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ADHD Adult ADHD assessment?

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barefoot

MyPTSD Pro
Has anyone in the UK had an ADHD assessment/diagnosis as an adult? Either via NHS or private?

I'm increasingly thinking that I may have ADD (not so much the H part!) and am just starting to look things up online a bit. Wondering whether to pursue it. And, if so, whether there's any hope of an NHS route or whether it would mean forking out for private. It looks like several hundreds of pounds at least to get an initial private assessment. Not sure whether to ask GP about it or if I should just leave it.

Any suggestions for useful resources also appreciated – wherever you are in the world!
 
Has anyone in the UK had an ADHD assessment/diagnosis as an adult? Either via NHS or private?

I'm increasingly thinking that I may have ADD (not so much the H part!) and am just starting to look things up online a bit. Wondering whether to pursue it. And, if so, whether there's any hope of an NHS route or whether it would mean forking out for private. It looks like several hundreds of pounds at least to get an initial private assessment. Not sure whether to ask GP about it or if I should just leave it.

Any suggestions for useful resources also appreciated – wherever you are in the world!

Just wanted to quickly share my experience since you are here in a PTSD group. My attention span is terrible. I thought for many years that I must have ADD/ADHD and some docs suggested I go get tested, too. Eventually a psych nurse asked me if my attention span got better when I took my then prescribed benzos. Why yes, it did. He told me that my attention issues were most likely caused by anxiety which was why they improved with anxiety meds and got worse when I drank coffee.

Just saying in case any of that applies to you.
 
I’m from Canada, so this might not be much help. I was diagnosed with PTSD about 4 years ago, and I was diagnosed with ADHD about 2 years ago (tested as an adult).

The thing with ADHD is that you must have also had symptoms as a child (before the age of 12). If that was the case for you, then it makes a stronger case for you to go forward with getting tested. I know that when I went to get tested, there was a concern going in about whether my symptoms were because ADHD or because of PTSD. And, it didn't help that I had been experiencing PTSD symptoms from childhood. But, when I did the test, the psychologist who did the test was able to say with certainty that although "PTSD and other mental health concerns are likely contributing to my attention problems", that my "attention problems did not appear to be better explained by these results" (from my report), which meant that I did have ADHD.

You can check out this website:
ADDitude - Inside the ADHD Brain: ADD Symptom Tests, Treatment, Support
It has a bunch of info on ADHD, as well as comorbidities. It also has self-tests for Adult ADHD (not diagnostic), which could also help you decide whether to go forward with the test.

I also found these sites, which might be helpful:
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - Diagnosis - NHS
Getting an NHS ADHD diagnosis - ADHD Aware
Adult ADHD diagnosis in the UK - SimplyWellbeing
Attention please! How a new online ADHD test offers fast diagnosis
Qbtech... Rethinking ADHD

I, personally, hold the view that if there's something that's concerning to me, then it must be for a reason. So I owe it to myself to investigate it, and find out whether or not I was right to be concerned. "It's better to be safe than sorry".

- Hope that helps.
 
One thing to know... per the DSM5 it’s all ADHD. Because the hyperactivity is always present. It’s just a question whether it’s mental hyperactivity, physical hyperactivity, or both.

Ex of Mental Hyperactivity) daydreaming, zoning out (disassociation is always a part of ADHD, whether it’s the world falls away in hyperfocus, or a much needed break from overactive senses), multiple thought streams / layered thoughts&emotions, hyper-awareness of your environment/body/other people/ etc., vivid memories, vivid forecasting, creative/synergistic leaps (in medicine the best example of that is diagnostic; seeing 5 totally unrelated symptoms, whilst the patient relays 2 others, and DING! We’re probably lookin at XYZ, unless there’s ABC in which case it’s 123...but it translates to most fields in various ways), vivid 3D spatial awareness & imagery (whether that translates to agility, or not, and is purely cognitive) / knowing where things are relative to other things and being able to predict the relationship to those things in motion without math, strong “intuition” (usually a facet of hyperawareness of people and things, and heir relationships to each other; including reading micro expressions untrained without a trauma history), and a whole host of other things an ADHD therapist will go over with you if you have ADHD-i or ADHD-c.

ADHD-I Inattentive (hyperactive mental)
ADHD-H hyperactive (physical)
ADHD-C Combine (hyperactive both physical and mental)

<grin> I was going to also recommend additude mag... for authoritative “in the trenches” info people without ADHD tend to like CHADD better (it’s more linear), meanwhile people with ADHD tend to like Additude
 
Thanks @RussellSue – yes, I think there must be a significant overlap between PTSD/anxiety/ADHD and probably other disorders too. Hard to unpick which could be which. So, I guess I am wondering whether to pursue it in the hope that someone else might be able to unpick it, clarify and, if there is then an ADHD diagnosis, treat it. I take valium very infrequently – generally when I have been massively triggered and am finding it very difficult to down-regulate or sometimes when I can't sleep. Although they quiet my mind, I don't know that they help me focus/concentrate....I think they help me numb/zone out.

The thing with ADHD is that you must have also had symptoms as a child (before the age of 12).
I'm not sure about this....I keep trying to think back but don't feel sure either way. I know I used to daydream a lot at school and would forget things a lot...and I remember having teacher's comments in my exercise books about not finishing work so to copy up what I'd missed etc. But I don't know whether that was as young as 12. The daydreaming was...I was always in my own little world! Not sure about other things. I guess my experience of ADHD in others was always in the form of loud, disruptive boys who couldn't sit still and quietly! So, I'm finding it hard to remember how I was and whether that could fit with ADHD – though I have recently read that it can often present differently for boys and girls (girls being quieter/more likely to be daydreaming etc) Thanks for all the links. I'd come across some of the UK ones but it's great to have a clear list in one place that I can click through!

Thanks @Friday – I did actually think of you when I started this thread! And your post is timely as I just read something a couple of days ago about how the hyperactivity can show up in different ways (that it doesn't have to be lots of noise and physical movement!) I certainly recognise some but not all of the things you've listed.

Hmm...not sure where to go with this...or whether I'm now just creating a new obsession for myself in getting into this research/possibility!
 
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