ADHD in adults - diagnosis process

[ThistlesAndUnicorns]

Hi there

I wondered if anyone had experience obtaining a ADD diagnosis in adulthood? (In Scotland).

How did you go about it and (if you are comfortable sharing) what were/are your symptoms? Do you have children also with ADD or suspect it?

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I'm not in Scotland but I asked my GP for a referral and paid for a private assessment (as its a 9-12 month wait on nhs)
During the assessment they asked for my mother to provide details answering questions on what I was like as a child, and I also completed a number of forms. I then had x 2 video meetings to discuss my life and difficulties.
Following that, I was recommended for medication, had to have a few heart checks back via NHS and then started the process to work up to my medicated dose. Once I was stable, nhs took over my prescription. in all I spent about £2000 to get to that point.

I got tested because of;
Extreme procrastination. then super efficiency at other periods.
hyperfixation of new interests, spending lots of money on new things only to get bored of them pretty quickly after.
speedy talking and a "busy brain" .. but also having a few days of just feeling totally burnt out.
never being able to watch a TV programme without being up and down a hundred times and always on phone at same time.
TERRIBLE memory.

@biggreenhouse

I got tested because of;
Extreme procrastination. then super efficiency at other periods.
hyperfixation of new interests, spending lots of money on new things only to get bored of them pretty quickly after.
speedy talking and a "busy brain" .. but also having a few days of just feeling totally burnt out.
never being able to watch a TV programme without being up and down a hundred times and always on phone at same time.
TERRIBLE memory.

This is me. I could have written this. Wow.

@ThistlesAndUnicorns I started keeping a list of everything that I thought could be a symptom. it's over about 50 things long now, which all helped during the conversations with the doctors.
There will need to be clear signs that this has impacted you since childhood, although it may not be in the obviously hyperactive way.
I've always had trouble sleeping, difficulty keeping friends as I got bored with them. I did well at school but by absolute luck as I never did homework until the last second. didn't revise for anything etc.

My DH was told 4 years for a diagnosis through his GP. He self-referred to PsychiatryUK (also NHS funded) and got diagnosed and medicated in 8 months.

Did medication help?

Christ, that sounds pretty much exactly like me.
My DS is going through an assessment process at the moment for ASD and ADHD.

The more I read about this the more I discover it's quite likely I ALSO would probably "test" positive for both!

@Byerolls yes medication helps me, especially at work being able to concentrate for reasonable periods of time and actually get things done in a much more organised way. Also took away my anxiety symptoms I was having.

Extreme procrastination. then super efficiency at other periods.
hyperfixation of new interests, spending lots of money on new things only to get bored of them pretty quickly after.
speedy talking and a "busy brain" .. but also having a few days of just feeling totally burnt out.
never being able to watch a TV programme without being up and down a hundred times and always on phone at same time.
TERRIBLE memory.

I've long suspected and colleagues and friends have suggested it. You have just described me to a T...

thanks for reply

I never ever thought of ADHD until 2 nights ago I had googled ‘mood stabiliser’ and it brought me to a link on here where someone had suggested to another person ADHD. I then looked at the symptoms and I can relate to every single one. It’s scary. I always wondered why I could never focus/concentrate on a task and how I would procrastinate everything I done.

I rang doctor yesterday and they said I would have to wait a long time to get tested.

she suggested anti d’s which I refused as I had them before and I now certainly don’t think it’s depression I have. It’s ADHD. I hope specific med’s for it can help like it did for u x

@Byerolls Don't let doctors put you off if you want to get tested. Look up information on "right to choose" which can help you go semi private but on the NHS. there is still a wait, but it's more like 9 months than the 2 years if u go purely NHS. You might as well be in the queue anyway!

Me too!