51–60 of 537 posts
Not surprised. ADHD medications save lives, including the lives of others when it comes to things like preventing car accidents. I could even see it being required for driving the way corrective lenses can be.
Curious if anyone has gone through the process of an adult adhd diagnosis at Kaiser SF. Through my attempts, I've been told they don't really do adult adhd diagnoses without documentation of issues as a kid. I was recommended Wellbutrin to deal with symptoms in 2017. Got onto adderall when I moved health insurance in 2021. Back to Kaiser in 2024, I was routed to the same psychiatrist who once again wouldn't budge on…
I'm now on a PPO plan and have been using Vyvanse for over a year now. It's lead to a dramatic improvement in my quality of life. I grieved for the time and opportunities I had lost due to not having been diagnosed and treated in childhood.
HMOs have a lot of upsides, but Kaiser's behavioral healthcare is awful (at least in the DC Metro area) and there's not much recourse unless you want to/can afford to pay out of pocket.
There's so much cynicism about ADHD even existing, even among healthcare professionals. Any time on HN any mention of ADHD seems to invite a lot of cynicism as well. That, compounded with that one of the most effective treatments for it is something that pretty much everyone can see a positive effect from (stimulant medication), makes it really difficult to navigate.
I hope that you can find a better option because it seems like Kaiser is just very antagonistic towards ADHD.
I was diagnosed with ADHD in my early 30s and prescribed Concerta to help manage it For a few years being medicated for ADHD was a godsend. I was finally able to be more productive and focus on work, my career took off in a huge way, I've literally tripled my income since I started medication Now I'm incredibly burned out, I've been having pretty severe memory problems, I'm on medical leave from my job to try and cou…
I too got (re)diagnosed in my 30s and prescribed Concerta. Rediagnosed because my mom then told me I'd been diagnosed as a child and she just never told me. Finding the right dose took some trial and error, and to be honest "the right dose" is something that will probably vary throughout my life based on how good my non-medication ADHD management is going. But for me it's been life-changing without burning me out, and it's been almost 7 years.
I also think even without the medication the diagnosis is worth it. It clarifies your life somewhat, if there are things you have struggled with that it explains.
Not surprised. ADHD medications save lives, including the lives of others when it comes to things like preventing car accidents. I could even see it being required for driving the way corrective lenses can be.
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What exactly is the point you're driving at, if any? Why are you asking these questions?
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The youtube channel of ADHD science researcher Russell Barkley gave me the push to get diagnosis in my last year of undergrad and It was like lightning to see all my symptoms laid out since childhood in context of the underlying brain science. He does a lot of debunking of bad research too. Great channel.
Makes sense that methylphenidate helps with most of the things associated with classical ADHD symptoms but not with clumsiness that can lead to accidental injuries; or, in my case, just bruises on my shins all the time.
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Why? I don't really disagree with you but I wonder how the thwarted sense of "my body in the world" is so connected to ADHD while not being connected at all to executive functioning (which in my perception is what amphetamines help with).
My understanding is that motor coordination is a mostly separate issue from attention regulation and task completion, so it would make sense that a stimulant would address focus and impulsivity (as well as suicidality and criminality by proxy of those) but not clumsiness. Also, one can have ADHD without being clumsy, but being clumsy alone does not quality for ADHD. I could be completely wrong, but hopefully that exp…