The Forums › Forums › Ask The Community › Dazed and Confused › Re: Dazed and Confused
Lots of people get diagnosed because their kids have been diagnosed first. ADD is genetic, so a direct family member who has it is a very strong indicator that you may have it too.
I can understand your concern with the issue of the cost of a formal diagnosis. That’s the problem with psychological care and testing. It’s not covered by OHIP, and it’s so expensive that most people who really need it can’t afford it. I’m one of those people too.
If your child has ADD, and all the online tests confirm that you have ADD, then those are two pretty sound indicators. But online tests are just the first step. I brought my results to my psychiatrist (whom I’ve been seeing for years). He probed deeper, with questions about my behaviour and mindset in childhood and adolescence, my work history and mindset there, and whether any of my family members displayed similar tendencies. That way, we determined that it’s highly likely that I do have ADHD. Especially since my mom also seems to have it, big-time. And “highly likely” is good enough for me. After all, you don’t need to stick a thermometer into a pot of boiling water to know that it’s hot enough to burn you.
My psychiatrist started me on Ritalin, which seems to be somewhat effective, though not as well as it could be, since it’s a low dose, and it’s not the slow-release version. Still, it’s only been about a month.
I’d be highly suspicious of the “nurse friend who knows someone who knows someone”. That sounds a lot like the people who run all those websites claiming that ADD doesn’t really exist and is just a way for doctors and drug companies to get rich. Everybody knows a friend of a friend. That’s the “proof” of urban legends too. Besides, you do have a professional diagnosis. Your family doctor, while not an ADD specialist, is a medical professional, with intimate knowledge of your medical history. I’d be willing to bet that she knows a lot more about you than your “nurse friend” does.
As ADD is a mental condition, you should be seeing a psychiatrist, at the very least. You’ll need a referral for that, and you’ll have to wait for it, but at least psychiatric treatment is covered by OHIP, and a psychiatrist (unlike a psychologist) can prescribe medication.
There’s a webinar on this site, tomorrow (Wednesday), at 1:00 (Toronto time), with the doctor who diagnosed Rick Green with ADHD. If you join in, you can ask questions, and he may have some suggestions to help you.
Are you taking the Concerta that was prescribed to you? Is it helping you at all? If it is, then that could be another indicator that you have ADD. Then again, not every medication works for every person, so just because the Concerta isn’t working for you, doesn’t mean that you don’t have ADD.
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