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Post by Daisy on Oct 16, 2021 9:28:04 GMT
Hello! I have a lot of ADHD traits (time blindness, procrastination, distraction, lack of focus, difficulty making decisions, struggling with finishing what I start ) but I don’t generally lose things or forget upcoming appointments. Is it still worth me seeking assessment for ADHD ? These problems have been with me since childhood and have severely impacted my life. I saw a clinical psychologist a few years ago who thought these problems came from an executive disfunction caused by childhood trauma. She didn’t think it would be possible to untangle whether I had ADHD. But I wonder if an expert would be able to give me a definitive answer. It would be lovely to hear some ideas 😊
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Post by Xxxxxx on Oct 16, 2021 14:05:01 GMT
Hi Daisy, Depends what you want to do with diagnosis. Is useful if you want to try medication which helps lots of people/ access to therapy specifically for peeps with ADHD, or for support at work/study. ADHD can be very difficult to diagnose in adulthood however the fact you had these problems since childhood makes getting a diagnosis more likely. Everyone with ADHD is different, you need to tick enough of the boxes not all of them, so you may well tick enough without the memory problems. Most people have a mix of inattentive symptoms with hyperactive/impulsive symptoms, (which generally look like fidgeting /blurting things out/making rash decisions in adults.) However you can have either just the hyperactive/impulsive symptoms or just the inattentive symptoms. By the way the waiting lists in most areas are usually pretty long for assessment. Even assessments using online providers which you can request from your GP with ‘Right to Choose’ have long lists, so I wouldn’t wait around too long. Can always cancel if you chant your mind. Best of luck whatever you decide to do.
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Post by speedy1 on Oct 16, 2021 20:24:21 GMT
Hey Daisy
I could be wrong but everyone I’ve spoken to with ADHD has problems with forgetting and losing things
Maybe it’s that you’ve developed coping strategies so it’s less likely to happen but if you think back to your early childhood there’ll probably be many lost PE kits, hats, gloves, pencil cases etc
I have a designated pocket in my work shorts for my van keys otherwise I end up spending a lot of time looking for them
I have routines when I enter my house or work so I’ll put things in the right place and remember to sign in at work etc
but even then my routine can get broken when someone or something distracts me and then that’s another thing lost or forgotten (I’ve been conducted multiple times at work for forgetting to scan the consolidation point when I walk in)
I have written notes everywhere
So if you notice you have designated pockets, post it notes all over and routines you do it’s possible that you’ve developed coping strategies to counteract the forgetfulness/distract ability
Hope this is of help
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Post by Xxxxxxx on Oct 16, 2021 21:38:42 GMT
Hi Daisy It does depend on structure in life though re forgetting things. I don’t remember forgetting stuff/losing things in school however I do remember been laughed in front of the entire Brownie pack by Brown Owl aged 7 when I couldn’t remember the item I’d chosen in the ‘I went to market game’. When I moved tutor groups aged 12 I struggled to remember the names of a group of girls and was told by them, ‘you should be able to remember our names by now’. It’s only in adult life I started losing and forgetting things. I suspect ADHD in my husbands family. His mum was very hyperactive, lived on her nerves, smoked like trooper, had unbelievable amounts of energy. Would talk none stop, with the most amazing stories. She was known for ‘telling it like it is’. However didn’t seem to have any trouble with executive functioning memory etc. One of her sons is an x alcoholic who is hopeless with money. And one of his sons definitely has unknown ADHD, it has been noticed by me and another family member. Another of my husbands brothers, is constantly on his phone and paces all the time. He went into banking, made a fortune however is hopeless at organising anything for himself, his wife does everything. No idea about his memory and wether he loses things. What I’m trying to show is it presents differently in different people. If you think you have it then don’t be put off going for an assessment.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2021 23:13:29 GMT
Some would say it's all about the impulsivity.
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daisy
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Post by daisy on Oct 18, 2021 13:53:14 GMT
Thank you so much for your responses; so much helpful information 😊 I manage my life using a huge family planner, list after list after list, phone reminders ... maybe that has been my learned response to not being able to ‘naturally’ organise myself. I honestly can’t remember losing things as a kid, but I take on board the idea that everyone presents differently. And thank you for the advice about moving quickly - I will book with the gp soon. Anyone who has gone through diagnosis - does the psychiatrist suggest other conditions- so if they don’t be think you have adhd, would you be told what you do have ?
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Post by cassandro on Oct 21, 2021 14:58:38 GMT
I know someone else with ADHD who seems very organised, but it takes them a long time to get things done because of all the careful coping strategies. It's partly down to personality as well as ADHD. The other traits you mention seem more important than memory. My long-term memory is very good. My short-term memory is in some ways about average - most people can remember a series of 7 numbers and that's about me according to a test at www.cognitron.co.uk/I'm not sure if poor memory is even a fundamental deficit. It could be that you think of more than 7 things between picking something up and putting it down, so that pushes out the task you're focussing on or its results. As to your question about psychiatrists, yes, they might well think of a different diagnosis from ADHD. I've had different opinions from different psychiatrists at the same time. There are a few that might be mentioned like anxiety or depression. In my case when my focus was depression, one psychiatrist's letter suggested the symptoms could match several things, particularly ADHD, and it turns out to be a good description. Since you brought up memory... I'm actually noticing more memory problems with the stimulant medication (methylphenidate), perhaps because of the crowded short-term memory I mention. There's something called 'prospective memory', remembering to do something when something happens or at a particular time, and I seem bad at that generally. I don't remember a trivial decision I made (I will just go to the other room to fetch X) one minute after making the decision, but I will remember making the decision a day later. Now I've been leaving things on the stove more often and forgetting what I've don two minutes ago. Need to be more mindful and careful.
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Post by Xxxxxx on Oct 22, 2021 17:07:50 GMT
Thank you for that really interesting insite into memory. It’s so not clear cut is it. Makes sense, as theirs so many diff types of memory, that affect people in different ways. When I’ve done the tests for Dyslexia assessments, my short term memory’s average however working memories really poor. My husband often forgets things on the way out of the house, however he has a great memory for facts, dates, he even came up with the date he got bleeped for Covid back in July recently 🙄. However he couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery.
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daisy
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Post by daisy on Oct 24, 2021 8:53:25 GMT
Thank you 😊 Cassandra, I can relate your description of someone going very slowly and methodically because i am constantly having to pull myself back to the task in hand. Almost having to recalibrate my mind constantly to stay on track! We are all individuals and our minds all work differently. This has been an eye opener . I can see now that adhd can present very differently in different people. I will seek a diagnosis and see where I go from there 🤞
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