[RisuNeko]

Testing? If so what kind?
Interviews?
Other things?

I'm pretty dang sure I have adhd but my current pdoc doesn't believe it's possible to have adhd and bipolar disorder both and I want to know what kind of thing I will hopefully be in for to get a correct diagnosis when i switch towns and providers soon. I never went to the doctor as a kid and I always got good grades because my anxiety disorder drove me to great lengths but focus has always been a real issue for me and paperwork and reading entire books and losing things all of the time and being unbelievably unorganized and the list goes on. So i feel like since none of this was noticed when I was younger I'm at a disadvantage to getting a correct diagnosis now that im 25.

[robcalher]

I'm in the same boat. Never went the Dr as a kid and wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until this last year. Always asked my Dr about it but they never really listened until I changed Drs and she diagnosed me. Now I moved to another state and wasn't diagnosed with ADHD. She was just a therapist though, so waiting for my appt with a psychologist. So I'm wondering also. I keep taking tests online and they all say I have ADHD.

[puzzclar]

It took 4 years to get on meds.... and two rounds of testing. ... leaving me frustrated. It took several docs to get on the right med and I'm not even up to the right dose. Yes ot was frustrating but oh so worth the time and effort.

[alwaysin6thgear]

One thing I find frustrating in the diagnosis of ADHD is the attitude coming from many in the medical community. I'll be the 1st to admit that ADHD is over diagnosed in young kids and that is because most of your family pediatricians and general family physicians have very little knowledge about disorders like ADHD and instead of referring a patient to a specialist they will either make a quick diagnosis in one visit or tell the parent's their kid doesn't have it that he/she is just being a kid. Some parents, like mine don't want to believe that their kid has a "mental disorder ". Unfortunately, kids don't have a voice in their personal well being. When they reach an age where they have control they have already experienced numerous failures due to incompetent Dr's and ignorant parents. What I also find concerning is that doctors will question another doctors diagnosis. That is part ego and part ignorance, it's about them and not the patient. I was fortunate, when I moved to a different state and needed to be put on meds the doctor read my medical records and saw the name of the doctor who diagnosed me and said " nobody questions him, he is the guru of ADHD research " I was involved in a study for the effects of Ritalin on adults since at the time it was thought that a kid grew out of ADHD after teenage years. Ritalin was approved for children not adults at the time. I had to spend 8 hours over 3 appointments to see if I actually had ADHD since several other disorders do have some similar symptoms of ADHD. So I could never understand a doctor diagnosing a kid or an adult in one 1hr appt. My advice to anyone who has questions or concerns that they have ADHD is to seek someone who specializes in that area. Many general physicians don't have enough knowledge or just don't want to deal with neurological issues. It's best to seek a specialist even if you have to pay more out of pocket it's worth the effort in the end. It's unfortunate that a patient has to pay the price for the inflated egos of some doctor's.