So I have an interesting dilemma. My psychologist and my psychiatrist don't seem to agree on whether I have ADD or not.

My psychologist believes that I do have ADD, the inattentive type. This is based on her observation of me during appointments and on some symptoms I told her about. At first I wouldn't even consider the possibility of having it--after all, I was a straight A student! But then after I learned more about it, I began to see more and more symptoms in myself.

I mentioned it to my psychiatrist who gave me some questionnaires to fill out. After that he was just kind of dismissive about the whole idea. He never really told me point blank that I definitely do not have it, but then he never suggested medication or really mentioned anything about me having it, either.

I took some questionnaires with my psychologist too, and they are sort of inconclusive--they don't show very strong ADD patterns but don't really rule it out either. I got the same results when I took the online ADD questionnaires at amenclinic.com--the adult ADD test says that it's unlikely that I have adult ADD, but the brain system test says that it is highly probably that I do have the inattentive type ADD. But after all, the inattentive type is notoriously hard to diagnose.

My psychologist thinks I would benefit from medication, and I think I'd like to try it to see if it can help me stay focused at work and help me get through my chores at home. Instead of switching psychiatrists, she thinks I should work on building a case to show him evidence that medication might benefit me, but I'm kind of intimidated by the idea of "proving" this to my psychiatrist.

Do any of you have any tips or experiences to share about getting a dx when your provider intially dismissed it?

First I'd want to check out how much your psychiatrist knows about ADHD. Not everyone is an expert in all things.

I agree with Imnapl. Not all docs are up to speed on current research and info on ADHD, especially the adult type.

Your psychiatrist is being skeptical. He needs more information before he can call it ADHD.

If you have ever had a neuropsychiatric evaluation, you ought to provide the psychiatrist a copy of the written report.

Any neuropsychological test results, IQ test results are also useful info.

A copy of your psychologists records may be useful.

If your MD ever treated you for ADHD, a copy of his records may be useful as well.

If you have copies of your gradeschool records it is a good idea to give the doctor a copy. There may be lots of useful information there.

Gather all this information , collate it , put it in a binder and hand it to your psychiatrist.

If you have a spouse the doc can interview about you, it may prove useful. A parent, brother, or sister may be a good source of info for the doctor.

If you can't pull together enough evidence you may wish to ask the doc for a formal evaluation so that doubt can be removed.

The bottom line is , you have to show the symptoms, and you have to show them by the age of 7.
If you can show evidence for a lifelong condition it will help him come to a diagnosis a lot sooner.


Me :D

Thanks for the suggestions.

Speedo, I don't really have any of those things. I've never had any kind of neuropsychiatric or neuropsychological test done, and I've never been treated for ADD. I did have an IQ test in the 5th grade, but I don't think I can get the results from it.

I don't have any school records, and even if I did, I was a straight A student, as mentioned in my OP. My pscyhologist says that ADD can affect some parts of your life while not affecting others, and school was never my problem area.

I took a look at the DSM-4 criteria for diagnosis. I think I meet the criteria for the past 6 months at least, but I'm not sure that I can prove impairment before age 7.

My ADHD psychiatrist has medical students ("straight A students") on his caseload.

Why no testing by your Psychologist or a Neuropsychologist or Educational Psychologist? How can he Dx w/o it?

You should have testing to locate your deficits and strengths, to better help you....

We also don't know your psychosocial or medical history.

some conditions or factors can cause ADD/ADHD-like syndromes.

some of those conditions should NOT get stimulants meds, however, to combat inattention, etc..

I will ask about testing. The only thing he has given me is a little questionnaire type thing.

QueensU_girl, can you give me some ideas about those other conditions that produce ADD-like syndromes, so I can research further?

You said you got straight A's? Are there many areas of your life that you're finding very difficult?


Stimulants can benefit pretty much anyone but if you're not having difficulty in your life then i don't think you'll need them.

a few things that ought to be checked first are: diabetes, and thyroid function. The doc would probably also want to run blood tests as a ceck for general wellness.

All of those can be done with simpe blood tests.


Me :D