Man, even knowing how fucked 'murica is it still keeps surprising you with more fucked stuff. It just never crossed my mind that getting a diagnosis could cost money for someone.
Tell me you're American without telling me you're American.
Self-diagnosis doesn't help me get meds.
Self-diagnosis doesn't help with relationships IMHO either and I mean that both from a personal and professional perspective.
Why you might ask?
YMMV but for me, I am an open book. Having the diagnosis meant I could talk to bosses when trying a new med, or explain to them when struggling. Knowing the diagnosis means you immediately diffuse an aspect of a challenge. For me, that has been immensely valuable.
Edit - wanted to add a common counterpoint is don't let work know because you can't predict people who will use your honesty against you. I will argue assholes are assholes and you can't live your life at the possibility someone will be a dick. Most people are good people. Trust on that.
Unofficial/self diagnosis helped me in my personal relationships.
I mentioned to my partner that a doctor friend thought I had ADHD, and it really helped them not take some of my most annoying traits personally.
I get where you're coming from with needing an official diagnosis for work accommodations, but none of your friends are really going to demand to see a doctor's note, so why would personal relationships depend on an official diagnosis?
Nobody is suggesting otherwise or defending the medical system here.
Is it me that finds it weird signing off her own tweets with her name, when her username is literally right there?
It's just a shame the (presumably US-based) healthcare system is a clusterfuck, because that bit of expensive paper with a diagnosis on it would likely open up a whole host of avenues for exploration of the condition.
It’s just a shame the (presumably US-based) healthcare system is a clusterfuck,
Laughs in disembowelled NHS..
When the government controlling the public health service doesn't give a shit about the actual public, especially those who it sees as "burdens", you get more or less the same shit as if it didn't exist at all.
I was on a waiting list for 2 years to get an autism diagnosis, and the only way around this is to go private and pay an absolute fortune (this is of course by design - deprive the NHS of its specialists in favour of for profit private clinics).
Want therapy? Wait at least 8 months. Honest about being suicidal? No need to wait that long, here are some cops to come and take you away..
My point is the op is correct no matter where you are in the world, and people who insist that self diagnosis isn't valid seriously need to check their privilege.
I partly agree with you, but not completely. There are benefits to claiming you are ADHD, like in the UK being covered as a disability, thus employers are required to make reasonable adjustments for work comfort e.g. Noise cancelling headphones.
People without ADHD that claim to be can shew the expectations of what ADHD people go through in the wrong direction.
That said: I ended up waiting like 3 years for my diagnosis (and I had to chase those bastards every single time for a response), so if my employer didn't trust me and wasn't understanding of my struggles I would have been sacked by now.
That said; needing to pay £1,000s to get essential mental health care is outrageous. I'd take a reasonable self-assessment any day over expecting people to pay that.
But I wish people would stop voting for the government party that trying to convince them that immigrants are stealing jobs and they should underfund health care to keep the economy safe.
I lucked out - was on the wait list just before covid, and seemingly covid stopped the tests and worked through the waitlist instead.
I was diagnosed and prescribed after waiting 1.5 years. Now it seems people are expected to wait over double that.
No wonder there has been a boom in private healthcare diagnosis
In germany its free but you just dont get a place anywhere. Diagnosis maybe after a year, therapy never.
And you get a blood test to see you dont use Cannabis etc, because 1+1=2
Both have "a risk for phsychosis or shizophrenia", so combining will obviously lead to crazy dangers. Thats the state of science they are at.
it's even funnier when you might have any given variety of mental disorders.
Could be ADHD, could be autism, hell might be both or neither! Could be SzPD, could be a variant of that, could be any other generic personality disorder. Hell maybe i'm just shitposting and i'm perfectly normal!
So now that balloons to the period of about 5 years, 20 tests, and many thousands of dollars, both spent and lost.
OH and how could i forget. It does precisely, almost nothing. Because disability is super fucked. And any other services that do exist are probably also a nightmare, so what's even the fucking point of having them!
Also I think that you need psychiatric support if you really have ADHD, people think that have a untreated ADHD it's like having a super power.
i feel like it's situational. I've talked to a lot of people that do have ADHD, and are quite fond of their medication as it makes them extremely functional, but part of me is irked by the fact that it might be a secondary effect due to association. (i suspect they want to be a part of society, and as a result the medication making them capable of doing it quickly becomes a part of themselves) If this is the case, there is an argument to be made for the fact that our society simply isn't built to deal with the people it contains.
Part of me wonders whether ADHD was an evolutionary adaptation due to the presumed utility of it in ancient society.
I may have ADHD, and if so, i find it to be an extreme hindrance to doing normal people things, like at all. However, outside of that im perfectly fine and i would argue probably benefited by it, because it often keeps my brain busy thinking about things and doing stuff, which is good for your mental health (physically) there's a reason a lot of my time in my life has been spent covering various different interests and hobbies, and i think this, whatever it is, is part of it. Doing one thing is just really boring, and i can't be bothered. And if proper treatment (medication in this case) removes that, i would rather not be medicated to be honest.
On one hand, sure just a meme. On the other, it may not be ADHD that’s causing these symptoms and getting a professional diagnosis will help with treatment regardless of what’s going on.
Unless it's actually detected with some sort of brain scanner, it's all questions / answers.
For example, I don't want to get an official diagnosis, because I don't want it in my medical records, becaus it might impede things, such as getting a driving licence.
Many doctors where I'm from, tried trearing ADHD with antidepressants. Which is like the exact opposite of what's needed.
Yes, I'm from a weird place.
I understand why people might not want to do it, but personally getting diagnosed and starting treatment has been life changing.
Yeah you don't need a doctor to tell you your arm is broken, but raw dogging a broken arm is hardly ideal.
This post is literally about how hard it is to get a formal diagnosis. Nobody said they don't want to do it.
I'm trying for years now and can't get anyone to test me. Treatment is only covered after I have an official diagnosis. And this is in a country with socialised healthcare.
Not everyone is as fortunate as you and can get a proper diagnosis and treatment.
Yeah I don't need a doctor to tell me my arm is broken, but at least I can get a doctors appointment for that.This post is literally about how hard it is to get a formal diagnosis. Nobody said they don’t want to do it.
This post is about a doctor who makes money from her personal brand, website, books and speaking tours, telling people that getting a formal diagnosis is so hard that why should you bother. And now that you're emotionally validated, why not visit her blog, store or youtube channel and subscribe?
I genuinely don't know if her material is good or not, I tend to lean towards it being pabulum and watered-down schlock like literally any speaking-tour psychologist without even reading it. But lets not make any mistake about what's being peddled here and why.
I don't really appreciate discouraging people from getting professional care and diagnosis just because you have convinced yourself that your impersonal motivational messages are as good as personalized and in-depth care that a professional can offer.
yeah, the last time I tried to get a diagnosis it was a 6 month wait just to meet the doctor for it. And I had to make a phone call too which I avoid at all costs even if it's detrimental because the anxiety gets to me so bad haha
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply otherwise. But I wanted to share that in my personal experience it has absolutely been worth the effort
Murica
Public schools do free screenings in other to qualify for special education or 504 school accommodations. This may only cover students in the district home area and not private school students or adults.
The down side is that some school districts have quotas on how much of the school population can be considered SpEd or 504. But a pediatric psychiatrist can make that determination regardless of the school diagnostician findings to justify accommodations.
a fucking quota?!?!!?
Are people having that many hurdles for official diagnosis? Genuinely asking. Mine was with my primary care doc, $100 out of pocket for the visit, and whatever the meds cost. There was one questionnaire and total took about 30min from start of visit to prescription. That said, first meds aren't helping at all so I'll need to go back and see what other options there are, if any.
I live in a country with socialised healthcare.
I am at the point that I am looking into diagnosis mainly to be able to get meds because just living is hard. I remember being diagnosed as kid, but I might have a mixed up memory with my brother getting diagnosed and the IQ assessment I had.
I walked into my GP, who is usually very compassionate and even understanding of mental health things telling them that, speaking about what I struggle with and they go „it is a trend diagnosis too and I personally know a man that says he doesn’t feel a difference with meds“ and give me a referral for a neuropsychologist. No expedited, no like guaranteed thing (there are a kind of slots for that). Tbf they named two good options they can recommend even if they aren’t allowed to show bias. My first „checking if we can help you“ date is on the 8th of August, and I filled their entry questionnaire over two weeks ago. Mind that is a first date, nothing in the way of diagnosis and they might say they can’t help me.
The only other option is to either pay out of pocket for it (there are loads of private only doctors for it, in fact I did accounting for one of them), which I don’t want for two reasons: not having money laying around and not wanting to just walk out with a predetermined diagnosis. I am pretty sure I have ADHD, but autism plays a role as does childhood trauma and other things. So just treating the ADHD part could be detrimental. Or go call some helpline/emergency line and tell them I am suicidal and getting institutionalised. Judging by the treatment my childhood best friend got for that, I‘ld rather not.
I am female and females present differently, so that plays a role too.
My brother didn’t get treated btw, because my mother believed the stories about ADHD vanishing with puberty and that not happening when people get meds. He is also seeking diagnosis currently.
Yes, I did.
- No one noticed for years (I am a girl and girls often have different symptoms than boys)
- I asked my psychiatrist for help with work accommodations due to concentration issues and they wanted me to go to a neuropsychologist (thousands of dollars with insurance)
- Switched to a different provider who immediately diagnosed me after a single page questionnaire. Got meds. No drug test required.
- Ended up switching to another provider for reasons - they wanted me to get tested again because they didn't like the prior test ($$$).
- Got the diagnosis but still couldn't refill the original meds I was on because of other health issues. Went untreated for about a year before receiving clearance from a specialist. Drug tests required monthly ($$$).
- Had to switch providers yet again for reasons - they almost made me get tested again but I somehow convinced them not to. Got meds. Drug tests every few months ($$$).
Folks, really seriously genuinely, talk to your regular ass doctor about a diagnosis if you’re looking to get assessed. Mine just gave me the assessment for no charge because I was already there for something else.
He even said if I wasn’t happy with the results he would write me a referral to whoever and just send it to my insurance like a specialist referral, so they’d at least HELP even if it’s out of network.
Possibly state-by-state, practice specific, or insurance company policies.
My doctor told me that in my state a psychiatrist has to test and diagnose. The testing was covered by my insurance (if you have a referral), but the wait list is a problem.
Nah, I can't even do that because every place in my area will straight up say that they will never diagnose an adult with adhd.
Oh good, another doctor who thinks her own book, website, blog and youtube channel are an adequate substitute for professional, personalized care and diagnosis.
"It's really hard to get a diagnosis, so why even bother trying? Just like the video and hit the bell for notifications!"
She comes up a lot on my Threads feed even though I don't follow her and some of her takes are.. uh, iffy. I understand that some doctors actually want to help people, but there are far too many out there that seem like they're more interested in becoming some sort of famous guru. I wish more people took their advice with a grain of salt.
Not enough upvotes
I self diagnosed fifteen years ago but in the last two years I've been getting real help for it. I regret not doing so when I first came the conclusion I have ADHD. I can't take stimulants and the first time I was given a non stimulant ADHD drug I had a severe reaction. This caused me to avoid getting real treatment and that was a huge mistake.
What kind of help have you been getting since you can't take stimulants?
Okay but it isn't always that difficult, I talked to my PCP, who made an appointment for me with the right type of dr person and then I went to that one and did whatever at that appointment
My GP just wrote me a script back in 2008 and I've been on Adderall ever since.
Considering how much medication can help, uh, yeah, do those things. Its a trivial inconvenience compared to living unmedicated.
Also 5k is a lot, maybe if you're uninsured? Hell, getting an uninsured MRI is cheaper than that. And health insurance is kind of a must for living with a disability.
Don't like sentiments like this. I feel like it prevents people from getting the help they need.
I agree with you, however I want to mention (for the international crowd) that health insurance is insanely expensive. If you are disabled and can't work (and live in a red state) you are fucked unless you have family who can help. No job = no subsidies for ACA insurance as well.
(Red state = right wing/Republican; ACA insurance is the government subsidized insurance that Obama started)
Yeah, but if you're disabled and broke you get free healthcare in America...
Source: That's why I'm not dead.
I literally got my diagnosis in one day at my PCP as he went through the DSM 5 criteria and asked some questions about my childhood. It took 30 min and he was not a pill pusher. He does not ever prescribe stimulants. I tried his nonstimulant medication recommendations after feeling the need to have some intervention and they were terrible. When I asked to try a different treatment, he referred me to an in network psychiatrist and things were smooth sailing. The same was true for my two brothers who were also diagnosed as adults and one was diagnosed in another state also at his PCP.
All that being said, I think people make the jump to a psychiatrist too early when they can seek screening at a PCP first. I had to answer a few more questions for onboarding at my psychiatrist, but I never ran into any issues. I also did not have to pay for an ADHD screening because I had already been diagnosed at my PCP.
rolling through DSMV and calling it a day is wild, from my experience, at least with more off the cuff mental disorders a survey containing about a thousand or so questions is the bare minimum. Plus a few more rounds of that as you try to narrow down any other potential disorders it could be, because it turns out this is a really hard field to deal with.
There is definitely utility in getting a diagnosis like this, but i'd imagine most wouldn't for most things other than basic stuff like ADHD, depression, anxiety etc... There is a considerable risk of just being wrong about something, even if you roll through something like ICD10 which is markedly better than the DSMV. If you're lucky there are a few good localized options like the akhtar profiles for SzPD which can summarize the general disorder into a handful of specifics actions more so than a broad behavioral checklist.
I'm in Canada, so things here are a bit different. On top of that, things differ greatly between physicians.
I went into my primary care physician, and I inquired about ADHD, because I'd done some learning, and thought I had it, but didn't want to self diagnose. I thought he'd give me a referral to a psychiatrist for diagnosis, instead he gave me a survey, which was maybe 20 questions at most, took maybe a minute to fill out. After, he looked over my answers, said something to the effect of "this seems consistent with mild ADHD, do you feel it is affecting your life?" Very yes. Then he prescribed me a relatively low dose of ADHD meds, and as soon as I got that prescription filled, my life changed for the better.
I've been on it ever since and much happier for it. Took like 3 minutes at my primary care physician.
Meanwhile, my brother went to his primary, who referred him to a psychiatrist, who did weeks of discussions and examinations before any prescription was provided for him. He also has ADHD.
Different physicians, different people, different experiences.
The doctor I see for adhd set themselves up as a PCP for insurance purposes, so each visit is just a copay. You can find co-pays from free to $20 on the ACA Marketplace (Obamacare). Just find an insurance salesperson to help you, they are paid by the insurance companies so you don't pay for their help!
Testing cost me a little more and it wasn't as laborious as this makes it sound. One test was video-recorded while you clicked the mouse whenever something happened on the screen and the other was some questions about your history.
I'm 53 now and was considering getting an official diagnosis a few years ago, I even had the initial appointments set up.
I canceled it, because there was too much going on in my life at that moment (even got a notification I could reschedule for later)
All that made me think about what I was hoping for from diagnosis. In the end it was just having something in writing that would help me with self-acceptance.
Around that time I also was in a group psychotherapy so I talked about that and that part is now solved.
Regarding meds - I don't want to try them now as my other coping strategies are good enough at the moment and I'm a bit wary of side effects as I need to take a handful of. medicine every day, anyways.
In the end you need to decide why you want a diagnosis. If you want to try meds I'd go for it. (My son "inherited" it from me and had meds for a time, which really helped him).
In a case like mine where I didn't expect any new strategies out of it or didn't want meds - it was probably the right decision to skip it.
$5k?! A doctor's visit is $250 for me (insurance doesn't cover anything until I never reach the deductible). Also there were only like 2 tests totalling 20-ish questions. The hardest part was making an appointment, which I never would have done if I wasn't also making appointments for other pressing health issues.
Man. I hate to shill, but…
I faced many of those same issues, and after a year and a half of failing to set up testing, my doctor told me to go to adhdonline.com - they offer online testing for $180, and give you results back in like a week. She’d already given me an ADHD testing referral, and she suggested that my insurer would probably reimburse me for the cost, but I have ADHD, so I never bothered with it.
It took me about 4 hours to do the test (but I did it while I was sitting through a day-long virtual meeting where I had to be present, but not ‘present’. So like, it probably won’t take focused people that long.)
And - yeah. Morally, it sucks. It’s feeding into the commodification of someone’s job and is morally kind of like using Uber or AirBNB. It’s convenient and maybe cheaper. Maybe it upsets a system that could use a little upsetting, but will likely upset it too much and have unforeseen impacts.
But it worked for me.The problem with online services like that is many of them dont properly test people. So when they inevitably get shut down suddenly you don't have a reliable source of medication and you have to go through the whole process again just to prove it. Like with what happened to Done recently.
That’s completely fair. I was unfamiliar with Done until I searched for them just a few moments ago.
The service I used offers diagnosis for a one-time fee, and does not dabble with prescriptions at all. The diagnosis came from a practicing psychiatrist that is licensed in my state. Those factors, plus the doctor’s recommendation are what made me comfortable enough to go with it, but I normally don’t love going with online options for stuff like this. I just was tired of the runaround.
The diagnosis - which did not include treatment recommendations - was transmitted to my GP from the psych. And my GP worked with me on treatment options.
I assume if the website got shut down, it would be inconsequential to my diagnosis unless the psychiatrist was found to have fraudulently issued diagnosis’. (Which is always a possibility.)But that is a very good cautionary tale. Done didn’t just say they would diagnose ADHD in 30 minutes or less, but they utilized a subscription model and issued Adderall on an auto-renewing basis.
That whole thing seems pretty sketchy to me. It appears they were trying to tie your health care to their subscription model. They can go kick rocks.
Ahhahhha... I'm trying for 3 years now to get the diagnostics done. I'm in europe with government regulated healthcare and still pay my medications out of pocket, because its only covered with a formal diagnosis which I can't get anywhere.
I had messaged my doctor's office sometime in Aug last year, they said to call and schedule an apt with my doc. So I went to my physical some months later, December maybe, and they brought it up. I confirmed, we talked, and they said they would refer me to a local place that does screenings, but it would probably be a few months wait. A few months later I go in to my doctor for a shoulder injury, and followed up about having never received contact from that other place. They looked into it and the referral never got made and sent. Not ideal, but I've been at it for 30+ years so what's another couple of months. It has also now been more than a few months and I still don't have a call back.
I enjoy my doctor and the office, but I think it's time to find a new doctor's office.
