People have suggested I have ADHD, do I?

[Anonymous]

I’m basically wondering whether these things are possibly due to something like ADHD or whether it’s just my weird personality and attitude. I’m 20 and a university student, throughout my life I’ve always been disorganised, messy, unfocused and always seem to annoy people to get attention. I’m quite smart if I do say so yet I get lousy grades because I cant focus on doing any work, I’ve never revised for an exam and only achieve marks I feel I deserve if it’s on subjects I understand straight away or if it’s coursework and I always leave things until the last possible minute and I hate that I do this as it holds me back. I’m always bouncing from hobbies, I thought cycling might be cool so I went out and spent 1000 pounds and then a few months later I stopped cycling, I did similar with cards (not as much money spent) and I’ve done it with other things. I’m always seen as an annoying person because I seem to enjoy annoying people even if it leads to them disliking or insulting me.

So, am I just a lazy and annoying person or not in your opinion?

Also, I’m from the UK, I’ve heard it’s extremely hard to be diagnosed with ADHD here, is that true?

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[Anonymous]

You’re up late if you’re in the UK!

Have you tried the virtual self-test here? That’s a good start, you could also print out your results and take them to your GP.

Here in Canada, some GPs will require a formal diagnosis from a specialist in adult ADHD, others may treat based on your symptoms. But in my opinion, it’s worth looking into as other disorders can mimic the symptoms of ADHD, yet the treatment may be quite different.

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[Scattybird]

Hi Riserva – I’m also from the UK (don’t worry no-dopamine, it’s only 23.25 here at the moment!).

Your symptoms certainly sound as if you’ve got ADHD – especially if you’ve had them all your life – as opposed to just whilst at university. If that was the case I’d suggest you review your subject.

You should go to your university study support unit – there should be one. They will be able to help you – or should anyway. You should be diagnosed properly though so you can get extra time in exams and with coursework. BUT once you hit 18 it’s difficult in the UK to get a diagnosis. Try your GP though and explain you need a referral to somewhere like the Maudsley – they I THINK will see you on the NHS (but you’d need to ask). Any psych that you are referred to will want to know how you are physically, so start with your GP and get some basic tests done to rule out physical things. But if your GP diagnoses depression, ask to see a specialist! They’re good at diagnosing depression in the UK for everything!!!

Some UK universities that are attached to medical schools have research studies into ADHD that you might be able to make use of in order to get a diagnosis if you have the bottle to ask them.

I had to go privately and it cost a lot – a bit less than what you paid for your bike though!

Do as no-dopamine suggests and do the virtual test on this site. That will give you a starting point for discussion with your GP or with your university study support people.

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[kc5jck]

There is also a test at:

http://psychcentral.com/addquiz.htm

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[Anonymous]

Hi thanks for the replies, I had already done the test but I forgot to put down the results here

“While not confirmed by the interactive quiz, at least now there is some evidence suggesting you may have the “Predominantly Combined Subtype” of ADHD.

You’ve got the Inattentive stuff going on, as well as the Restlessness and Impulsivity.

In childhood the Restlessness is called Hyperactivity, which, with the Impulsivity make this type of ADHD easier to spot.

The combined subtype is far more common in boys than in girls.”

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[billd]

that was me – it was yet another test I easily passed….unfortunately (or some days, fortunately, depending on lots of stuff)

I took the results to the doc, who then gave me the DSM-IV test, and mumbled “wow” under his breath as he scored it (BTW – I’m in the states so the tests might be different)

His sub referred me to a behavioral center for further work when the Strattera failed to be of any help.

They interviewed me for 90 minutes, then setup a follow-up appointment with a specialist. After a short time, she said she had no doubts…… and referred me to a neuro-psyc to get the best of the best diagnosis, complete with detailed info on the sub-types, and comorbid stuff and all that. He also said even before finishing the testing and scoring (the TESTING alone lasted over 4.5 hours) that I was very ADHD, combined subtype and had a few other things going on that generally go with the ADHD.

A few weeks later and follow-up with him he showed me the final results after all scoring and his reviews of the interview parts of the testing session – yeah, very much ADHD, very very near the top of the scale. In fact if I was in college and being graded on that test, it was a near perfect score and I’d have recorded just under a 4.0 GPA – in short, I was just shy of an A+.

But to get the final diagnosis – they first want to rule out every other possibility, as frankly, a whole lot of stuff can mimic ADHD, including difficult birth (which sort of means that having this from very young isn’t itself proof) anyway, the list he showed me of stuff he’s dealt with professionally that looks and acts and quacks just like ADHD is quite long – a family doctor can’t tell the difference, so should not even try, in my opinion. This guy was good……….. but he leaves the treatment up to the other gal who told me I had ADHD, and she’s the one doing the work from here on. (well, so am I, of course!)

He said feel free to call any time, and he’s always willing to help with talk or suggestions. I can’t believe how lucky I was – he’s great.

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[Anonymous]

LOL, aceing your ADHD test is probably not something you’d want to put on your resume 😳

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[Author]

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