Getting an ADD/ADHD diagnosis as an adult?

Discussion in 'Braaaaiiiinnnns...' started by michinyo, Jun 11, 2020.

  1. michinyo

    michinyo On that Dumb Bitch Juice diet

    So I've suspected for years that I might have ADD or ADHD. I've had a lot of the signs/symptoms. Ironically, my brother and sister both have ADHD.

    My GP said it would be good to try to get an evaluation done with a therapist. One I found that specializes, however, told me that it's tricky to diagnose an adult with ADHD as usually people are diagnosed as a child and they can talk to teachers and whatnot about said child's behaviours.

    Has anyone here been diagnosed as an adult, and if so was it hard for you to get diagnosed. I really feel that if I can get an answer if I am or not, I can take some step towards fixing issues I've been having for years.
     
  2. bushwah

    bushwah a known rule consequentialist

    I have not been diagnosed because I have ADHD and cannot keep appointments
     
    • Witnessed x 4
  3. Maya

    Maya smug_anime_girl.jpg

    I'm diagnosed despite "failing" the (6 hour) evaluation test for it at 17, got diagnosed a few months ago by my psychiatrist. Basically I just had to give her a laundry list of my symptoms and bring up some of the ones I learned recently that I had in childhood (unable to focus in class, emotional dysregulation, never did a piece of homework in my whole ass life, hyperfixations, etc.) and then say I took The Cool Guy Syndrome Drug (adderall) in high school (like every Cool Kid high schooler did, clearly) and that it had helped. (I flubbed that one a bit. I actually took it a few weeks before I got put on my own meds, but hey.)

    If you do plan on taking the evaluation, get your list of childhood symptoms in order first. The only reason I didn't meet the criteria at 17 is because at the time I didn't realize that some of my childhood behaviors were ADHD, as I wasn't considering I had ADHD myself at the time.
     
  4. seebs

    seebs Benevolent Dictator

    It wasn't hard at all, I think I just tried to explain to a therapist why I thought I had ADHD and she said yes, obviously.

    There's definitely a lot of pediatricians doing ADHD stuff, and many fewer doing it with adults, but any reasonably-competent therapist can in theory do it -- but be aware that some will be dismissive of basically any symptom reported by an adult as "oh everyone has that".
     
  5. Chiomi

    Chiomi Master of Disaster

    I was screened as a kid and they said "oh you definitely don't have it," but then I went to a psychiatric nurse in the fall, just to have someone supervising my antidepressants, and our first meeting she went ". . . have you considered ADHD?" and whipped out the diagnostic test.
     
  6. bushwah

    bushwah a known rule consequentialist

    reminds me of the incident with my friend where I was like "of course (character) has adhd in your fics, you're projecting on him" and my friend was like "...I don't have adhd tho" and I had to be like "um. fuck. sorry. I thought you knew."
     
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