First of all let me take a second to introduce myself and explain where i'm coming from.

I'm a 25, i live in San Diego California. since about age 18 i've always known i had ADD. when i was younger i had ADHD but it was never diagnosed due to my family having no insurance because of financial issues. but now looking through the symptoms, i see i was affected immensly by many of them. a couple years ago i stumbled onto a website that had a questionaire for Adult ADD. i found that almost every description of their symptoms was something i struggled to deal with daily in my life. for example "do you find it hard to read... do you often read the same paragraph several times before moving on" that was something that kept me from reading my whole life. it would take me 5 times the amount of time to read a book than the average person. not that i couldn't read it's just that i found it hard to focus long enough to read through it. it was very frustrating because i liked to read when i could focus (rarely) well soon after i visited that site i did a search for many related sites and the verdict was the same to me. i had Adult ADD. i really couldn't do anything about it because i had no insurance because of my contracting work so i just sat with it etched in my mind.

then about a year ago a coworker was telling me how he had been medicated for ADD most of his life. and at the time his doctor just switched him to aderall from ritalin and he had about a months supply left of Ritalin that he gave to me. (i know thats bad but i thank him every day) Ritalin has been a life saver to me. in just a couple of days i stopped drinking caffeine all together which had become an important part of coping for me. all of the sudden i was attentive at work where i was considered somewhat of a slacker. every time i took one it was like the whole world cleared up of all the white noise in my head. my girlfriend loved it because i was able to give her alot off attention that she hadn't gotten from me before. and the ultimate test to me was, i was flying back to the east coast to visit family and i bought a book in the airport. the flight was from san diego to baltimore. by the time i had landed in baltimore i had read the entire book and enjoyed every minute of it. i don't think i once went back and double read a paragraph or page. it was great. since then i've read many books and continue to find new ones. so this medication has made my life better, i'm a better worker professionally, i'm better to my girlfriend, and i'm happier in general because the frustration of daily life is significantly reduced.

but here is my dilemma..

after the months supply that he gave me ran out i snapped back to the way it was. in a couple of days i found myself in the same rut. but the problem was i had no insurance to visit a doctor. so being so close to mexico i self medicated for the past year. i'd go down and buy a 3 to 4 months supply of Ritalin at once. this has worked out ok but it's illegal and a hassle to do it. i don't like that i have to do it but i feel that i need to.

but now thanks to the benefits of Ritalin i have myself a better job that gives me full medical coverage. so my question to you or anyone is, what kind of doctor should i see? a specialist? i've heard that family care doctors give you the run around and will do anything to convince you that you don't have it because of the controversy surrounding it over the past 5 years or so. and what is the process they go through to determine if you should be medicated? i know that Ritalin works very well for me but should i tell them that? should i tell them that i've been self medicating over the past year? is there a better alternative? i don't see anything wrong with Ritalin but i'm no doctor. has anyone else been in this same situation?

Any help or advice is greatly welcomed.

Fellow ADD Friend
Aaron

You should see a specialist on Adult ADD if you can locate one in your area. Check with your insurance to see if they have names (I'm not sure how HMO's work, as I am Canadian). You may need to see a family doctor first to get a referral. I wouldn't tell the family Dr about the ritalin, as he may see the ADD referral request as "drug seeking". I'd tell the ADD Dr about the Ritalin however - he'd be more used to seeing people "self medicate".
But definately get yourself diagnosed - it's an important first step, in my opinon.
Good Luck,
Greg

thank you..

i got a PPO insurance plan just for that reason. so i could see a specialist directly. i will do that.

again thank you.

I had the same dilemma about the self-medicating thing. I always knew something was different about me, but I had no idea what until I dated an ADHD guy. He gave me a Ritalin tablet one night, just for the hell of it, and boom, suddenly I was in a different world. I didn't see a doctor right away because my boyfriend halfed his dose of Ritalin, so he gave me about a months worth of pills. That was working fine until we broke up. I made an appointment to see an ADD specialist. I debated whether to tell him about the Ritalin. I knew there were tons of ADHD meds out there and I didn't really want to mess around trying to find the right one when I knew Ritalin worked. I had that problem with antidepressants, I went through about six different ones before I found the right one. So I thought, should I just tell him the truth? I didn't want to seem like a drug seeker, either, because I know Ritalin has a high abuse potential. Well, I didn't even have to worry, he came right out and asked me if I self-medicated and I said yes. He asked me what I took, and I said Ritalin. He asked me what it did for me, and I told him, and that is what he put me on. I would say tell him, you know it works and it will make your process a lot quicker. I think these guys are used to seeing stuff like that all the time and they can pretty much figure out who is for real and who is after drugs. Good luck!

thank you, that makes me feel more confident. what type of doctor did you see? i'm looking a psychiatrist (general) list but i'm not sure if thats the right one. i'm going to try and make an appointment on lunch today.

thank you all for your help and support.

I called the hospital and they hooked me up with a psychiatrist who specialized in ADD treatment. I'm sure any general psychiatrist will do.
:)

Hey, just an idea, I bet SD area has a local ADD/ADHD support group/network. Check the phone book even. If you make contact that way, you may find the best in your area Psych doc. And by going this route you may seem more sincere to the doc. as someone who really trying to get well. If no true ADD groups the local University psych dept may hold the answer It's just a phone call or 10.
Good luck- to everyone.
Mark