Need a psychiatrist that truly understands ADHD

[Momsteady]

In desperate need of a psychiatrist that specializes in adhd, In the city of San Diego CA or nearby. I’ve seen so many psychiatrist that say they understand adhd but really don’t they just know the basics and since I haven’t responded well to the basic meds they know to go to they just give up or try treating me for something else and it never works. I’m tired of suffering plus both of my children are neuro diverse so it makes everything so much harder. I have Medi-cal so it also makes things more difficult. If anyone has resources or any ideas that may help, PLEASE HELP ME.

[MrQuest]

I wish I had helpful answers. I'm struggling with the same thing. Just tried getting my first ADHD diagnosis as a 50+ adult, and was asked about my behaviors when I was 12 years old.

When I tried to explain I quickly learned how to mask and hyper focus at a young age, that was considered not relevant. I guess if you don't learn how to jump up and down on the desks at school by the time you are 12, you can't possibly have an executive function disorder.

I hope in a weird way this helps. One thing I'm learning is there are so many people out there struggling with the same issues. People are fighting back about the current standards and about having limited access to solutions. Keep asking questions and demanding answers!

[quicksite in reply to MrQuest]

This is another far too common obstacle the uninformed mental health systems put people through. Same happened to me and it's infuriating the Catch 22 -- "Do you have all this written documentation from a parent, a brother or sister, a teacher from back when you were a kid that will substantiate your claims?" -- You tell them "no because it was never screened for in my childhood, so I never knew, my parents never knew, and no teachers caught it in my behaviors back at that time". And of course they then tell you "if you have no written substantiation from early childhood, then..." [you don't have it] [I can't help you] [this is a requirement] and so on.

There is so much to change in the "ADHD malpractice" inherent in the US medical system. Blind leading the blind.

But here is a suggestion. Invest in yourself and go have the assessment and diagnosis determined by an outside agency that knows what they are doing. You will have to google around to see what kind of ADHD clinics or resources are available in your community. But there are places that are supportive, more well-informed, and not invested in all those exclusionary practices which are pure ignorance. Can't guarantee there are organizations near you, but once you have a written diagnosis, your medical practice cannot deny you the treatment you deserve.

[DesertAl]

May I suggest,

chadd.org/professional-dire...

Good place to start.

Best wishes,

Allan

[Gettingittogether]

See if you can find a psychiatric nurse practitioner. They can prescribe meds.

I go to a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Found her after not being able to find a psychiatrist in my area who took insurance. All the ones who took insurance were full, no longer accepting patients. I was seriously financially stressed at the time. Could not afford one dime beyond my $25 copayment.

It's possible (I'm not sure) that the general public doesn't generally know that psychiatric nurse practitioners can treat depression and ADHD and all the same conditions psychiatrists treat--and thus these practitioners might have more openings.

[quicksite in reply to Gettingittogether]

Very helpful to know - makes sense, but something i didn't know til now

[quicksite]

Momsteady — I feel for you! Unfortunately an all too common request. It's a stunning rate of just how many psychiatrists all across the USA -- even psychiatrists who call themselves "ADHD Experts" -- are hopelessly so misinformed and under-informed that they do damage to clients. From routinely having zero knowledge or even awareness at all of the ground-breaking neuroscience research in the past decade. And yes others who won't take Medi-Cal for payments.

Somebody below already mentioned the CHADD directory, but there are other avenues, particularly ADHD user groups in your area. Fellow ADHDers are the people most likely to have stumbled upon or magically given a referral to someone with knowledgable expertise.

I just googled for "ADHD user groups San Diego, CA" and I'm just going to paste the long link here because you will find several -- that you will need to read up on to see if one or more of these groups are something you can join -- from CHADD to ADD.org (I find superior to CHADD) to MEETUP Groups to local ADHD patient groups.

LINK: google.com/search?q=ADHD+us...

Good luck to you, but yes it is far harder than it needs to be!

Screenshot of Google Search results

[Momsteady in reply to quicksite]

You are so very kind, I thank you so much for this 🙏🏼

[quicksite in reply to Momsteady]

Happy to help. The reality is we help each other! And one day maybe our medical and mental health services will catch up!

[BlessedLady]

Unfortunately, Medicaid/Medi-Cal usually does not provide quality care. You are going to have to pay out of pocket if your want quality care.

Look for doctors in your area that specialize in Adult ADHD. Have you been seeing psychiatrists or primary care physicians for your ADHD ?

[Momsteady in reply to BlessedLady]

Yes I have but even with tri care medical insurance I wasn’t able to find an actual specialist, you are right the ones that work for actual adhd clinics want to be paid out of pocket and that is another reason why I haven’t been able to get properly treated.

[Charumbe]

Try talking to your GP, that is where I actually got diagnosed and put on meds. And he actually did it based on knowing me and talking to me instead of requiring childhood documentation (which I actually do have but didn't know about until more recently).

[Gettingittogether]

Yes I echo the GP conversation. A good friend of mine gets his Ritalin prescription from his GP.

Keep in mind that doctors don't need a three-hour diagnosis. What you are really interested in someone who will begin to treat you. Your GP might do that especially if you just straight up say that you are having trouble finding a psychiatrist.

[StoneJeweler]

I can definitely recommend Dr Daniel Amen, who has several clinics in CA. Go to his website and see if he is right for you. He has more knowledge than any other psychiatrist I know of. I am a retired RN and I have been following him for over 30 years. I recently switched from AdderalXR to Vyvanse which I like. It is more expensive, but the company (Takeda) will pay for your medications if you qualify,

[Momsteady]

thank you so very much!!!