Re: How do I best approach my family doctor?

[Anonymous]

I have not yet seen my family doctor about ADHD, and my first appointment about this is coming up fast – this Tuesday April 12th.

My psychologist has sent a letter to my doctor, at my request – when I read the draft I thought, wow I am in bad shape!

I’ve copied the traits from the Totally ADD test that I took and I’m going to edit it this weekend.

I found my old grade school report cards and copied some of the remarks that were made, and even looked at my brothers and sister’s report cards to see if they had any noticeable issues that could indicate ADD/ADHD. My mother would be the best resource but she passed away several years ago – late in life she realized that she had ADHD but was more concerned with her sleep disorders (narcolepsy, sleep apnea, etc) and it is interesting that she took Ritalin and Dexedrine to help with that. I can’t talk to my brothers and sister about this as they don’t believe they have it (but I am sure we all have it to some degree or another). I am going to talk with my dad this weekend but I don’t think he will be much help as he was a real workaholic when we were kids and was just the discipliner in the family. I don’t think he is the source of the ADHD gene.

I’ve written up a little history of my life reflecting on how I probably had ADHD symptoms that affected me in school, play, friends, hobbies, work and relationships.

I’ve been taking my husband’s Ritalin for almost 3 weeks now, so I can also tell her how it has helped. I’m going to stop taking it this weekend so I can remember what it’s like to be unmedicated. We went to the movies on Wednesday evening and I was not on the meds (it would have worn off at about 4 pm), and at one point I just couldn’t sit still in my chair, fiddling with my hands, scratching my head, shifting, etc. Since I’d done this many times before it almost went unnoticed by me, but I realize now it’s probably ADHD. When I do take the meds, I have no problem sitting quietly for long periods of time.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how else I might prepare for this appointment? My goal is to get on a physician-supervised trial of meds. I hope she doesn’t want me to be assessed as I’ve heard that can either take months and months of waiting for an OHIP-approved assessment, or $2,000 for a quicky assessment.

Thanks for any help!

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