Has anyone managed to get an ADHD dx as an adult?

[Callardandbowser]

I’m a primary school teacher but I’m becoming more and more convinced that I have ADHD. Have any of you lovely people had a dx as an adult? If so, how?
TIA.

[billysboy]

I got a dx and have started treatment this week

[phenelope]

Someone said something about all that, I think it was when they took thyroid medicine with T3. All that stuff went away. You might put in a search for it. Very best of luck.

Tell me if you find it. And someone to prescribe it!

[OdysseyOracle]

I was diagnosed with autism in 2017 and have been on a waiting list for an ADHD assessment since December 2018. I've been told the list is somewhere between 5 and 7 years long and I've been under mental health teams for about 15 years, so don't think that makes a difference here (Liverpool). I would see if I could afford a private assessment, but I wouldn't be able to keep up the expense for medications afterwards.

I think I do have it - I feel so muddled and slowed down most of the time. I've tried probably over 30 different medications to treat depression, anxiety and OCD but only Bupropion has made a tiny difference. I also have anorexia nervosa, so they might not let me have the meds if they cause weight loss. I turn 40 tomorrow and just wish I could actually get some kind of life together finally, as it's been a disaster so far!

[phenelope]

This will tell you! See last paragraph. PLEASE read this.

Equasym have cheapened their formula again. I think they have used the wrong amphetamine, which makes it worse instead of better. I have been taking more in an effort to be focused and I now see that I was making myself worse. So what happens to families?


How do stimulants work in the ADHD brain?

There are 43 medications currently available that stimulate in the same way that amphetamine and methylphenidate do, but only three of those medications make ADHD better. The rest make it worse. Just being a stimulant is not enough to make a medication work in an ADHD brain.

A PET scan study was done monitoring a specially prepared solution of methylphenidate to see where it wound up in the human brain. Everyone expected that it would go to somewhere in the fronto-parietal cortex, or to some area that was rich in adrenaline or dopamine nerves. It didn’t. Instead it was actively pulled out of the blood and concentrated in only one area at the exact center of the brain called the corpus striatum.

The striatum has no adrenaline or dopamine activity. The striatum is your executive assistant. It scans all of your thoughts, feelings, and experiences and sends the one most important thing up to your cortex for you to think about. Everything else is handled behind the scenes.


The current theory of ADHD is that the striatum works 99 percent as well as it does in neurotypical brains. Rather than sending only one important thing to the frontal cortex, it sends five or six things, with no particular significance attached to any one of them. This is what it is like to have untreated ADHD — five things rumbling about in your head for no apparent reason. The ADHD medications help the striatum work the way it was meant to. —William Dodson, M.D.

[billysboy]

I jumped right in following a couple of introspective years and made an appt with Harley st specialist
I had the first appt yesterday and they confirmed ADHD I have a follow up in a week
I feel quite relieved to know I am not mad after all

[BippityBoppity87]

My appointment is actually tomorrow with my psych. I’ve been with him for about two years. My primary diagnoses is bipolar. It was actually my cpn who picked up on it as I see her more regularly every couple of weeks. I haven’t had to wait long, roughly 4 months but it could be because I’m already under the care of a mht

There’s a few fb groups that have a lot of info on the diagnostic journey for adults if you’re on that. I don’t know much about it as I’m in Scotland, but I’ve heard good things about Psychiatry UK and right to choose

[FriendHelping]

@Trisolaris No once he is on the right medication it moves over to the GP to prescribe under Shared Care. The GP can't do further medication reviews or change the prescription though, that has to be done by a Psychiatrist. Usually you would pay for an annual review.

[Trisolaris]

Placemarking also for my dp. I’ve finally got him to see that a formal diagnosis would be a good thing and he’s now quite excited about the possibility of trying medication. Though HOW this was missed as a child I don’t know as from childhood stories it was a very typical presentation. I think he was tempted to go down the private route for assessment thinking it would be quicker but does this mean you are stuck paying for medication for life?

[ChaoticGouda]

I got my diagnosis privately last month. I'd spent the good part of a week feverishly researching and taking multiple self-assessment tests beforehand, neglecting sleep, because I was so fascinated by the realisation that other people were living such a similar life to me

Still waiting to see if the GP can arrange the physical tests for me, or if I need to pay for that too...

If you want to get referred for an assessment, OP, I've had it recommended that you print out the DSM(?) fill in everything that you feel applies to you, and take it to your GP. They might ask for your school reports, and it's also helpful to find someone who knew you as a child (ages 5-12) and who knows you now as an adult.

[Josie1968]

@FriendHelping thank you x

[FriendHelping]

As far as I know you only have to tell them if you are an HGV driver possibly for work and are on medication. I am 99.9% sure you would not get your license revoked. If you have specific questions the Adult ADHD group on facebook is very knowledgeable.

[Josie1968]

I read somewhere that as an adult with adhd you have to let the DVLA know, does anyone know about this and whether you would get your licence revoked?! Thank you.

[InDeoEstMeaFiducia]

Yes, my son was on immediate release at first. As he grew, he went to a longer-acting one due to school becoming more demanding (he's on course to study engineering at university). FAR too many people have been left here to be miserable and not fulfill their potential due to outdated ideas about the condition. It's shocking and sad. My son is still a minor so we see his psychiatrist every three months, it's £180.

If you get an unsupportive GP, change GPs!

Personally, I wouldn't speak to them first. It's none of their business and plenty of them will try to dissuade you.

[Msbouffet]

@Whatayear2020 sorry about my ridiculous user name. It was fine. Took about 2 weeks to prepare. You need someone who knows you to fill in the form and do one yourself. It is very long and feels like a test and like why is it designed to be this way as when you have adhd this is exactly the struggle!?! Df did one and it was hopeless so I also asked a friend. Found some old reports from school, whst an eye opener, when I started looking for comments about not paying attention etc they were everywhere! But not essential to have reports. The actual assessment we talked through the info and what my struggles are, that was hard as I was so thorough on the forms not sure what else to say. Between the forms and the assessment the psychiatrist will get a pretty good idea. There are like 9 areas and you have to show a deficit in several I think. I was not deficit in all of them.

Speak to your gp before going private to let them know, mine were pleased to do share care.

The titration period is when you try different meds, they can be 15-70+ a month depending on short/long acting etc. I tried short to start due to being unsure then moved to long due to needing it to last at work. Most people end up on Elvanse or Concerta.

You are meant to have an annual review which is approx 200.

[InDeoEstMeaFiducia]

My son was diagnosed privately. Our former NHS GP didn't agree with medicating ADHD so we had to pay privately for his medication, which was worth every penny. He says he feels like a different person, he's able to focus, he's no longer frustrated, he's able to make long-term plans and goals. It was expensive, though, and the meds about £100/month.

People with this condition (and OCD, which he also has) are often utterly failed by the NHS and face judgement and condemnation for medicating both (when a good psychiatrist realises a combination of both medication and adjunct therapies and strategies can be life-transforming for people with these conditions.

[Whatayear2020]

MsBouffet how was the assessment with psychiatry UK? And can the prescription be transferred to your own GP after diagnosis? Shared care? I considered psychiatry UK but was worried about being tied in to expensive prescriptions.

[Msbouffet]

I was dx privately through Psychiatry UK. Meds help you get started, you still have to direct your focus.

It was worth every penny.

[Lovemusic33]

Sing I have thought for a long time that I have ASD, both my kids are diagnosed but I have never felt the need for a diagnosis. I have been on and off medication for mental health issue but don’t like the side effects and never stayed on it very long, for me the worry of gaining weight made me feel even more anxious. Maybe ADHD meds would be different.

People comment on how much I fidget and how I never relax, I’m pretty forgetful and have to set alarms to remind me to do simple tasks, I’m always losing things and causing people of moving things.

I struggle with relationships, I get bored really easily, find it hard to find other people interesting and can lose my shit over something tiny.

[SingToTheSky]

The dx for me was a relief just like my autism dx a few years earlier, but the main purpose for getting assessed for the adhd was medication. Unlike stuff like antidepressants (which I had tried numerous times) ADHD meds can only be prescribed by a specialist, and I’d got to the point where I was desperate for something to help me. ADs/anxiety meds didn’t work because a big factor in feeling so low was the constant failure I felt, because of not coping with even simple things like others could.

I would say if there’s even a chance you’d like to try meds it’s totally worth getting assessed. It’s not something you’d need to commit to forever (I’m already thinking of reducing my dose a bit).

In some ways, I didn’t even realise just HOW badly (and in how many ways) the ADHD was impacting daily life until I started the meds. The first sign of improvement I noticed was that I didn’t lose track of my reps in the gym. Such a small thing but I realised I’d been getting lost every single time - I was so used to not being able to even count to 10/12 without losing my place that it hadn’t registered as an issue - until I noticed it had stopped. I nearly cried right then. Imagine how exhausting it is to have to think “oh hang on was that 4 or 5...? Should I go from 6 now?” about ten times a session. Then apply that type of confusion to plenty of other activities in your life. If you’re ADHD (especially female TBH) you probably have loads of coping mechanisms that you don’t even know about. I’m certainly not fully organised now, I still procrastinate and get distracted, but the meds have given me such a boost, I would honestly encourage anyone with ADHD to get assessed for that reason, if they might want to try it to see if it helps.

[Lovemusic33]

I suspect I have ADD/ADHD too.
I fidget a lot, find it hard to focus, blank out when people are talking to me and find it hard to complete tasks. I haven’t got a clue how to go about getting diagnosed, I’m not sure it will even help?

[CatherineCawood]

I was diagnosed at age 46, last December.

I was on the waiting list for 14 months and ended up going privately. I got my letter from the NHS service for my initial appointment 2 weeks ago so I guess that it would have been a total wait of 22 months had I waited.

Both my children have been diagnosed and it was only on speaking to their paediatrician about my own diagnosis of OCD and generalised anxiety disorder that made me wonder if I had it too.

I started medication and my OCD, health anxiety and general anxiety literally disappeared overnight 🙃

What makes you think you might have it?

[Whym]

My DD thinks she also has this, so I’ll be following and taking notes from this thread.

[Callardandbowser]

Thank you so much.
I don’t know if it’s worth my getting a dx. I would love to get my hands on some medication that helped me to focus and not always get in such a bloody muddle!

[SingToTheSky]

I was diagnosed in November. Referral times are usually a couple of years here but mine ended up rushed through after it got lost.

I had been under MH services on and off for years though, been on umpteen ADs since teen years and was already dx autistic a few years earlier so I think that helped them take me seriously as I could show I’d tried the more common treatments.

I have fibromyalgia too, it is scarily common in women with autism and ADHD.

I am by no means sorted as a person now but the meds have made a huge difference.

[Upherefordancing]

I'm placemarking as my DH is concerned that he may have ADHD.