Zonedout
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Post by Zonedout on Oct 12, 2016 22:30:39 GMT
Hey everyone,
I was wondering if it's possible to get a diagnosis even though I can't find any school records?
I am sure I threw them away after leaving school in a fit of impulsivity (I hated school).
I've had no luck getting in contact with any of my old teachers.
I'm looking to get a diagnosis (if I do indeed have ADHD) privately and I am so worried
I will end up wasting loads of money because I haven't got the required evidence.
Anyone here get a diagnosis without school reports and things?
Thanks for reading :-)
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Post by vagueandrandom on Oct 13, 2016 16:45:54 GMT
Hi Zonedout School reports aren't essential, but some kind of evidence that you've always had ADHD traits is incredibly helpful. Is there someone who knew you well as a child and would be happy to come along to your assessment? My mum filled in an observer report . .grudgingly . . My assessment was slightly unusual as it came from being assessed for ASD and my mum was really supportive and spoke with the psych over the phone. That report was used in my ADHD assessment (in the same clinic) and I attended alone. I had school reports, but it was reports from a psychiatrist that I saw 15 years previously that convinced the consultant. .he randomly found them in my electronic medical records. .
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Endymion
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Post by Endymion on Oct 16, 2016 16:51:32 GMT
I was listening to Radio 5 when this little gem came on and caught my attention - briefly: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04bwvgj
New test called Braingaze ... (think my son might have done a test similar when diagnosed so I don't know if it is "new" new so to speak):
Don't know whether the test is available to all and sundry and would be used as a full on diagnostic tool without any other input from family, records, psych tests, but sounds promising.
I didn't listen to the whole thing as it came on as I was parking up and needed to hot foot it into work as I was, as always, playing catch-up, so apologies if it the article tells you all this or this is already on the forum somewhere! Guy they were interviewing was scarily similar to me in his situation but then we all are, I suppose, familiar with the joys our wonderful little quirky brains provide us with from time to time.
Now back to work, on a Sunday and in the office, trying to catch up on work whilst all my colleagues are at home
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Post by vagueandrandom on Oct 17, 2016 12:13:27 GMT
I've just got round to listening to that radio programme Endymion posted the link to. . The full programme is Here
The bits about ADHD are in the first and last half hours and are really good and highlight how how hard it can be to get assessment/dx as an adult. . there's an interview with Louis Smith after the first section and I'm pleased that they mentioned his ADHD and linked it into the phone in. It was good to hear JP (Hi anopheles ) mention the qb test too! I found it really hard and irritating to listen all of the way through, even though I ffwd through some of it . .it's worth a listen at both ends though.
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Zonedout
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Post by Zonedout on Oct 18, 2016 18:37:53 GMT
Thanks for the replies That makes me feel a bit better. I would take my mum but one minute she agrees with the ADHD then the next she doesn't and says "I'm fine". I don't want some kind of argument to erupt in front of a doctor or something. I was thinking that if they really do need evidence then maybe they can send a questionnaire or something and I help her fill it out. I will give that BBC thing a listen to too! Sounds very intriguing!
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Post by anopheles on Oct 18, 2016 23:37:06 GMT
I've just got round to listening to that radio programme Endymion posted the link to. . The full programme is Here
The bits about ADHD are in the first and last half hours and are really good and highlight how how hard it can be to get assessment/dx as an adult. . there's an interview with Louis Smith after the first section and I'm pleased that they mentioned his ADHD and linked it into the phone in. It was good to hear JP (Hi anopheles ) mention the qb test too! I found it really hard and irritating to listen all of the way through, even though I ffwd through some of it . .it's worth a listen at both ends though. Hi. Yeah, it was supposed to be a talk between me and the lady, but the interviewer kept piling on questions to that gymnast who was on earlier and the lady talked without a break so I couldn't get a word in. I was going to say it's hard for older women to get diagnosed because there is a tendency to put hyperemotionality down to 'emotional fragility' or just being female when instead it's more to do with impulsitivy of feeling.
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Zonedout
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Post by Zonedout on Nov 30, 2016 17:43:52 GMT
Sorry, I am no good at forums! Just read what you put. Have you ever heard of RSD? Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/12114.htmlIt seems really similar to this emotional dysregulation. Unless I have missed something or read something wrong (which is not uncommon). At the moment I feel I am struggling even more to take in large pieces of text so sorry if I have not been able to connect the dots myself. But they do seem really similar. I was so relieved when I found out about RSD, I couldn't believe it was a real thing. I thought it was just me! Hi anopheles Zonedout @endymion and vagueandrandom anopheles - I wish they had let you mention the fact that older women are disadvantaged when it comes to assessment/diagnosis because their emotional dysregulation/impulsiveness is just attributed to 'being female' or emotional fragility...or emotionally unstable personality disorder/bipolar disorder if you very unlucky with the doctor you end up seeing! I have found a number of articles online recently about ADHD and emotional dysregulation and the fact that it used to be an important part of the DSM criteria. It was, apparently, only when DSM-3 came out that emotional dyregulation came to be sidelined as an 'associated trait' rather than part of the criteria. Many doctors feel that this was an unhelpful move and may make it more likely for people to be diagnosed wrongly. According to an article I read in Additude Magazine, a new report, by Philip Asherton PhD, aims to have it reinstated as part of the DSM criteria. The report was the result of many years of study. I had a look at Dr Asherton's information on a couple of PDFs that you can view online and it is very clear that emotional dsyregulation is one of the most life-affecting features of ADHD. He also goes into quite a bit of detail about overlapping conditons and how ADHD differs from these. Here's a link to the Additude article: www.additudemag.com/adhdblogs/19/11409.htmlI hope that the next DSM diagnostic tool does include emotional dysregulation. Another disadvantage of being an older woman with undiagnosed ADHD is that the menopause also has an affect on mood and I would put money on it that if you already have emotional lability problems, the menopause is going to make them quite a bit worse! However, being of a 'certain age' also makes it more likely that you may be fobbed off as just being an over-emotional female (grrr!). Come to think of it, younger women could also experience the same difficulties if the doctor dismisses this as hormone-related mood swings. Sorry - I didn't mean to hijack this thread. The Qb test is interesting. We used to refer kids to CAMHs for these when I worked as a secretary in the child development clinic. I heard good things about them. I suppose they may help a lot in identifying inattentive and impulsive traits, but I do think the diagnosis needs to give equal weighting to emotional traits, due to the devastation they can wreak in so many areas of our lives.
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Post by vagueandrandom on Dec 2, 2016 9:14:03 GMT
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Zonedout
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Post by Zonedout on Dec 2, 2016 12:43:59 GMT
Ah, I see. That also sounds familiar to me. I seem to keep going and going with whatever is bothering me then tears happen. But having said that I don't really seem to cry much anymore (fairly sure I am depressed) so I go even more quiet and distant...basically just shut down. RSD is very quick, practically instantaneous and the emotion is totally too much for the situation (but it doesn't feel like it at the time, it is very real). Basically, then a lot of ADHD people are emotional wrecks. It's a great help when trying to do battle with doctors to at least believe you have ADHD. Sigh! Hi Zonedout I think RSD is perhaps part of what I experience, but the mood lability seems to have a much wider reach than that in my experience; it often feels like a surging build-up of emotional overwhelm, followed by a tearful breakdown (that feels a bit like a dam bursting). It doesn't always follow a rejection or perceived slight. It might be the result of all manner of stimuli, such as feeling exploited or put-on, worrying excessively about a problem that seems insoluble, being tired and overwhelmed by work, having had a shock or a disappointment, etc. That's just me, but others may experience it differently.
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Zonedout
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Post by Zonedout on Dec 2, 2016 12:51:57 GMT
That's the exact website I found when I first discovered RSD! It was such a relief to read it too. RSD is horrible, isn't it. I don't have many friends (and I don't want many) but I have issues with confidence, self-esteem, trust from being bullied at school... I love the few friends I have but RSD is always present. For example - someone doesn't reply to me...well, then our friendship is over evidently...deep depression follows to the point I don't want to live. Then they reply...all is well...they aren't mad at me like my brain told me...and the depressions slips away instantly all is forgotten. It is so messed up! Just typing that out makes me shudder. It is so dramatic and over the top and not me at all. On good days I am the most laid back person you would meet and it embarrasses me that I have such massive over-reactions to things. Some problems aren't even real! It's imagined! I will have to find your thread about this. I hate that we have RSD but I am so glad I am not alone with this.
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Zonedout
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Post by Zonedout on Dec 3, 2016 20:22:21 GMT
vagueandrandom I looked through some of your threads but couldn't find anything on RSD but from what I read, you and I have a few similarities. It's quite scary! But also a comfort to know that I am not the only one.
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