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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask for your experiences of private adult ADHD asessments?

45 replies

Barkus · 08/07/2021 11:52

Posting here for traffic, sorry!

I am convinced I have this. I don't think I will ever achieve anything until I get a diagnosis and treatment.

I have three young children, I'm not working and I can barely get dinner on the table every night because I am so disorganised and chaotic. My whole life has been a series of wasted opportunities and potential.

I have looked on Psychiatry UK but their first available appointment is late December!

Has anyone any experience/recommendations of any that provide private asessments (online preferable). Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
WildWestWanda · 08/07/2021 11:55

We went through psychiatry U.K. so can’t recommend anyone else.

One thing to bear in mind is the cost of medication. Whilst they were tweaking her dose it cost me over £500. Once they got her settled on the right dose they were then able to hand it over to our GP

fridgepants · 08/07/2021 11:58

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the user's request.

Allywill · 08/07/2021 12:43

We used the ADHD centre (clinic?) for my daughter who was 19 at the time. They are based in London but had offices in Manchester which is where we went. Paid the initial fee, had a handful of private prescriptions until her medication was stabilised then had no trouble transferring to the nhs for subsequent on going prescriptions. The nhs waiting list was over 2 years then 4 years ago. I dread to think what it would be now with covid delays. The diagnosis and medication made a massive difference to her university experience and she was able to access support that would not have been available without it.

tellmetologoffIamaMNaddict · 08/07/2021 12:45

I haven't done it yet but have you looked up right to choose? an organisation called ADHD 360 has been recommended to me. If you call them they will email you a letter for your GP.

tellmetologoffIamaMNaddict · 08/07/2021 12:47

adhduk.co.uk/diagnosis-pathways/

DellaPorter · 08/07/2021 12:57

Clinical Partners

wizzywig · 08/07/2021 12:58

Do you have to go on medication?

CatherineCawood · 08/07/2021 17:29

I used a private doctor, can PM you the details if you want though I did notice on her website that she isn't taking new patients until September now.

I paid for my consultation and first prescription (was about £75) then GP took over prescribing. I paid for one medication review after a few months then requested that the GP transfer me over to the NHS clinic. I had already been on their waiting list for a couple of years. I then got seen in about 4 months and am seen annually now.

Bythemillpond · 08/07/2021 18:33

I went through the NHS

GPs appointment for the referral in January

Telephone assessment in February

Forms sent out, filled in and sent back

I would have been seen in April if it hadn’t been for the backlog because of Covid and lockdowns

I was seen on Tuesday and was told I scored 9/9 for attention deficit and hyperactivity.
My psychiatrist was lovely and let me answer the questions in my own way

I was prescribed 30mg Elvanse which I pick up from the chemist tomorrow

Dd went through something of the same timeline but had a different psychiatrist who started by arriving 20 minutes late for the hour session and started with a lecture about how it was a controlled drug they would be prescribing if she was diagnosed and it wasn’t something she could sell on as it was illegal
She then stuck to the questions on the form and if dd veered off at a tangent trying to explain anything she cut her off and told her to stick to the question asked.
But when the question asked was something that was answered that would definitely indicate ADHD the psychiatrist dismissed it or probed further and said things were not that bad.
Dd had a hard time convincing her of anything that might not have been the norm.
Eg we don’t have any family or that as I am ADHD she never had a routine after school.
She kept saying to dd that she was mistaken

Then after 40 minutes announced she wasn’t wasting any more time as she had other patients to see and she needed to see dd for an hour again before she got a diagnosis and to come back another time

Dd now doesn’t want to go back and thinks it isn’t worth it.

I took Ds to Cahms for an adhd assessment as a child. We had to get a lift up to the floor the assessor was on. As the lift doors opened the woman announced he didn’t have adhd.
She then couldn’t go back on her assessment and we left after a really awkward appointment

I think it is a mix bag. What you get depends on who you get

BonnesVacances · 08/07/2021 18:49

The London Psychiatry Centre will do an online appointment. They are expensive though and will likely recommend treatment rather than medication. It depends how much money you want to spend on it.

justcheckingreally · 08/07/2021 18:55

I had a referral from my GP to the NHS last May. They warned me it could take a couple years before I'm seen. Found out about psychiatry UK recently and my GP agreed to refer there. Seems they've gone a bit viral and the waiting list for them is a good 4-5 months.

Weirdly I was contacted by NHS team today offering me a 2.5hr assessment beg of Sept so I think I'll go with that.
I was diagnosed as a child but in a diff country and never medicated so I'm hoping it'll be smooth.

Mumblebee20 · 08/07/2021 19:17

I got a referral from the g.p and assessment at the ADHD department at the hospital. Took about 7 months in total. I started on 30mg of elvanse and am now on 50mg.

justcheckingreally · 08/07/2021 19:53

@Mumblebee20 how have you found it? Have the side effects been bad? I've heard a lot of people get really off food.

Mumblebee20 · 08/07/2021 21:34

In the beginning I did go off food, but I pushed through it and made sure I ate. I've found if I forget to have breakfast, I'll go all day not wanting to eat anything. If I have something in the morning, I eat normally for the rest if the day.

It has affected my sleeping more than my eating, especially now the dose has increased. I have to make sure I take it before 10 am, otherwise I can't sleep until 3-4am

CrikeyMatron · 08/07/2021 22:00

I waited 3 years for my NHS assessment but after that everything went quickly.

Saw the fantastic Dr Joe Johnson who also does private clinics.

Good luck OP. It really is a postcode lottery Flowers

Hippee · 08/07/2021 22:40

My friend has set up this charity www.adhdaction.org after being diagnosed as an adult. It might be worth contacting them for advice.

TheGobhoblin · 09/07/2021 04:22

I was diagnosed as a child and put on Ritalin. Haven't taken it in around 25 years as I get by just fine in my job. I feel like it actually helps me onsite and when driving trucks in city centres etc as I'm always scanning, scanning, scanning and looking for hazards rather than getting too settled.

Don't know if it's still the case but certainly a decade ago it was proven that some ADHD drugs cause long term damage to the parts of the brain responsibly for drive/motivation. Also some for heart disease which I wonder may be related to the increase in blood pressure some people see.

Bythemillpond · 10/07/2021 14:57

Don't know if it's still the case but certainly a decade ago it was proven that some ADHD drugs cause long term damage to the parts of the brain responsibly for drive/motivation

Given I have no motivation to begin with how would people know what is the drugs and what is the Adhd

justcheckingreally · 12/07/2021 15:53

@thegobhoblin it's really great that you've managed to get a job that looks favourably at your ADHD. I do think your views around medication may be a little outdated.
All medication has side effect and surely having an effect on that part of the brain is the desired effect? As it's a stimulant, isnt it expected that your blood pressure will increase? The biggest trigger for heart disease is diet and lifestyle. Not very easy to have a healthy one of you have motivation to do much.

justcheckingreally · 12/07/2021 15:53

Sorry that's meant to say it's not very easy to have a healthy lifestyle if you have no motivation for it.

Briset · 12/07/2021 16:04

I am having a private assessment at the end of this week and will post here afterwards to let you know if I can recommend the clinic.

I have a question for anyone who has had an assessment for themselves; how did you do the assessment of your childhood? I am a bit reluctant to get my mother to complete the form (she is 81) and my father has dementia. Surely many adults are in the same situation?

justcheckingreally · 12/07/2021 16:42

@Briset I used my sister who is 4 years older than me and remembers a lot.

Briset · 12/07/2021 17:10

Ah thanks justchecking that's a useful tip. Unfortunately my sister is 5 years younger than me.

Has anybody completed it on the basis of their own memories of childhood?

RandomMess · 12/07/2021 20:05

This is something I'm considering now one of my daughters has been diagnosed.

I never thought her behaviour was particularly unusual because she's just so much like I was as a child...

Briset · 12/07/2021 20:56

randomess me too, exactly! My DD was diagnosed a couple of months ago and I was incredibly surprised. I just thought lack of focus, not achieving potential and anxiety were a normal part of growing up.