England doesn't Care

[Anonymous]

This may seem like a ramble and maybe it is but I have not recieved a diagnosis and I can continue to look forward to remaining in this state for at least another year.

I told my GP about the issue and was sent to a nuerologist and by the end I was told to try epilepsy drugs. I’m not stupid! Why try drugs for a condition that can be tested for that they haven’t formally diagnosed. (petit mal)

Anyhoo, I found out that I have a bone disorder and due to the sitution of my life and the way people treat and deal with me regardless of numerous reports of relevant symptoms and I find out a coroborating x-may held for 3 years with no back up, I have had a huge chunk of my future independance cut out due to the effects of delayed treatment. When I comeback with my diagnosis of ADHD I am going file a malpractice suit against the Wandsworth NHS.

Sorry, I’ll get back to the point.

POINT!

I approached GP specifically asking for a referall to the Adult ADHD unit, after doing all my research. This new GP is good may I add not like the last scroat, and she did it I called to ask how long for an appoint. they told me 7-8mths for first appointment, 2 months for the Funding to be allowed and what about the the wait for the forms and getting people to fill them out, when you add it up no quite a year but bloody close.

What the F**K!

I am sorry I have been in intermittent fits of tears trying to deal with the facts of what I can see going back to childhood looking at my mother who I am convinced has it. I just got a place at uni and if I don’t pass my current course I can’t go and even if I do get in will I be able to cope or will it be another unfinshed mess in my life.

I am a mess and they are happy to leave me this way. I have been struggling my whole life to live up to academic potential, I wanted to be an astro physicist. Instead I became an actor I never made it due to my urge to be a scientist I was good but it wasn’t enough. I need mental stimulation, and then of course once the bone disorder kicked in it was all over the only thing I had been good at over.

Has anyone else experience Englands take on Adult ADHD.

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[Patte Rosebank]

Ah, the delays of socialized medicine! Here in Canada, we have similar problems, so we know your frustration, because we have it too!

I can understand the state you’re in. You’ve just learned you have a bone disorder, AND that you probably have ADHD. That’s TWO major medical problems, hitting you at the same time. On top of that, you have the pressure of a course that you need to pass in order to get into university, AND the prospect of starting university (which is a huge life-change). That’s a lot to deal with, and to be told, “Yes, you need help, and we can give it to you, but you’ll have to wait almost a year. In the meantime, keep struggling,” would push ANYONE to the point of tears! It makes you feel so helpless.

But you’re NOT helpless!

There are things you can do while you’re waiting. First of all, go to your school’s Student Services department, explain your situation, and ask for help. They may be able to refer you to a specialist for medical/psychological help—thus shortening the wait time.

You should also ask them for academic help. ADHD has been a recognized medical condition for over 50 years, albeit not by that name, so all universities and colleges, and all schools will be familiar with students who are struggling because of their ADHD. Common (and very helpful) ADHD supports include allowing you to record lectures, or giving you a note-taker. That way, you can concentrate on absorbing and understanding the content of the lecture, instead of trying to transcribe it into notes.

You’ll also need help with deadlines. People with ADHD are masters at procrastination, because we just can’t face the overwhelming task ahead. But if that task is broken into smaller chunks, each with a firm deadline, it makes it easier for us to complete them. We get a little bit of gratification as we complete each little task, instead of trying to avoid the frustration of having to leave the big task incomplete and come back to it later.

I recall hearing that the UK university structure is different from ours. As I understand it, in the UK, you spend most of your years at university, just attending lectures and studying on your own. Then, at the end of the course, you write a super-intensive exam and/or project, and all of your marks are based on that. (Am I right about that?) This is a huge amount of pressure to place on a student, particularly one with the concentration and time-management issues which plague those with ADHD. You will definitely need to ask for concessions with this. Maybe you could write the exam in several shorter sessions, instead of the standard one massive session, or write tests throughout your course of study, instead of one big exam at the end. Perhaps you could do an alternative test or project, which would better allow you to demonstrate your knowledge, so the prof could accurately measure it. This is why it’s so important to discuss your ADHD with your profs and with Student Services, when you start university, and throughout your studies there.

Remember, having ADHD does NOT mean you’re stupid or lazy or crazy. It just means that your brain functions differently. People without ADHD tend to think in a linear fashion (A to B to C, etc.), so they get things done quickly and efficiently. But those with ADHD think in more of a web-like fashion (A to B to R to S to J to Q), so we take longer, and mess up more, but we find out much more interesting things. Or, to explain it more simply, “normals” are cassette-tapes. They have a limited amount of information, but it’s all there, in sequence. We are the internet. We have so much information, about so many things…if only we could find it.

There may be one other way to shorten the wait for you to see a specialist, but it won’t be pleasant. In fact, it will be downright frightening. If you were to experience a mental health crisis, you could go to a mental hospital’s emergency ward. There, you could see a specialist within a few hours. However, you would encounter very seriously disturbed fellow patients in the waiting area, and that waiting area (and initial assessment rooms) will be rather prison-like, with fencing over the windows, furniture bolted to the floor, and doors that lock from the outside. If you’re going to go this route, I strongly recommend bringing a family member or close friend with you, for support.

But before you decide to try this, talk to your new GP. Tell her of your frustration, and your feelings that you are having a crisis and that you need help NOW. Ask if there’s anything she can do to speed things along. Since ADHD is genetic, and it appears that your mother also has ADHD, the evidence is quite strong that you do have it. So maybe your GP can prescribe you a course of Ritalin (the usual first drug of choice for ADHD) in the meantime, and monitor your progress on it. That way, you’re at least getting some treatment while you wait for an appointment with a specialist. (Many of us in Canada have had to do this.) Ritalin has been around since the 1930s, so it is proven to be effective and generally safe. However, with mental conditions, there is no one-size-fits-all medication or dosage. It takes trial-and-error to find the right combination for each patient. So Ritalin may or may not work for you, but at least it’s a start.

You should also explore this website. You’ll learn a lot, make some new webby friends, and find things to laugh at. Especially in the Videos section.

You might also want to get the documentary “ADD and Loving It?” on DVD, in the website’s Store. This documentary has the most up-to-date information, and is very well presented. It’s probably the best way to explain ADHD to yourself and to the other people in your life. I’m not sure if the DVD is region-coded, but if you find it won’t play on your DVD player, there’s software you can get to unlock the region-coding on your computer’s DVD drive, so you can watch it there. I have a lot of comedy DVDs from the UK, and that’s how I watch them.

Just remember, you’re not helpless. You can do a lot to help yourself, while you’re waiting for the healthcare system to help you. And just knowing that, is a real comfort.

Good luck!

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[Anonymous]

e-bookasme b31.3 can make a woman act like the most beautiful woman in the world. even though herve legerherve leger can not reflect your inner being it will reflect many parts of your individual connotation which is hard to find by others who around you.

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[shutterbug55]

It’s not that they don’t care, they are unable to care. They have a few docs who don’t get paid as much as they should, and they have to treat everyone and their dog. Unless you have the money for private care, you wait in the system.

America is heading down that road as fast as we can, so we can be just like Canada and England!

Oh fun. Oh joy. I can hardly wait.

What I do, is I come in with a list of questions I need the doc to answer. I also have a list of expectations marked “Public” (the ones I share with the doc) and “Private”. Not too many expectations get on the private list, but even when I disclose my expectations, there is still a tug of war with the docs in getting treatment.

It seems like if I am not bleeding out of my eyes, ears, and nose, I won’t get any attention. I bring an advocate and we double team or tag-team the doc. This is VERY effective for me, because alone, I can be handled, but as a team, my advocate and I can’t be handled and we generally get what we want.

The advocate thing works, because it throws THEM off their game. I have been asked to have my advocate leave on several occasions, during their “examination”. This is laughable, because my advocate knows me better at times than I know me and it’s not like I am wearing one of those stupid back-less gowns while they are asking me questions.

I hope this helps and I hope you get the treatment you want from them.

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[Anonymous]

Hi,

This is my first ever post here, so hello.

I was just diagnosed with ‘hyperkinetic disorder’ a couple of months ago, and I have to say that my experience was different from anyone else from the UK that I’ve read here or anywhere else.

I approached my doctor late last year to say I suspected I had ADD. I had to write down my symptoms and let her read through them, and she sent me for tests to make sure what I was describing wasn’t caused by some of the other stuff it could have been. Once these were ruled out, I was referred to a psychiatrist in a matter of weeks.

I had a couple of consultations with the psychiatrist where I talked through what was wrong and went through some questionnaires. I took along my wife and a big stack of school reports to the second appointment. Then I got my diagnosis and was discharged back to my GP after I said I wanted to try to go ahead without medication. If I change my mind, all I need to do is go back to my doctor and asked to be re-referred.

The psychiatrist recommended a local counselling service (which is private, but relatively cheap), and I’ve contacted JobCentrePlus about Access to Work (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/disabledpeople/employmentsupport/workschemesandprogrammes/dg_4000347).

They’ve agreed to fund an ADD coach to come to my work to sit with me a couple of hours a week and help with time management, prioritising tasks and all that good stuff.

Either I’m really really lucky or things have improved a whole lot for diagnosis and treatment of ADD in the UK.

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[Author]

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