this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2023

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ADHD

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How do I go about getting diagnosed in the UK? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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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!

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Your experience is similar to mine but I'm a bit further along.

I was assessed by my GP and scored highly enough for them to refer me, I waited over a year only to have my referral rejected with no reason given.

I ended up going private with ADHD360, who were fine, not fantastic but not bad either, I'm certainly grateful for what they've done in helping me get my diagnosis and treatment.

Your estimates on costs if going private are pretty much in line with what I experienced, although once you're through the titration process (working out which meds and which dosage help the most), you can apply for shared care which pretty much passes your care over to your GP and as a result, your prescriptions over to the NHS (this was somehow an almost completely painless part of the process for me at least).

It is expensive going private, and I realise I'm fortunate I was able to, but I really ended up feeling like I had no choice as the NHS' response of just "no" left me nowhere else to go. But it's not necessarily expensive forever, I now just pay my £9.65 every month and that's that.

I know I would have appreciated having someone who had been through this to talk to/ask questions when I was going through it, so to you and anyone else reading this, if you ever have questions or anything about this process do get in touch, reply to this, send me a message (honestly no idea if this is even a thing on Lemmy, I'm still learning), I'm not a doctor, I'm not a medical professional but I'll help anyone in anyway I can.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

If you're currently in no position to go private, then the first thing to do is get in contact with your GP. My local GP allowed me to fill in some details about my issue, and they'd contact me to dicuss it further.

I was asked to collect some questionnaires to determine the impact of any symptoms on my life. Now, at this stage, you should request to be referred via 'Right to Choose' along with a suitable private clinic, such as PsychiatryUK. I think I did this but was ignored and referred to my local NHS psychiatry unit with it's wonderful 4 year backlog (18 months on the list so far!)

I had to appeal to doctor's initial decision as there was a lack of evidence, so be prepared to provide school reports etc to defend your stance.

Get on the NHS/Right to Choose waitlists as soon as possible, and then you can pay for private if the funds come up first! Hope this helps!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

https://psychiatry-uk.com/right-to-choose/

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