What type of doctor? | ADHD Information

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Hi, I am 18-year-old college freshman and I believe I have ADD. I fit all
of the symptoms off ADD inattentive, and have only recently come to the
realization that my problems may not be simple laziness. While, of
course, I can not be sure of anything, I am nearly positive that if I see a
doctor, I will be diagnosed with some form of ADHD (ADD? Is there a
difference). Anyway, I would like to go see my doctor before discussing
this with my parents, because I am not sure how they will react, and I
know that if I have received a formal diagnosis before discussing my
problems with them (which they have always known about, but I guess
they never made the link either) they would be more receptive to the
conversation. Now, for the my stupid question. Can I just go to see my
general practitioner? I know a psychiatrist or psychologist would most
likely be more qualified to diagnose, but I am only familiar with my
regular doctor and how my insure/copayments work in his office. So
really... this has been a long explanation for a simple question....For now,
is going to my regular doctor good enough?

Thanks, Dave

Hi, Dave. About going to see your GP, and your comment on will it be 'good enough'--I suppose it depends on what you and your Dr. consider "good enough." Some GP's are very knowledgable when it comes to AD/HD, (which is the technical term- the "difference" between "add" and "adhd" is hyperactivity) and others will tell you it must be ad/hd if you tell them you're having problems with your big toe....psychologists/psychiatrists are often a better choice because they are often more apt to pin-point what exactly is causing the difficulty (perhaps it's not ad/hd, but something else entirely; or maybe it's ad/hd in addition to something.) However, there are a number of psychologists and psychiatrists who, I don't believe, know "what they're doing either."

One question for ya; have you checked to see if your school does testing? I am also in college, and while I was diagnosed while in high school, I know that my college does offer testing (this way you can get away from a lot of copays and stuff probably.) Another option is, you can call the insurance agency to see what is covered in your plan and go from there. I know that I got tested without 'help' from my parents because they don't believe that ad/hd even exists...When I called my normal clinics to ask them about knowlegdeabe practitioners, they said it was policy that ad/hd testing was done by experienced professionals ONLY; pediatritions, GP's, etc. could not do diagnosing.

Good luck figuring everything out and feel free to post any other questions you may have!

 

My GP wouldn't prescribe ADD meds so I had to go to a psychiatrist who I found thru my insurance.

I found going to my GP was a good place to start.  He was able to recomend a couple of psychologist that had training in ADD/ADHD.  Then I called my insurance company and found out who was in network and what was covered.

Your GP may not know alot about it, but they should be able to point you in the right direction.