Quick idea for getting motivated.

[Tiddler]

I think that’s a really good point. I’m so pleased becasue I haven’t been able to access any meds at all but I can see that it could be a potential problem for people on medication as there is no info on the label about this yet. The study seems to be fairly new and still not reported on humans (rats burying marbles isn’t really enough is it!)

That said, I have woken up feeling like I’ve actually slept, am actually awake and I have already answered some important work emails.

This is not a normal morning for me!

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[Scattybird]

Hahaha sometimes on a bad day I feel JUST like a rat burying marbles! I bet the rat remembers where she buried them so she’s probably ahead of me. I frequently lose mine completely!

Was it prescribed to you as a painkiller or can you get it over the counter? (I am also in the UK)

Glad it’s given you some relief.

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[Tiddler]

You’e in the UK? Oh so many questions!

I was prescribed it for back pain (with codeine and diazepam though I only used them for the first couple of days.

I feel the same today as I did yesterday – namely quite focused! My husband has noticed some random things – like I didn’t pull the thing I wanted from the bottom of the pile and let everythign else fall over for example!

So back to the questions –

what meds are you on and how did you get them? Were you offered any other help? Is your GP supportive?

Oh my! This is quite exciting. i know it can’t be a placebo effect because I started looking into this AFTER I realised I was focusing more, rather than finding out it might help and feeling like I was focusing more if that makes sense. In other words I think this is working…for now at least!

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[Scattybird]

Hi Tiddler

To answer your questions:

I haven’t seen my GP yet. They are good people but we get 5 minute appointments and I decided not to see them in the first instance. I read so much that said you need to see a specialist in adult ADHD that I decided to by-pass them, at least for the moment.

I did an internet search and found a private psych who specialises in adult ADHD and made an appointment for an assessment which I had in November. The assessment cost £750 (can’t quite remember but it wasn’t less than that and it was under £800). I had been saving for some renovation work on the house so blew some of it on the assessment instead!

My psych prescribed me methylphenidate (I now take the brand name Ritalin) but she only did it because I could prove I had recently had a medical from my GP. She had to send a report to my GP so no doubt they will get involved soon. My psych was keen to rule out a physical cause of the symptoms and also to check blood pressure etc.

I am still playing with my Ritalin dose. It is the instant release stuff we get here. At the moment I take one 10 mg pill up to 4 times a day depending on my day. That dose keeps me emotionally regulated so I don’t lose my cool at work. If I start my day late I might just take two. More recently I have been taking it less but instead ear marking half a day for focused undisturbed work and then I take 15 mg followed by 10 mg.

Today I took none but found I needed Red Bulls to keep going. I noticed I got my bounce back though.

My psych is good and she recommended that I should try to get further prescriptions from my GP to save money. Also she told me I live in the catchment area for an NHS based group. However, now I have spent the big sum of money I am loathed to go elsewhere unless my financial circumstances change. I can’t bear the thought of talking to someone new about it especially if not a specialist.

There are disadvantages to getting diagnosed – namely you are obliged to tell the DVLA. They are apparently assessing me for my fitness to drive now!

If you want more info just let me know.

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[Tiddler]

Oh lord. I didn’t know that about the DVLA.

It’s not a new condition – we’ve had it all our lives. Are you sure we have to declare it?

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[Tiddler]

It’s good that you got seen without needing to get your GP involved. My psych wouldn’t see me without a referral from my GP, as was the case with another 2 or 3 doctors I contacted. There isn’t a specialist in our area, but they won’t give me out of area funding to go to a nearby treatment centre because there is treatment available here – by non specialists which is, I’m told, patchy and unsatisfactory, here.

I’ve been waiting for 7 months now and I wasn’t even put on the waiting list because of a mess up at the GP’s. So I’m back to square one. Very frustrating.

I paid for a private assessmet but can’t afford private treatment too so I’m playing the waiting game…

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[Scattybird]

Hi Tiddler

Actually I think I was very lucky. I think I managed to sneak in the back door. I notice now on her web site she said patients should be referred. But my GP has a report now with details of my meds.

Re DVLA yes I am sure. Check out their web site. It is a notifiable condition. It is unlikely that you will lose your licence though. Don’t be in a rush to notify them. They will ask your GP or psych to write a report. It’s ludicrous that someone who has spoken to you briefly has the power to trash your legal right to drive. What DVLA are looking for it whether the driver is dangerously impulsive or if any meds affect driving. If I were you I’d keep quiet until you are helped properly. If your GP or psych tells them and you don’t it wouldn’t look good and might affect your insurance if you had an accident. I told DVLA that I have had the condition all my life but have just found out. They wrote to me to say they are reviewing my case but my psych hasn’t sent her report. I think she has ADHD!

It sounds like they are giving you the run around. Compared to the initial cost of the assessment the routine payments are less. I pay £30 per prescription to my psych and then about the same to Boots for the prescription to be cashed in. Every three months the cost is either £75 for a telephone consultation or £150 for a face to face consultation. If I get a prescription during a consultation the £30 is wavered. Now I have written this down it is a lot of money. I was probably spending that on Red Bull and it will cost me more than that if I lose my job which is a possibility if I can’t get some stuff done so I need the ritalin as a crutch. Mind you if that dries up I might request your painkiller from my GP!!

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[Tiddler]

Thanks for all that, scattybird!

My diagnosis cost £170 and we are in a financially difficult position. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it had been more – we also had our son tested a few months before and that was £400.

Not easy all this, is it!

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[Scattybird]

No it’s not easy. I couldn’t have afforded it last year as I’d got myself into a financial mess. Also I was a bit desperate to get some help. Also I spend impulsively sometimes and getting my diagnosis was one of those impulses. At least it is one of the most sensible of my spending sprees and for once it was my own money rather than the banks!!

Also I don’t have family responsibilities or I certainly couldn’t have done it.

I think it was worth it. Well, maybe I should answer that if I catch up enough to remain in gainful employment!

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[Tiddler]

I think it’s worth it, scattybird. It’s worth it at 3 times the price! We’ll find a way if the NHS doesn’t come through. I can see a glimmer of what I could be like having taken the nefopam and finding myself more focused!

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[Author]

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