Adult ADHD support thread

[Completmentfille]

Hi,

I was diagnosed with combined type ADHD last year at the grand old age of 30 and am medicated. Medication very much helps but I still struggle with lots of things day to day, and lockdown has not helped.

I just wondered if there were any more of us about and if a support thread would be helpful?

Just looking for commiserations rather than advice I think here.

I can’t get up in the mornings and it’s starting to ruin my life. I’ve never been great - it’s been an issue my whole life but I think lockdown and working from home has made things worse.

All the usual tips people offer just don’t work. I could have alarm in a different town, have to drive to go and put off and I’d still get back into bed when I got home I think! The ones where you have to do sums, take pictures, scan barcodes etc. I’ve tried them all!

It’s getting to the point where my already bad sleep is worse because I’m lying there anxiously worrying about the morning and knowing I’ll be running around mad trying to get out the door. My kids are having to be far more independent than I want them to be in the mornings as well.

I just don’t know what to do. I can’t be who I want to be and do the things I want to do because I’m wasting an extra two hours in bed in the morning.

My partner is worried he has adhd but is undiagnosed. Is there an atypical explanation of a person with adhd or will he have to be assessed to have any sort of idea? Sorry for the ignorance!

Thank goodness I have found this thread, so many responses chime exactly with how my life has been thus far. I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 43 and it explains a lot of what has happened to me both professionally and personally.

@myadhdusername

Just looking for commiserations rather than advice I think here.

I can’t get up in the mornings and it’s starting to ruin my life. I’ve never been great - it’s been an issue my whole life but I think lockdown and working from home has made things worse.

All the usual tips people offer just don’t work. I could have alarm in a different town, have to drive to go and put off and I’d still get back into bed when I got home I think! The ones where you have to do sums, take pictures, scan barcodes etc. I’ve tried them all!

It’s getting to the point where my already bad sleep is worse because I’m lying there anxiously worrying about the morning and knowing I’ll be running around mad trying to get out the door. My kids are having to be far more independent than I want them to be in the mornings as well.

I just don’t know what to do. I can’t be who I want to be and do the things I want to do because I’m wasting an extra two hours in bed in the morning.

Adderall fixes this for me. I have an apple watch alarm which annoys me enough to open my eyes. Grab the meds and water from beside the bed, chug them, and half an hour later I actually want to get up. I don't think the slow-release would help in the same way so I take the quick release.

I havent had a diagnosis but pretty sure, I have AdHd, Dd has it too.

Im wondering if there is any point getting meds now as in mid 40’s, be interested in thoughts

I have a follow-up appointment today to find out about possible medication so likewise would be interested to hear what has worked for people.

What would you say your symptoms are @Atozofpoodles?

@Atozofpoodles Hi. I was officially diagnosed with ADD yesterday and was prescribed some drugs. Took my first pill yesterday and I can already feel the benefits:) I would highly recommend you consider drugs perhaps as part of some talking therapy as well?

[quote dustybrother]@Atozofpoodles Hi. I was officially diagnosed with ADD yesterday and was prescribed some drugs. Took my first pill yesterday and I can already feel the benefits:) I would highly recommend you consider drugs perhaps as part of some talking therapy as well?[/quote]
Really? Wow thats fast!

OP. Thank you for starting this thread. I have often wondered if I have ADHD. I am going to look into Psychiatry UK, I didn't know about them. I am currently breast feeding and don't really want to stop, but think a first step may be seeing if I actually have the diagnosis. At the moment every few months I suddenly get very interested in finding out about ADHD diagnosis in adults, read about it for about half an hour, think yep that sounds just like me, and then lose interest.

@Atozofpoodles Yeah I know:) I’ve done a lot of reading about the subject and follows a consultation a week ago. My life circumstances are such that I really needed to start some medication, will see how it goes, but feeling positive about it all at the moment. I had to go private using my BUPA to jump the long NHS queue but so worth it.

@Satlie2019 it really is worth pursuing, it’s a life saver it really is.

Thank you, I am going to look into it.

@Satlie2019 I just went on the NHS website for adult adhd and was a real eye opener. I’m so glad I’ve found this group. I’ve never had any illnesses before so quite a lot to get your head around but feeling very positive about the future.

My 18 year old DD was recently diagnosed with mixed ADHD and is waiting to start meds. I am excited for her as she has struggled all her life and no one believed me as she masked well at school but just scraped through everything as did no work. She did her a levels in lockdown which was a disaster and tutors told her not to apply for Uni as would not get grades. She currently has a full time job with severely behaviourally challenged adults and bizarrely gets the adrenalin buzz she needs from being on high alert to their potential aggression. I think I may have inattentive ADHD as I look into it more. I relate to the needing to get to end of book and skim reading. I have watched EastEnders for decades but still cannot name most characters, but will know who they are if someone says the name.
I have to work really hard to absorb info unless it is really really important.
I have imposter syndrome re work and think I got job because I am nice rather than for what I know as there is so much I should know that I don't.
Anyway... will see how DD gets on and device ID I want to look at diagnosis and treatment too.

I dont have ADHD but I do have something else.

I found that meditation helps.

@vdbfamily I wish you all the best for you and your daughter. A lot of what you describe I think is familiar to a lot of us with a ADD or ADHD diagnosis. I sometimes wonder how I managed to secure a masters degree. Like you, I have hardly any memories of childhood or my teenage years but with the medication (Elvanse) it has made such a difference.

Hello, so pleased I found this thread. I think my daughter needs to be assessed for ADHD. She is 17, will be 18 in March. Has masked her symptoms for years plus she was home educated so this helped as not forced to sit in school all day, but is now in 6th form doing A levels and struggling. How do I go about this? Assume try my GP first? What are NHS waiting times like? How would I go about getting privately assessed and what are the costs? And is she still considered a child or would she be assessed as an adult? Sorry for all the questions! And thank you to all the PPs and the OP for you contributions to this thread, they had really helped us.

@Wotrewelookinat I was undiagnosed with ADD throughout my formal schooling (1990s), so great that you recognise it in your daughter. I went down the private route using my BUPA having first done a lot of research. I hear that waiting times are 18 months according to my GP (I live in SW London so could be different elsewhere). Cost wasn't prohibitive, there are online questionnaires you can do yourself as well to help save time/money with diagnosis.
I hope this helps!

I think I have ADD..taking ages to get an appointment though!

@dustybrother thank you for your reply! She diagnosed herself a few weeks ago, but we’ve looked into it quite a lot since then. I suppose I’ll have to try to speak to our GP initially…

@Eliphanbee I was asked to complete the Diva 2.0 assessment by my BUPA Dr. Might be worth you doing in the first instance?

www.advancedassessments.co.uk/resources/ADHD-Screening-Test-Adult.pdf

The more I read the more I think I need assessment. There are so many things I do that I never linked with ADHD. My family about at me for constantly scratching and picking and feeling my arms to try and find spots to pick at. I stop when shouted at and second later am doing it again subconsciously. Picking at dry skin on my feet too.
Sense of direction too.... there is a family home that every time we went anywhere I would say" is this the way to uncle Bob's?'
Eating as well... always trying to lose weight but forget/ can't stick to a regime.
Parenting.... forgetting to book parents evenings, forgetting one of the kids had an exam/ not asking about it at end of day, trying to source birthday presents day before, arranging parties on the day!!
I am now wondering what a difference meds could make, especially to work. Every single day I walk to the toilet, drop my water bottle in kitchen too fill on way back, get back to desk, feel thirsty, look for water bottle when thirsty and have to walk back to kitchen. Had a cunning plan once to fill it en route and take it to toilet so as not to forget and you guessed it, I left it in toilet which was an even longer walk away!!
This week I was driving to work and thought my skirt was inside out. I told my team not to come in office whilst I swapped out round. After doing that I realised it actually had been fine before and was now inside out so changed it again. A few hours later a colleague came into my office and said" you do know you have your shirt on inside out" !!! What??
Anyone think I might fit the bill.
The one thing that throws me is that for my daughter, the give away to me was her total lack of emotional regulation from a young age. Must of the time she was delightful but she would regularly become possessed and kick and about and barricade herself in rooms and as she got older and taller we became terrified of her mood swings. I have always been incredibly placid, to the point where people comment on it. No mood swings. Fairly easy and happy teenage years emotionally but definitely lacked effort and concentration at school. Always more interested in people and socialising than study. This makes me wonder if I truly fit the picture.

Yes vdbfamily - I'd say you demonstrate a fair few ADHD symptoms. You can have ADHD and not struggle with emotional regulation.

@Satlie2019

OP. Thank you for starting this thread. I have often wondered if I have ADHD. I am going to look into Psychiatry UK, I didn't know about them. I am currently breast feeding and don't really want to stop, but think a first step may be seeing if I actually have the diagnosis. At the moment every few months I suddenly get very interested in finding out about ADHD diagnosis in adults, read about it for about half an hour, think yep that sounds just like me, and then lose interest.

Lol this is exactly what I do 🤦🏼‍♀️ I've been on a waiting list since May 2021, but not heard anything since. Had a really bad day today :(