This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

ADHD Diagnosis as an adult?

Hey community! I'm currently seeing a psychiatrist regularly for anxiety. It's thankfully gotten so much better with medication. I brought up to my doc that I have a really hard time focusing, getting things done, and not procrastinating at work among other personal challenges with the way I think about tasks and get things done in and outside of work.

I was hesitant to even bring it up, because my fear was that she would just think I'm looking for a prescription for stimulants and I was questioning if my issues were even valid or just a symptom of work boredom.

Her response was cautious but logical. She emphasized that it's rare for adults to get diagnosed with it if they weren't as a kid. She wants me to do this exam (tons of behavior questions) and then evaluate before diagnosing, which I get it's just LONG. I'm weighing if it's worth it or if I just need to deal with the work-related issues in another way. However, a good friend said it's pretty common for women to think this way and many of us that have some spectrum of ADHD even as kids weren't thought to be diagnosed because we didn't show the same behaviors as boys.

All of that to say, I just wondered if anyone had been diadgnosed as an adult, if you have/had some of the same work issues I'm experiencing and found that medication helped. Thanks for sharing your experience and perspectives!

Iynna·Sep 17

We actually have a number of Elphas who got diagnosed at an adult age, many posted anonymously but you can probably see the few who commented under their identity https://elpha.com/posts/3w0dg6li/adult-adhd-diagnosis-and-interviewing (specifically https://elpha.com/posts/3w0dg6li/adult-adhd-diagnosis-and-interviewing#fr4cli6s or https://elpha.com/posts/3w0dg6li/adult-adhd-diagnosis-and-interviewing#fahahmqc) https://elpha.com/posts/a9pzzpu7/quitting-without-having-my-next-job-lined-uphttps://elpha.com/posts/ymeus75i/any-female-engineers-with-adhd-herehttps://elpha.com/posts/hxbuayvk/recently-came-to-terms-with-having-adhd-what-resources-are-out-there

Lesha93·Sep 18

Thanks Iyanna! I will check those out :)

Iynna·Sep 18

My pleasure! I hope it helps!

malindalloyd·Sep 18

Please, please, please get tested. It will help one way or another. ADHD testing for women was rare before the late 90's because it generally presents differently. My brother had a stereotypical ADHD presentation but I did not and wasn't diagnosed until my late 40's.