Frustration with getting help

[Penelopehippo]

hi! I’m new to this community and excited to be here. I’m hopeful to get help to make progress in my personal growth and development

I’ve hit a wall and can’t overcome this obstacle. I first noticed at about age 16 I had a limit. Some unseen thing about me that kept me trying harder, taking longer, and worrying more than others to accomplish the same things.

I have tried nearly everything and had no idea it could be adhd. I want to try a medication with cognitive therapy to see if it would help. Every professional I talk to says it’s normal for women with families to have troubles with focus. My heart sinks when I find that pretty much every provider wants to dole out antidepressants. I do terribly with them and feel so much worse. My tolerance for trying a new but similar antidepressant is gone. I want to have support and trust in what I believe I am struggling with. .

[chlote]

First, welcome to the community! If you're looking for support and helpful resources, you've come to the right place.

I know that a lot of doctors (primary care) aren't very well versed in ADD/ADHD. It is especially tough when we're older and not in school because they want to chalk it up to anxiety or depression. And those are just a couple of possible effects under the ADD/ADHD umbrella.

I've been diagnosed with ADD since I was about 4 years old (I am not 29 years old), and the best medication I've taken to help with my symptoms is Vyvanse 10 mg. I'm not a doctor nor a medical professional but I have shared this information with my other friends who have ADD/ADHDA and the benefits I've felt from it.

The best professional to speak to is a psychiatrist who can provide further resources to medication and other management skills. Unfortunately, there are no doctors who specialize in ADD/ADHD exclusively. Finding the right therapist and possibly investing in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) is also something I've heard yields great results!

I hope this helps, and good luck!

[Anabelle22]

I think you - like myself have self identified with adhd. I live in UK and am on the wait list for diagnosis. Could be 18mths before I am assessed and I can’t afford to have a private diagnosis and treatment

I have found that sertraline 50-100mg helps reduce the mood swings / high stress responses to be able to cope with work life balance

You absolutely have the right to be assessed

Do you have a family history or can you show your provider / doc of the impact your symptoms have on daily life function? Burnout / over scheduling / start tasks and get distracted and don’t complete them ?

Do you select to over schedule to stimulate your dopamine levels - run over stressed levels of commitment to others ? Causing exhaustion?

Do you have difficulty reading or writing ie find it challenging to focus ? Are you a daydreamer (or were you at school) Is you brain on overthinking mode especially at night when you need to switch off and sleep?

Do you overthink and spend time thinking about last events and how you could have done it differently or future events and various scenarios that could be.. ?

this UK screening tool could help you

Best to you

Screenshot of Online screening tool from UK website for self identifying adhd