Saw a tele-psychiatrist for 10 mins and got prescribed Strattera.. Am I diagnosed?

[forks]

I recently did an appointment with a board certified psychiatrist via telehealth, he had me explain myself for about 2 minutes, asked me some questions about anxiety, depression, etc and then said that he thinks I have ADHD. He then proceeded to prescribe me Strattera, and tell me to make an appointment in 3 weeks to check back up. I was kind of expecting more, the whole appointment took like 10 minutes. Am I diagnosed with ADHD or am I just simply prescribed Strattera?

One of the reasons I'm asking is because I did a lot of research of Strattera because I'm cautious about meds and honestly I'm not sure I'm going to be taking it. It's not the kind of drug I wanted, I want the tried-and-true ADHD medication like Concerta or Adderall, not this delayed onset wannabe anti-depressant with crazy side-effects with potential for permanent changes to brain proteins. I'm planning to make an appointment with my primary care provider and tell him I recently got prescribed Strattera and it's not working for me. Do you think my family doctor will honor the "diagnosis" I received (if I did at all) considering I got prescribed Strattera? I'm hoping he won't try to refer me to a "real" psychiatrist in-person, even though the psychiatrist I saw via video conference certainly was a licensed psychiatrist.

[TAJB]

Personally, I would go and see someone face -to-face who has expertise in this area. Whoever you saw is a pill pusher and not someone who I would trust.

[Hidden]

Hi forks . My experience is that it depends on the doctor. I've had Primary Care doctors who had no problem with it, and Primary Care doctors who won't prescribe ADHD meds at all. That being said, a lot of the time doctor's won't prescribe stimulants without an official diagnosis, and the official diagnosis requires an in depth assessment. That would have to be in-person, and would take 2 or more hours generally. definitely not 10 minutes.

[Wildbrain]

I have had similar questions. I was prescribed Vyvance 30mg after only about 30 minutes conversation including filling out a one page form. It felt too casual, but I also don’t know what the standard is. Is the recommended process documented anywhere?

[AngelWingsOnEarth]

I had two diagnoses in under five minutes this year. These guys are startlingly good at what they do. However, they need to thoroughly explain why they chose the prescribed medication for you. So ask them why. Everyone is different and if you are struggling with other symptoms it is possible that is why they gave you a different medication. I would consider it an official diagnosis and whether you want to take the meds or not is another question. So what I did to make sure was go and get a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. It took over 8 hours with a battery of tests. The two diagnoses were confirmed.

[Mille_5]

I would go see some one face to face. I would at least see someone you can video chat with, given current situation, that will talk to you for a good amount of time. When I was diagnosed my primary suspected me of it and had me referred to a specialist. I was tested extensively in numerous areas and was retested a couple years later to confirm diagnosis. I don’t think you can be properly diagnosed over a 10 min appointment. I would talk to your primary and see if they can refer you to someone who could properly diagnose you.