I’m fairly suspect that I’ve likely got ADHD and/or mild depression and I don’t know if ones causing symptoms of the other or if im personally misatributing symptoms here and I want to know how to go about changing this in the best way possible.

The NHS is a wonderful service but unfortunately it’s run by the British so it’s horrifically overworked and often mismanaged and my area is no exception to the rule.

Mental and physical health services in my area are under funded, under staffed and overworked which means I can’t even speak to a GP about my concerns and I worry I won’t be taken seriously or brushed aside as a low criticality case. Not to mention all the testimonys from people about GPs not taking adult ADHD seriously assuming they even believe ADHD exists. (See the state of gender health and trans healthcare for an excellent example of a a broken system).

However something (whatever it is) is affecting my life and although I absolutely don’t feel like self harm or suicide, etc, I’d very much like something to change.

What are my options here? I’ve heard people talk about private healthcare but I’m in no position to afford this.

I’d very much appreciate the help from anyone whose been in my position and would desperately want to listen to your stories too.

Thank you!

  • Noit@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Hi! I’m in the same boat at the moment. Public (NHS) and private are the two streams available.

    For the NHS, you need a GP to refer you for an adult screening. It has to be a GP, and make sure they don’t fob you off on the wrong service, I got sent down a few rabbit holes before getting referred to the ADHD screening service. Then, you have to wait. I’ve been told that my screening should take 5-6 months to get booked in, and that’s where I’m stalled at the moment. At/after your screening they will decide whether or not to book you on for a full diagnostic. The wait list for these is ~3 years. Yeah, very oversubscribed, super cool.

    Given that I am looking to go private, which means that I need to start identifying private providers and what their charges are for screening, diagnosis and ongoing treatment. I’ve heard that these cost around £1000 for the diagnosis and then around £100 per month for any medication, but I haven’t added these up myself yet.

    I’ve heard that there is a route where you can ask your GP to refer you to a private practitioner they have an agreement with, which basically means they will accept a private diagnosis so you can get your meds (if required) on the NHS, where mostly the NHS is unlikely to let you get a subscription for meds without an NHS diagnosis. I’ve personally ruled this out because my local NHS have been no fun and I don’t want them to piss me about for another month.

    If anyone else knows of any options then I’m all ears, because right now it’s either “don’t get diagnosed for four years” or ££££ every year.