Naomi

Whelp, it is done, for now. I've been diagnosed with Tourettes and childhood ADHD, and been told that further testing is needed to determine adult ADHD because in day to day life I seem to have it, but in testing, I excel way past ADHD criteria. I got a care plan that includes

medication, which works more generally for Tourettes tics, and can also help with certain ADHD cognitive symptoms without being a harsh stimulant which needs a definitive adult ADHD diagnosis. I've also been recommended CBT books, but therapy itself is so expensive. woop woop!

I was apprehensive - the psychiatrist I was referred to had mediocre reviews. He was super no-nonsense, interrupted me often, unemotional. But he was so effective and listened to all of my concerns. I asked about Adderall, he shot that down hard and offered sneakier general meds.

It's hard to be so sure you have something like ADHD, and to be told "You've got a 25% chance there buddy, your brain has figured out how to cope and compensate to the point that you're almost fine," when you REALLY don't feel fine on a day-to-day basis, when you're drowning.

But being told that ADHD-specific stimulants can lose their efficacy after about 3 years, that long term tolerance is always an issue, that they're hard on the body, and then being offered a plethora of alternatives that are more generalized; helps tics+anxiety+depression+etc+etc

It's reassuring to know there are so many options even when you don't hear exactly what you want to hear, even though there's no magical one size fits all solution, even though we commonly hear about just a handful of options in media and regular conversaion.