Lost and confused about HOW to get meds. | ADHD Information

OK, thank you.

Herman,

Just from my experience, my PCP said exactly the same thing.  Once I needed some medicine outside of his expertise he referred me to a specialist (but he helped get the appt too).  I think that is a wise decision.

Also, I have had great luck with psychiatric nurse practitioners.  They specialize in meds, can prescribe them, and are usually much easier/quicker to get appointments.

I've had ADD my whole life. I'm impulsive, can't focus on anything, can't do my job in a timely manner. If my boss wasn't so laid back, I'd have been fired already.

I went to my PCP to see what I could do about it, thinking that it was the right person to see. Apparently, I was wrong. I come from a family that only heads to the doctor when we need limbs reattached, so I'm not well-versed in who to see for what reason, and searching the 'net hasn't exactly helped much. After telling him that I had a battery of tests in Middle School and was given Adderall, he decided to give me Strattera.
It didn't work at all. It gave me some severe sexual side effects, killer headaches when I slept in on the weekends, and every once in a while it gave me a sort of odd sensation that my vision wasn't in sync with reality, like I had some sort of half-second delay in my brain interpreting what was happening.

I decided to take myself off of it after six months, I stepped myself down in the same way and duration that I stepped up to the maximum dosage. Even at max, it didn't help my ADD any. It brightened my mood to others, but I'm not taking the medicine for its anti-depression qualities, I just want to focus on whatever I need to focus on for more than five minutes.

Now, when I went back to my PCP with the news that it wasn't working and that I would like to try something else, he told me that his knowledge in that area was really weak and he was just giving the Strattera a shot, but if I wanted anything else that I should consult a specialist (without telling me which KIND of specialist, of course) because "doing otherwise would be doing me a disservice." Whatever.

Now, what kind of specialist should I see and how should I go about this? Psychologist? Psychiatrist? Someone else entirely?A psychologist cannot prescribe meds. Your best bet probably is the psychiatrist.You need to see a psychiatrist (MD). I think your PCP was telling you the right thing. Strattera is a non-stimulant, but when you get into the stimulants things can get pretty dicey so you want to see a specialist.