I just had my first ever meeting with a psychiatrist to get diagnosed with ADHD.
Long story short, they said that I clearly exhibit ADHD symptoms.
But they’re not willing to go forward with a diagnosis because, according to them, I seem to be doing alright in my life, so the symptoms are hardly causing me enough problems to be eligible for a diagnosis. (And also because there’s no evidence of me having had such symptoms in childhood.)
And I was just sitting there thinking, do you really think I would be here if I didn’t think the symptoms were causing me problems in life?
Based on what they said, they expected me to have experienced things like getting warnings or being fired from jobs, ruining my relationships with people, and such. And they suggested the usual things, exercise, the Pomodoro method, etc. As if I haven’t tried them already.
My bad for masking so well, I guess.
Anyway, just wanted to vent a bit. I know it’s too common a story. I guess the next thing I need to do is to find a psychiatrist specializing in adult ADHD. Once my (still undiagnosed) ADHD lets me do that.
Have you considered the adhdonline.com route? I was pointed that direction to get a on assessment as it was faster and less expensive. Assessments could have taken 3+ months and cost several thousand dollars. The online assessment cost $180 and I completed it in a few hours on a Friday afternoon. I had a diagnosis of ADHD (other) by midday the following Tuesday. I started on medication that Thursday.
Did they charge you for the assessment and the initial consultation? If I’m reading this correctly they charged me $179 for the assessment and it’s another $199 for the initial consultation?
So my process was a bit out of order, but yes I was billed for a consultation as well as the assessment. I think after insurance my scenario was similar to yours. The Psychiatrist who I saw prior to my assessment (PCP referred me one step too far) suggested the online route as it would take 3 to 6 months to be assessed through conventional channels. I was also told it could cost as much as $3000 to $4000 for the assessment alone.
I figured that I didn’t have much to lose. With the Psychiatrist themselves telling me that the diagnosis given through the online service was an actionable diagnosis, then why not give it a try. Seems that the site employs a team or teams of credentialed and certified psychiatrists to report on the questionnaires.
Seems that the change in accepting a diagnosis from ADHDonline.com is a new thing as of this year or last.