Anyone diagnosed adhd and can help with these issues? Posting here for traffic.

[Confusionisrife]

Gp has reffered for assessment for adhd nhs .
24 month wait .
considering going private which would be £900 for assessment and 220 per prescription until meds settled / stable

i cant raally affiord this. We could do it if we misswed family holiday.. .. but the benefits of an assessment / treatment may help my family!

i need to ask , if i dont get meds for any reason, do assesments give detailed guidance? Help?
if jot what wd the point be ?
would i still be able to access talking / etc therapy when its my turn on the nhs ?
i am mindful of the fact that i would most probably forget to folliw thro the advise from any report re behevours as that is the current Way of being anyway as i am v forgetful/ lack motivation / ability to follow thro!

any advice much appreciated. Thank you .

I paid to go private but my physical health/blood pressure wasnt good enough to take adhd meds so worth thinking in advance about any health problems there may be.

The diagnosis was amazing for me but it was less money.

Get referred to Psychiatry U.K. by your GP, quote "Right to Choose"
There will be a wait, but your assessment and treatment will be in the NHS system.

If you get a private diagnosis (even if from a psychiatrist that also works for the NHS), you have the likelihood of it not being recognised for the provision of treatment and the provision of prescription drugs - to give you an example, Elvanse is ~£200 a month for a private prescription with the added hassle of it being a restricted drug (amphetamine based).

The ADHD impulsivity and need for something NOW won't be helping you here, I know.

Many have been caught out by this - "shared care" where your GP takes over the provision of your prescriptions once you've been through titration have been effectively refused (ie avoided) by some Local Health Authorities when the diagnosis was private.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/20/adhd-drugs-side-effects-prescription-stimulants

Might be worth a read.

No, the diagnosis alone won't change anything and I don't see why you'd pay to get it if you don't then access medication.

My DS was diagnosed privately last summer, because we felt it was urgent that he access the meds and not lose any more years of education. And it's been 100% worth it. My God it makes such a difference! He can finally focus, concentrate and get the most out of school. Plus, he's calmer, his interactions with his peers are more positive and it's curbed his compulsive snacking.

You don't mention what impact ADHD has on your life, but it's worth looking at the money you'd spend on private diagnosis and prescriptions as an investment in yourself, your family life, your job/career. What price two years of all that?

We're currently in the process of switching to a shared care agreement with the NHS. The waiting time for DC in our health authority is 3-4 months apparently. In the meantime, private prescriptions are costing us £200 per month. It's worth it.

My mum sent me this a while ago and I told her in no uncertain terms that the whole article is nonsense. Truly just fearmongering nonsense.

There is nothing wrong with ADHD medication, it's not addictive and there is absolutely no glory in suffering without it. The author acts like it's weak to take them but as someone diagnosed with "severe" combined-presentation ADHD, I can tell you that it's a life-ruining disorder that had me on my knees with despair before I started medication in 2021.

A treatment plan for ADHD is overseen by a consultant psychiatrist after a thorough physical examination (mine included being sent for an ECG) and careful titration, and there is regular physical health monitoring. The benefits hugely outweigh the negatives for most people and I'm so sick of misinformed nonsense about how ADHD is "trendy", how it's actually just a new name for "housewives depression", and wailing about medication turning kids into zombies.

In short: no, it's not worth a read.

My colleague, a mental health professional, disagrees.

Not worth it if you can’t afford/can’t take meds. But the meds (for DH) have saved our marriage. He has shared care but it’s a right pain as they sometimes argue over dispensing and that can mean he runs out of meds and then it’s soooo hard or him to get things together to get it sorted.

I have several friends - a mixture of mental health professionals, including a psychiatrist - who either treat patients with stimulants or take them for ADHD themselves. All are hugely outspoken about the benefits.

I guess your colleague and I will never see eye-to-eye on this, and I maintain that the article perpetuates a harmful stigma.

I had a private diagnosis in January last year and have just had my care transferred to the GP.
The medication has been life changing. It’s taken longer than expected to have my care transferred as have been on different drugs. I’ve also had NHS CBT and this has helped me massively. I still have difficulties with self esteem but I’m much less hard on myself and spend much less energy masking all of my struggles. I’ve spent around 2k in total but I wished I had done this years ago.

Hi OP,

I found a cheaper provider who I plan to use in the future - ADHD360 who offer a combined package of assessment and medication prescriptions for 12 months should you get a positive diagnosis. It doesn't include the cost of the medication itself, but I think this is common across all providers because you are buying that from the pharmacy rather than the prescriber if that makes sense. This is the cheapest I have found it and I plan to use them in future (currently pregnant and planning to breastfeed so won't be able to commence medication until after this). They also offer financed packages which could help you.

Psychiatry Uk is a very popular provider and is cheap in comparison for initial assessment - they have however been closed for private referrals for some time and I believe have quite a waiting list for NHS referrals currently. I actually emailed them this week to ask when they would be opening private referrals back up again and they said they have no current plans to and cannot provide a timeline of when this will be available again.

Good luck getting this sorted - I have read so many anecdotal stories both here on Mumsnet and on other forums about how commencing medication has changed peoples lives, so I really think this is something worth perusing for you if you're able to fund it.

Thank you all . Will read your comments later with care.
am at wits end but aware i maybe shd nit jumo !!!
in meantime if dint get assessed will need to go on an anti depressant as it has marginly helped in the past ,

If you go for private diagnosis, check that
a) they follow the NICE gold standard procedure for assessment and diagnosis
b) your GP will provide shared care if you are diagnosed and medicated/titrated privately

Many people find an adult diagnosis useful because it validates their struggles, helps with self understanding and self compassion, access to reasonable adjustments and support like Access to Work, information about your neurotype to help you adapt your life, and access to a community of other ADHDers, etc. So it simply is not true that there is no benefit to diagnosis if you don’t get medication. Medication, however, is not a silver bullet. You still need to implement good self care and ADHD friendly strategies. Working with an ADHD coach or ADHD aware therapist - or even a therapist who has ADHD themselves, can help. The NHS does not provide post diagnosis counselling. Arguably they should, but they don’t. Some private services will have the option but you have to pay for it. There are now a lot of openly neurodivergent therapists out there though - I’m one of them. I don’t have a diagnosis of ADHD though do probably fit the criteria and probably should look into it at some point! I am, however, adult diagnosed autistic, and getting that diagnosis probably saved my life.

In terms of the article that’s been shared, it’s one person’s experience with medication. That’s valid because it’s their experience and yes, some people do find the side effects unbearable and don’t choose to continue using it. Hence why it’s important to be aware that it’s not a magic bullet. But everyone responds differently to medication and there are also many success stories out there as well. It can be hugely beneficial, so I always say it’s important to keep an open mind and be aware that everyone’s body and brain is different.

Some great advuce here thank you .
i will first check about gp handover time wise as this may effect things as i simply cannot afford priv meds at 200 pm .for a sustained period .
oh ! Ive looked at a clinic recommended here and meds seems to be 30 a minth and assessments 360 compared to the ine i was planning to use which was 200 for meds and 900 the assessment…
it seems such a huge difference!!!!

It looks like the 360 option is cheapesr.. pkus med cost.. one of them i saw has so many hidden costs it seems !!!
exhausted now ! Thank you all