ADHD

[eeehbyegum]

If anyone reading this has sought a private diagnosis for Adult ADHD, would you please share how you approached that, and if you then latterly were taken on board by NHS for treatment without an official ‘NHS’ referral and diagnosis? Feel free to PM too.

I see symptoms in my children and have suddenly realised it’s very likely I have it, and it’s potentially affected so many things in my life. I’m now wanting to look at this quickly before I procrastinate and do nothing about it ...

Thank you

Do you ever feel so bored by something it hurts to concentrate on it? Yes! Less so now I’m medicated but it has been something I struggled with my whole life - really hard to describe but the willpower it takes to stay focused if something or someone is boring you is actually painful & I’m sure it shows in my face (the strain of holding attention, like holding a heavy object with your mind!).

The poster above who mentioned having multiple tabs open...this was a quote I read not long after I was diagnosed & it is so true, even now...

Also the link above which has the attached table in it...

Interestingly I’d assume that points are 1-10 describe inattentive type, points 11-14 are hyperactivity and the rest (possibly with the exception of 15 which applies to all?) are impulsive type. Because I am primarily inattentive & the symptoms that are best known are hyper I didn’t relate it to me, it’s worth remembering that if you read through thinking ‘yes, yes, yes then hit a few ‘nope’s!

There is an amazing book if you are helping ADHD kids called Smart But Scattered, it's taking me a while to get through but I'm definitely going to try some of the plans in there with DS1.

OMG I think I’ve just read a thread about me. I’m 39, procrastination is my middle name. Always underachieved. Stimulants all day, generally caffeine. Can’t get organised. Start loads of things but never finish. Little self care. Fidget. Inattentive. Interrupt. Struggle to listen. Need to do one or two things at a time.

procrastination is my middle name. Always underachieved. Stimulants all day, generally caffeine. Can’t get organised. Start loads of things but never finish. Little self care. Fidget. Inattentive. Interrupt. Struggle to listen. Need to do one or two things at a time

This is me too! I have thought I might have ADHD before but I am definitely on the low energy side and would never be described as hyperactive and that has made me question the idea. I'm way more likely to spend all day MNing than start many projects I never finish. I have done the same job for years and I am not very adventurous. I don't really like change, so I think that's not really typical of ADHD. Also I will have quite a while when I think I am coping ok then do something stupid like walk home from somewhere forgetting my car. This lockdown isn't suiting me, the extra time off really underscores how little I get done, I haven't hoovered in weeks and the place is full of cobwebs. I feel really guilty about it but can never quite get started, but sometimes if I do manage to get started I will really go for it and blitz everything. My weight is a problem which a pp mentioned is common.

Wow I'm so glad I saw this thread! I've realised through lockdown, all my "reasons" for being the way I am like rushing around for school run, 3 kids ect are actually nonsense. I'm not any different, actually worse as I tend to walk about my house all day just making another coffee before I start. I don't know what I'm putting off starting because there's actually so much on my endless list that I've lost.

I'll post a screenshot of something I found really amusing. A previous poster obviously the same as me, saw the thread but knew I wasn't focussed enough to stick with it 😂

@iamapeguinlover that’s funny! So ADHD

So today I emailed an ADHD assessment centre. Progress!

Thank you all for input. I feel validated in my oddities, securely labelled hehe, but not alone.

For all you feeling similar, undiagnosed, hope you can make a first step to help too.

Unsure if the forms and next steps will fox me, but we’ll see. I feel quite positive!

Well done @eeehbyegum!

Thanks for the book recommendation @BertieBotts, I've ordered the teen version to help us help dd14.

Anyone on this thread here today? How do you deal with boredom stuck in the house on a rainy day 😭

Also is it possible to access some support without diagnosis?

@imapenguinlover I think usually you'd probably need a diagnosis before being able to access specialised support.

That said, a psychiatrist from my local ADHD clinic did call me during lockdown to check whether there was anything they could support with and to help where they could (I was still on the waiting list for assessment but my GP had already advised me to go private by then anyway).

So I would still make contact (my GP referred me but I spoke to the clinic clerk before that) during lockdown to see if there is anything they can offer.

Also, there are Facebook groups and Meetup groups (some of which are doing online things) which might be helpful - just search for ADHD in the apps.

oh fuck me, that checklist...ticked off all but 2!

I was asked by a boss once if I had been diagnosed and I was offended!

I'm 53, how the hell has no one noticed other than my boss?
I've never felt I fitted in, I guess that explains it!

Keep at it @eeehbyegum and others...

This article is good, and might keep you going through the assessment an beyond.

www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2020/jan/15/a-new-life-being-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-40s-has-given-me-something-quite-magical?fbclid=IwAR2II3lBDAZ1mX7vHQVWkjnwP-LzeF_NhyX374md24UNOpXzyNW5a_0phFc

And when it comes to treatment, if you decide to go down the medication route, know that lisdexamfetamine is now 1st line for adults. Atomoxetine used to be. I never saw impressive results with atomoxetine; lisdex seems to be a bit of a game changer for some. But it all depends on other medications you are on/ general health and risks.

There is a non hyperactive subtype of ADHD (used to be ADD), that's what DS1 and I both have.

But in any case the typical hyperactive symptoms are highly centred on the way they appear in little boys. If you're female and/or an adult, you probably aren't doing these same things and your hyperactive behaviours will come out in other ways.

For example:
Racing thoughts/"chatterbox brain"
Interrupting people/butting into conversation uninvited
Impulse purchases/compulsive eating/other compulsive behaviours (phone checking anyone??)
Having "too many things" to think about/do/want so you don't start or finish anything.
Fidgeting. Pen tapping, nail biting, skin picking, etc.
Flitting between tasks - can't settle to one thing.

Can also be being one of those people who has 20 projects on the go at any one time, can't sit down, feels like they have to be doing something at all times (but I'm defo not like this - I could happily sit in front of my computer all day every day! Well, not literally happily - I start to go a bit nuts after a while, but I think I want to do this.)

If you use reddit at all, the r/ADHD subreddit is brilliant, so kind and supportive although busy, posts can get a bit lost. But one of the good things about reddit is the sorting function - try using the "Top" sort and sort by top threads this week/month/year/all time. You can get some amazingly good tips by doing that.

The types of ADHD are:
Inattentive
Hyperactive
Combined (I.e. inattentive and hyperactive)

But generally in adults we aren’t really thinking about or looking for hyperactivity...it’s more the planning, organisation, completing tasks, over-speaking, and other cognitive and social consequences, that we are more concerned with.

I finally remembered and pushed myself to call my GP this morning. End result is he is referring me to cmht and stating on the referral that I feel I have been misdiagnosed.

That was a difficult phone call. I didn't prepare what to say and he asked me to explain why I thought I had ADHD. Honestly my reasons were all over the place, kept butting in when he was speaking because I remembered another reason but he did eventually seem very supportive. He said my last psychiatrist letter was 6 pages long with no conclusion and that he doesn't want to see me back in a year with another 6 page long inconclusive letter lol so I've to be assertive in telling them I am not happy with being treated for depression and anxiety and push for proper assessment.

It has left me panicking though that when it gets to assessment time I will forget all my reasons and they will think I'm lying and just fob me off again. Has anyone experienced these feelings going through the process?

DC3 thank you for this. In true ADHD style I had not noticed we had a professional among us but it's fantastically helpful to have that feedback/angle as well.

Penguin yes, I felt like this. I would go for the approach of taking one of the quizzes, preferably one from a reputable organisation, maybe the Barkley rating scales, or the DSM list of criteria, and mark down where you feel you fall, adding examples for a couple of them. Then you don't feel like you're forgetting things and you can

Opened a bit of a can of worms last night. I felt frustrated the other day because I would like certain things (like family dinner) to be part of our family life, but struggle to maintain the effort required to make them happen in everyday life. Mostly I just seem to go with the tide of what everyone else wants.

Then I felt frustrated with myself again yesterday, because I really want to get a new job but again struggle to maintain the momentum to keep up the work required of job searching. I seem to do one or two things and then just wait around for them to return results to me. DH (fairly) pointed out that I hadn't been doing very much towards this supposed goal and I felt upset because this is a repeated pattern for me.

Evening was the worst because I came back into my destructive thinking spiral of "I'm the worst friend because I forget to get into contact with people" and it's the same pattern again! I want to do things differently/I know what I should or want to do, but then I don't do it - and I don't know why I don't do it and I can't seem to make myself fix it.

I think I might get the smart but scattered adults book for me. When I was doing the rating scales in there, I was thinking oh my scores aren't too bad, and then I read what most adults get and I was like oh.... well mine are awful. Then DH did the quiz and it turns out he is some kind of executive function robot who gets almost 100% in everything I suppose that's why we work together well. In fact, weirdly, we have the same shaped profile, if I plot all of our scores on a chart, our lines are almost parallell, it's just his are at the top of the chart looking like gentle hills in the distance, whereas mine sit on the bottom, looking like crags on the bottom of the sea!

*And you can refer to the sheet if you get flustured or stuck.

Sorry I really need to stop skipping between paragraphs when I write posts.

So I took what felt like a massive step to email the priory, an admin person emailed me back to say she’d passed it on to the secretary and doctor, and now nothing 10 days later. Who is working right now in private ADHD? I feel I might not follow through unless I get contact soon ☹️

You quote the guidelines that adhd medication does not need to be prescribed by a psychiatrist and can be prescribed by a qualified and registered nursing consultant providing they have experience working with adhd.

Private services are still running.

I will add the guidelines in another post. Give me 5 minutes to find them.

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87

@sestras

You quote the guidelines that adhd medication does not need to be prescribed by a psychiatrist and can be prescribed by a qualified and registered nursing consultant providing they have experience working with adhd.

Private services are still running.

I will add the guidelines in another post. Give me 5 minutes to find them.

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me!

I haven’t raised this with my doctor at all. I never see the same GP as they only work 1-2 days a week, I don’t feel I would get a response that would be helpful given other items I’ve raised.
I just want to fast forward a private diagnosis.
I don’t like GPs, they are gate keepers on NHS expenses as a first rule I think.
Happy to pay private, they can assess me without any pre disposed ideas I hope x

I think, in the UK at the moment, it would be unusual to find a prescribing nurse consultant with experience of prescribing for Adult ADHD. Not saying there aren’t any, but they will be a real rarity.

@DC3dilemma several prescribing nurse consultants where I am.