Experiences of ADHD assessment and diagnosis in adulthood

[Zippidydoodah]

I have finally bitten the bullet and requested a private ADHD assessment.

I feel so relieved! I don’t know why. Like I’ve finally admitted to someone that I think this could be why I’m so shit at adulting.

Please share stories of ADHD in adulthood assessments/diagnoses?

Is there anyone out there who was assessed and found not to have it? Were you given strategies/ideas to support whatever difficulties you were having?

Please be kind. Thank you!

Medication has helped me and I am still early in that journey. I am already a lot less reactive around the kids. I can tolerate interruption better. I feel less overstimulated. If anything, that is worth it for me. It helps everyone around me as well as me. I already have all the life hacks in place from many many years of trying to manage my own existence! I would say definitely look into it!

This is not a proper assessment or diagnosis. Mine was 2 x 2 hour assessments which were online, but all through discussion. I had to have ‘informants’ who could verify what I was saying, and provide information of the impact of my difficulties from before the age of 12.

i feel confident in both the thoroughness and the decision making process as it followed NICE guidelines.

This sounds good 😊 I’m happy you’re doing better!

Well I also have autism so some of this could be attributed to that. But generally as a child I was very well behaved in school, but I struggled to concentrate and do any work that didn’t interest me. I rarely did homework and got into trouble a lot for that. I wouldn’t interact in class when I was supposed to. Never put up my hand or volunteered for things. I got good grades at GCSE as I found them easy but did badly at A level as that required self study which I couldn’t do. I had huge issues socially, I had friends but didn’t really understand normal interactions that well so got badly bullied through primary and secondary. I self harmed as a teenager. I was always in trouble at home for not listening and not doing what I was told. My room was (and still is) a tip. I’ve always had big issues with sleep, wouldn’t go to sleep until late and would often wake up in then night and be awake for a few hours (still like this now).

I am not in touch with anyone from my childhood, was always on the periphery of friend groups.
I was either doing ALL. THE. THINGS. or nothing at all depending how burnt out I was.
I was never late for things because I was absurdly early to avoid the anxiety of rushing (I’d leave for secondary school at 6.30am and arrive there by 7) I helped set chairs out a lot and would bring a book to pass the time until the allotted hour, then would inevitably end up too engrossed in the book to notice other people arriving.
Never had quite the right equipment to hand and was always a bit scruffy. Got the day’s work done in like ten minutes then made up stories in my head for the rest of the day.
Diagnosis is inattentive ADHD but I got away with it as a child because I could get good grades without trying, until A level when you had to actually revise and sustain attention for longer periods of time, then my grades collapsed.

@bananasplitsallround what medication have you found helpful please? Im
currently in titration but not finding much difference except for a few hours. I’ve tried Elvanse 30/50/60/70 and found no difference between the doses. Now on concerta XL. 18mg made me irritable and hungry. 36mg is better.

OP it’s definitely worth getting assessed. I was 48 when I got my diagnosis. I’ve learnt to be kinder to myself and understand myself better. It’s also helped me understand my Ds better and have just had him assessed. He’s also AuADHD.

First of all, well done for seeking support. It’s scary to open up about feeling like this.
My story - like you, ‘high flyer’ at school, labelled G&T but sometimes I’d do well, sometimes I’d totally miss the mark. The further up the education ladder I went, the more difficult it became, especially when I got to uni and had to manage life and finances on my own. Failed one uni course. Managed to pass the next. Diagnosed with depression at about 20 but I see in retrospect it was ND burnout.

Always found work difficult. I did shifts and I turned up on days off, slept in when I thought I was on a late shift and I was on an early!

I realised from a MN thread I might autistic. Hyper focused on the idea and ended up requesting an NHS assessment and got diagnosed aged about 34. It was validating but at the time, there was no support. It was ‘Here’s your diagnosis report, here’s a charity website link (that’s impossible to navigate), off you go’. I found more support from MN. Years later I realised I probably had ADHD. Procrastinated for ages in case they thought I just wanted meds to make me feel better! Finally got an assessment and diagnosed at 41. I did start meds. They have made the world of difference to me! I can function better. I’m more on top of things. I can keep track at work. I can complete tasks. I take a higher dose the week of my PMS and it eases the symptoms.

There is absolutely good reason to get diagnosed as an adult. Better understanding of yourself is so validating and yes, if you can take them, meds help. I would say to avoid Harrow Health. I’ve heard the assessments are extremely variable and lots of complaints.

Things that have helped me: meds (of course), magnesium and omega 3 supplements. ADHD coaching (helped me recognise my strengths and find strategies around my time management). Also body doubling. You can do it with an individual but there is an app called dubbii. There’s step by step guided ‘how to’ videos about how to do everyday tasks. Also there are live, hosted sessions for an hour every 3 hours. Everyone is just getting on with tasks but honestly having the support is amazing! I get so much done when I’m there. It’s about being of a like-minded community. Definitely worth checking out.

So yes, for me, getting diagnosed as an adult has validated my life experience. Meds have helped a lot, as well as ADHD specific coaching. It’s worth looking at Right to chose in your area. Good luck! If you join dubbii, I’m known by another name (a play on my MN one!).

@AuADHD I’m also in titration but only just at the 30mg Elvanse level. It’s making my heart go faster but I’m not crashing after activity like I was unmedicated.
My current struggle is that I’m supposed to take regular blood pressure readings and my arms aren’t cooperating. My RTC provider wants me to book a GP consult to find out if my machine is faulty but that’s just too much admin for me right now and they won’t continue meds until I sort it.
Could see myself just falling off titration because I can’t keep up with the admin.

@InMySpareTimei do mine about twice a week. I have an omron machine from Amazon. Pharmacies will do your BP for you for free.

Good for you

I tried getting BP done at Boots but they got error readings and left my arm bruised.

If you see a private provider then make sure they’re going to follow the NICE guidelines (longitudinal assessment etc) and look for a psychiatrist specialising in neurodiversity, not just an allied health professional who’s done a four day course on ADHD. A decent psychiatrist will look at your symptoms and check whether they’re better explained by any other psychiatric diagnoses and eliminate those or factor those in before making a diagnosis of ADHD or autism.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I already feel validated by this thread and by making that step forwards.

Thank you.

My sister and my husband were my informants.

I was diagnosed in my late 50s. I’m now medicated. Both the diagnosis and medication have made a massive difference.

I’m much kinder to myself and more accepting of things I struggle with, rather than blaming and feeling scornful towards myself. Medication has helped hugely with anxiety, procrastination and focus.

It’s all still very recent though, and I’m still coming to terms with the way that ADHD has affected me for my whole life.

Feel free to message me if you want to talk more, away from the board.