My first psych visit was today – ADD all the way

[Anonymous]

I just got home from my first visit with my new psychiatrist. It’s been awhile since I joined this site and had scheduled the appointment but was extremely skeptical about the doctor they assigned me. I decided to keep my original appointment and hope for the best.

Thankfully, the appointment went very well. She asked me the reason for my visit and I told her I suspected I had ADD/ADHD. Once I started talking, I couldn’t stop! It was like an avalanche of words – I basically spewed out my entire life history in one breath.

I left her office feeling drained, but relieved, and with a Rx for Concerta in my hand. She wants to see me in two weeks and will decide then if she needs to add a medication for my insomnia. Since I had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety back in 2004, I was still taking Zoloft and Xanax because my primary doctor kept refilling them for me. I was surprised that my new psychiatrist wanted to keep me on the Zoloft and actually increased the dose. But she wants me to wean myself off the Xanax, which is a relief since I hate having to take it.

I’m still in shock that it all went so well and so easily! After reading so many stories here about people having such a hard time getting a diagnosis and finding a good ADD/ADHD doctor, I expected to be put through weeks of tests and return office visits before being prescribed medication.

I’ll be picking up my medication in an hour and will keep you all posted on my progress.

Thank you all for the wonderful support and encouragement!!!!!

Lu

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[Tiddler]

Hey, well done and congratulations! Good to know for sure!

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[Anonymous]

Thank you!

I can’t help but feel angry that I wasn’t diagnosed before the age of 53! But I have been trying to focus on the future an not to dwell on all the missed opportunities in my past.

(Ha! I just re-read that last sentence and had to laugh at using the word “focus”…as if I had that ability!)

Cheers,

Lu

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[Leopoldb]

Me too – Age 55 – 1 year ago.

I’m pleased that with some just plain ordinary life help I’ve developed a rich, rewarding life because I’m high functioning and have developed the compensations and adaptations to help me. I offer props to former wife and my brother for leading me in the direction of diagnosis.

I want to be even better and I want to help others. Being diagnosed means that this “thing” how has form and substance and I can deal with it rationally. Watch for more from me.

Paul N.

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[ipsofacto]

2much2do, Glad you got the result.

My story is similar to Leopold’s, but over the last fifteen years or so, I had dropped many of the foundations of my coping skills. After the diagnosis, it is relatively easy to put them back in place. In fact more so because I can now see their value. Medication has helped me on this path, but I can see it’s a two edged sword. It became very apparent to me at the start, that the meds could even make things worse if there were no behavior change to focus on. I used to think that much of the things I used to do that under pinned my well being, were just reducing general anxiety. It is now clear that the biggest benefit was practicing mindfulness without even knowing it. For me, “regular and continuing” Progressive Muscle Relaxation, meditation, and adventure sports make a huge difference to how my brain functions in everyday situations.

I hope the meds help you find the other pieces to the puzzle too.

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[Bill]

Hi ipsofacto – glad to hear that someone else has found PMR/meditation useful. Feel free to add your experience to one or more of these conversations http://totallyadd.com/forum/tags.php?tag=hypnosis

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[ipsofacto]

I will do that Bill. I find the title of that section of the forum a little off putting. I don’t know how hypnosis compares to meditation, but to me the one sounds passive and the other active. I would never think to look at the hypnosis section for threads on RR and meditation.

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[Bill]

If you take away the titles and look at the way they are taught and experienced, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), guided visualization, meditation and hypnosis all engage the same internal processes. Different metaphors abound, but the effect on the person is very similar.

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[Author]

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