Whatever the outcome, i would encourage you to have a discussion with your family about getting an assessment for your child - think about how difficult things are for you, and how you could prevent that for him
best of luck with the meeting, do let us know how you get on, there's loads of experience and support here for you!
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Originally Posted by Feu
A psychiatrist may diagnose you in the one visit, depending who it is. This is a relatively painless process (  ) just asking questions about your history and behaviour. Again it is worth having a think about this before you go along (although attending unprepared could be seen as symptomatic in itself  ]), like what are the functional difficulties you are having, what impacts your day to day life. While many adults will not have "documentation" from when they were at school, it is actually worth bringing along a school report or something if you have one, they are often illuminating! Frequent comments along the lines of "X won't stay in their seat" or "X daydreams through class" can speak to history of these difficulties. If a clinical psychologist does the diagnosing, you will still need to see a psychiatrist or GP before medication is prescribed. Liz i think you said you were going to a psychiatrist, but if being diagnosed by a clinical psychologist, this can take up to 3-4 visits depending on the psychologist. You shouldn't have too many appointments if being diagnosed by a psychiatrist, but there will be follow up if medication is commenced.If you have not already had your appointment, it is worth thinking ahead of time about whether you want to try medication or not, and discussing any concerns re: medication with the psychiatrist when you meet them. There's lots of research out there on the efficacy, side effects, long term outcomes of medication, mostly on children (i.e. started when kids, followed through to their late 20s/30's). Laurence Greenhill is one of the experts on this, he actually spoke here a couple of years ago, and he really knows his stuff: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18573923. This is also a nice article on the European situation for adult treatment, although 6 years old: https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral....471-244X-10-67 That article states that stimulant medication is effective for about 70% of people with ADHD. Most people say that stimulant medication is very effective in increasing focus, and decreasing distractability. Therefore doing what they want it to do. Some people express side effects such as reduced appetite (and when prescribed to children and adults they will monitor their weight), weight loss, nausea, sleep difficulties, and one of the reasons some people dislike it is a feeling of "not myself", which could be described as being less emotional, feeling "robotic", or even devoid of emotion. There is lots about this online, obviously. Cost really varies, I've seen from €65 a month to over €100, so definitely shop around. There are lots of behavioural and environmental modifications that you can make apart from or in conjunction with medication. I have a lot to say about this, depending on the difficulties you are having, so maybe I'll hold off unless people are interested  In a nutshell, routine routine routine! Routine will help prevent/improve some of the functional difficulties associated with add/adhd e.g. losing things as mentioned by numerous posters above. I think it was also Cannex that mentioned having a little chest of drawers for like bills and things like that, that can so easily be lost or misplaced, and leaves people with ADHD tearing their hair out. Having a set place for things, and then developing the habit of always putting things there, can really work over time. Some people i work with have a literal checklist for when they come in the door, and for when they are leaving the house, to reduce stress and anxiety. I think as well for people with a recent diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, considering seeing a counsellor, with experience/knowledge of the difficulties associated with ADHD would be beneficial. There is a high incidence of other difficulties correlated with ADD/ADHD particularly depression, anxiety, substance abuse and sleep disturbances. Some people are interested in ADHD coaches which is more of a thing in america You could also consider seeing a life coach or OT on a regular basis, who may focus on the more practical side of things then therapy, like helping you set and achieve goals to reach a particular milestone in your life Disclosing to your workplace can be a really good idea depending on the setting. Sometimes employers can be really supportive, and really open to modifying your role etc, and sometimes it is hard for them to understand the condition. Their attitude can depend on how much "this will affect the business", i.e. if it is quite easy to move you to a slightly different role, that's handy. Having a good idea of how things could be improved for you is helpful when thinking about having this discussion i.e. if i could change x and y, I will be able to work mostly independently, that kind of thing. |
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Originally Posted by leinsterdude
Hi all, first post...
I am 43, and have been all over the place all of my life, from school and not being able to concentrate, leaving school, and changing jobs way more than anyone else I know......I finally ended up in sales At aged 24, which suited me in terms of doing different things every day, but have moved so much within sales, that my cv looks a bit crazy.....I can be very intelligent, but get confused easily, get wires crossed so much.....someone can say something to me, and I hear it my own way, often wrong....I can read an email, see it one way, then read it again a week later and see it clearly then, after I already actioned it......I’m ok when not stressed or questioned, but if put under pressure I can fall down like a pack of cards, I recently took a promotion, which left me moving from sales into management, all numbers and excel sheets, I was under so much pressure, that in meetings I could not even see the numbers on the computer from feeling so swamped.......I quit that job, and was out of work for a month......have two kids, wife mortgage, so not ideal.....I see my younger son very like me, and Ai want to change, I have a referral for next week with a HSE psychiatrist, and don’t know if I am adhd, add, or not......what do you guys think ? My close family think I might be.......is diagnosis easy, I would be happy but not delighted to take meds if it helped me focus on life......I thought at 43 I would be clearly minded.....but I feel worse than ever. Thanks. |
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