im up for an appointment next week and i really need to convince the guy that i need treatment but i cant put my thoughts together (ironic). i got an online exam in 3 hours and i cant focus on it, i think that might be related.
Look up the DSM criteria for ADHD and try to match that (without being super obvious about it).
A big thing is that the DSM says that you only have ADHD if you've had symptoms since you were a child. You're going to have to say that you always got bad grades in school.
if you're older than 25, they'll just give you a prescription. it took me like 15 minutes of explaining why I was sure and I received virtually no pushback.
oh thank god. hopefully 22 is good enough, i just need to keep track of all the reasons
that's probably close enough to college age that you'll get a ton of bullshit (because obviously you want it to "cheat" on your exams). 22-25 is when the world fucks with you but no one wants to hear how much it's fucking you up because you're young.
They might also think that she wants to sell Adderall to other students.
Not all inattention problems are due to ADHD. Instead of trying to match symptoms to a presumed diagnosis, tell your doctor what you are experiencing honestly and let them help you find the best treatment.
Bring up ADHD communities online (/r/ADHD is a good one) and tell them that a lot of it feels very familiar, ask whether they think you should be tested.
Are they testing u? Cause I couldn't get my meds without a month long test for my cognitive abilities.
idk i havent talked to him in months and im just bringing up attention issues. until then i was just being treated for anxiety but its so obvious now
Be prepared for pushback from your doc and possibly being sent for testing that takes awhile and then waiting for those test results that could take even longer.
Idk what your experience has been, but make sure you emphasize this is a long term disorder you've struggled with. Make sure you understand what your issues were with some examples. Here's way too many of mine that might help you remember yours, or just copy some of them; I'm not your boss, do whatever.
In my case, no one diagnoses an honours student with ADHD because apparently they're fine, but I was only fine because everything before uni was easy to me. I brought up much I might procrastinate on certain things, how I can get distracted on many assignments or tasks and be forced to finish them in a manic state at 3am, how many hobbies or projects I pick up and dive into and never manage to stay motivated or finish them, how I just forget to eat or clean or do important tasks because I'm too distracted by something that isn't time sensitive but I feel I need to finish before I move to anytjing else.
What specifically got my doc to say ADD rather than "just bad at paying attention"/"doesn't quite fit ADHD" was that i had bad habits in school like reading novels under my desk, playing games, or doing homework for different classes during school, but since I had been specifically taught not to cause distractions to other students i never really acted out because my parents said that was rude. As an introverted kid I didn't want to be centre of attention and be singled out like the kids who wouldn't sit still in class, so I found ways to distract myself but I wasn't learning important things while i did things like counting tiles on the ceiling or resorting all my school supplies, or reading irrelevant parts of the textbook that I found neat. This translated into very poor study habits where I either knew the material because I had already learned it because it was an interest of mine, or I found it easy to just bullshit my way into the right answer, or I didnt understand it at all and had to churn out nonsense on tests, or teach myself the whole subject the night before. It didn't affect my grades until the material actually became somewhat difficult or dense or there were several things I needed to teach myself at once; math and science were my worst subjects because of my bad habits so I just never took those in high school so my grades stayed high, university made me take subjects I didn't already know so I did poorly.
They might want to avoid giving you any of the more aabusable/resellable drugs like ritalin or adderal so I wouldn't request them by name because thats a bit of a red flag. My doc put me he on vyvanse (lysdexamphetamine) because he said there were less issues with it (there's still issues with the med, just not as abusable/addictive). If you're already being treated for anxiety or depression it could be harder to find a working medication because some docs prefer to treat different disorders first (mine focused on ADD but yours might want to sort out the anxiety first) and this might mean they do several trials of different meds before they give you something that fits.
Best of luck comrade!
holy shit this is me. i've been suspecting i have ADD for years now after long ago not believing it was "real". I self medicate with research chemical stims and they work amazingly but are obviously risky as shit being experimental.
i think im in the same boat, i breezed through classes but could never get homework done (getting things signed by parents was the hardest because it couldn't get done during class) and then college kicked my ass. I was bouncing off the walls in elementary school but i was able to replace that with social anxiety to keep myself under the radar
edit: it took me like 10 minutes to write this comment because i kept getting distracted, i think i might have an issue lol
Oof this post is exactly my childhood. I've bought Adderall and it's various forms for work and school before, after trying it late in college and finding it so incredibly helpful. I've always thought my tendencies couldn't be serious enough to be diagnosed ADD/ADHD, and it was just the addictive nature of it that made me feel like it helped me and that I might benefit from it more than the downsides of taking it. Maybe it's something to look into.
I got a late diagnosis too but it was more of my psych's idea. I am also autistic so I figured all of the executive functioning issues were due to that. I explained to her how bad it was, how I could never start or finish things even if I wanted to, and she started to suspect ADHD. She gave me a short screening test and then kinda waited for months to get more info from me and confirm. The medication is helpful, but things that frequently occur in people with ADHD like depression and anxiety can also contribute to lack of focus and so it is possible to still have trouble focusing even after treating the ADHD symptoms.
I agree with DrComrade's strategy of just honestly describing your symptoms. If you have ADHD then that would probably be convincing. Some aspects of it might be hard to notice since you would've had it since you were a kid so the people suggesting to look at the criteria and some online resources have good ideas too.
Discuss your attention/focus issues, any time stuff slips your mind or you lose track of something etc. Don't just request stimulants, especially not by name. If they are a good doc it should be an easy conversation, worst case scenario they wait a bit before prescribing or put you on one of the "safer" medications for it
It sucks when your symptoms interfere with you being able to advocate for yourself. I'm in a similar boat to where I want to get evaluated for ADHD but I just can't make myself make an appointment and I just don't know how to navigate this godforsaken healthcare system in this country.
I want you to know in response to your question a few hours ago I opened a text document and just started adding things that have been bothering me lately as I remembered them and I've at last accumulated a list of about 20 things that have been bouncing in and out of my head for months and months now in my list of "symptoms." It's honestly been insanely cathartic to write it all down, and it's funny - this is literally the only way I know how to be productive: have the work open, and in between bouncing from one thing to another, really quickly add literally once sentence when it comes to me before I forget. I've written college admission essays this way - one sentence at a time, with 20 minutes or an hour in between when I do other shit. It's frustrating, but if you're able to do that and then bring the list you create with you to your appointment I'll bet it would really help you articulate what's going on, because I know if I sat down and a doctor just asked "so, what issues are you facing" I would just stare like a deer in headlights at them. I know that because I called a hotline and they asked and I had no fucking answer.
Good luck. I for one would like to know how it goes.
thanks! i just put 2 whole things in that notepad file. i'll keep you updated!
hey i talked to him and he prescribed me medication! I started with "I'm having issues with attention" and answered his follow up questions. the notes definetly helped put my ideas together!
