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Self-diagnosis is not valid. By definition. Not even a psychiatrist can diagnose themselves. What you’re talking about is either 1) advocating for your own diagnosis or 2) self-treatment.
Both of these things are valid.
Advocate for yourself for a diagnosis from a health professional if it will unlock new treatment options. But also just look into how others with similar problems have successfully managed their problems. Consider how you could implement similar things. That’s what’s at the heart of therapy for ADHD anyway.
But diagnosis itself is only useful as a tool for describing symptoms and informing treatment. If a collection of symptoms speaks to your experience, then the only point in putting a diagnostic label on it is to say “Maybe these things that helped others with similar symptoms will also help you.” But in order to do that effectively, there also needs to be a differential diagnosis to ascertain what it is not. This is why healthcare providers need to be involved in the process. Two different things can look very similar but have very different etiologies and different treatments.
Social media needs to quit putting so much emphasis on diagnosis and more emphasis on treatment. This post should be removed for medical misinfo, but I hope people at least read the comments to see why this person seems to be such a snakeoil influencer.
For a purely semantic sake, you’re probably right. But for a colloquial sake, the term “valid” here, doesn’t mean “legally valid” or “medically valid”, but instead means “emotionally valid.” For some people, confirmation is therapeutic enough to help. Also “diagnosis” doesn’t exclusively mean “medical diagnosis”. There are many definitions to the word, and in a medical sense, it usually means what you’re describing. But “I think I have ADHD” is a diagnosis. Not a medically valid one, but something that might help me get through the day sometimes. And if that’s all I need, then it’s emotionally valid.
Being told “your self diagnosis is not valid” to some people is the same as being told “There’s nothing wrong with you.” (Because most people aren’t working on a strict legal medical definition of “diagnosis”) Emotionally validating your assessment that something is wrong can very well be what drives people to advocate for a medically valid diagnosis.
Also, saying “You don’t have ADHD unless it’s diagnosed ADHD” is wrong regardless of stance on self diagnosis. If my arm is broken, it is in fact broken, even if it hasn’t been diagnosed. Undiagnosed issues are still issues. Too many anti-self diagnosis claims come across as saying that if you don’t have a diagnosis it doesn’t exist. At most you can claim “You don’t know for sure you have ADHD unless it’s medically diagnosed”
As with all things, a self evaluation is a useful “what do I do next” step.
All emotions are valid. Even ones arising from psychosis. That doesn’t mean the experiences that create the emotions are based in reality. Stop with the wordplay. You aren’t as smart as you think you are. What you described is NOT a diagnosis - not any more than the burn marks on my toast are Jesus. Calling it so does not make it so.
If you want to take this as “There’s nothing wrong with you” then that’s on you. Maybe we will revisit the phrase, “You’re not as smart as you think you are” as evidenced by this interpretation. Funny how self-diagnosers are so willing to engage in wordplay but cannot see any other meaning here than “There’s nothing wrong with you.”
As far as the broken arm bit, WHY NOT REREAD WHAT I SAID ABOUT TREATMENT?! And let me reiterate for the self-diagnosers in the back, You aren’t as smart as you think you are. See a fuckin doctor, get a ddx, try techniques that work for you, don’t claim to have a diagnosis without one.
If this feels bad, GOOD, it should. This is hard news. But I won’t lie to you to make you feel good and sell you products like OP.
I agree with most of what you’re saying, but the way you’re presenting it is almost confrontational.
True, self-diagnostic in a strict sense isn’t a thing, but as you point out after, a collection of symptoms can speak to one’s experience. Finding this insight, in my case, was an eye opening moment because so many things in my past and in my day to day suddenly started to make sense.
Coming to terms with this realization is especially useful for people who have strong negative views on mental health issues, and driving people to “self-diagnostic”, as in recognizing that they may be neuro divergent, is a worthy effort.
It doesn’t replace actual professional help and diagnosis, but it’s a first step that needs to be encouraged.
Damn right I’m confrontational because this is literally medical misinfo being peddled by a grifter and you’re eating it right out of her hand.
The differential is what matters. We go to a professional to figure out what it’s NOT.
I think it’s ego. People probably can’t handle the fact that they aren’t as smart as they think they are and don’t want to admit that maybe they’re wrong about their “”“diagnosis”“”. But that’s just a generalization. Go to a doctor. Fuck OP.
Suppose someone was on the fence here, and willing to hear you out instead of believing OP.
Because, as I said, while I agree with most of what you said, you’re doing a big disservice to spreading your message.
Based reaction
Self diagnosis is fine. There’s coping mechanisms one can use without an medical diagnosis. If they see not enough one can try for an official diagnosis.
There’s no such thing as self-diagnosis. That’s my point. What you said about coping mechanisms is exactly what I said in my response: that diagnosis informs treatment, so just try different behavioral applications that help you without worrying about the diagnosis.
Holy shit, I just realized that you’re one of the mods. This is absolutely embarrassing. I can’t believe you’re spreading this garbage. STOP telling people to diagnose themselves! You’re contributing to genuine harm of the TikTok Diagnosis era.
“Diagnosing” yourself is a step along the way to finding behavioural applications that help you. I would never have even begun to start pursuing half the things that have helped me if I didn’t see a bunch of people sharing their experience as autistic and go “oh shit, might I be autistic?”.
What you are referring to as “telling people to diagnose themselves” is actually just encouraging people to look inward and outward, find common themes between themselves and others, and use those findings to inform what they can do to help themselves and those around them.
If, in fact, you don’t take any issue with that and its instead just the word “diagnosis” that you take issue with, then I have no right to stop you from being that pedantic but there are better hills to die on.
actually just encouraging people to look inward and outward, find common themes between themselves and others, and use those findings to inform what they can do to help themselves and those around them.
That’s actually what I am saying you do. Why would you call that “diagnosis”? Why not call it “pizza-stomping”? Why not call it winning a nobel prize? Words mean something. The fact that so many people cannot understand why this is frustrating is exactly why it is frustrating. I actually like the nobel prize comparison. That’s not too far off from what’s going on here lol.
What it leads to is communities of people who increasingly have little relation to people who are actually diagnosed with the condition. “hey i like pizza do i have adhd” “yeah man totally! i have adhd and i love pizza” “yeah it’s totally a major symptom” and then when someone comes along saying “uhh that’s not actually diagnostic of adhd” they get told to fuck off
these words mean something. these conditions mean something. the treatments mean something. we have boards and licenses and ethics surrounding all of this. if you want to go wild wild west at it, im sure you’ll have a lot of fun and make great friends along the way, but all of this contributes to the undermining of our society’s understanding of mental health
So to be clear you take issue with the text in the quoted paragraph? Or is the act of doing what’s in the quoted paragraph cool but calling it diagnosis isn’t?
If the former, what do you propose people should do who don’t have the means to pursue a formal diagnosis, or are on a waiting list and suffering in the interim?
A couple things are wrong with the image. To be clear, the image doesn’t actually describe an act of doing anything. The image describes a barrier to diagnosis. It’s a real problem and one worth discussing - but I’m not sure if the conclusion should be “lol just do it yourself.” The image also says you’re just saying someone to “say what you’ve already known” which is a blatant attempt to flatter the reader’s intellect and skips over the most important part of diagnosis, the DDX. Which leads to the biggest issue, the implied conclusion, represented in this post’s title: “Self-diagnosis is valid”.
As for what to do: I’m just saying that you can make behavioral changes without having to name your behavioral patterns. Or name them whatever you want, call it Fred. For ADHD behavioral interventions alone wont be as effective as it would if combined with medication, but if there’s no other option then by all means. See what others have done to manage ADHD and try it out for yourselves. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have ADHD - but the name doesn’t matter! If you’re forgetting appointments, keeping an appointment book is just a generally good practice. Keeping a schedule, adjusting how your space is organized to cue your attention instead of relying on executive function, and utilizing post-it notes to stay on track - these are all good practices! And so on. You don’t need a diagnosis to do this. Why must we insist on “self-diagnosing”?
I just want people to shift from this horoscope-esque idea of “diagnosis” and focus more on “treatment”. I think a lot of the emphasis on the name and not the action comes down to a desire to fit in and finding liberation in a lack of agency. Like if we look at a false dichotomy: Would you rather be officially labeled ADHD and not have to work on yourself at all, or would you not get the label but be in charge of making the changes you want in your life? Both sound pretty scary, but the latter sounds far more difficult.
Thanks for the thoughtful response!
I don’t think you understood my reply (or you chose to ignore my question) but I got the answer regardless. I don’t agree with you but the way you’ve approached the conversation here is much less callous than it was initially so I’m happy to accept that we disagree and move on. Have a good one.
Oh fuck off
This is a pretty poor reply from a moderator. The user you’re replying to is correct. Not only that, it is staggering that someone who mods a sub of this type is advocating for self diagnosis. Sharing coping mechanisms is one thing but advocating what amounts to circumventing mental health help is frankly irresponsible. I don’t see how anyone could find it even rational to advocate to the potentially mental ill to diagnose themselves.
Nobody said to circumvent official diagnosis. Stop putting words in my mouth.
It is a logical conclusion to advocating for self diagnosis mate. Given your position within this comm you should seriously consider talking to medical professionals about your view and what they think of it.
…what? I agree with you?
I even shared an anecdote about my own self diagnosis? I’m genuinely baffled that you just lash out at someone who agrees with you.
they probably meant me
Self-diagnosis doesn’t help me get meds.
Nobody is suggesting otherwise or defending the medical system here.
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.
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?
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?
The same reasons as from a professional experience. Yes they aren’t going to pull the doctor’s note but neither is work IMHO. What it does is provide more weight behind your words of “hey I’m not just googling this shit. I’m not just an insufferable asshole looking to validate that I am. I’m actually working with a psychologist.”
Friends, just like coworkers, etc. care less of the diagnosis. They want to know you’re working on you because I’d argue writ large people want to see you succeed. A self-diagnosis can help but it doesn’t give you access to all the tools you may need to succeed so from the outside I would argue that official diagnosis matters. It means you now have someone else on your “team” be it a GP or a psychologist or whatever helping you navigate things.
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 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
My 2 year wait was over a decade ago, so looong before covid. The fact that things are worse now isn’t really surprising considering the service is now basically a hollowed out carcass with several hundred private firms picking it apart…
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.
People without ADHD that claim to be can shew the expectations of what ADHD people go through in the wrong direction.
This is a fiction used to deprive all of us of services and accommodation (by making it ever harder to pass the gatekeeping).
Neurodiverse people are generally treated like crap in the work place and generally in society, the idea that people are making it up to gain some imaginary perks truly is ridiculous to anyone who has ever tried getting any support. You having a decent boss is one of those privileges I mentioned that you should check, because as you go on to say, if that wasn’t the case, and it isn’t for many, you’d be sacked, as many are, if they ever get employed in the first place.
As for voting, you basically describing both parties at this point, and that’s because the whole system is a sham, as is the idea that voting actually gives us any say or control. It’s only by looking outside of the bucket they have us in that we will find the way to freedom.
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),
That sounds this close ->||<- to being some Catch 22 nonsense where they use your success in managing to follow up as an excuse to claim you’re not ADHD.
I hate that about disability assessments run by those Capita bastards. The whole “well you got here okay so you can’t struggle with mobility”.
No you fucking arsewomble, it’s just threatening the means to purchase the basics and essentials is worth the physical agony it causes going to your human zoo and jumping through your arbitrary hoops, you daft walking talking fannyflap.
I hate making it personal but I can’t see how anyone would voluntarily stick at a job like that.
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.
I don’t use Twitter, but if people read tweets the way I do, I never even look at the username unless I’m trying to figure out if it’s the same person replying to another.
Murica
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.
As someone who’s due a diagnosis (hopefully) soon, what type of questions do they ask you?
a lot of stuff about childhood experiences. it’s helpful to have someone present who knew you as a child, but failing that, you can talk to them beforehand I suppose. I imagine this sounds like a headache, so don’t worry about calling mom if it sounds stressful or confrontational. id say the ideal is a teacher who knew you well but doesn’t have stakes in the diagnostic label like a parent might. maybe a sibling.
Hi my parents took me to a psychiatric but did not say anything about adhd. I did not know what the process was, so I didn’t ask them for that diagnosis. They did give me anti depressants but I stopped going after 3 sessions cause i didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. Do you think i should go back and ask for a diagnosis? I also want to add that i live in a country where mental illness is still not real. So im not surprised the doctor was not communicating with me openly
that sounds hard. i cant give you medical advice - you know yourself better than me anyway. one thing i can comment on is that changes usually take a combination of medication and behavioral changes (aka therapy). so it’s not surprising that things didn’t improve after 3 sessions. it takes a lot of effort!
$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 $180, and give you results back in like a week. She’s 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.
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.
Then use one of the many telemedicine doctors that actually align with modern science. How weird of them.
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)
The author is not saying don’t get self-diagnosed. They’re criticizing the healthcare system.
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.
That’s nice and you’re very lucky. My PCP told me to schedule an appt with their drugs and mental health department (3 month minimum wait) and that he’d not renew the prescription I’d come to him with.
Then my next Dr was telehealth and kept warning me I needed to see her in person, but never had an appointment open.
Then my next Dr was 45 minutes late to every appointment.
Then my next Dr tried to get me to do IT troubleshooting on my end when he hadn’t joined the fucking Zoom call.
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.
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.
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.
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 ($$$).
Thank you for sharing. This has been incredibly eye opening for me. I’m sorry that it’s been so rough for you.
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.
After waiting several weeks for my appointment my “regular ass doctor” told me I couldn’t have adhd because I could look him in the eyes and hold a conversation. So, thanks, I’m cured?
I mean, it’s no panacea, but still worth checking before jumping straight to a potentially pricey specialist. Unfortunately some doctors are still dipshits.
I’m sorry you got invalidated by a medical professional, it’s dishearteningly an all too common experience for neurodivergent folk. I hope it didn’t turn you off the idea of treatment too bad. There are good doctors out there, who care and will listen and won’t just talk down to you.
After about two or three years since that first I’ve now made my third attempt to get help (Second one said 'you can’t have adhd because you’ve finished university and have a job).
I’ve gotten one step further, but if I am accepted to do a real evaluation it will be more than a years wait time. Public mental healthcare in Sweden is a joke. The wait time alone makes me want to just do it in private care but I can’t justify the expense in my current life situation
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.
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.
Wow. I had no idea that was a thing. I’m glad I asked then. Opens my mind to how hard it can be for other folks. That’s really awful.
It took me over a year to get a diagnosis from my initial inquiry with my doctor. She gave me a referral (otherwise it would not be covered by insurance), and a list of practices that did ADHD testing (not every psychiatrist does it), and I stumbled on picking a place for a few months. When I picked a place, their wait list was 3 months and I never pursued testing.
The testing process in my area takes a few hours - my wife’s took 3 on a video chat, and it took about 3 months for them to send their report to her doctor.
Cut to a year later, my old doctor had retired, and I had a new one. She gave me a new referral for testing, but cautioned me that the wait list for most places was now 6 months. Checking around with other folks in my area confirmed this. But while at that appointment, she recommended an online company, who - after a few weeks of weighing options, I did pursue, and tested/evaluated me (no video chat, just an online survey - about half was written responses - that took about 4 hours to complete), and got results back in a week. It was $180, and may have been eligible for a reimbursement from insurance, but I have ADHD, so I never bothered.And like - I guess I appreciate it. It does seem like whoever made those policies made them so that the diagnosis won’t be given lightly, but it creates issues. I sorta feel that I cheated, but my test was actually reviewed by a psychiatrist, and when I told friends of my diagnosis, the most common response was ‘Duh. You didn’t know?’ - so even though the online approach is sorta ‘cheating,’ I know that it’s definitely a warranted diagnosis in my case.
Yeah, that’s terrible. I do agree there needs to be some checks and my doc might be an annomaly in regards to dishing out pills for everything. But while the course so far hasn’t helped me, I’m grateful I don’t have to go through so much just to start. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that.
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.
