Hello,my name is Simone and i have adhd

[simonefromitaly]

Hi everyone. my name is simone and i was diagnosed adhd 3 months ago. I am currently on strattera 80mg and I have to say I have changed a lot. The only problem is that after 32 years I see reality and I have a lot of anger because I realize how much time I wasted before (but not my fault, no one would ever have imagined that I had a disorder even if I actually behaved anomalously). However the fact is that I am out of work with nothing I can only count on my parents who are now elderly. I often think about what I will ever do in life. I would like to move abroad but how does it work for medicines? I have them in Italy for free and abroad? then I would like information about how to act because I have difficulty in acting and making important decisions. thank you all🥰

[Wasted71years]

Hi Simonefromitaly

It is extremely common to experience anger or grief when you receive a diagnosis later in life. I wondered what my life could have been life if I had received a diagnosis 65 years earlier or anytime before age 71.

I know that very little was known about ADHD, that the name wasn't even given when I was first in school. There were several situations where people recognized something was wrong, when there was the chance to have spotted this problem long ago.

I do believe that if I had known about ADHD, inattentive presentation, and its effects on adults, I might have been able to get a diagnosis ten or twenty years ago, but that was not common information back then.

Having a diagnosis and understanding how ADHD affects you is the most important step in improving things. Next in importance for me is medication, which doesn't magically erase all the effects but for me it is a very major improvement. Finally, I have to develop skills and methods to overcome the remaining impacts of ADHD - I had discovered some methods by accident in past years, have learned others after diagnosis and will continue to figure these out in future years.

[STEM_Dad]

Welcome to the forum simonefromitaly !

As Wasted71years already mentioned, it's common to experience grief in response to an ADHD diagnosis.

(Grief is often described to have various parts, or "stages". In the most well known model, these stages are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. I went through these quickly, after my diagnosis, and soon arrived at "acceptance".)

I also take (generic) Strattera, 40mg. Since I live in the USA, I have to pay part of the cost, and my health insurance company pays part of the cost. The name brand Strattera is expensive here, which is why I take a generic of atomoxetine. So, if you were to move to the USA, you could expect to have to pay something for your medication. (I think I got a 90 day supply for under $40, only because my current health insurance covers part of the cost.)

I don't know what countries in the world have prescription medications fully paid by their health service.

There are ways to learn and develop executive functioning skills. I'm working on it. Almost 3 years after diagnosis, I'm making some progress. I still have regular struggles, but I've got a lot more confidence that I now CAN do things that seemed impossible before. Still, I get behind on paying my bills almost every month.

I'm improving, little by little. But I feel that the best improvement that I've made since getting my ADHD diagnosis is being accepting of myself and my condition.

[Musiclover56]

Welcome ! I can certainly relate. I was diagnosed at 66. I try to be positive about my ADHD rather than obsessing over how I never received help when younger. I had to request to be tested because I knew deep down I had something wrong all my life. I am on 80mg of strattera and am ready to request an increase. I am currently on medicare and the meds are expensive. I was using Good Rx but a friend let me know about CostPlusDrugs.com which is a company started by Mark Cuban the Shark Tank man. I now get 90 days of 80mg for 11.75!!!!! I am thrilled and I have gotten it in a weeks time. They have many drugs available as well.