How do I get diagnosed?, Adult adhd

[Birnie Clan]

Hello, need some advice, or help.

I have 4 boys, 2 of which are on medication for adhd. I strongly suspect that I am too. have mentioned it to my Dr, who found out that my nearest hospitals do not employ any one to diagnose ADHD in adults? Where do I turn, not sure that medication is the right step although I have been treated on numerous occasions for depressing. Is this happening to any one else?

Kathy

[Morphy]

Greetings from Kansas City,

Having been recently diagnosed, (at the not so tender age of 46, and after 13 psychiatrists), with ADD, I sympathize with your plight, especially because of the skepticism that reigns in the UK over the reality of ADD. It's bad enough here.

Now one reason I sympathize is that the best little summary of what ADD is,and the best introduction for the layman I've read to date, is by Dr. Patrick Cosgrove, formerly of the Bath priority clinic, about whom more later. You'll find it here:

http://www.adders.org/info28.htm

The best advice I can give you I got from reading an American expert; I don't know if this holds true in the UK, but did you know that many child psychiatrists also take adult patients? They probably know more about ADHD than any other specialists, including non-pediatric psychiatrists.

If so, he or she would know perfectly well about the high probability of your having the disorder yourself, and might consent to treat you based on that fact. You might have to get on the phone and start calling and asking them directly. Don't be shy, that's what I had to do.

If your kids are not being treated by a psychiatrist, maybe he could refer you to someone. It all depends on how comfortable you are with him and with the progress your children have been showing.

The truth is there is no blood test or other means of making a positive diagnosis. But then, that's true of Alzheimer's disease, too. (You can only confirm it by an autopsy!)

Dr. Cosgrove has disappeared from the radar screen since being suspended from practicing medicine for 12 months. Not for malpractice, but for "making malicious or unfounded criticisms of colleagues". Read the interview above and you'll know why he is not nicknamed "Dr. Tactful".

http://www.psychminded.co.uk/news/news2004...20treatment.htm

I hope this is helpful to you. If you do share your kids problem you can at least take some comfort in the fact that yourare no more personally responsible for their ADD than you are for their IQs (which are probably pretty high, right?).

Naturally, you are still responsible for helping them and pushing them any way you can. But if your kids are saddled with some comparable learning or social disorder, like dyslexia, and there's an Rx which makes a definite change for the better, that's all the "diagnosis" I'd need.

I'm not suggesting anything, but the truth is many adults with ADD never get diagnosed. Instead, one day they try taking a dose of their kid's medication, and its like putting on glasses for the first time. That's no long-term answer, but it is a (deplorable) fact.

I wish you well,

Bill