It has been a long process from my initial contact with our GP to ask if I could be referred for an ADHD assessment, following on from my sons diagnosis. I have waited a year and half to be assessed by NHS, with still no actual appointment coming anytime soon, as the waitlist is so long.
We decided to sacrifice a family holiday and pay for a private assessment, as the combination of peri menopause and undiagnosed ADHD was just making it almost impossible to function day to day.
Tik Tok has many people on there talking about ADHD and its almost like its become a trend, its spoke about as quirky and fun, yet few are talking about the reality of undiagnosed ADHD in adults. Yeah I get that we can be fun people to be around, this is likely due to the impulsive tendencies and the inability to apply foresight when making decisions, so we just go with the flow in the moment, never thinking about consequences.
Anyway, back to my assessment, it went well. I was not nearly as nervous as I had over thought about it being(yeah, impulsive and an over thinker...who knew you can be both simultaneously) I was instantly put at ease by the clinician taking my assessment, and felt heard and understood from the first few questions. I will talk about the various areas covered and how they affect me personally, in another post, as I'd like to explore them in more depth.
As I already knew, i have ADHD. I needed to hear how it affects me, being validated by professionals. I needed to hear that my struggles were real, and that I was not broken and lazy like I had told myself my whole adult life.
I will also explore how I was as a child in another post, how we learn to mask behaviours and feelings.
For now I am just happy to have a diagnosis that actually makes sense, and feels like that explains, what I have been trying to explain to GP's for the past 21 years of my life.
Medication is now the next thing to try, I have been prescribed many different medications in the past for depression, anxiety, pain...all of which didn't relieve the worst of my symptoms. I am hopeful that what I am about to start will support me in being, the best version of me.
