Alright...I recently decided to go to a psych. to discuss my ongoing "issues"

I can relate to nearly every posting in this forum. Now I have only had 1 dr. visit and he put me on Lexapro for anxiety but I want to work on the ADD problems that I have.
I cant focus long enough on things to see them all the way through or to follow the necissary procedures at work....I dont want to go into his office and tell him how to "treat" me, but I feel that I need some other med's

for you guys who have been in dealing with this alot longer than I have....how should i go about this?

Hey, first of all, you need to shift mindset and realize that you are HIRING the doctor. He is YOUR employee.

I know, I know. It doesn't feel that way or seem that way when you enter into the office of this highly trained professional. But you are hiring him. You can fire and go to a different doctor and people do this every day of the week.

What to say Tell him I have reason to think I have adhd and I want to be evaluated for it. I think my problems are along the lines of poor concentration, poor focus (whatever the symptoms you have.)

If they ignore you, repeat, "I want to be evaluated for adhd. I'm wondering if an adhd medicine might be of great help to me."

Also it helps to keep something in mind: doctors NEED patients to be as clear and detailed and as assertive as possible in order to do their jobs well. They cannot read our minds or know what our life is like outside the office UNLESS WE TELL THEM.

They need our help and want it, even if it sometimes seems they don't.

Alright...I recently decided to go to a psych. to discuss my ongoing "issues"

I can relate to nearly every posting in this forum. Now I have only had 1 dr. visit and he put me on Lexapro for anxiety but I want to work on the ADD problems that I have.
I cant focus long enough on things to see them all the way through or to follow the necissary procedures at work....I dont want to go into his office and tell him how to "treat" me, but I feel that I need some other med's

for you guys who have been in dealing with this alot longer than I have....how should i go about this?Before you spend too much time with the guy, are you sure he is an ADHD specialist? Some just think they are. McTavish23 just posted something about this today.

It took me over a year to get a confirmed ADD diagnosis. I just went with the flow, as frustrating as it was, thinking that maybe I'm just depressed, I'm just lazy, etc...

It seems the psychiatrist wanted to rule-out all other conditions which have symptoms similar to ADD/ADHD. Which in hindsight seems reasonable. I never mentioned ADD to any of my docs. I just told them my symptoms, the history of my symptoms, and how it's affecting my life.

After I had neuropsych testing (which took a while for my insurance co to approve) and visits with a neuropsychologist my doc prescribed stimulant meds. So I guess that's just my docs procedure.

Even though I was having significant trouble functioning when I first sought treatment I was open minded to all possibilities. But I did get tired of being asked multiple times the question of "are there times when you don't feel the need to sleep?" Guess they were trying to rule-out bi-polar with that question.

So I'd suggest finding a professional that you're comfortable with and being open minded about the possibility of other or co-existing conditions. It is said that ADD/ADHD often occurs with co-existing conditions. I guess I'm kinda glad to know that in addition to having ADD I've been depressed so long I never realized it and it seems I sometimes have a bit of anxiety as well as PTSD. Well my functioning has improved significantly now that I'm THOROUGHLY medicated, hehe.

but I want to work on the ADD problems that I have.

In my experience, you may need more than one member of your 'team' to help you deal with ADHD. Just like you wouldn't go to an GI doctor for your ADHD :p your dr. may not be the expert when dealing with some of your issues. Medically yes, lifestyle perhaps not.

So you may need to find coaches or professionals that tackle issues related to time mangement, clutter, etc.

Also read! :) There are plenty of fantastic books out there about how to deal with ADHD. Now you may need some help to get the ideas out of the book into the everyday, but that's a minor detail.

and for anyone who has trouble concentrating enough to read.. see if those books are available on CD.