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deptstoremook
Jan 12, 2004
my mom got scared and said "you're moving with your Aunt and Uncle in Bel-Air!"
What's the rationale behind requiring (or preferring) one to have had a diagnosis during childhood?

I wasn't fortunate enough to be in therapy or see any shrinks when I was a kid, so obviously I don't have any sort of documentation of what may have been ADHD. More importantly, if it's a disorder characterized by X, Y and Z, and I present with those, why would it matter whether I had those traits in the past? I don't understand how that affects the scope or impact of the disorder.

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TONY DANZAS HO
Aug 27, 2003

retired
and
loving it
ADHD has a higher chance of comorbidity with other brain poo poo when you're old, so in going further back into your history it may be easier to specifically diagnose what else is going on and if you have other problems stemming from the ADHD, or if it is ADD at all in the first place. If you've grown up with unattended ADD it is harder to pick it out specifically, as symptoms can cross loads of different diagnoses.

I don't know that it is ever REQUIRED to have childhood diagnosis or where that's coming from, but I imagine it is much SIMPLER if there is a history available.

Not to mention, even if you present with X, Y and Z, you might lack, say, G, but have F, and it turns out X, Y and Z + F is something completely different... congratulations, you're bipolar! Don't worry though its only bipolar II

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

The little kid who gets frustrated, and thus just sits there and dreams of butterflies all day? They can be overlooked and easily missed in the schoolroom, thus not necessarily getting the help they need. The little kid who gets frustrated, and thus throws pencils at everyone? We...tend to show up on the radar a hell of a lot sooner. (But, wow do pencils really fly in the classroom! I loved flinging those things!)

One of the traditional diagnostic criteria is that the symptoms had to have been around since childhood. If it just suddenly developed last year, then something else is going on. Having that childhood diagnosis increases the chance that you are genuinely affected by ADHD, and not another condition that mimics the same symptoms, and you can then be treated appropriately.

drumwolf
Apr 18, 2007

Courage, and Jett rock'n'roll.
Kicking an old thread because I just discovered it now.

My question to the OP (and to everyone else diagnosed with ADHD) is, who diagnosed you? Was this a specialist or a general practitioner? And I'm guessing it was someone in the private sector that you were able to see through an insurance plan - am I correct?

I'm absolutely positive that I've always had some kind of diagnosable disorder, whether it's ADHD, autism spectrum, mild schizoaffective disorder, who knows. I know what you say. Don't self-diagnose, see a doctor, right?

Well, not that simple. I don't have health insurance. And my city has a free public mental health treatment organization, but as far as I'm concerned, it's not really an organization that provides real, genuine mental health treatment so much as it is a public-relations prop for the city.

They set me up with a psych whose only job is to prescribe low-level SSRI antidepressants, and a therapist with no ability to diagnose and who tried to blame everything on the way my parents raised me. Basically, they weren't providing real treatment so much as they were going through a charade. Any time I would try to press them on what I was struggling with, their response was a self-serving, "that's just a label, why is it so important for you to have a label?" (Translation: "Why are you trying to force me to make an effort to figure out your issues? Why can't you just let me coast my way to an easy paycheck like I'm used to?")

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

drumwolf posted:

My question to the OP (and to everyone else diagnosed with ADHD) is, who diagnosed you? Was this a specialist or a general practitioner? And I'm guessing it was someone in the private sector that you were able to see through an insurance plan - am I correct?


They set me up with a psych whose only job is to prescribe low-level SSRI antidepressants, and a therapist with no ability to diagnose and who tried to blame everything on the way my parents raised me. Basically, they weren't providing real treatment so much as they were going through a charade. Any time I would try to press them on what I was struggling with, their response was a self-serving, "that's just a label, why is it so important for you to have a label?" (Translation: "Why are you trying to force me to make an effort to figure out your issues? Why can't you just let me coast my way to an easy paycheck like I'm used to?")

I can't remember who diagnosed me as a child, but I was re-diagnosed as an adult by my Psychiatrist. I have insurance, but it doesn't cover this particular doctor, so I pay out of pocket for him. (I know this isn't a solution for everybody, but I had a couple of bizarro world physical and psych issues that he was able to help me with, and I'd rather pay the $$ to stay with him rather than try to break in a new doc. Nowadays, I only check in with him every 6 months or so.)

And, as for labels, sometimes they're necessary. If you want accommodations for the ADHD, either at work or at school? Well, you need a diagnosis first. Same with medications. A good therapist and doctor will treat ADHD as the legitimate disorder that it actually is, and won't try to brush you off. I finally dropped my GP because he didn't deem my ADHD an issue, because I'm employed, right? :geno:

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

drumwolf posted:

Kicking an old thread because I just discovered it now.

My question to the OP (and to everyone else diagnosed with ADHD) is, who diagnosed you? Was this a specialist or a general practitioner? And I'm guessing it was someone in the private sector that you were able to see through an insurance plan - am I correct?

I'm absolutely positive that I've always had some kind of diagnosable disorder, whether it's ADHD, autism spectrum, mild schizoaffective disorder, who knows. I know what you say. Don't self-diagnose, see a doctor, right?

Well, not that simple. I don't have health insurance. And my city has a free public mental health treatment organization, but as far as I'm concerned, it's not really an organization that provides real, genuine mental health treatment so much as it is a public-relations prop for the city.

They set me up with a psych whose only job is to prescribe low-level SSRI antidepressants, and a therapist with no ability to diagnose and who tried to blame everything on the way my parents raised me. Basically, they weren't providing real treatment so much as they were going through a charade. Any time I would try to press them on what I was struggling with, their response was a self-serving, "that's just a label, why is it so important for you to have a label?" (Translation: "Why are you trying to force me to make an effort to figure out your issues? Why can't you just let me coast my way to an easy paycheck like I'm used to?")

I'm going to tell you something maybe I shouldn't. I assume you live in America. You have been fundamentally betrayed in this regard by your system of government and its laws, and as such you are not morally beholden to its strictures unless those strictures are conflated with the well-being of others. This is important for you to recognize, because - and I think someone mentioned this earlier - marijuana is a loving wonder drug where this disorder is concerned, if it's the disorder you have. If you can find a way to somehow get a diagnosis, and it turns out to be ADHD; smoke weed.

The diagnosis is important though, and I honestly can't help you there. I went to see a specialist on my parents' insurance.

TrueChaos
Nov 14, 2006




Stofoleez posted:

This is important for you to recognize, because - and I think someone mentioned this earlier - marijuana is a loving wonder drug where this disorder is concerned, if it's the disorder you have. If you can find a way to somehow get a diagnosis, and it turns out to be ADHD; smoke weed.


Interestingly, a small hit does wonders for me. That point where I'm not quite high, but just starting to feel it? Yeah, I can sit down and do one thing. Its like being in full control of the hyperfocus, which others have described here.

Socket Ryanist
Aug 30, 2004

I have ADHD and cannabis (even one hit) makes me pass the gently caress out, sleep for 12 hours and wake up feeling pretty good but totally not in the mood to do any work.

If I'm not allowed to lay down once high, I start getting really panicked and freak out.

Winszton
Oct 22, 2008

rainbow kittens posted:

Something I've also realized is that I become a mirror of the person I am talking to. There are some I work with who are really quiet, so I'm really quiet back. Others are really talkative, and we basically josh each other all day long. Then the quiet people look at me like I have two heads, and I go back to being quiet. I find after I've been hanging out with someone for awhile I pick up on their mannerisms, their way of speech, even how they sound when they speak. I DON'T do this on purpose. I know a lot of stupid people, and when I start sounding like them I could hit myself. My mind is just a very confused, jumbled mess. I guess that's why I like cats so much - I don't really have to be anything around them.)


I don't have ADD(just reading this thread out of interest), but I've got that exact same symptom. I'm not sure weather other people notice it or not, but it must be really off-putting if they do.

Over time I do develop a more solid way of "projecting" myself to certain people/social circles. It can go pretty terribly when different groups mix though, because then I don't have a clue how to act out two different personalities at once. I usually try to avoid it as much as possible though. When one friend from school comes over(with my sister whose also her friend) I'll just stay in my room if it's dinner time or something to avoid being around my friend and my family at the same time. My moms gotten used to it so she just calls me out once the friend has left.

My opinions/views also change a great deal based on who I'm with, much in the same manner as my manner of talk. I don't really have one solid 'personality' that I project to everyone so it leads to a ridiculous amount of anxiety etc over how I'm acting.

Owell this is getting off topic though and not really related to this thread.

Rushputin
Jul 19, 2007
Intense, but quick to finish

Socket Ryanist posted:

I have ADHD and cannabis (even one hit) makes me pass the gently caress out, sleep for 12 hours and wake up feeling pretty good but totally not in the mood to do any work.

If I'm not allowed to lay down once high, I start getting really panicked and freak out.

Yeah, I don't know if the others just react differently to THC or if you have a different kind of weed over there, but being stoned very rarely makes me feel like doing something productive. It can help me a lot when I'm very depressed (which is something my ADHD can make worse), because it makes it easier to distract myself and have a bit of fun, but from my experience, I wouldn't recommend it if you primarily want to get things done.

Weed also makes my mind race a lot more, which makes things like reading and concentrating on college work pretty much impossible - although, once again, this is good when I'm depressed, and I would otherwise just focus on negative thoughts or be unable to think of anything much at all.

The most helpful illegal drug for ADHD is actually meth or coke (Ritalin and other methylphendidate medications are chemically very similar), but those also seriously gently caress you up, so just try to find a good neurologist or something. Of course, it helps if you live in a country where providing health care even if you're not about to die isn't seen as the work of Satan or a communist plot.

It also helps to just try out new learning strategies. Ironically, my psychologist taught me more about how to study the right way than 15 years of school did.

Ytlaya
Nov 13, 2005

TrueChaos posted:

Interestingly, a small hit does wonders for me. That point where I'm not quite high, but just starting to feel it? Yeah, I can sit down and do one thing. Its like being in full control of the hyperfocus, which others have described here.

That's really funny, because weed in any dose actually makes me unable to focus on anything for more than about 2-3 minutes. Not sure if it affects other people that way.

I want to second the warning about self-diagnosis here. I made the mistake of trying to self-diagnose a number of times during my college years, and the biggest problem is that even when you do see a psychiatrist you'll be telling them your symptoms with whatever disorder you were looking at in mind.

An example of how seemingly ADD symptoms can be misinterpreted: I can't sit down and focus on something for more than a minute or two, whether it's a game or movie. At first glance this looks like ADD, but lack of focus can also be caused by depression or anxiety. Also keep in mind that *everyone* feels more focused and in most cases flat out happier on stimulants like adderall or ritalin.

TrueChaos
Nov 14, 2006




Ytlaya posted:

That's really funny, because weed in any dose actually makes me unable to focus on anything for more than about 2-3 minutes. Not sure if it affects other people that way.

Its a really fine line. Any more than a little hit and 2-3 minutes is all I can focus for.

fake edit: Just realized I finished typing this post and got distracted by another tab without hitting submit. 45ish minutes after typing my response, it now gets posted!

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot
I just remember back in high school the only time I could ever bring myself to pay attention in class or do my homework was when I was high. :iiam:

drumwolf
Apr 18, 2007

Courage, and Jett rock'n'roll.
I used to be a frequent pot smoker and sometimes it did motivate me to do poo poo but not always. And I've cut down drastically because it often aggravates my emotional insecurities. Of course, maybe I don't have ADHD but something else (autism? schizoaffective disorder? mild bipolar?). You're right that I shouldn't self-diagnose.

But if you're uninsured, you pretty much have no chance of getting access to qualified professional help that can diagnose you properly. As I said, the public mental health system is nothing more than window dressing. They don't get anywhere near enough of a budget to accomplish anything meaningful.

In that respect, I'm no different from the millions of uninsured Americans with no access to decent health care. With our current health care system, if you have any kind of ongoing physical or mental health issues which aren't immediately life-threatening, you're poo poo out of luck. But that's a rant for a D&D thread, not here.

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

drumwolf posted:

I used to be a frequent pot smoker and sometimes it did motivate me to do poo poo but not always. And I've cut down drastically because it often aggravates my emotional insecurities. Of course, maybe I don't have ADHD but something else (autism? schizoaffective disorder? mild bipolar?). You're right that I shouldn't self-diagnose.

But if you're uninsured, you pretty much have no chance of getting access to qualified professional help that can diagnose you properly. As I said, the public mental health system is nothing more than window dressing. They don't get anywhere near enough of a budget to accomplish anything meaningful.

In that respect, I'm no different from the millions of uninsured Americans with no access to decent health care. With our current health care system, if you have any kind of ongoing physical or mental health issues which aren't immediately life-threatening, you're poo poo out of luck. But that's a rant for a D&D thread, not here.

Like I said, you have been fundamentally failed by your society and your leaders. Do whatever you want with regards to getting your mental health under control provided it doesn't hurt people*.


*People here means people who aren't rich.

opie
Nov 28, 2000
Check out my TFLC Excuse Log!
I understand that health care is expensive if you don't have health insurance, but I think it would be worth it to pay out of pocket to fix something that has such a negative affect on your life. Especially if you're self-medicating with stuff like pot which isn't exactly cheap either. Anyway that's an argument for D&D too I guess.

I was uninsured in college when I was first diagnosed, and paid out of pocket and drove 2 hours round-trip to figure out why I kept falling asleep in my classes and couldn't get any of my projects done. Failing out of school and being unable to pay back my student loans was not an option. It would've been nice not to have to pay so much, especially since I was poor at the time, but it was worth it.

opie fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Sep 20, 2009

RobotEmpire
Dec 8, 2007

Stofoleez posted:

Like I said, you have been fundamentally failed by your society and your leaders. Do whatever you want with regards to getting your mental health under control provided it doesn't hurt people*.


*People here means people who aren't rich.

Forums.SomethingAwful.com: Where people recommend hurting rich people if you have ADHD.

drumwolf
Apr 18, 2007

Courage, and Jett rock'n'roll.

opie posted:

I was uninsured in college when I was first diagnosed, and paid out of pocket and drove 2 hours round-trip to figure out why I kept falling asleep in my classes and couldn't get any of my projects done. Failing out of school and being unable to pay back my student loans was not an option. It would've been nice not to have to pay so much, especially since I was poor at the time, but it was worth it.
Who did you see? A specialist, general doctor or a psychiatrist?

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

RobotEmpire posted:

Forums.SomethingAwful.com: Where people recommend hurting rich people if you have ADHD.

I shouldn't come to other forums directly from LF, I think.

opie
Nov 28, 2000
Check out my TFLC Excuse Log!

drumwolf posted:

Who did you see? A specialist, general doctor or a psychiatrist?
Psychiatrist. I can't remember many details since it was a long time ago and my memory is horrible anyway, but I don't think it was more than a couple hundred dollars and I was prescribed ritalin.

MixMasterMalaria
Jul 26, 2007

Stofoleez posted:

Did you ever experience a kind of mental paralysis or anxiety when you had to do a thing? Like, when I'm unmedicated, if I'm doing something like reading a book or watching television or staring at a wall, and I know I need to take a shower, I'll become physically ill at the possibility of making myself do anything other than what I'm paying attention to. In school and professional life, this...revulsion isn't the word, and neither is illness, but the anxiety of it just drives me over the edge.

Shesh, this is me. The problem I've faced is that, as a chronic sufferer of tensions headaches, the stimulants made me miserable and welbutrine literally did nothing. I've gone without medication for a while thinking that I could go it alone my last year of grad school but after months of zero progress on my thesis I've got to make some changes. Any suggestions?

edit: I should say that the stimulants worked fine but after they wore off I'd have a monster headache nearly every evening, so I ended up just refusing to take them. Maybe some kind of benzo to take the edge off?

MixMasterMalaria fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Sep 21, 2009

itthingy
Aug 27, 2009
I really hope I'm not asking a question that's already been asked, but is it possible for ADHD and/or meds for ADD to stunt physical and/or mental growth?

I ask because my girlfriend has a younger brother who's turning 14 this year, but he looks like he's 10, and is in that phase that most 8-9 year olds enter when they constantly ask questions. It may be something entirely unrelated to his condition or his medication, though.

edit: He was diagnosed at age 9.

Gucci Loafers
May 20, 2006

Ask yourself, do you really want to talk to pair of really nice gaudy shoes?


Rushputin posted:

:words: :420: :words:

I don't know if it's just me but it feels like I can focus better when I'm high. Am I actually focusing more? Probably not.

Rushputin
Jul 19, 2007
Intense, but quick to finish

itthingy posted:

I ask because my girlfriend has a younger brother who's turning 14 this year, but he looks like he's 10, and is in that phase that most 8-9 year olds enter when they constantly ask questions. It may be something entirely unrelated to his condition or his medication, though.

It might also just be this magical condition called "puberty", which turns everyone into an idiot (I know I was), just in individually different ways.

However, ADHD comes with loss of self-control, and this can manifest itself in being unable to know when the right way to talk about something is, so sure, it could be related. But like I said: He's 13 - are you asking this because your girlfriend or her family is seriously concerned, or just because you think he's being annoying?

Tab8715 posted:

I don't know if it's just me but it feels like I can focus better when I'm high. Am I actually focusing more? Probably not.

I suppose weed can sometimes make it easier to grasp certain concepts. I normally don't go to university high, of course, but I once did during a Cognitive Science lecture, and since it was bascially a guy talking about how the brain works and constantly bringing up new concepts and different theories, it was actually easier to wrap my mind around the stuff.

I also once noticed that when learning languages, while being stoned makes it impossible to learn vocabulary, it can potentially help with learning grammar. I personally couldn't really use it as a learning aid anyway, since the stuff makes me even less able to keep to a schedule or bring myself to start studying.

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

Welp,

I'm trying Adderall again. I actually forgot why I stopped taking it altogether last month, I think it was a combination of not wanting to deal with the spasticity as it wore off, and the thinking of 'I don't need this!'. I apparently do, as the minor tasks at work are unbearable, and the major are insurmountable - and I found myself drinking 2, 3, sometimes 4 cups of coffee just to keep focus. O HAI self medicating - and the coffee didn't work that well anyways. I'm just glad I didn't ditch the pills.

2nd day and I can already tell that it's working again like it's supposed to.

I have a followup appt. with my doc next month, and I'm going to try to take it for a whole month to see how I do. I know before I was skipping days, which I think also added to the weird effects of the drug.

Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Oct 6, 2009

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

Qu Appelle posted:

Welp,

I'm trying Adderall again. I actually forgot why I stopped taking it altogether last month, I think it was a combination of not wanting to deal with the spasticity as it wore off, and the thinking of 'I don't need this!'. I apparently do, as the minor tasks at work are unbearable, and the major are insurmountable - and I found myself drinking 2, 3, sometimes 4 cups of coffee just to keep focus. O HAI self medicating - and the coffee didn't work that well anyways. I'm just glad I didn't ditch the pills.

2nd day and I can already tell that it's working again like it's supposed to.

I have a followup appt. with my doc next month, and I'm going to try to take it for a whole month to see how I do. I know before I was skipping days, which I think also added to the weird effects of the drug.

skipping days is probably what messed you up

ALSO GRATS!

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

Stofoleez posted:

skipping days is probably what messed you up

ALSO GRATS!

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. The skipping didn't help, and then I just stopped altogether. That was a month ago. I also want my body to adjust to it again, as I'm going to be taking a night class in a couple of months, on top of working full time. It'd be good to have the meds straightened out before that happens.

I'm also finding that, of all things, intense exercise helps with the spasticity. It's like the leg muscles forget how to work, and cramp up instead. I probably walked some 10 miles during my vacation this past weekend, and it felt fantastic.

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

Qu Appelle posted:

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. The skipping didn't help, and then I just stopped altogether. That was a month ago. I also want my body to adjust to it again, as I'm going to be taking a night class in a couple of months, on top of working full time. It'd be good to have the meds straightened out before that happens.

I'm also finding that, of all things, intense exercise helps with the spasticity. It's like the leg muscles forget how to work, and cramp up instead. I probably walked some 10 miles during my vacation this past weekend, and it felt fantastic.

I've never really had the spasticity, but I've noticed that when I'm unmedicated and I can actually get myself up and out of the house, I have much more endurance/energy once I get into exercising than I do when I'm medicated. Like, when I'm just regular me, I can run my body into the ground without meaning to.

And then once I've worn myself out my mind isn't as scattered for a little while. But weed has the same effect as those endorphins and it doesn't give me shin splints.

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

The spasticity actually comes from a separate condition, Spastic Paraparesis. It affects my legs and arms. Baclofen treats the symptoms and reduces the spasticity, but the stimulant drugs make it worse again. AFAIK, I have the non-hereditary version of it, though there are rare variants that only affect Norwegians ( :wtc: ), and I am half Norwegian-American. ( :norway: - now the home of Black Metal AND rare progressive movement disorders!)

So, the puzzle is how to treat the ADHD with stimulants without pissing off the muscles. This has been a struggle for my docs for a while now.

I also know that the Adderall helps with my depression, which is also nudging back somewhat.

Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Oct 6, 2009

Zhentar
Sep 28, 2003

Brilliant Master Genius

itthingy posted:

I really hope I'm not asking a question that's already been asked, but is it possible for ADHD and/or meds for ADD to stunt physical and/or mental growth?

The meds aren't known to directly stunt growth. However, the stimulants will suppress your appetite, which can result in undereating, which most definitely can stunt growth.

Tumble
Jun 24, 2003
I'm not thinking of anything!
If you guys want a good career for ADHD people, strongly think about the creative side of advertising. I hated school with a passion so I never went to college so I don't have a college education, but my friends recognized that I'm pretty smart so they got me a job doing copywriting. Now I'm the director of marketing for a small start up.

And I loving thrive in this world; you need to be able to process a lot of ideas quickly, decide which ones are funniest/saddest/more poignant than others and then extrapolate and create more. Then the next day you might move on to a completely different subject that you have to pour just as much energy into.

It's a career field that can reward throwing many ideas at a board and hoping they stick.

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

Tumble posted:

If you guys want a good career for ADHD people, strongly think about the creative side of advertising. I hated school with a passion so I never went to college so I don't have a college education, but my friends recognized that I'm pretty smart so they got me a job doing copywriting. Now I'm the director of marketing for a small start up.

And I loving thrive in this world; you need to be able to process a lot of ideas quickly, decide which ones are funniest/saddest/more poignant than others and then extrapolate and create more. Then the next day you might move on to a completely different subject that you have to pour just as much energy into.

It's a career field that can reward throwing many ideas at a board and hoping they stick.

MAD MEN IS A P. GOOD SHOW AND I MIGHT BE WRITING COPY SOOOOO

Serjeant Snubbin
Feb 1, 2002

Pillbug

opie posted:

Psychiatrist. I can't remember many details since it was a long time ago and my memory is horrible anyway, but I don't think it was more than a couple hundred dollars and I was prescribed ritalin.
Psychiatrist, or psychologist?

I know someone who fits many of these traits indicated in this thread, but I want a professional's opinion on it. Why should I get in touch with?

What's the story with medical insurance and these professionals? Is it covered? If they once had a diagnosis for depression in the past does that mean ADD is a pre-existing condition and hence not covered? Any experience with this would be helpful.

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

kimihia posted:

Psychiatrist, or psychologist?

I know someone who fits many of these traits indicated in this thread, but I want a professional's opinion on it. Why should I get in touch with?

What's the story with medical insurance and these professionals? Is it covered? If they once had a diagnosis for depression in the past does that mean ADD is a pre-existing condition and hence not covered? Any experience with this would be helpful.

I talked to my Psychiatrist, but I was already seeing him for Depression issues. For recommendations for a doctor to treat the ADHD, you mentioned Depression. Does that person still see that doctor? If not, can they go back to him/her? If not, perhaps a GP could recommend one.

AFAIK, Depression and ADHD are different diagnoses, so I would think that if one had not been diagnosed with ADHD in the past, they wouldn't hit the pre-existing clause. My Psychiatrist isn't covered by my plan, but he's so awesome that I just pay for his visits out of pocket. (I also only see him maybe 4 times a year at the most.) However, my insurance does cover my ADHD drug without question. It's the highest co-pay, but $40 a month for Adderall is a gently caress of a lot better than what it is at full price.

Boogan
May 1, 2005

f off
When y'all started on the medication did you find that it improved your memory at all? How was your memory before with regards to names, times and dates, etc?

Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

cjksutherland posted:

When y'all started on the medication did you find that it improved your memory at all? How was your memory before with regards to names, times and dates, etc?

It improves my memory a little, but it's still bad enough that it interferes with my life and work. I forget most names within one minute of hearing them, I have to write down even simple directions to get from place to place and I'll usually still get lost unless I've been to the place a few times already, I absolutely can't give directions, I usually forget what I'm watching on t.v. during a commercial break, and the list goes on.

I started meds in my late teens though, so it might be that my memory was already shot beyond easy repair by the time I started? :iiam:

Rushputin
Jul 19, 2007
Intense, but quick to finish
I'd say the memory thing is just part of the concentration deal - it's pretty much just that we don't waste a whole lot of mental capacity on retention, while my recall is often frighteningly good. The good thing about that is that a lot of this can probably improved my some simple memory techniques. The bad thing is that if I were able to learn mental techniques by keeping at it longer than a day or two, I wouldn't have so many problems in the first place.

Still, it would be interesting to hear about small tricks and general modes of behaviour that help you guys instead of just talking about weed and stimulants all the time.

Since I'm the introverted type, I mostly have problems with not being able to get random unproductive thoughts out of my mind which force themselves on me, making work efforts of any kind impossible once it gets bad enough. I've found that it's the easiest to get things done if I sort of try to transform that into the hyperactive type of behaviour - that is, I get up and just keep doing things without allowing large transitional phases to happen, which are the times when all those counterproductive thoughts normally ambush me.

The two problems with that are 1) that it doesn't work consistently, sometimes my mind is already racing enough just after breakfast that I can't get into any activities and 2) that even if I could keep this up, it wouldn't work too well with the kind of structure I'd need to actually improve things on the long run.

The whole "structure" thing is the bane for me, and probably a lot of people here, anyway. I have lots of neat ideas for keeping lists, making schedules and generally maintaining some sort of system. But then I either forget about it the next day, or I fail at doing something the way I intended, get frustrated, and give up on whatever schedule I gave myself. Has anyone had any success stories in that regard, or tips on maintaining a good balance between having some structure and giving in to unplannable mood swings?

Kneel Before Zog
Jan 16, 2009

by Y Kant Ozma Post
Unproductive thoughts means "jacking off and playing video games" right?

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

Kneel Before Zog posted:

Unproductive thoughts means "jacking off and playing video games" right?

Not in my case. I don't even play video games.

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Stofoleez
Jul 27, 2009

by angerbot

Kneel Before Zog posted:

Unproductive thoughts means "jacking off and playing video games" right?

It can't be both?

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