4 year waiting list for ADHD assessment

[ADHDPI]

I am 99.9% sure I have ADHD (primarily inattentive). My GP agrees it is likely but cannot diagnose or treat. My problem is I've just been put on a waiting list and have been told I'm likely to have to wait 3-4 years for an assessment. I feel like it is ruining my life. I know there are meds out there which could help and I'm frustrated that I can't access them. I do not have the money for a private assessment (in my overdraft month on month) so that's not an option. I self medicate with extreme coffee drinking and nicotine which helps temporarily. I just don't know what to do anymore. Can anyone help? Advise on coping mechanisms? I'm struggling.

We’re in the NW and my adult son was recently diagnosed after a six month wait. His was quite an extreme case and there were other services becoming involved, but I don’t know if that makes a difference. Once he had the appointment through it was all pretty quick.
Have you started the ball rolling yet on referral?
Id go back to the GP and explain how much you are struggling. They may be able to push for a referral or signpost you to local services that can help.

I have inattentive adhd and not taking meds:

• if you are struggling to be motivated or think clearly jump up and down it increases blood flow to the brain. Your exec function is at the front part of your brain and the last to get blood
• do one thing at a time
• work out which part of the day you are more clear headed and start important tasks then
• find others with exec function deficits for support
• focus on one thing at a time
• be kind to yourself and lower your expectations or you are setting yourself up to fail
• find homes for uncomplicated homes for things once you get into rhythm you will hopefully do automatically - I have a bowl for my keys on our stairs as closer to the front door and I put them in automatically
• When you get stressed stare at a spot on the wall calms your mind - babies teach themselves to sleep by staring
• google alternate breathing technique calms nervous system
• take fish oils it helps with brain conducting info

Op sorry I derailed your thread.

I was only diagnosed this year at the age of 37, I found diet to be a huge factor in mitigating my own symptoms. Eat lots of varied coloured fruit /veg, nuts, grains and pulses too. And make sure you eat regularly! —something that I still struggle with. Funnily enough the caffeine addiction disappeared the moment I went on ADHD meds. I went from drinking 10-14 cups of tea a day to 3 only cups.

I also took brain health, herbal supplements lions mane, ashwagandha, gabba, L-thenine, lemon balm which work amazingly for the undercurrent on anxiety that I often felt. —this is what worked for me, most of the above can be found in Holland and Barrets.

ADHD and hormones are hellish. The week before and a few days after your period you’ll usually feel your symptoms are the worst, so go easy on yourself in that regard.

You are incorrect.

The most comprehensive and longest running studies have shown that many children do indeed grow out of it. The percentages vary depending on the study but even conservative estimates quote 20% which given the millions worldwide is a significant number.

I was also told it in person by a highly regarded pysch when dc were diagnosed last year.

“Whereas it was previously thought that children eventually outgrow ADHD, recent studies suggest that 30–60% of affected individuals continue to show significant symptoms of the disorder into adulthood.”

Source: British Medical Journal

adc.bmj.com/content/90/suppl_1/i2

Time and time again I see parents either misconstruing the information being given or perhaps they’re being given the wrong information entirely, I haven’t figured out which.

A cursory glance at the Lancet or BMJ would prove otherwise. The exact figures vary depending on which studies you read. As far as I’m aware there haven’t been any large scale studies that have tracked patients over say a 20 year period, these would be key in determining long term outcomes.

To summarise; the remaining 20% you’re referring to still have ADHD. Only their symptoms are so insignificant that they’d likely not meet the DSM criteria for a new dx.

That doesn’t mean they’re magically cured of ADHD, just that they’ve perhaps become better at managing their symptoms or the natural developmental changes that occur throughout the teen years into adulthood have had some impact on the brain. —The studies don’t outline the reasons for improvement.

I have researched this to the hilt with two currently undiagnosed ADHD daughters and being ADHD myself!

Symptoms can actually get worse as you get older if it's undiagnosed and untreated - it is diagnosed, medicated children who "grow out of it" because their brain's plasticity combined with medication allows it to adapt to become more neurotypical as it develops.

Has a referral actually been made. Ask GP to chase.

How many people do you know wait 30 years before asking for help?

Some may. But some children do indeed grow out if it and there is a wealth of research to back this up. I've shared links before and there is a bigger thread running atm where posters are saying the same.

If its acknowledged that the brain is still developing until mid twenties it makes perfect sense that some children can outgrow it.

I'd send you my meds if it was legal and ethical haha. They don't really agree with me. Hope you get sorted soon, but beware that a diagnosis and meds don't always provide miracle cures x

I'm just going on personal experience and the experience of people around me, plus what I've read about it.

I personally waited decades to be diagnosed and treated (parents tried when I was a toddler but the docs didn't want to hear it).

Decades of struggling and masking a neurological condition that affects your everything in your daily like really takes its toll.

I still wonder with deep sadness every day what my life could have been like if the doctors had taken my mother's concerns seriously.

I definitely recommend lots of therapy for anyone diagnosed late in life. The NHS doesn't appear to provide that though. The system is still failing us.

Dose your GP have MH nurse? If so ask for an appointment with them..