Adult ADHD Advice

Hi all,

Been super quiet here. How is everyone?

Personally, I'm out of whack with routine gone because of the kids summer holidays and she's home with me two days a week.

I'm currently in (on?) titration with a new anti-d (finally moving off SSRI to a SNRI(Effexor))and trying out guanfacine for the ADHD. It's not been an easy few weeks.

I'm also looking at retraining to become an ADHD coach. A few reasons 1) I really like helping people, 2) I have ADHD so can recognise and empathise with the struggles, 3) My GP thinks coaching will become quite normalised within 10 years as more and more adults get diagnosed, 4) I can work via zoom (I live in the middle of nowhere)

Has anyone here tried out a coach before? I actually haven't (haven't been able to afford one with any kind of regularity, but I benefitted immensely from a 12 week CBT course with an ADHD practitioner).

Hope you're all well.

Hello All. Long time reader, first time poster to boards.ie. I have a question for the group.

I finally have the money to go for an ADHD assessment but I searched online and it said I need a referral from my GP. So yesterday I asked my GP and she said "I can tell you right now you don't have it. You're very calm there.". Needless to say she didn't give me a referral. She gave me the number of a psychotherapist to talk about my problems. The thing is I stopped therapy at better help because I just couldn't afford the €200+ monthly bill. And I don't want that bill again. I'm quite depressed about it as I know hyperactivity isn't always a symptom of ADHD and I feel I need to act manic to get a referral but I'm a bad actor and just don't want to fake it. I want a legit assessment so I can close the book on this and move on.

Right now I'm stuck in limbo. Two past therapists and a friend's girlfriend who has ADHD said I probably have it. But I don't want to go the route of self diagnosis. I want to know if I have it so I can do the things that are supposed to help like buy books about it. I'm not opposed to drugs and if they help great but that's not what I'm after right now. I just want to know.

So I got a 5 seconds diagnosis from my GP that I'm not hyperactive so I don't have ADHD. Now I don't know what I'm supposed to do. It's hard to forget about it and move on without answers. Is there any other route for assessment besides the GP?

You don't need a referral from a GP to book an appointment with a psychologist to be tested for either of the three types of ADHD( inattentive or hyperactive or combined).

The test results if positive will allow you to book an appointment with a psychiatrist and they will decide if you should be put on medication.

I was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD a few months ago and am now on 30mg Tyvense daily. They help me in ways but the side effects can be intense too.

In all it will cost you around 1200-1500 to get to the stage of getting medication. I did it all through online appointments it was faster than face to face waiting lists which are probably over 6 months now.

Be warned though there are constant shortages of medications atm because of the huge spike in ADHD diagnosis.

As you've learned, many GPs unfortunately are not knowledgeable about ADHD - child or adult. As others have said, you absolutely don't need a referral for most private psychologists or psychiatrists, there's a bunch recommended on ADHD Ireland, and susanmadigan.ie

What I will say, for anyone else reading this, it is good to initially go to your GP to show the need out there, but if you do, go in with a filled out ADHD screener. Its easy to forget what you want to say, or doubt yourself in the GP office. If they don't agree to make a referral, just contact an ADHD clinic yourself and/or change GP. If they dismissed you out of hand, it may be the case that they could make your life more difficult down the line when they are supposed to continue the prescription.

Some people, GPs included, just don't believe in ADHD. One 19 year old I worked with, who had been diagnosed at 17 through CAMHS (a very thorough assessment), and was on medication, and getting a lot of benefit from it, was refused continued prescription from her GP as "that drug is for children, adults don't need it"/"2 years is enough on that".

While I have heard mixed reports about some ADHD coaches, there certainly are some good ones out there. The specialist training is very costly ~7,000€ which results in ADHD coaches charging in the region of €160 per hour, which i think is out of most people's reach to go to on a regular basis, but good for the coach obviously.

That being said, I agree with both you and your GP, we are seeing a rising cohort of adults getting diagnosed. In Ireland, this is usually private, and there is no intervention or after care at all, apart from ADHD Doc. There is a huge need for skilled, experienced practitioners, and that need is only going to grow.

I know its costly, but would you consider attending an ADHD coach, even for a one off appointment, to get a feel for what they do, what they're offering etc before jumping into training?

Be wary of the hundreds of ADHD coaches on social media half of them are full of **** and trying to sell you a course or something. 3 or 4 appointments with a psychologist should be enough to determine if it's ADHD that is causing the issues you are concerned with. It could be something else too so best stick to the professionals.

Also with regulated/accredited therapists you can claim back from health insurance and tax etc. Not so with a "coach" which is a cost barrier. Would think long and hard about becoming a coach - definitely go through coaching as a coachee first imo

Haha yes forgot that. If you're lucky enough to have health insurance, many policies you can get 50% on therapy, physio, speech therapy, Occupational therapy etc.

Some policies will also offer something back on the assessment cost. Worth reading the fine print if you have insurance