulation, dopamine seeking etc.
it is strongly negatively impacting my life, but as someone who would be considered “high masking” it’s not taken seriously. I am not working at the moment but terrified that when I do go back to work I will suffer with anxiety and depression/burnout as this has been my experience for the last 15 years.

i am wondering a couple of things:

1. do you think it’s worth getting a formal diagnosis? My desire to do this is primarily to be on a pathway to a prescription
2. I have seen diagnosed friends on prescription who have a brief burst of happiness but then after about 18 months seem to revert to how they were before - why is this? Is that a risk for everyone or just a coincidence that it happened to the two friends I’m closest with (who don’t know each other)
3. I have seen some people online claiming to be “self medicating through diet, supplements and exercise” - do you have any views on this? Is there medical evidence that this can work? And how does someone with such a lack of dopamine hope to get started on something that will not feel immediately rewarding?

Thank you!

I carry out NHS, right to choose and private assessments, and there is no difference between them from my perspective.

Thanks for saying this, my DS is adopted and his birth mum had ADHD, he was in foster care at birth and then came to us at 3 weeks.

We were dismissed for quite some time as his behaviour "must be trauma" but firm ADHD strategies and new medication have really turned his behaviour around.

There needs to be evidence of 2 settings for diagnosis, however this does not have to include school. It can include social clubs too, or at afterschool care.

Intuiv is a medication that I have never prescribed so unfortunately I cannot comment on that. However I would explore short acting methylphenidate before looking at non stimulant options if it was me or my patient.