ADHDiagnose or not
ADHDers will be familiar with the concept of self-medicating, through food, booze, fags, drugs, shopping, gaming, high speed pursuit, risk. It’s not that this is wrong in itself, but for people who find it hard to regulate themselves, this can lead to some pretty serious issues.
It’s not because you are coping ok that you are not struggling. Actually, people with autism and ADHD are often champion maskers, and expand huge amount of energy to just be ‘normal’ in a world that is not designed for them.
Blunt facts: 1 in 10 men with ADHD will consider suicide in their lifetime. For women, it’s 1 in 4. The prevalence of ADHD in prison population is reportedly rampant. ADHD can have dire consequences when left ignored and untreated.
Why get a formal assessment
Well, very simply, knowledge is power. And beyond a label, ADHD can offer answers to why we struggle with certain things. Many ADHDers suffer from confidence issues, anxiety, depression (and often misdiagnosed) as a result of not understanding why they seem unable to do simple things. Understanding that it’s not just being crap, lazy or plain stupid can be a huge relief and a key to find ways to cope better.
ADHD is now more and more recognised as a lifelong condition rather than something that children will ‘grow out of’, so it’s a good idea to search a diagnosis to get the right help through strategies, support, treatment, and a kickass community of kindred spirits.
How to get assessed
Having a proper assessment can be the key to so much self-awareness and support. Take it, you deserve it. And if NOT ADHD, then at least you’ve ticked this one off the list.
Speak to your GP as first port of call to say you have done a screener and that you wish to be assessed and discuss options, they will know the waiting times. They cannot diagnose themselves, as not qualified to do so, so don’t let them boff you off with ‘you can’t possibly have ADHD’ – send them to ADHDuk.co.uk if needs be.
Three options in the UK: you can go private to get diagnosed, or you can go through the NHS.
NHS diagnosis is also a good route, the trouble here is that it can take months to be seen (and in some places years). But it’s fully free. Always worth checking local provision as waiting times are not always that long. Worth remembering that quality of assessment and care can also very erratic – as up to date knowledge of ADHD is still patchy even in professional circles.
Private is the fastest option at present but will cost anything between £700-£2000 to get diagnosed and to go through medication process (called titration). Providers should be accredited, and checked, there are ADHD cowboys out there.
You will also need medication reviewed every year, so there is an ongoing cost there, although sometimes you can get a shared care agreement with the NHS after diagnosis.
There are a number of great online platforms to look at:
https://psychiatry-uk.com/ is a reliable platform with ADHD expert psychiatrists who consult online – but they are snowed under at present
https://www.adhd-360.com/ is also recommended
https://www.adhdcentre.co.uk/ also offers online assessments.
Right to Choose is the little-known best of both worlds option, but only available in England (not Wales, Scotland or NI). https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/your-choices-in-the-nhs/
Legally, you are entitled to choose who you get their mental health provision from. Psychiatry UK and ADHD 360 are vetted NHS suppliers and as such, you can request to be referred to them for diagnosis.
Once referred, the suppliers take over, but bills the NHS for the service directly rather than you. Sadly at present, this option is also fairly overwhelmed – and waiting time with most providers is currently months long.
Right To Choose has no age limit and is also applicable for children, but again provision is very limited. We update the list monthly here: https://adhduk.co.uk/right-to-choose/
To access it, same as above, get in touch with your GP and ask to be referred to your chosen provider under Right To Choose. It's fairly new and obscure and most GPs don't know about it and will try to fob you off and say they need to get funding approved by the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) but that’s just not up to date information. Just insist. You can send them the letter template like this one here:
https://www.psychiatry-uk.com/right-to-choose/
The referral is done via email, you will then be contacted to fill forms and book an appointment. It's generally a 60 mins video call to go through history and such. I was diagnosed on the call as combined inattentive and impulsive. They then pass you over to the titration nurse for treatment, then release back to NHS under shared care agreement. So it doesn't cost a penny, but waiting times do apply, so it’s worth weighing what is the best course to follow depending on your local provision.
