How do you guys keep up with psychiatrist appointments

[prasanthk]

Hi

I have severe ADD and was Pxed Atomoxetine. However its been more then 8 months since I have visited the doctor. I have always postponed with for the next weekend and just like that 8 months has passed and me without those medicines feel very much disabled to function everyday.

[STEM_Dad]

I only have moderate ADHD, and I am currently on atomoxetine.

I can remember appointments much better on medication than I could before I started taking ADHD meds. Still, I often have to set 2 or 3 reminders on my phone and/or work calendar when I have an appointment.

• I might set one for the day before, to get me. (I don't always do this.)

• I set one to go off in the morning, when I'm getting ready for work, so I know to expect that I will be going to the appointment that day.

• I also set one when it's time for me to leave, to arrive at the appointment at least 10 minutes early. (I still usually walk in only 2-3 minutes before it is due to start. I often don't account for potential traffic delays or how far I'll have to walk from my car to the office I'm going to.)

Memory improvement was one of the most helpful outcomes from starting on ADHD medication.

~~~~~

Before I got on ADHD medication, I had a much harder time remembering appointments. I had to use even more reminders. For a doctor's appointment, I might have done the following:

• Write it on my wall calendar

• Put it on my work email calendar

• Put it on my personal email calendar

• Set a reminder to go off at the beginning of the week of the appointment

• I would often tell my wife* at the beginning of the week of the appointment when it was (if I remembered, so that she could remind me, too)

• Put a post-it note reminder on the monitor for my work computer at the beginning of that week (if I remembered to do so)

• Set a reminder to go off the day before the appointment

• Set a reminder to go off the morning of the day of the appointment

• Tell a coworker when I had the appointment scheduled for (so that they could help me remember)

• Set an appointment to go off 30-60 minutes before I had to leave for the appointment

• Set an appointment for when it was time to leave for the appointment

*[I'm divorced now, but I was still married when I was diagnosed with ADHD and first started on medication for it.]

~~~~~

A note about atomoxetine:

It is a medication that you have to take consistently every day, in order for it to keep working. Missing a dose for one day or perhaps even two days in a row doesn't cause any problems, but if I miss more days than that, the benefits of the medication start to decrease.

I got into the habit of taking it by pairing it with breakfast. I always eat breakfast, so I make sure to take it when I am starting to eat my meal.

• Starting a new habit by using an existing habit as cue is known as "habit stacking".

[Jozlynn]

Hi prasanthk!

Does your psychiatrist offer video visits? I've never actually seen my psychiatrist in person, which is still a bit mind-blowing for me. We started together during the pandemic and he's just kept everything as a video visit since then. I absolutely love it and have only missed 1 appointment.

For whatever reason, I find I miss the video visits a LOT less often because they don't require as much of me. Going into the office for an appointment is like an all-day deal. I'm anxious before the appointment (that I'll be late or forget it), so I can't really seriously work on anything else until the appointment is over, then once I've finished with the appointment I'm not good for much - no idea why. Probably the 'let down' from the anxiety. Video visits are the bomb.

STEM_Dad gave some excellent tips about adding it to your calendar and setting up all of the reminders. It may feel like a pain in the backside to do that, but once you've started it quite quickly becomes a habit and one you come to rely on.

I own an ADHD virtual assistant agency and helping people remember their stuff is a huge part of what we do. Using your calendar can be life-saving. I put EVERYTHING on the calendar - including things I want to work on that day, not just meetings - and immediately set at least the minimum reminders of 1 day before, 1 hour before, and 10 minutes before whatever it is I have going on. I also usually set one for on the hour, because I can think, "Oh, I have 10 minutes - I can work on (fill in the blank)" and next thing I know an hour has gone by.

I know it can be really difficult to get back in touch with your psychiatrist and set up another appointment, but it sounds like you want to be back on your meds and that's the only way to do it. Once you're back on your meds, the forgetfulness happens even less.

Maybe have someone hold you accountable for setting up that appointment? As ADHDers, we tend to do well with external accountability. I've even had my daughter (adult) come tell me she'll stand right there with me while I make the call (I hate making phone calls for myself) and it does help. I've gotten past the point of feeling silly for needing external accountability and have simply accepted that because of the way my brain works, I'm simply using what works.

I hope you're able to get in there and get back on your meds!

Wishing you all the best!

[FifthWheel]

Not just psych appointments; but all appointments. I have a "5 Days a Week" calendar/mouse pad in addition to a Google calendar.

[Gettingittogether]

You can't postpone. You just can't. There is a massive shortage of psychiatrists and so getting appointments can be hard. I go to a psychiatric nurse practitioner and now she's really busy and near full.

Some things are just necessary. Yes, ADHD makes it hard for us to hit all our appointments and hit them on time. But the world will not rescue us. We have to figure out how to get to appointments.

Perhaps it's time for you to use a planner, paper or digital--perhaps paper and digital. You can use reminders on your phone. Not just reminders of the appointment, but reminders also that the appointment is coming up in the next week ... and next day.

On some appointment days (for new appointments) I have Alexa and my phone remind me multiple times during a day. I also have a Word document planner. And I put appointments in that file as soon as the appointment is scheduled. I look at that planner multiple times a day--because I know I can't trust my memory.

What helped me was a monthly paper planner. That was my breakthrough. Because I would see the upcoming appointment (three weeks away) when I looked any appointment for the month. Seeing the upcoming appointments allowed me to sorta make space and get emotionally ready for the appointment.

You can try out different planners. I have used monthly, weekly and daily. My Word file planner is basically a weekly planner. Just start. Pick something. Google calendar, anything. Just start and go from there. Keep revising it as you learn how to best alert yourself.