Starting ADHD evaluation for the second time next week. I am really stressed out because this is basically my last shot. I am pretty confident that I have ADHD, but since I also have bipolar, they are just assuming that whatever symptom I am experiencing must be that.
I’ve been through public healthcare where they discharged me after the intake conversation, because they regard me as too high functioning (did good in school and have a job) and they don’t have the capacity. So no help there unless I run my life into the ground. Got declined by my health insurance because they have a clause in fine print saying they don’t cover ADHD. So now I am paying out of pocket, blasting most of my savings. The price tag is around $2700. If they discharge me because they think I don’t have it, it will “only” be $1900 though.
So now I am stressed out, worried I am just throwing my money out the window. And that I am just wrong. If this doesn’t pan out, I don’t know what I’ll do.
Not really looking for any advice (but they are welcome), just wanted to vent a little.
Hey there, sorry to hear about what you are going through. I was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, it has gone untreated but that’s another story. In my adult life I’ve dealt with anxiety and depression. I’ve recently been diagnosed with bipolar.
My daughter (20ish) had a very similar outlook as you. She was confident she had ADHD and wanted a diagnosis. But similar to you her psychiatrist wanted to focus on anxiety and depression. She pushed back against this and didn’t make progress.
But recently she went through a severe depressive phase and sought help. Instead of seeking help to get a specific diagnosis she went in simply asking for help.
You could try going to a psychologist and saying I’m feeling x, y, and z and they are impacting my life in a, b, and c ways. Then let the expert guide you through what you need.
I’m not saying this is you, but my daughter was convinced she needed to be treated for ADHD. But she really needed to be treated for her depression first.
Separate from all that a word of caution from someone who is prescribed a controlled substance. If you come in strong asking for an ADHD diagnosis you might be flagged for drug seeking behavior. It’s better to present what you are feeling and let the docs try and figure out what works.
Best of luck to you, life isn’t fun when it feels like your brain is out of control.
Interesting insight! I travelled the same road in the other direction. As someone who loves science, I always saw my role as a patient to just report symptoms and let the doctors do their thing. And I’m sure this would be the ideal approach if everybody had the House M.D. team on their case.
But after decades of this failing, I realised that this method does not work with a real-world medical system where doctors have more bias than they should, work with methods from their studying days that assumed they had more time and resources per case, and wrong monetary incentives.
So Method 1: I say I have X, and make it clear that I’ll be a PITA if their test doesn’t confirm it. If there were no bias, there would be no harm to this, but if there is, it’s working to my advantage now.
Method 2: Just think of them as the idiot who is clueless but gatekeeper of the much wanted prescription.
Nobody wants to hear this, but a layman’s web research, LLM and 1000 hours of thinking often beats 10 years of medical training if the doctor interrupts the patient after 20 seconds and only thinks about the case for 5 minutes. (With 30 minutes, my money would be back on the trained professional, but nobody has 30 minutes.) A patient can also fixate on a premature assumption just like a doctor can, but my very subjective experience is that doctors are more prone to that.
Thanks! I am glad to hear your daughter has been getting help!
You provide a nice perspective, but I don’t think it applies in my situation. I feel I am coming from the opposite way. I have been getting a lot of help for my bipolar illness, and I also went to a therapist for two years for general help with life. And it is through this process I have become healthy enough to see that there is something else going on here, which was previously masked by bipolar and shitty life situation