First of all, I am not certain I have ADHD. I do recognize myself in a lot of attitudes, hardships and little things, and it’s impacted my life for too long now.
I can’t afford to go on like this anymore. Who should I go to? How long does it take for me to recieve a diagnosis and how expensive will it be? If I’ll have to take meds, for how long and how expensive are they in your experience?
Thank you all in advance
I assume you live in the US? The coutry you live in is a massive factor in your question
I was recently diagnosed with ADHD (combined).
I am a US resident & citizen. I am covered under Blue Cross Blue Shield. If these details do not apply in your case, what I went through may differ from what you’ll need to go through.
About a month ago, I had a regularly scheduled annual physical with my primary care doc, who is part of a regional physician group. I inquired about what would be needed for exam & possible diagnosis for ADHD. He said I’d need to see a psychiatrist, which their physician group does not have in house, but that I wouldn’t need a formal referral, just find one in-network.
I used the BCBS website to find an in-network provider near me, which happened to be part of a different regional physician group. Called their office to verify they take my insurance. They did, and were able to schedule me for an intake+assessment last week.
I showed up, filled out paperwork, and met with my psychiatrist for a bit over an hour. She had extensive questionnaires to go through with me. On conclusion, she diagnosed me with ADHD combined & offered me my choice of a stimulant or non-stimulant treatment. After discussing my situation in further detail, she prescribed atomoxetine (aka Strattera). I’ve been on it for less than a week. She said it takes time to build up in my system and that it may be a month before I notice any differences. I have a followup scheduled for a month from now, and will presumably have regular followups indefinitely.
My copay for the office visit was $25, and my copay for the prescription itself was around $10-$15. I have very good insurance, so YMMV.
I wish you nothing but good luck on this.
Damn, it was that fast? Everything ive heard is like a 6+ month ordeal with multiple appointments (which leads me to not even trying)
It was legitimately that fast. I acknowledge my experience may well be atypical.
I procrastinated on it for ages as well, having trouble mustering enthusiasm for starting a six month or more journey for a diagnosis.
My FIL recently passed, and he had a terrible track record of not addressing his medical problems in a timely manner. So I figured, fuck it, why not look into it. I already had an annual physical scheduled in the next week, so I figured there wouldn’t be any harm in verifying with BCBS that my specific plan covered ADHD. Luckily it did. So then I asked my primary care doc about it.
Going into my visit with the psychiatrist, I was fully expecting to need several visits over the space of a few months for an official diagnosis, so I was very surprised after the questionnaires were done that she stepped out (maybe to score against reference? idk), stepped back in, told me I was formally officially diagnosed, and time to talk medication for it.
Who knows, maybe it ordinarily does take a few visits but I scored that well (or that poorly) that additional visits would’ve been superfluous. She did note, with the barest hint of a chuckle, that I paused one of my answers so I could lean over to another chair in her office and straighten out the rug that had gotten bunched up underneath.
It worked out far better than my worst case scenario,
Tap for spoiler
which would’ve been along the lines of “Mr Superduperpirate, you don’t actually have ADD, ADHD, or autism. You’re just a lazy shitbag who needs to pull his head out of his ass and stop being such a whiny little bitch.” Which I know sounds crazy. Any doc outside the military who spoke to a patient in such a rude manner would hopefully face severe enough consequences to dissuade them from doing so.
My therapist referred me to a neuro-psychologist who tested me over two days. I didn’t pay for it, but I know similar tests are around $2k, because my friend did something similar. You should know there’s different ways to test for it, I didn’t do the eye tracking computerized test.
Meds are going to depend on your brain and body. I take Vyvanse and it lasts about 4 hours, which is when I’ll take an Adderall IR booster if I need longer focus in a day. Expense is actually less of an issue than being able to reliably fill them, if you’re in the states. Lots of shortages, and an annoying 28 day personal limit. I’ve gone weeks without because I kept forgetting to request a refill lol
Edit: for what it’s worth, you’ll likely need to be able to point to this being a lifelong issue and not a newly developed one. And they might not offer stimulants right away if you’re diagnosed. Lots of people get by on Strattera or Wellbutrin
I just want to follow along and see what everyone says.
I am 95% sure that I have it BAD, but is it worth going through the system?
Yes, probably. What do you do for work?
Office job at a small college.
If you find yourself having trouble focusing at work , definitely worth a look.
It’s 1000% worth it. My neuropsych results were fascinating.
When I did it I just found a shrink and went to him. I took a short survey, he diagnosed me, I got adderall. Had to go back every couple months for a check up to keep my script, but it wasn’t a huge deal.
Five years later I did the REAL battery of tests. It took six fairly grueling hours, cost me a grand, but I got a full on report on my adhd. I had switched to vyvanse before that but it was nice having a report.
Also came with an iq test as part of it!
Re meds:
I have good insurance, so my meds are five bucks a month for name brand vyvanse.
I take it on the morning on work days, and it is literally life changing. Kicks in pretty quickly, and the focus is amazing. I get so much coding done when it’s doing its job.
Lasts till about 5pm then it wears off.
Yeah when it wears off it SUCKS.
Adderall definitely made me real bitchy when I came down. Also anxiety.
But vyvanse is much smoother and I dont have the crash.
I’m in the US, I found a local psychologist’s office that does adult evaluations. It was a virtual intake, a bunch of questionaries for me and my wife, about an hour of in person testing, then a virtual feedback appointment to go over my diagnosis, answer questions, and discuss options. I actually never got a bill for this but have followed up since I’m pretty sure that was an error. I expect it to be about $1500 with insurance coverage for the three appointments. The whole process took about two weeks, from my first appointment, but they book three to six months out usually.
I then had to find a psychiatrist to ask about meds. I use talkiatry which is an online practice and have been happy with my doctor so far. Each appointment is about $200 under my high deductible health plan. It took about a month to get an appointment.
I am on 60mg atomoxetine right now. The sticker price is around $330 a month but with GoodRX it’s about $25. I need a prior authorization through my insurance to get it covered which I’m fighting through now but the price is a few bucks less through them (and more consistent, GoodRX prices can swing a lot month to month). Unlike stimulates, atomoxetine takes about a month to start really taking effect, and I’ve stepped up my dosage once so far with maybe one more in 4ish weeks.
Even at $300-$400 a month with appointments and medications it is life changing worth it. I have moderate combined type and have generally been successful but knowing now this is how I could have been for years is frustrating to a degree but now is better than later for sure.
Timeline wise I made my first appointment for a diagnosis evaluation in early august and got a prescription the day before thanksgiving. From my understanding that’s on the quicker side of things.
I talked to my primary care provider and got referred to a social worker who gave me referrals
The diagnosing took 3 sessions. An initial meeting, the testing, and then going over the results. I had to fill out paperwork, and also had my wife and parents fill out forms about me as well
Got diagnosed with adhd-pi at 35 yo
it’s really hard to say. for some people it’s quick, for others it can take months, especially if your symptoms overlap with other disorders like depression or autism or anything else. really just depends on your specific case and probably also your doctor.
I got my diagnosis through Cerebral then canceled my subscription and got scrips refilled with a local FQHC.
