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  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

Diagnosing ADD: Who should i see?

nyjets112

nyjets112

Bluelighter
Joined
May 31, 2006
Messages
129
Hi guys, i suspect that i've been suffering from this condition for a while now but left it untreated while in my teens. I'm now 26 and also suffer from depression and anxiety disorder, all ssri's i've tried have failed me so me and my doc tried a different approach; bupropion. This drug, while not indicated for ADD (but used off-label), has been the only one that's worked for me so far. Therefore, i cannot help but think that my underlying cause of depression and anxiety is a severe case of ADD.

It's been a week since taking bupropion, and i've been able to collect and organize my thoughts better, become less distractable and most importantly my mind is calm (instead of always having racing thoughts).

Does anyone know any psyc doc's in sydney that specialize in ADD especially of the adult variety (if there is such a thing)?
 
^^I'd really suggest that you ask your GP for a refferal to a psychiatrist. Trying to diagnose yourself can be a bad thing really.
 
Yes there is such a thing as adult add or adhd. I know that in melbourne there are a couple of doctors that are quite well known for treating adults with add.


There are a number of online resources you can use to try and get a grip on what is actually happening to you, unfortunately with adults that have had add untreated since childhood the condition can be masked by other conditions which are in effect brough on by the add or adhd. the main ones of these are usually depression and anxiety, and often what can start out as full blown adhd can in turn become add without all the hyperactivity which is often much more difficult to diagnose.

There are lots of really great advances happening in the world of adhd and add at the moment so dont feel like everything is as desparate as it feels at the moment. the main thing I would advise is to be an advocate for yourself, the one person that absolutely knows what is going on inside your head is you, so you really need to go into bat for yourself.

One thing you should be aware of is that if you have a history with stimulants then this will be a double edged sword when trying to have any type of attention disorders treated. On the one hand it is quite normal for those with adhd or add to have tried to self medicate with stims, it is also something that will make any psychiatrist a little more wary of you because of the abuse potention that goes along with some attention disorder medications. the best way to deal with that is to simply be honest, dont try and mislead the psych in any way.

I really hope that it all works out for you, there is nothing worse than being stuck inside a maze where you cant really see your way out.

Cheers Raff
 
Dr Phillip Berd @ Gosforth Clinic on the Sunshine Coast

specialises in adults with add/adhd
 
^^Gold coast is abit far. Know anyone in sydney?

Unfortunately i have abused E's in the past and my psyc doc from the southwest mental health team knows about it. I've always wanted to bring up this attentioin disorder with my gp and psyc doc but every time i've been paranoid they're gonna think i'm drug seeking. I mean it was hard enough to get benzo's scripted for my anxiety disorder.

You think seeing a private psychiatrist is the way to go, so as to start with a clean slate (ie. not letting my e abuse come to light). I know this isn't the way i should be going about it but the psychiatric establishment always seems to frown upon illicit drug habits past or present; i do not want to be written off as another drug seeker when i'm trying to get ontop of a legitimate condition, one in which i believe is causing most of my depression and anxiety.
 
Go to GP, I'm going out on a limb here but I doubt you'd get in to see a shrink without a referral. And if you could you probably wouldn't want to, any ADD "specialist" is going to have ulterior motives for diagnosing you as such
 
willow11 said:
^^I'd really suggest that you ask your GP for a refferal to a psychiatrist. Trying to diagnose yourself can be a bad thing really.
Click to expand...


I agree! If you walk in saying you have ADD it wont look good at all. however, I had ADHD Since I was a child and been on meds for 15 years. Unfortunately you are depressed and have anxiety. Before any psychiatrist gives you meds for ADD they will first try to get you depression under control. If you think you have ADD dont even say anything about depression or anxiety.

Check this site out and take the test. Once complete bring it to your psychiatrist to discuss your options.

http://www.adderallxr.com/about_adderallxr/index.asp
 
ultraphine said:
Yes there is such a thing as adult add or adhd. I know that in melbourne there are a couple of doctors that are quite well known for treating adults with add.
Click to expand...


Ive been living with ADD for 10 yrs now but really need a dr who can deal with adult ADD... I need advice, not just dexies!
Any chance you can pass those names of the drs here in Melb who deal with adult ADD?
Please PM me mate.
thanks ultra.
-sim
 
nyjets112 said:
^^Gold coast is abit far. Know anyone in sydney?

Unfortunately i have abused E's in the past and my psyc doc from the southwest mental health team knows about it. I've always wanted to bring up this attentioin disorder with my gp and psyc doc but every time i've been paranoid they're gonna think i'm drug seeking. I mean it was hard enough to get benzo's scripted for my anxiety disorder.
Click to expand...

Just a word of advice here (from experience)....
From what I gather from what youve told me about your circumstances, it sounds like being prescribed dexies or ritalin is only going to be a very short term solution. ADD isn't the same as depression and anxiety (I know as Ive suffered from that as well as ADD, and I can differentiate). Your lack of concentration and lack of drive is from the depression most likely.
It's highly likely you'll feel great to start with dexies, then you may up the dose to feel better, then you'll find you're hooked on amphetamine and can't do anything without it (been there myself). ALso, when you come off dexies, there is a comedown -- even with daily use, you feel down when they wear off. Dexies do not solve depression let me tell you. And anxiety? OMG, they will make it 10 times worse!
If Zyban worked for your mood in the past, ask your GP to let you try Edronax. It's an anti-depressant which acts similarly to Zyban in that it acts on noradrenaline (not serotonin like Prozac, Zoloft etc). I find it works wonders both for depression and ADD (and no sexual side effects like the SSRIs, yay!). Even Modafanil has helped my ADD in the past.
Please, heed my warning, depression + dexies = bad news. Read up about edronax (reboxetine) and Modavigil (modafanil) -- I personally can vouce for them. If you do get dexies prescribed though, never, ever, ever, up your dose. Your dr gives a dose for a reason, when you up it, tolerance sets in and addiction ain't far behind.

Best of luck man, feel free to PM me if you wanna ask some questions or whatever.

-sim
 
Its just unwise to attempt to find a doctor for a specific condition your not sure you even have. First, you will need to get a refferral and then be diagnosed. Great fun ;) Most of these services are free or redcuced through medicare
 
Sim,
I will ask my doc the next time I go to see him. I actually have a refferral to a prticular guy in caulfield here somewhere but everytime I rang the office there wasnt anyone there and he never got back to me.And to the OP, dont worry too much about being seen as a drug seeker if you go to see a psych, with adult add and adhd it is quite normal for a person to have a history with stims. If I was you I would just lay it all on the line with anyone you see and let them work with that. To be honest if you do have a history of abusing stimulants then rit or dexies probably arent the best thing for you anyway, especially as you have stated that you have some issues surrounding depression and anxiety.
 
Well, whoever you do see, hopefully they won't prescribe Desoxyn (methamphetamine) for ya... unless thats what your looking for (yikes)
 
^^^Look guys i'm not looking for drugs so i can get high, i just want a proper diagnosis from a psyc doc just so they can have a better understanding of what i'm dealing with. I'm just pissed off that i've been wasting years on SSRI's, everyone thinks SSRI's are a blanket solution to all mood disorders it's just ridiculous. My gp was even hesistant to give me zyban, cuz he thought i'd just be wasting my time. But one week into this drug i've already felt a whole bunch of issues improving, much moreso than the crappy psychotropics the docs have given me in the past.

Oh and djsim i do admit that my lack of drive and concerntration is mostly depression related (being depressed for over a decade does make u slow believe me when i say that), but in all honesty these add traits came to the party well before i was depressed. It's like asking what came first; the chicken or the egg? All i know is that when you can't keep up in class work, can't conversate with people unless it's a one on one, and ummm let's see oh here's a novel one! how bout trying to follow subtitles in a foreign movie it's damn near impossible because the background picture keeps distracting u (man that rules out any french arthouse films for me). It's an endless cycle and the two keep feeding off each other which will probably make any mental health worker more hesitant to diagnose add.

Maybe i shouldn't even bother persueing this any further, it just makes me tired thinking about it. Atleast the zyban seems to be working for now. I may give roboxetine a go further down the track too just to see which of the two suit me better.

Thanks for the replies everyone.
 
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ultraphine said:
if you go to see a psych, with adult add and adhd it is quite normal for a person to have a history with stims. If I was you I would just lay it all on the line with anyone you see and let them work with that. To be honest if you do have a history of abusing stimulants then rit or dexies probably arent the best thing for you anyway, especially as you have stated that you have some issues surrounding depression and anxiety.
Click to expand...

I've been seeing a GP who specialises in addiction medicine for about a year. I have been 100% straight up with him so his advice is invaluable since he knows the whole story, and hence, can treat me more accurately. I told him at the very start to never prescribe me drugs like benzos or painkillers (as I was trying to kick an ice habit at the time). He has me on Edronax and it works wonders. I was on dexies from 96 til 2006 (10 yrs) but I have avoided them since I thought it would kick in my ice habit. Anyway, the point is, I need to see a Dr who specialises in ADHD since my old psychiatrist is clueless and dispenses dexies like M&Ms... I need advice, not drugs... ya know what I mean?
I've asked my current GP for a referral but he doesnt know of anyone, though he agrees I have ADD.
And there you have it... my long winded boring story! 8(
-sim
 
djsim, how do you find roboxetine compared to the harder amps? Have you ever tried/considered bupropion? The reason why i'm asking is cuz if roboxetine is as good (or better) then zyban, then i may consider switching because bupropion is costing me an arm and a leg to maintain every month as it's not covered under medicare.
 
nyjets112 said:
djsim, how do you find roboxetine compared to the harder amps? Have you ever tried/considered bupropion? The reason why i'm asking is cuz if roboxetine is as good (or better) then zyban, then i may consider switching because bupropion is costing me an arm and a leg to maintain every month as it's not covered under medicare.
Click to expand...

Zyban is good because it is an extended release formula, and i believe that it is somehwat more pleasureable (ie. gives a slubtle high) when compared to other anti-depressants. However, as you said, you'll be paying a small fortune to stay on Zyban (wholesale is XXXX on a packet of 90s, ouch!)
Edronax is great as far as I'm concerned because it has NO side effects whatsoever (SSRIs used to always fuck with my sex drive etc). The only downside you might say is that it requires two doses daily which sometimes means the 2nd dose is forgotten. There are 60 tabs in a box though, XXXXX I think Zyban may impart more of a stimulant feeling (from memory) than Edronax, but Edronax is defintely worth a try (it's an SNRI, not SSRI... SNRI = selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor).

[Edit- Removed prices. lil angel15]
 
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mulberryman said:
Isn't Zyban the same drug as Welbutrin?
Click to expand...

Yeah and it's the same drug as Bupropion ;)

I guess its still too early to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment, i'll give it another month or so. I mean i've still got another 90 tabs scripted under pbs/concession it aint gonna break the bank just yet, and if it's not as effective as i'm hoping it to be, well i'll just stop cold turkey like one of the earlier posters said discontinuation syndrome won't be a problem.... hopefully?
 
Self diagnosis >>>>> You have cancer... (at least thats what i've found in my research for self diagnosing my illnesses)


Go see a GP, or if your work has some kind of shrink help program as my old employer did - tell your boss how you're feeling.

If you also have problem with depression talk to a doctor about links between these illnesses
 
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