ADHD vs Anxiety

[lanicoop]

Hi, my 7 yo has previously been diagnosed with ADHD Combined, he’s been having quite severe problems both at home and at school. I took him to a new paediatrician who has now said it’s anxiety presenting with ADHD symptoms. I am not convinced. Anxiety does run in my family but I am of the opinion ADHD might too, but I think the anxiety history is why she has said this. He definitely has anxiety, but I believe it is symptomatic of the ADHD. Unsure what to do. This happened to anyone else??

[Gouda1234]

This is my son as well, it was the anxiety that had us seek a therapist for him when he was 10. She referred us to a developmental pediatrician who was familiar with both anxiety and adhd (anxiety runs in both sides of our family, adhd runs in my husband’s family. For my son, the adhd fed his anxiety. He couldn’t focus in class, so he always felt “out of the loop” which made him anxious...it was a vicious cycle. Once we started treating the adhd, the anxiety was resolved. Will we have to deal with it in the future, probably, but this did give us the opportunity to work in the cognitive side of things. He is currently on the lowest dosage of extended release Concerta.

[lanicoop in reply to Gouda1234]

Thankyou for this, that kind of confirms what I’m thinking - we need the ADHD treated before the anxiety

[Lolmama]

Yes our 6 year old has been diagnosed with both. I personally can't figure out which is worse some days as they both present in quite intense ways at times. My psychiatrist said that the ADHD medication also can help with anxiety but we are starting it tomorrow so can't say for sure.

[lanicoop in reply to Lolmama]

Yes I’m sure it’s both, I’ve spoken to his teachers and they have confirmed they 100% believe it’s both so I’ve booked a phone call with the paediatrician to chat about it 🤞🏻 good luck with your journey, I hope you and your beauty find some relief 🥰

[lbayley]

My daughter's doctor said always treat ADHD first because the medicine for it shows quickly whether it helps or not, but anxiety meds take weeks sometimes to see if they work. Pick the quickest first. He also confirmed that anxiety usually resolves with ADHD treatment. That has been our experience.

[lanicoop in reply to lbayley]

Thankyou, this is what I was thinking but it’s nice to have it confirmed 😊