Now, I haven't been diagnosed yet, but my dad has been just recently. After doing a lot of research, and talking to my dad in depth, I found that a lot of the things I've been trying to overcome in my life are not only the same symptoms my dad has, but very much symptoms of ADD. The problem is, I'm not sure how to go about this. I made an appointment with a psychiatrist down here [I live in Florida, if I was still in Ohio, I'd simply go to my dad's doctor] and I'll be going in to see him in a few weeks. I'm just not sure if that's the right "first step", or if I should be going to a general physician or a psychologist or what. Ha, I have this serious phobia of psychologists [try to analyze that one :P ] and I haven't seen a doctor in so long that I can't remember the last time I did, mostly out of a dislike of drugs in general... but if it's something that'll make life easier in terms of concentration and attention, it's something I definitely want to explore.

So, I guess what I'm asking is what the "first step" in this whole process is? Was I right in making an appointment with a psychiatrist right off the bat, or should I reschedule and see some other doctor first?

Welcome Intricatic :)

I think it's a great first step. You just cut out a few middle-men and went straight to the best kind of doc to diagnose you IMO. Is the psychiatrist a specialist in ADD by chance?

Yeah, I talked to my insurance company and got a list of psychiatrists who specialize in Adult ADD a couple days ago and just sort of played Russian Roulette with the numbers until I found one that was really close to where I live. I tend to get lost down here too easily.... :confused:

Good for you! And if you don't feel the psych you've chosen is a good match for you, you've got a handful more to choose from.
I always picked docs that I could find my way easily to also :p

Yep :D

I'm hoping this guy's good, though. My dad's the only person in my family who actually sees doctors on a regular basis so I feel like I'm walking into some weird foreign country and I don't speak the national language. lol

:D
Yeah, it does feel strange at first. Society teaches us not to complain, yet in the psych's office we're supposed to let it all out. :p

Hopefully the doc will make it comfortable for you.
You're so lucky to have a dad you can talk to about this stuff!

Yeah, I have a really cool dad, although he wasn't much help when I asked him the same question I was asking in this thread... his response: "Uh, I dunno... my doctor told me to see a psychiatrist about it!" D'oh... But at least I don't have to second guess myself so much about it when I get into the psych office, I'm kind of afraid of sounding like a total idiot or something.

You're seeing an ADD psych. There's NO WAY you can sound like an idiot to him! He WORKS with ADDers! :D He'll understand.

OKay, here is what I did when I went for testing.

Because of my insurance:

1. I saw my family doctor and told her I wanted to be tested.
she gave me a referel.

2. I saw my neurologist at that hospital the referal was for...that is there policy.

3. I then made my appointment to get tested with a NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST at the same hospital at the neurologist.

The test is 5 hrs long.
I talked with the NP, for 2 hrs.

4. the dr will want to have your report card from school. Elementary and all. This is good to take to your first appt. the dr will have you sign releases so that he can talk to you parents and get record from any schools you have attended and dr you have that can shed some light on your medical history and educational history.

5. talk with doctor and find out results. YEAH.

Hopefully all that insanity won't be something necessary for my case, although I'd imagine it'll be similar...

We [parents and I] have no records of official transcripts from anything other than college level, unless you count the one year I was in [public] high school before I dropped out... :D And I haven't seen a doctor since I was 16.

But after talking to the psych office and confirming the apointment [about an hour ago] I'm even more anxious about it... I'm stubborn, so I'll probably do whatever I need to, provided I can remember all of the details of "what I need to do" entails.:eyebrow:

Although I am not a big fan of Dr. Amen’s SPET routine you may find this check list useful when discussion problematic symptoms that lead you to seek diagnosis for attention deficit disorder.

Check list thing (http://www.addresources.org/article_checklist.php)

Hope this helps

Intrinsic
do yo umean to say you have report cards or went to school any where ? You have to have some kind of school records. What ever you have the doctor will want to see.

I didn't need school records. Mine just asked me.