After years of wondering, going back and forth, and putting it off, I’ve finally got an appointment set up to get evaluated. I set the appointment about two weeks ago and it’s tomorrow, I even did all the paperwork already! Is there anything I should know, or consider going in?
Update: Well I got a diagnosis. I have ADHD, and he’s sending his recommendation med to my PCP. It’s weird that it has to go through them, right? I figured a therapist could prescribe meds. Also he added that I have “highly impulsive” ADHD. Is it normal to add the qualifier? I mean, he’s not wrong, but are there categories?
My wife described part of the test as:
Doc: do you struggle with {simple task}?
Pt: No, not at all because I have {overly complicated system} that makes {simple task} easy for me! {explains in great detail}
Doc: congratulations, you have ADHD
P00ptart for every question that you want to answer “no, because <specialized system that took years to figure out>”, instead answer “yes, which is why I have to <specialised system that took years to figure out> just to manage”.
My version:
Doc: do you struggle with
<simple task> ?
Pt: No, not at all because I have
<overly complicated system> that makes
<simple task> easy for me!
<explains in great detail>
Doc: congratulations, you do not have ADHD, have you tried setting phone reminders?
Omg me too. How many times docs/counselors asked me if I’ve “ever” tried to make a to-do list. I could fill six appointments describing only which “to-do” systems I’ve tried/built just in 2026 (never mind the previous 2-3 decades).
Me and my 4 nested to do list system both agree.
Good doc. Problem is that I overcompensate for things, so others perceive them as a strength.
For example, appointments. There are so many things in place to show up on time, and it involves panic, thresholds, time triggers etc.The “most relaxed” method is: Casually start to get ready early by putting required things in front of the door, so it would not open without taking them. Then, at a certain time, “panic mode” is triggered; at that point, I treat it like a building-on-fire kind of situation. But the thought that “panic mode” would still fix any slack in the preparation is what avoids panic for most of the process. Panic includes flashing images of ridiculous, unrealistic escalations and consequences of what could happen from being late.
What people see: He’s always on time.
Or to still get things done. I need a list of ridiculous granularity, like point 1: “create this list”. Check. Then use tricks, such as “just do ONE thing from the list now”, to bypass executive dysfunction.
everything inside the angle brackets is not displaying for me, just FYI