Diagnosed with ADHD as an adult? Did it make your life better?

[coulditgetbetter2]

I've received a referral and I'm very excited that treatment could help me with things I've always struggled with for all my 45 years.

Do I need to bring my expectations down, or is this genuinely going to change things for me?

Should hopefully be signed off to go private for the evaluation.

I am finding this a really interesting post, thank you to everyone sharing their experiences. I was wondering if I could hijack it slightly just to ask if anyone has any advice for me as the mum of a 10yr old just diagnosed with ADHD. He had an ASD diagnosis a year ago, and just got the ADHD one 3 weeks ago, just waiting for the report which will hopefully have lots of advice, and have also got an appt with my GP to discuss next steps. But I was wondering whether any of you had any advice of how I can support my son? Anything you wish people had done for you when you were growing up? He’s such a lovely, intelligent boy but I feel people only see the ADHD induced actions and can’t see beyond, so I am desperate to help him not be held back or overwhelmed by it.

This is interesting….
www.institute4learning.com/resources/articles/why-i-believe-that-attention-deficit-disorder-is-a-myth/

A 1996 article that ADHD is just kids with energy that need an outlet?

🙄 yes us adults with adhd are just kids who needed to jump around more. GFY.

I'm what way do you find it interesting? 🙄

On a thread about adults.🤦

Funny how ADHD is the one condition which is so often questioned as to whether it's 'real', despite having a vast amount of decent quality studies having been done. Which show more evidence of the efficacy of stimulant medication, than commonly used treatments for other brain related conditions which aren't accused of being fake every feckin day. <End small rant>

PS I got over the rage induced by the first paragraph and read that article.

What a lot of shite. It's indeed completely out of date as to how ADHD is (or should be) managed these days. It's absolutely about helping kids (and adults) have a chance of doing things they want to do. I've never heard anyone talk about thinking it's the medication that can do stuff. And the bit about the children being able to focus on things they enjoy our are rewarded for etc, shows the author has really not much understanding of the condition at all. Sigh.

One page of really interesting lived experiences and then someone comes along with something gaslighty and no help at all.

If you read anything about adhd and it starts any sentence with "You just need to..." then immediately stop reading it.

We all know what to do, it's the doing it that's the issue. We may not want to, or may not be able to, or maybe not be organised/calm enough/regulated/whatever to do it but it doesn't matter, as it's not getting done.

Anyway, calming down...

Yes, a dx helped me. I know about how to adjust things, also live in a way that doesn't make anything worse, mostly and also avoid known triggers as much as possible.

This just popped up on my feed and you might find it useful.

ADHD kid infographic

Thanks for sharing that@Wombat27A It looks very much like how his form teacher last year was with him. She would look at his behaviour and see how she could deal with it in a way that wasn’t telling him off. He would rock on his chair, so she got him a wobble cushion. She would also ask him what was wrong when he wouldn’t do as it was told. For example, in assembly she asked him to move because he had chosen to sit next to someone who “wasn’t a good choice” - and he started to kick off about being moved. So she asked him what the problem was and he said that he needed to sit at the end of the line or he felt panicky. So she asked the other child to move instead. Problem solved without telling him off, punishing him for not doing as he was asked, etc. He is not fundamentally disobedient, he just finds certain situations difficult and if an adult takes a few seconds to find out what the issue is, it can be resolved so much quicker and without punishing for something he doesn’t feel he has done wrong.
I’m so nervous for how he will fare in Sept as I don’t think his new teacher has the patience 😬

@coulditgetbetter2 I was diagnosed this year at the age of 43 with ADD, one of the two forms of ADHD. It has been a total revelation and has made sense of many things that have happened during my lifetime.

I had to go private for the evaluation and subsequent treatment but money well spent if you can afford it.

I'm so glad to have found this post as I think there are so many other people in the same situation going undiagnosed.

It has taken a while to find the right drug treatment but it is now effective and certainly helps me in the workplace and in fact more generally. I procrastinate a lot less and I am more focussed.

I think the thing to remember is that the drugs are not a panacea, but simply a way of helping you manage your ADD/ADHD.

Please do message me if you want to discuss it further. Good luck!

@coulditgetbetter2 thanks for your post. To answer your question, my diagnosis this year at the age of 43 has been huge. It has help to explain so many things that have happened to me in my life to date. I had to go private for the diagnosis due to NHS delays but it was worth it. The drug treatment I am now on has also been very effective.

I think you should be aware though that the drug is not a panacea, it is certainly helpful but you are still you at the end of the day. Below is a link to the form I had to fill in which involved speaking to my parents/wife/friends which I found very helpful in itself. How are you getting on?

www.advancedassessments.co.uk/resources/ADHD-Screening-Test-Adult.pdf

after believing and being medicated for depression and anxiety, I now believe it’s ADHD I have. Anyone else being wrongly diagnosed, AD are not agreeing with me and now I’ve stopped, waiting list for Adhd is another year, confused what to do

Anyone?

@Crispsmakemehappy I'm so sorry to hear that, but good that you've identified the mistake. I ended up going private with my assessment for ADD as the waiting list was over a year. It's quite a lot of money but for me it was worth it as like you I've been misdiagnosed for a long time.

Me! I'll come back later and reply (just off to bed after a night shift), if I remember obviously 😬

Did Pregabalin cause you stomach pain?