and tell me straight out, that he doesn't believe ADD/ADHD exists.

I went to him today, cos I got a letter last week asking me to see him cos he had received a letter from the Primary Care Trust regarding me.
So I go thinking that this is to do with his effort to get me medication prescribed from the NHS.
Instead, he tells me that he has received a letter for me to see a clinical psychologist to assess me, I tell him - but I have already been assessed and diagnosed ADD, so why go and see a psychologist who can not prescribe me medication, which is what I thought he had applied for.
NO, they want to assess me to see if I have any other underlying problems, to see if they can help me in any other way. I say, how can they help me? I am diagnosed ADD and want the NHS to give me my prescriptions which my neurologist has prescribed for me.
He says that there are no specialists in ADD/ADHD and that the psychologist wants to see if I have any other problems - basically he is saying that ADD/ADHD doesn't exist and that my problems must be because of some other psychological problems.

I couldn't believe what he was saying, it was like the last couple of months hadn't happened, that I didn't see a "specialist", that I am not diagnosed ADD - it is so obvious that he does not recognise ADD/ADHD, that there can't be any specialists for ADD/ADHD and that because my neurologist is not a "treat only ADD/ADHD" consultant (because ADD/ADHD is imaginary and there are no specialists), I told him that I am not on Ritalin any more and that I am on Dexdrine - which he had never heard of, I told him its other name was Dextroamphetamine and he mused "oh, an amphetamine" - and joked about hallucinating.

This man is a joke, it was obvious that from the start he didn't have any knowledge of ADD/ADHD except that it didn't exist, but also, when I first went to him, I asked him that if I got diagnosed ADD/ADHD would he prescribe me my medication to which he confidently said yes, another obvious sign that he didn't believe in ADD/ADHD, if he did, he would know what medication is prescribed for it and would know full well that he couldn't prescribe it.

Every time I saw him about this he would just dismiss ADD/ADHD about how there are no specialists for it etc.

So the end of the appointment today he asked me to think about going to see the psychologist - is he blind, ignorant or just plain arrogant, is his ego bruised by the fact that a patient knows something about a condition that he doesn't.

Looks like I will have to pay for my own prescriptions :( cos I am getting nowhere with my GP.

Can you get prescriptions from your neurologist? In other words, can your neurologist do for you what your GP couldn't???

I get prescriptions from my neurologist, yes - its the only way.
But the problem with that is that it is a private prescription so I have to pay full price i.e. my Ritalin cost me £57 (which I stopped cos it didn't do anything for me), my Dexedrine, which I have been on for 6 days cost me £20 - a lot cheaper, but if I got the prescription from my GP and I had to pay for that, then it would cost just over £6, but as I am unemployed and don't pay for prescriptions then I would get it for FREE, so being unemployed and paying for private prescriptions is a cost I could do without.

I would try to find a Psychiatrist you like. They can prescribe meds as well as provide a thorough diagnosis. Remember, a high percentage of ADD individuals suffer from other conditions in addition to ADD.

Remember that medication is only a small part of treating AD/HD. InattentiveType is correct many people with AD/HD have have co-existing conditions.

I have heard from professionals in the UK who work with people with AD/HD that it is harder for people to get medication for AD/HD. From what I have heard the health care system over there likes to use a multi-modal approach to treat AD/HD instead of prescribibg medication 1st.

I know nothing about the system you are in, but it doesn't sound anything like the one we are in. Here, we are lucky if we have jobs that have medical insurance, and we are lucky if we don't have to pay for 80% of the medical insurance for our dependents, and lucky if we don't have to pay for 50% of the coverage on ourselves. This runs into hundreds or thousands of dollars per family, per month.

If we get through all the financial cost of owning the insurance then we are lucky if the medical insurance we have covers anything medical relavant to our medical needs. Near death experiences are sometimes covered, if that is not excluded under
clause 13, line 432, paragraph 99 of the rewritten renegotiated updated contract which was changed for the 110th time just 3 days prior to the diagnosis, which was diagnosed by a physician whose contract expired or was revoked or belongs to the wrong hospital negotiating faction or referred too many patients to specialists they needed to see and is no longer on our plan, so the whole medical crisis can not be covered anyways, even if the diagnosis were valid or the service were covered.

If we get through all that, its really quite easy in the US to get an ADD diagnosis and medicine. If it is covered by insurance, be prepared to pay $35 co-pay on many plans everytime you pick up a prescription filled.

Now, the hard part here, in the past, has been getting the psychological covered. Seeing a psychologist is a luxery for many, at least to see one for more than 4 appointments...and then it has required fighting tooth and nail to get 4 more appointments, so many of our psychologists don't even accept insurance anymore, because they are tired of the paperwork, and being on the phone with the insurance companies, which do everything possible to deny the claim or pay it slow or pay less than is reasonable, or in some way limit service coverage.

Well, if you make it through all that, then you really are not ADD, because obviously no one could make it through all that, let alone someone with the ADD symptoms...

I typically need an additional series of 10 psychologist appointments to overcome the emotional stress of dealing with the health insurance industry.

I do love those appointments though...

so...tell me what are you feeling today? What do you think of it? What do you want to change about it?

gotta love it!

Now, imagine if you go to your psychologist appointment and talk about the stress of going through your medical system....what a great place to get started!

Jon

Originally posted by InattentiveType
I would try to find a Psychiatrist you like. They can prescribe meds as well as provide a thorough diagnosis. Remember, a high percentage of ADD individuals suffer from other conditions in addition to ADD.

I have already been diagnosed privately by a neurologist and I was diagnosed as having OCD too. My neurologist is fine, the thing is, that in the UK there isn't a great number of psychiatrists who can diagnose ADD/ADHD, the reason I chose the neurologist that I went to, was:

1)I was recommended him, by the leader of my regional ADD/ADHD support group.
2)One of his clinics was the closest to me(travelling distance).
3)He has a lot of experience and expertise in this field too.

Like I also said, he prescribes me my medication and he has written on numerous occasions to my GP i.e. he has sent him a copy of my report of my assessment, letters about my medication etc, but my GP's attitude is of someone who won't accept that ADD/ADHD exists.

By the way Paul, in looking at the title of your thread, "You wish your GP had balls"....I just wish to say that I'm sure your GP DOES have balls....the problem is that he chooses not to USE them unfortunately....Some doctors will choose not to "go to bat" for us, so to speak....and others will....it sounds like the one who did "go to bat" THE MOST -- on your behalf -- is your neurologist...perhaps it would be wise to stick with him...despite the cost.....One other thing....you said you were given the OCD diagnosis: I was on Luvox for awhile for that....my symptoms were greatly reduced....

[QUOTE]Originally posted by pap_1
[B]
is his ego bruised by the fact that a patient knows something about a condition that he doesn't.

Absolutly! Its like telling a chef how you want your food prepared. They tend to get very defensive.

wow and I was quietly complaining of having to pay what I thought was an exorbitant $20 (US $11) per month for my script! Socialised medicine forever!

Man- I sympathise with you- £57 is a rip.

btw.. you mention that Ritalin didn't do anything for you, so- how is the Dexidrine? I personally found both to be fairly similar in their effectiveness. I also think that it is quite logical for a GP to not write a script based on what your neurologist thinks.

Effectively, you need to find someone qualified to diagnose your condition who can also prescibe medication.

I have found neurologists to be the best at diagnosistics for several medical situations. It was a neurologist who diagnosed my sleep apnea, enabling me to go back to college and get my life back, after nearly a decade of bogus appointments with other doctors; half a dozen flakey doctors missed it and misdiagnosed me and mis-presribed medicines to me. It was also a neurologist who properly identified a specific bells palsey I had several years ago, while half a dozen doctors improperly diagnosed it, and 3 of them improperly prescribed medicaitons for it that actually caused more pain and damage.

Also, in grad school, I sat in on a neoro pscyh course, and got to know the neuro psych professor, and found that neuro psych was one of the most scientific and hardest courses in psych grad school.

Based on all those experiences, I have built a tremendous respect for the abiities of neurologists to diagnose.

It doesn't hurt to get the psychology appointments anyway, of course. Anyone, including your GP, could use a few of those sessions. The question is, will the psychologist report overrule the neurologist report? If they disagree, maybe you will want to see a neuropsychologist to resolve the differnt diagnosis if that happens. Also, as mentioned above, ADD needs to be treated on multiple levels, medication alone is not enough. Maybe you will feel more action oriented and empowered over the ADD if you begin building other components of your treatment plan while waiting for the results of your appointments which primarily only focus on medicine.

Other components can be diet, nutrition, meditation, exercise, psycho-therapy, and coaching. For coaching, personally I find the use of paid coaches to be a waste of money, just my opinion after paying plenty to two coaches who were descently qualified. Instead, I have adapted the Hallowell HOPE coaching program, where I have chosen a person to talk to daily, who also has ADD and has similar issues as my issues. This is free, except the cost of the phone call, and more effective, because it is daily, which I think is what ADD people need. A daily check in with someone who understands and can help establish goals every day is a treatment plan.

Good luck with the medical aspect, and take care

Jon

Cheers all for your replies & support.
Also Healthwiz, lost of useful information in your post, will have to look into them - especially speaking to other ADDers, I was in contact with my regional ADD leader before I got diagnosed and was suggested too by my neurologist to get in contact with the local ADD group and attend meetings, but as a shy anxious person I find this a little intimidating, but I will think hard about giving it a go.

I don't really want to goto the psychologist, because it sounds as though he has no knowledge of ADD, hence the response from my GP to go and see if "I have any other underlying issues". Though I do think that going to counselling for anger management, anxiety may be beneficial now I am diagnosed ADD and am trialling medication.

But to be honest, if I did goto the psychologist, who will more than likely know nothing regarding ADD - and if he starts being negative/arrogant/ignorant towards ADD, I would more than likely lose my temper and tell him to shove it :mad: , cos I have had enough of attitude from my GP regarding ADD and to take it from another "professional" would be too much to bare.

Hi Paul

I think you are correct that meeting people through an ADD group would probably be beneficial. They probably had some of the same reservations as you when they first went, so they will probably understand and be very welcoming.

If you are shy, then I understand the hesitation to go. However, be assured that any good psychologist can handle a little anger in a day. If you get ****ed off, its not necessarily bad. Why else would they be psychologists? Anger is one of the most common feelings a psychologist must listen to each day. A good psychologist listens more than the average person, and judges less than the average person.

Take care

Jonathan

Paul,

Can't you just change your GP? I know this is not as easy in the UK as elsewhere (I'm a Brit too) but it can be done. You don't want to have to keep doing it of course, so it might be wise to get an idea first who is less opinionated/more open/better informed. Perhaps if you can face going to the local ADD group, you'll meet someone there with a tip. Good luck!

J.