For those of you who weren’t diagnosed until adulthood (I’m in my late 40s), what was the diagnosis process like? Are you just given a written test, or does someone evaluate you more thoroughly? Do they try to understand your symptoms, or is it more of a checklist? If anyone has personal stories they’d be willing to share, I’d love to hear them. I’m also just curious about what to expect during the appointment. Who do I make it with? A psychiatrist?
I also wonder if there are other related conditions or learning disabilities that I might have, such as dyslexia. Do I need to be proactive in asking for multiple diagnoses? Or will they be able to evaluate me for anything/everything?
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I was diagnosed approx a year ago. Late 40’s. I saw my GP for a referral to a specialist. The wait was about 9 months. GP and specialist asked why I thought I might have adhd. They asked about how school went, work habits, etc. I filled out a long questionnaire that really helped me to see how obvious it was that I have adhd. I did a zoom call with the specialist and his partner. It was pretty cut and dry which really floored me. He faxed an Rx to my pharmacy, but said to start at a low dose, but move up quickly as I likely need a higher dose. Parts of it were embarrassing. I’d tried to hide it for so long and I guess I thought I had? But nope. My life is clear evidence of adhd. I started vyvanse and I still have adhd, but getting work done isn’t impossible for me. I should probably be on a higher dose, but it’s a fine balance. If i was diagnosed and treated as a kid, im positive my entire life would be different. Anyhoo. Thanks for reading.
“There’s no way you have ADHD since you didn’t have symptoms as a kid” … instead I have bipolar. I believe it’s ADHD, can’t get anyone to listen. I’m not hunting for god damn stimulants. Im 36 with 3 kids… I just want help.
Diagnosed at 43-44. Went to psychologist, talked about why I wanted an assessment, did a questionnaire. Had a second appointment, asked questions based on first questionnaire, did another one while also assessing for other co-morbidities. Wound up doing at least two more questionnaires, plus my spouse and wife did one each. Received ~10 page report that several aspects of the ADHD “spectrum”, as well as other common co-diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, autism. We discussed to ensure I was ok with it and understood it, she suggested other resources and tools, and I took that to my PCP to start trialling medications.