It's come to the point where things in my life have become so helllish for both me and my girlfriend that its mayhem - so I have booked an appointment to see my doctor on Wednesday but I am worried he will not understand and try to convince me I am a perfectly normal human being - he's never seen me in a rage ready bite his head off or where I go off to get something someone asked for and come back totally forgetting it.
I am more worried about not being diagnosed because then I think I will be at a total loss as to why I have felt like this since I was a kid. I still get crazy figets with my leg jigging 100 time a minute under the desk while at work or just having to play with something with my hands on my desk and this has not chaned since I was 5.
I dont even know how to start the conversation off with him. Do I say I think I have ADHD/ADD or just explain my symptons and let him work it out? I have a medical history of behavourial problems so maybe that will help.
philuk200039279.6626736111
Philuk2000....I suggest that you have your girlfriend fill out a form too (they make 'em for non-adhd partners to describe what they see). You're right, it is hard not to get anxious at the thought of going to the doc and telling them all they need to hear to make the proper diagnosis, which is why having someone else's observations in addition to your own helps. It did for me...in fact, it was my wife's comments that the Dr. really found significant insofar as diagnosing adhd. So see if your girlfriend will fill out one of those forms....or better yet, bring her along on your first visit!
I had the same fear you did. So far it has worked out. I think it really depends on the doctor. Some make snap decisions based on more than the symptoms and don't really listen after that. Others are old-school.
I was lucky i guess. I told my primary that there was something else besides the anxiety and things weren't going so well. He, wisely, recommended a psychiatrist to help (i had already made an appointment). I just basically went into the psychiatric nurse practitioner and said HELP, i have anxiety and i think i have add...here is what is going on, my life is a wreck and my family is going to kill me.
I was pretty sure i had add but i have a friend that i thought had add and it turns out he has some sort of high functioning aspergers. So, i wanted to leave the possibility that the doc might be good and might be able to give me other avenues i hadn't thought of.
Hi.
I have not posted to this board, but I have been lurking for awhile. I watched a show on Dr. Phil about adult add. The woman sounded just like me. I looked it up on the internet. I took a very long quiz on the internet and it said that I had add. I mentioned it to my family and did not get very positive reactions. I went to the doctor who diagnosed me with sleep apnea and rheumatiod arthritis. I got sleep therapy to the tune of 5500.00 for two sleep studies and a cpap. refused to get xrayed and start ra medicine. (5,000 deductible) Still didn't feel right. Still messy, lost, angry, tired, bored, all the time. Took the quiz again and printed it and took it to my new doctor. I have been on adderall for 5 weeks and it has changed my life and the lives of my husband and three sons. My suggestion is that you take one of those online tests and print it and hand it to your doc to open the door.
Val
I have taken 2 online tests, answered as honestly as possble and printed the results. Both came back with similar results. Both state that a score of 27 or over was regarded as suffering from ADHD - I got 54. I think I will take your advice but some doctors dont like being lectured to by patients so I hope he does not disregard the results.
Thanks for your advice
Hi Philuk2000,