I’m a 33 year old female and approached a mental health service in my area last year as I was worried I have ADHD.
I have spent my life thinking I’m just lazy and don’t listen but things have increasingly got harder and harder to manage this last year and when I saw a post about ADHD I was shocked at the number of symptoms I showed. so I had my appointment in January to discuss this and I was told after discussing just some of my symptoms that there was definitely enough to be referred for ADHD assessment. My referral was accepted by the adult ADHD team but waiting list is at least 2 years, I’m so impatient and fortunately have some money put aside so I have decided to go private and my appointment is next week.
im so nervous about it. Thoughts going through my head like what if they say there’s nothing wrong with me.
has anyone had an assessment recently and what kind of things do they ask or go through?
I have a list of my symptoms and how they affect me now and if they affected me as a child but I don’t have any old schools reports or anything like that. I’ve also not told my parents I’m getting assessed so can’t ask them for anything. .
Any help or advice on things I can do to help me prepare for this is greatly appreciated.
thank you.
Update: I had my assessment and have been diagnosed with the combined type. I’m starting on meds next week so interested to see what affect they have.
thank you for putting my mind at ease about having the assessment. Like a weight has been lifted.
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Monty89
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Since there's a two year wait to be seen on the referral, you might ask for a referral elsewhere, even if it's to a professional who's out-of-network.
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You said, "I have a list of my symptoms and how they affect me now and if they affected me as a child..." This is a good strategy. This is what I did, when I was beginning my assessment.
The matter of who can assess and diagnose you depends on where you live. Just in the US, it depends on what state you live in.
If possible, get input about mental health professionals in your area. (Some will have a reputation for being more resistant to ADHD diagnosis. Others may be more amenable to it.)
Regardless of whether you live, I believe a psychiatrist can always conduct the assessment.
Many states permit other doctors to make an ADHD diagnosis (e.g. general practice, primary care, others). As a medical specialty, a neurologist might be a great option, but specialists are more expensive and might also have a long waiting list (though sometimes they are surprisingly more available... depending on their practice).
Some states in the US allow other mental health professionals to make an ADHD diagnosis. A nurse practitioner might be able to (though they may need a mental health certification, in some states). Same might go for licensed counselors.
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At the time of my diagnosis, I was living in a state which allows any properly licensed mental health professionals to diagnose ADHD. As such, I was diagnosed by a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) who I had been referred to by an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) through my work. But the very next week, I had a second opinion by my primary care doctor, who confirmed my ADHD diagnosis.
(The EAP covered the cost of my counseling appointments. If you or a spouse have an EAP from an employer, it might help with referral and cost.)
thank you. I’m in the UK so we do have the NHS but I think all wait lists are long so I booked privately with an NHS approved psychiatrist.
I’d not thought of the EAP. I have that through my employer so I will keep that in mind depending on the diagnosis.
I know I’ll just freeze and forget everything on the day so I will keep my notes handy. I may even send them over before my appointment so they can look through.
I am certainly doing much better. It took several months of working with my doctor to find the right medication for me, but it helps manage my Inattentive issues very well.
I have also gone through counseling (I have had regular struggles with anxiety, and occasional depression).
I've also gone through an ADHD coaching program. It mostly reinforced strategies that I already knew, but it was a great way to get to know other people who have ADHD, encourage one another like a support group, and hear about their struggles, strategies and successes...much like this forum (but less anonymous, because we know each other's names and faces).
hi Monty89, I too have my first appt for my assessment (w a psychiatric nurse practitioner) next week. I too have fear theyll say nothing is wrong! I too have my long list of incidences of struggle in diff areas over lifetime knowing Ill bumble in person!
We can encourage each other! I am worried they will invalidate my life struggle! Even if a report card shows good grades, its the struggle behind it that should matter. I also dont know how we will cover all of my list and her interview in one hour - my brain can't see it, and so it instead is putting in a lot of fear and anxiety over the unknown (i just recently realized thats what it has always done in unknown situations 🧠)
I think i tried this a year ago on zoom and the therapist/whomever gave me 40 min and we covered almost nothing except application details and id paid $250 so i was seething and frustrated. Dont want a repeat bad experience.
I also tried in a different state from a GP and they gave me the 12 questions and then said "no its ok we can see if its really depression or anxiety too" and tried to put me on anti-depressants. I ran outta there!
Being invalidated is a fear. And being told its something that manifests after the original struggle is a fear.
I’m so sorry you’ve already had a bad experience and I really hope this time it’s better.
It’s good to know it’s not just me fretting about it, I also worry how I will get all my points across in an hour so I think I’m going to upload them to the portal before my appointment so they can look at them beforehand and ask me about them .
Please do let me know how you get on, best of luck with it.
and ugh! Just checked today, they would like me to just bring my list in to the appt, which they have set aside as 45 min!! Where is my full hour Im paying for!? They better not shorten it with paperwork. I will have to camp out to make sure I am not late.
ADHD commonly has comorbidities (other disorders). I believe the stats are that about 80% of people with ADHD have at least one comorbidity. At least 50% of people with ADHD have two or more comorbidities.
Anxiety and/or depression are common comorbidities with ADHD. (Some other comorbidities can include autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, OCD, sensory processing issues...too many to list.)
Doctors used to look for any alternative cause of ADHD symptoms, but the research over the last few decades has shown how common it is to have both ADHD and another presenting condition.
It's worth noting that untreated ADHD can make someone even more prone to anxiety or depression.
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I was diagnosed with anxiety and ADHD, concurrently, by two unaffiliated professionals over two consecutive weeks.
I'm fortunate that I got diagnosed on the first try. I'm not fortunate that I didn't even seek a diagnosis until I was 45, after decades of struggles that I was unable to overcome on my own.
yesssss as long as they call my depression comorbid I will accept that! Haha, Im sure Im being the know it all about myself, which is its own condition. 😝 But def since some vandalism occurred in our apt complex and to my car, I have become more paranoid and more everything.... more stalled out. I am feeling my spectrum symptoms flare up like crazy and self esteem is dropping every night. Thank you for the reassurances, Stem Dad
It's normal and natural to have feelings of defensiveness when there's been an act of violence or vandalism in your community. If you don't have a disorder that makes you paranoid, then in this context the paranoia would be within the scope of expected responses to such an act.
The vandalism to your car makes it personal.
As a species, humans are hardwired to want safety.
Emotions are an indicator of your internal state. They aren't wrong or bad, but might point to what you need get help with.
Has your apartment complex management taken any action to improve safety for the residents?
not a one. The property manager only sat with the police to review the tape because I cced the police officer in a letter to her. They installed those front cameras after 3 earlier vandalisms, didnt put any in the back where my car was, not even after this incident, the security patrol was apparently on that night, and the police found nothing unusual on the tape.
Part of getting an official diagnosis is so I can use the term Fair Housing Act and get some action taken on her part. Or the next place, since I am moving away from here.
I would always write something out for a doctor as 1. It gives me multiple days for other things to occur to me to add; and 2. They can READ much, much faster than I can speak it! Bullet points, grouped in some way possibly, is also helpful.
They will also have a number of questions they have to cover. I was 35 or 36 at diagnosis. It opens a door for effective treatment, & MANY practitioners know its nerve-wracking on our side. Tell them you're nervous. Good luck!
I assumed you were in the UK due to the years long waitlist. I heard an interview on an ADHD podcast with a women in a similar situation. She bypassed the years long waitlist by booking her appointment with an ADHD specialist that focused primarily on children but also capable of diagnosing and treating adults.
She said due to the practice getting last minute cancellations from children (due to school schedule or sports/activities conflicts or colds and flus etc) she was able to get in within a few weeks by being on the cancellation waitlist.
Hi Monty89. I am a 43 year old woman in the UK. I had my first appointment with a mental health nurse. She is part of the team at my doctor's surgery so I made the appointment through them. I waited 2 weeks for that appointment. She did the adhd tick list, the same as the ones you can do online. I then got referred by her to see "The mental Health team" approx 4 weeks later. That appointment was basically an in depth chat about my life from childhood to now. I do have some copies of my school reports which I took notes from. I also took notes based on what my mother and partner say about me. In all honesty though, I just answered the questions, how I feel now and how I have struggled within my life for as long as I can remember, not much of the rest really mattered. The struggle is real at the end of the day. I now have a 6 month wait to be prescribed medication. So not sure who has to prescribe that!? I thought it was a psychiatrist I saw.
I did ask about paying privately. I am in a position I could pay but was told by, I'm assuming he was a psychiatrist, that they cannot accept that at the moment, that it has recently been stopped. If I were to go private I would have to have the complete care private. I would have to pay also for my medication which can cost from £20 to £200 per month.
He said the wait is so long because ADHD diagnoses have increased 10 fold. Half the people he see's in a day are coming in for an ADHD diagnoses.
I did ask about what help I would receive, maybe therapy etc but he just said it'll be stimulants. I was a bit disappointed by that but I am at the point I will try anything, I know I can't cope alone and I need help
thank you Zi20. I’m pleased you have finally got your diagnosis, it’s such a shame things take so long to get sorted.
Thank you for the insight into your assessment too, it’s defo put my mind at ease a bit more.
I think you can’t get diagnosed privately and then take it to your GP for meds. You kind of do the whole thing private get settled on meds and then hopefully the GP will agree a shared care agreement where they take over prescribing the meds and the private clinic does the yearly reviews or sometimes GP takes over completely. I have read the meds can be extremely expensive though.
I just want to reassure you by reminding you that either way, you will be better informed. Should you be officially diagnosed, it will definitely be a release to finally have an answer and be able to plan forward to work with it. If it's inconclusive, you will still be on a path to discovery in a clinical setting that will improve your life. Sitting around wondering and worrying is the hard part! I am in the US, so our processes are different because we have insurance instead of NHS, so I was diagnosed at 54 because I sought mental health counseling. It was such a relief to have an answer!!! Look forward to your assessment as a step to better health instead of worrying about having a disorder. It's just an unfortunate name for a neurodiversity that also has many pluses. If you haven't yet, treat yourself to reading "You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?" and see if you identify with the women who wrote it. Best of luck!
The thing with a proper diagnosis of ADHD, is that they have to rule out other disorders that could be causing the symptoms. Symptoms of one disorder are often the symptoms of another. For my diagnosis at age 32, I did the normal life's history and symptoms with my psychiatrist. Blood test because deficiencies, diseases, etc can cause ADHD like symptoms too. Hearing test, went to a neurologist. Tried low dose trazadone (sleep aid) to determine if symptoms were from lack of sleep. Went to a psychologist 3 times to get more diagnostic testing, which again is a big part of ruling out other medical or psychological issues. Also tried ADHD medication to see if I responded to it. After all that, I got the diagnosis. In my opinion, of someone diagnoses you in one sitting, they are incompetent.
Differential Diagnosis - the process of differentiating between two or more conditions which share similar signs or symptoms.
hi HCStymie. Thank you for your reply. I totally understand your points and I see you are in America. As you can imagine different countries have differing ways of diagnosing things.
Please also don’t just assume that I haven’t previously had things ruled out. I don’t put my full medical history on here.
The way you got diagnosed isn’t right or wrong. Just like my diagnosis isn’t right or wrong. Please don’t make people feel like they aren’t worthy of their diagnosis, life is hard enough, especially after living with undiagnosed adhd for so long.
I hope you are doing really well now you have been diagnosed and best of luck.
My apologies. I did not intend for you to feel unworthy or imply that you are not worthy of the diagnosis. My assumption was that you likely have ADHD. My concern is about people not getting a proper diagnosis in general. Diagnostics can very by therapist and for an individual. And culture is a factor in reporting. But the approach between countries is fairly close. The DSM-5, ICD-10/11, are quite similar and both are used internationally as a guide for diagnosis.
i.e. my concern was that you may not be getting the full attention that you deserve or that others will also be cheated by shortcuts. I think the figure is something like 60% of people who are ADHD are comorbid with at least 1 other disorder. Things can get missed. Or the symptoms may be caused by something else that has a similar profile.
You can look for yourself and decide if you feel you were given the full attention or not since you explained you had other steps you omitted to limit disclosure of medical information. This link is for children, I did not have access to the one for adults but they would be fairly similar.
I don't know what meds are used where you are at, but they can also have their issues. I'm on Adderall. I can concentrate more when working. But, it has complexly messed up ever other single aspect of my life. Doctors also don't always know best about dosing, different medications, cross tolerance etc. If I knew then what I know now, I may have been able to avoid what my life turned into on meds.
apologies if I over reacted to your comment before, I guess I was over sensitive and defensive given some of the comments I have received from people.
I appreciate you meant no harm. I do also have mild to moderate anxiety and mild depression but it is believed these stem from the undiagnosed adhd.
I will have a look at that’s link. Thank you.
I have been given elvanse. It was a. Hoover between that and the concerta but it seems the elvanse seems a little longer lasting which as I work 12 hour shifts I figured that could be beneficial. I have only started them today though so could be too soon to see all the effects.
I’m sorry adderall hasn’t been great for you, are you able to try any others at all?
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