Post by Nick on Sept 11, 2015 12:51:54 GMT
So this is my first thread here. Some of you may recall my posting (once) in computermandan's (hi Dan!) thread but now I'm officially seeking my own treatment so I reckoned it would be rude to hijack his thread to talk about it.
Er, how to begin...
Hi, I'm Nick (hi Nick!) I'm a married dude of 36 years of age with three kids and a life that is best described as a total f'ing mess!
For as long as I can remember I've been prone to daydreaming and distraction. As a child I was often lost in my own head even (or especially) during school, while incredibly kinetic and active on my own time. I was also prone to bursts of explosive anger when I was frustrated or didn't get my own way. As I've aged my more manic tendencies have subsided and now I'm much more a dreamer than I ever was although over time I've developed my own ways of masking the problems or coping with them. By the time I was in my late teens/early twenties I started to wonder why I wasn't like everyone else, mostly because everyone else was frustrated that I didn't have a job/didn't complete college, etc. the list goes on. It's only in the past year or so that I've learned that not only is ADD not something that only effects children and actually continues into adulthood, it's also something that I can strongly identify with. The way that I am has cost me relationships, jobs, personal happiness and currently affects my wife, my children, our finances etc.
I am rather lucky in that my wife agrees with my idea that I may well be ADD and as a result we've both just been down to talk to a private GP about getting me a referral to see the local specialist in Edinburgh (where I live, obv.). We paid the £70 for a private doctor partly because reading through here I've seen the hell others have been put through by the NHS in trying to get an accurate diagnosis and with things really starting to get to my wife we needed to get to the bottom of this sooner rather than later.
The appointment went well, the doctor (a pleasant lady) listened attentively and knew exactly who we were seeking referral to and asked me some questions which my wife and I both gave input on. She was happy to refer me to Dr. Shah (the local ADD specialist) although she herself reckons I may in fact have an ASD rather than ADD but also said it didn't matter as either way I'd get to a diagnosis through Dr. Shah. I don't personally think I have an ASD (although I'm open to that being my diagnosis if it fits in the end) but then she didn't really get to hear about my hyperactivity as a child and she didn't seem to realise that hyperfocus is very much in the wheelhouse of ADD.
So, now we have to save up £300 for a consultation with Dr. Shah which is not ideal, but it's important that something is done because frankly trying to pretend that is everything is hunky dory in Nickland is getting to be pretty untenable. That's all I have to say for now so I'll open the floor to any questions or comments now...
Er, how to begin...
Hi, I'm Nick (hi Nick!) I'm a married dude of 36 years of age with three kids and a life that is best described as a total f'ing mess!
For as long as I can remember I've been prone to daydreaming and distraction. As a child I was often lost in my own head even (or especially) during school, while incredibly kinetic and active on my own time. I was also prone to bursts of explosive anger when I was frustrated or didn't get my own way. As I've aged my more manic tendencies have subsided and now I'm much more a dreamer than I ever was although over time I've developed my own ways of masking the problems or coping with them. By the time I was in my late teens/early twenties I started to wonder why I wasn't like everyone else, mostly because everyone else was frustrated that I didn't have a job/didn't complete college, etc. the list goes on. It's only in the past year or so that I've learned that not only is ADD not something that only effects children and actually continues into adulthood, it's also something that I can strongly identify with. The way that I am has cost me relationships, jobs, personal happiness and currently affects my wife, my children, our finances etc.
I am rather lucky in that my wife agrees with my idea that I may well be ADD and as a result we've both just been down to talk to a private GP about getting me a referral to see the local specialist in Edinburgh (where I live, obv.). We paid the £70 for a private doctor partly because reading through here I've seen the hell others have been put through by the NHS in trying to get an accurate diagnosis and with things really starting to get to my wife we needed to get to the bottom of this sooner rather than later.
The appointment went well, the doctor (a pleasant lady) listened attentively and knew exactly who we were seeking referral to and asked me some questions which my wife and I both gave input on. She was happy to refer me to Dr. Shah (the local ADD specialist) although she herself reckons I may in fact have an ASD rather than ADD but also said it didn't matter as either way I'd get to a diagnosis through Dr. Shah. I don't personally think I have an ASD (although I'm open to that being my diagnosis if it fits in the end) but then she didn't really get to hear about my hyperactivity as a child and she didn't seem to realise that hyperfocus is very much in the wheelhouse of ADD.
So, now we have to save up £300 for a consultation with Dr. Shah which is not ideal, but it's important that something is done because frankly trying to pretend that is everything is hunky dory in Nickland is getting to be pretty untenable. That's all I have to say for now so I'll open the floor to any questions or comments now...