Those must be the low cost sessions!! Some shrinks and doctors may choose not to do a series of tests, they can be expensive. If you don't feel comfortable with the guy, there are other options like a counselor, doctor or coach. For me personally, I saw a therapist for about 9 sessions and see the doctor to fill my med prescription. The therapist was to deal with some crisis stuff based on bad decisions related to major impulsiveness. ADHD, for me, is a lot of coping and skill learning by myself. There may also be adhd support groups in your area.
I know some people have other conditions along with adhd, such as depression, self medicating, anxiety, whatever. You could possibly take the approach with the shrink of asking him what his long term plan and prognosis is for you.
I went to see a psychiatrist because I suspected I had ADHD. He immediately put me on Adderall. I have now seen him twice, and each visit lasted 10-15 minutes.does adderall make anyone jittery and cant sleep
If a doctor based a diagnosis of ADHD on the strength of a questionnaire, I would seek another doctor immediately. ADHD is a neurologically based disorder so therefore a doctor qualified to make a differential diagnosis should be sought out. Many disorders can mimic the symptoms of ADHD and/or there may be a co existing condition present as well.
An accurate assessment of the child's difficulties can be done by a neuro/psychologist. Neuropsychological testing examines the relationship between the brain and cognitive abilities. Neuropsychological assessment provides a systematic evaluation of cognitive abilities such as intelligence, memory, language, attention, problem-solving ability, visual-motor skills, sensorimotor abilities, personality/emotional functioning, and academic skills. A questionnaire is part of the diagnosing process but in order to ascertain a formal, accurate diagnosis, the parent should always follow the professional protocol recommended.
In addition, the child should also get a full medical work up to rule out medical conditions that might be causing the behaviors like, thyroid problems, sleep apnea, allergies, etc IMO, medication should not be considered unless and until a proper, formal diagnosis is made and that can't be done solely based on a questionnaire.
Getting a diagnois is important, this is true. But if a person takes the questionnaire in Hallowell's book, Driven to Distraction, for instance, it's not a helluva lot different than the tests docs give. As a medical student who is learning psychiatry right now, there are some glaring issues in this field. One of which is that a lot of physicians simply use quick screening devices, which are questionnaires. Since there are not blood tests for ADHD, or any other "objective" findings, it varies from practice to practice how the diagnosis is made.
A neuropsychological battery of tests seems excessive to me and very, very expensive. Unless there are neurological deficits suspected, this sounds like overkill.
There is a computer generated test called TOVA which is okay, but then again, I am not so sure that there is a great deal of objective evidence that it should be heavily relied upon for a diagnosis. The bottom line really is how much distress is caused by your symptoms and if the symptoms are consistent with the diagnosis.
I go to a psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD for women and I only spend maybe 15 minutes with him for medication management. He and I work out tinkering with my meds for maximum effectiveness. I was using a coach from his office, but it got to be too expensive for out of pocket so I had to drop it. Ideally, medication management and psychotherapy/coaching is best, but for some people meds may be the best they can do. If so, then it is up to the patient to do a little homework, use books, use support forums like this one and wherever else one can find support.
I would love to find or create a support group similarin format to that which is used in Alcoholics Anonymous or Adult Children of Alcoholics in my area. Then it is piss on the insurance companies, we can do this ourselves!
As for Adderall, I use only 10 mg of the XR formula but even then I don't like the side effect profile for me because it makes me pick small flaws in my skin and around my cuticles. I use this in combination with 400 mg of Provigil and its the best I've been able to work out. Provigil is so nice because it's a clean drug with absolutely no side effects for me. In general, it doesn't have many side effects. It's a central stimulant but it doesn't make me feel jittery at all! It's a good drug, but most find that it is good in combination with a traditional stimulant for the best effect. The other downside is that it is expensive.
If Adderall makes you jittery and can't sleep, that is a common side effect. But you also need to know if it is the XR or extended release formula. If it is, then you should not take it less than 12 hours before you plan on sleeping. After awhile, you may become more accustomed to it and may not have trouble any more.For a child to be diagnosed this is appropriate and I would hope that what you say is the case.
From what I hear, diagnosing adults, this is not always done and a lot of insurance companies will be hesitant to do this!!
i agree for children, when i was tested as a child i had a full workup done, but as an adult I don't think that this is neccessary.There are several fairly common adult conditions that can mimic ADHD such as depression, anxiety, hormonal imbalances, hypothyroidism, bipolar disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder for example. It is important that these conditions be ruled out before properly diagnosing adult ADHD. Misdiagnosis is just as prevelant for adults as it is for children and like children, symptoms can overlap for adults as well. For me personally, I would not consider a questionnaire to be the only diagnostic tool necessary to rule in or rule out ADHD but thats just my opinion.
With regard to insurance, thats a very good point and for those adults who feel more extensive testing is necessary, it would be wise to check with the insurance carrier before proceeeding ahead.
I would not go back to anyone who will not test. To me that is they are just guessing at a dx. Ribbon, my doughters doc does "medication managment" sessions. They typically last 20 minutes. Not unusual. Unusual is that he doesn't want to have longer visits at first. I might find another doc if you want more help. But also, you have to ask for it.....I hear biofeedback is great for attention problems. Tell me what you think and if ins. covers any of it.mrstoobins wrote:
I don't see how a neurological workup is going to do any good in diagnosing it over simply discussing the known symptoms. And since different types of drugs seem to have different effects on different people it also seems impossible for a doctor to recommend which drug will absolutely do the trick the first time.
A neurological workup is done to rule out other disorders and far more testing is done than just discussing symptoms. Yes, a doctor cant recommend a drug to do the trick the first time and thats why patients who are formally diagnosed with ADHD are put on a trial of medication until the right doese and the right medication is found. The decision to medicate, not medicate or what a person considers to be a thorough enough evaluation is for each individual to decide. The best decisions are made based on knowing what tools and what options are out there in terms of getting an accurate diagnosis.
I started medication after talking to my doctor about it for about 15 minutes. Considering nobody knows exactly what ADHD is or what causes it, I don't see how a neurological workup is going to do any good in diagnosing it over simply discussing the known symptoms. And since different types of drugs seem to have different effects on different people it also seems impossible for a doctor to recommend which drug will absolutely do the trick the first time.
In short, I wouldn't be worried about a short visit and a diagnosis. I think the diagnosis part comes down to a short list of known symptoms and your own evaluation on how bad those symptoms are. You then help to decide whether you want to take drugs for the problem based on the good and bad reports on a particular medication.
First couple sessions with my sons doctor was an hour. Now just medication management of about 20 minutes each. I would be concerned about the short visits right off the bat.I agree... more testing/diagnostic would be my recommendation as wellI went through 3 weeks of diagnostic testing including continous performance tests, a physical, testing for learning disabilities, intelligence and other possible emotional issues. It totaled around 8 hours of activity spread over the 3 weeks.