Adult ADHD assessment

[Umbalala]

I’ve been certain I have ADHD for years. My cousin has it, I’m pretty sure my father does and my 6 year old has just been diagnosed with it.

I’ve decided to get an assessment for myself as I think medication may help with my symptoms. I don’t really want to wait two years for an NHS appointment.

Would I be unreasonable to spend £1200 on a diagnosis? This is the quote I’ve had from a very experienced psychiatrist near me. Is this the going rate? Would it be silly to go with a cheap online company?

@amusedbush

In England you can actually access assessments through Psychiatry-UK on the NHS, so it's particularly galling that they won't then accept their diagnosis!

My GP told me the Glasgow mental health team is actually being sued over it and there are numerous complaints being filed about it. The Psychiatry-UK website mentions going on to "shared care", aka free prescriptions through your local NHS service, once private titration is complete but it turns out that's not possible everywhere in the UK.

Part of the reason for this is that most of the medications are specialist-only initiation and require ongoing specialist review to continue to prescribe. Your GP cannot just take over responsibility for the prescription, there needs to be ongoing psychiatry input. I’m not entirely sure why NHS does not accept the diagnosis made by private ADHD or autism assessments. I do know one psychiatrist who felt private assessments (in children) were sometimes less rigorous- fewer reviews/no school assessments (though school report requested) etc- and sometimes disagreed with outcome of those assessments. But that was only one psychiatrist and was a while ago. I’m not saying they are right- I am not a psychiatrist so I have no idea.

@jacks11

It's not my GP who is refusing to take over care, which I would understand. It's the local mental health team who diagnose ADHD and oversee titration and medication reviews themselves.

They refuse to accept private diagnosis for shared care and are currently being sued because of it. I'm not a Rockefeller though and could really do with those free prescriptions so I'm being reassessed by them next week.

In terms of rigour, the private service required way, way more in terms of pre-assessment screening tools and questionnaires than the NHS, whose forms feel pretty superficial. I definitely went into the meeting feeling like the private psych had covered a lot more bases in terms of background and impact to my life. I know you're just passing on a comment so I'm not being defensive, just relaying my experience!

@amusedbush I just stumbled on this and fascinated to hear that the Glasgow mental health team is being sued over refusing to accept private diagnosis for shared care. Do you have any updates on that?

[quote ShiftingSands21]@amusedbush I just stumbled on this and fascinated to hear that the Glasgow mental health team is being sued over refusing to accept private diagnosis for shared care. Do you have any updates on that?[/quote]
I don’t, I’m afraid. It was my GP who told me that someone was suing the trust but I haven’t heard anything else about it.

I was reassessed by the Glasgow mental health team and they diagnosed me too, so I didn’t have to push them to accept my private diagnosis.

Also doing the right to choose through through psychiatry UK..my Dr was really supportive in referring me through them and it was easy. Though I've heard some people's GPs were less supportive of it. When I first looked into doing it a year ago the waiting list was a couple of months. But by the time I got around to going to the Dr and sorting it out the waiting list was a year. But still quicker than the NHS I believe. After adult ADHD diagnosis went viral on tiktok it's put a bigger strain on the services etc so waiting times have gone up

Ps basically it means you get to access a private referral but the NHS pays and they will then pay for your prescriptions. But think I read it's only in England and not the rest of the UK

It’s really unfortunate that Right to Choose is not available in Scotland.

@amusedbush I’m really glad this worked out for you!

I got a private ADHD diagnosis in 2020 via Psychiatry UK. I have some comorbid psychiatric issues (which I believe stem largely from the ADHD). My GP and NHS psychiatrist (latter of whom I have met once) are therefore disinclined to believe the ADHD diagnosis. It is not currently clear if I’m even on the waiting list for reassessment via the NHS but even if I am that’s a 2 year wait. It is all very distressing as ADHD is the thing I most need help for, especially since becoming a parent, and really the root of so many other problems, after a lifetime of misunderstanding and wrong treatments.

My partner called up his GP Friday for add and ADHD assesment he has to go pick up a questionnaire and has been told the waiting list is really long. It's disgraceful this affects his entire life and so many others yet the NHS doesn't see it as a real or serious condition.

@shaneTwane if you are in England you should investigate Right to Choose. Even Psychiatry UK waiting lists are long now but there are other RTC providers and the list is growing.

I’m having one of those revelatory times when my DD’s ADHD investigation is starting to spark questions for me too. I can’t concentrate well on this thread and the new black and white text on Mumsnet for the Queens funeral is not helping me.

I’m 46 and finding peri meno challenging enough already. Where do I start - do I call the GP to start investigating my own possible ADHD? I’m on HRT already but falling behind at work a lot and very anxious and my concentration is absolutely gone yet I can spend hours researching crap on the internet. I’m desperate for any meds that can help me collect my thoughts. I need to be organised enough for me and my DD. I’m not at the moment.

@PeakersCorner was what you describe a problem for you pre peri-menopause?

Yes and no- looking back I have always had the same traits but much more mildly before. I have never thought my lack of concern with tidiness, my difficulty with concentrating on uninteresting things, my personal disorganization, often lateness caused by lack of awareness of time passing forgetfulness, were more than irritating character quirks and they haven’t caused me any major issues. Could work around them. My (what I now suspect to be) hyperfocus has been brilliantly useful at work.

Now I am a million times more anxious and my short term memory has completely gone so the usual strategies like writing lists etc doesn’t help because I can’t retain tasks long enough to write it down before getting distracted. I’m very sleepless in peri meno too which makes everything worse.