Disclaimer: I’m referring the the US medical system, but I imagine people in other countries may encounter similar things.
I cannot be the only one who has had this experience, but all my dealings with the medical industry feel like they were refined by a group of psychologists to exploit the weaknesses of those with ADHD.
The volume of calls, appointments, and paperwork I had to full out to get a diagnosis and prescription for treatment is completely unreasonable to expect someone with poor working memory and attention issues to navigate.
Then, to stay on medication, you need to schedule and make appointments with a psychiatrist every month, for the rest of your life, and if you miss a single one, you will run out of meds (and likely charged a fine), which will make it even harder to remember to make the next one. If you miss too many, that psychiatrist will refuse to see you again and you have to go back to your PCP to get a new referral.
Look, I understand that their time is valuable, but this system couldn’t be designed any other way to be more accommodating to people who clinically forget things?!
It’s like designing a wheelchair ramp that’s actually just stairs that are 3x as steep as the regular stairs. Also, if you fall to the bottom, someone takes your wheelchair until you can climb back up.
My anxiety, depression, and executive dysfunction prevent me from talking to a therapist and getting a diagnosis. I am so sick of this…
CBD gummies have worked miracles for my depression and anxiety. Depending on where you live, maybe give it a try for a week or two and see what happens?
You really don’t need a therapist. You just need a GP that’ll do the questionnaire.
Depends on where they are. I legally need a psychiatrist to give me my prescription.
100%
It took me years to realize I had it, even more years to get a diagnosis (I was told I had “severe ADHD” btw") and even now, I’m out of medication more often than I have any due to logistical and financial barriers.
My biggest fear living in the US was falling off meds and being unable to get back on them. If your life situation allows you should absolutely rely on friends or family for help. You don’t need to do this alone, ADHD is a disability and you’re allowed to need assistance.
you should absolutely rely on friends or family for help.
Aw, I wish. There are two types of people in my family. The first type is people who also have ADHD (unmedicated, at that) and/or autism. The second type is people who believe the first type are jUsT bEiNg LaZy.
There is no in-between.
Well fuck, my apologies then.
I feel your pain precisely. Also, most of the people who clearly have ADHD/autism or other, much-worse things are often the ones denying it’s a thing.
As someone with unmedicated ADHD and a severe heart condition, I feel this rant deep, deep in my soul but more for my heart stuff.
You mean I have to call for follow ups every three months and also remember to fill my multiple medications every month or else I am sent on a death spiral? And you also mean to tell me that I can’t take any of the typical ADHD drugs because it might hurt my heart?
Win win.
Germany here. It’s kind of similar here. The system is rigged against us.
My strategy is to use medication to enable me to build a support structure and learn techniques that help with dealing with symptoms. E. g. meditation, physical exercises that help mind-body connection, CBT, routines, etc. So that when I’m without meds, I can fall back on skills I acquired and trained.
What I also do is hoard medication. Ask for a higher dose or more pills, than I actually need. That way I can miss an appointment and still have enough for the next month or so. I even hide pills in different places around my apartment.
Shout out to all my spiritual siblings who skip days to stockpile meds because we live in a nightmare world.
maybe i got lucky, but my psychiatrist is private practice, and she lets me skip every other month and i just text to remind her to fill my meds. she’s great.
oh, and offered to see me quarterly because she is encouraging me to find a therapist and i told her my budget is too tight to add another bill.
…yeah, i think i got lucky.
Removed by mod
This is one of the benefits of being on non-stimulant meds, the hoops to jump through are way less (I still had to fight insurance for a prior auth, which took nearly a month). I use an online Psychiatrist (Talkiatry) and have been really happy with my doctor. I also only need to see him as often as we think is medically necessary since atamoxetine can be refilled. It’s been shown in trials to be as effective as methylphenidate and works well for me so far.
The diagnostic piece though is indeed hard, but I can sort of understand that. It’s a pathway to drugs with a high probability of abuse, and no sure fire way to diagnose. So from a liability and care viewpoint I get why psychologists do due diligence in evaluating people (especially adults) for ADHD. It still sucks if you need help, but in theory you only have to deal with that process once to get a diagnosis. Also, as many people have pointed out, many PCPs are willing to fill scripts for controlled substances if needed, especially once you are on a stable dose that you know works. Like many things, the start up is the hardest and it gets easier once you hit steady state.
Shoutout to ADHDcentral. They tried to make the process as clear and accessible as possible. With automated reminders.
What is this? I searched this in Brave search and got like no relevant results.
I’m curious as well. This is the closest relevant result I got, sadly it is for The Netherlands.
Damn. I don’t know where you live but I live in VA and my pcp just refills my prescription every month. We check in via what are basically text mesages and I do telehealth visits every 3 months.
“Zocdoc” is a great app to make appointments when possible.
This is why I got off the schedule 1 stuff. There are other options.
Not really. I’ve tried some other solutions like antidepressants and they didn’t help because they don’t address the core issue. AFAIK only stimulants are proven to be an effective treatment for ADHD.
Also, that only alleviates one of the problems I mentioned.
Wellbutrin and strattera are both for adhd
those aren’t options for everyone.
Sure. But it’s helpful information for people who otherwise haven’t heard of them. If one person’s life is easier from reading my comment, that’s a win.
Or shall we only try and help when it’s perfect?
deleted by creator
I’ve been self medicating for decades with nicotine and THC. It works well for me. I guess I’m lucky.
