This is my review of the process from referral to diagnosis, treatment, and a year of taking stimulants for ADHD following diagnosis through Psychiatry-UK.
Getting a diagnosis of adult ADHD in the UK through the NHS is notoriously difficult. It took me almost two years, from when my GP first suggested I might have ADHD to when I finally got a diagnosis.
Waiting lists for an ADHD assessment in the UK can be long – sometimes several years – if you make it to the waiting list. I’m lucky my GP was very supportive and helped me push for a referral, but it was a stressful and constant battle.
The process begins with a referral from your GP, who will likely give you some forms to fill out and may ask about your symptoms and family history. You will then have an assessment with a psychiatrist, who will ask more detailed questions about your symptoms and their impact on your life.
If the psychiatrist thinks you might have ADHD, they usually recommend a course of treatment with stimulant medication. This is often combined with psychological support to help you manage your symptoms.
I was lucky that after the initial problems with being referred, my actual diagnosis and treatment process went relatively smoothly, but it was still a long and difficult journey.
Your GP can suggest you see a local provider for an ADHD assessment, or you may choose to go down the private route if you believe you have ADHD.
If you’re looking for private ADHD treatment, you’ll have to pay for it. The initial evaluation might be as low as £450 (but I recall seeing slightly lower) and go up to over a thousand pounds. Then there’s the titration process, additional appointments, and the cost of a private ADHD treatment prescription, which are not cheap.
I would recommend doing your research and looking at all the options before deciding on how to proceed with getting a diagnosis. The most important thing is that you get the help and support you need to manage your symptoms, whatever route you decide to go down.
The private NHS provider I’d used had to be funded by the NHS Right to Choose scheme, so it cost me nothing. I did have to ask my GP to write to the local CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) to request funding, but it was approved with no problems. Psychiatry-UK told me I was the first patient in the country to have NHS-funded treatment with them.
Psychiatry-UK has since been commissioned to provide NHS services in some areas of England, so being referred should be a much simpler process. As of April 2022, Psychiatry-UK were fully booked until at least October 2022 and is not taking on any new patients. After speaking with someone from P-UK, I know they are trying to increase their capacity to meet the demand.
Since releasing this video, several other clinics have been funded through Right To Choose in England. The ADHD UK website contains useful information, including a letter you may send to your doctor if your right to choose is denied.
Find out more at https://adhduk.co.uk/right-to-choose/
After waiting two years for ADHD treatment through the NHS in England, I eventually received treatment from Psychiatry-UK. This psychiatry service virtually provides Adult ADHD Diagnosis and ADHD treatments.
My ADHD diagnosis in early childhood is in my medical records. Still, the local ADHD provision rejected my referral to their service after several attempts by my doctor because they would not re-diagnose ADHD and only treat patients their service diagnosed, leaving me in limbo and potentially thousands of others.
Within two weeks of the GP referral, I had a virtual appointment with a psychiatrist specialising in ADHD and received a diagnosis (again!) of ADHD. Just having this in writing was a relief and a huge weight off my shoulders.
The titration process began a week or two later, and once I found a medication that seemed to help, my GP agreed to a shared care agreement so that I could now get prescriptions easily and via the NHS instead of paying hundreds of pounds each month.
The process of getting an adult ADHD diagnosis was lengthy, stressful and frustrating, but I’m glad to say there is now a light at the end of the tunnel. If you think you might have ADHD, don’t give up hope and keep pushing for a referral until you get the help and support you need.
Since my eldest child’s diagnosis and my own, I’ve learnt a lot about ADHD and how it affects us. I started a podcast for ADHD entrepreneurs, leading me to meet some amazing people, including Dr Dawn Brown MD. She’s an author, entrepreneur, a child and adult psychiatrist specialising in ADHD, and she never stops.
Dr Dawn has been kind enough to come on the show twice to talk about various topics related to ADHD, including girls and women with ADHD, the impact of Covid-19 on those with ADHD, and we still speak regularly.
If you’re thinking about getting an ADHD diagnosis or are already on the journey, I hope sharing my story will help to give you some hope and reassurance that it is possible to get the help and support you need.
And if you want to find out more about ADDtrepreneur and why I want to help entrepreneurs with ADHD, please head to my website at addtrepreneur.com
