I think I have ADHD, what should I do?
I've been off uni for about 5 weeks now for Christmas, I have my exams next week and I've done no work. No revision. It's not that I don't want to but every time I start I zone out and can't focus, I can read pages of work and then have to start again because I wasn't paying attention to any of it and it's so frustrating. For years my mum had thought I might have had ADHD, I was admittedly quite a difficult child but I was adamant that it wasn't that. 'Only boys get ADHD and if i have it then it means there's something wrong with me...' was my mentality. I'm now 19 and figured I couldn't possibly have ADHD now, I'm just bad at studying, I'm lazy, I'm not a good student. I couldn't have ADHD because I can sit for hours, days even on end and binge watch shows. When I was in school I could focus on my art coursework for a full day and not even notice the time go by, so how can I have ADHD. Obviously, now that I've looked into it I understand the concept of 'hyperfocus' and some other symptoms of ADHD and my life has never made more sense.
So, my problem is this. To get help or treatment I need to see my doctor. My doctor's surgery however only lets you make an appointment if you ring up at 8 am on the day due to the number of patients, it's always full. My sleep patterns are ****ed (possibly a side effect of ADHD?) and have been for ages. I cant get to sleep until around 5-6am and then will sleep through until about 1pm (I've thought about just staying up until 8 am and then ringing but I always seem to fall asleep by accident, I don't even realise)
My uni work is suffering, I'm missing lectures because I literally cant wake up, I can set 10 alarms and I don't even hear them, I feel like I'm trapped and I don't know what to do. Any help is appreciated, what are any coping mechanisms you've developed to help?
So, my problem is this. To get help or treatment I need to see my doctor. My doctor's surgery however only lets you make an appointment if you ring up at 8 am on the day due to the number of patients, it's always full. My sleep patterns are ****ed (possibly a side effect of ADHD?) and have been for ages. I cant get to sleep until around 5-6am and then will sleep through until about 1pm (I've thought about just staying up until 8 am and then ringing but I always seem to fall asleep by accident, I don't even realise)
My uni work is suffering, I'm missing lectures because I literally cant wake up, I can set 10 alarms and I don't even hear them, I feel like I'm trapped and I don't know what to do. Any help is appreciated, what are any coping mechanisms you've developed to help?
Original post by Violet_perkins
I've been off uni for about 5 weeks now for Christmas, I have my exams next week and I've done no work. No revision. It's not that I don't want to but every time I start I zone out and can't focus, I can read pages of work and then have to start again because I wasn't paying attention to any of it and it's so frustrating. For years my mum had thought I might have had ADHD, I was admittedly quite a difficult child but I was adamant that it wasn't that. 'Only boys get ADHD and if i have it then it means there's something wrong with me...' was my mentality. I'm now 19 and figured I couldn't possibly have ADHD now, I'm just bad at studying, I'm lazy, I'm not a good student. I couldn't have ADHD because I can sit for hours, days even on end and binge watch shows. When I was in school I could focus on my art coursework for a full day and not even notice the time go by, so how can I have ADHD. Obviously, now that I've looked into it I understand the concept of 'hyperfocus' and some other symptoms of ADHD and my life has never made more sense.
So, my problem is this. To get help or treatment I need to see my doctor. My doctor's surgery however only lets you make an appointment if you ring up at 8 am on the day due to the number of patients, it's always full. My sleep patterns are ****ed (possibly a side effect of ADHD?) and have been for ages. I cant get to sleep until around 5-6am and then will sleep through until about 1pm (I've thought about just staying up until 8 am and then ringing but I always seem to fall asleep by accident, I don't even realise)
My uni work is suffering, I'm missing lectures because I literally cant wake up, I can set 10 alarms and I don't even hear them, I feel like I'm trapped and I don't know what to do. Any help is appreciated, what are any coping mechanisms you've developed to help?
So, my problem is this. To get help or treatment I need to see my doctor. My doctor's surgery however only lets you make an appointment if you ring up at 8 am on the day due to the number of patients, it's always full. My sleep patterns are ****ed (possibly a side effect of ADHD?) and have been for ages. I cant get to sleep until around 5-6am and then will sleep through until about 1pm (I've thought about just staying up until 8 am and then ringing but I always seem to fall asleep by accident, I don't even realise)
My uni work is suffering, I'm missing lectures because I literally cant wake up, I can set 10 alarms and I don't even hear them, I feel like I'm trapped and I don't know what to do. Any help is appreciated, what are any coping mechanisms you've developed to help?
Definitely get a doctor's appointment, and speak to your university. Talk to your course team and ask to be referred to the right department of your university to talk about this, and also let them know what's going on. Call up the doctors and explain the situation and ask if you can book one further in advance or something, and if not then set an alarm for 5 to 8 or something and call. You can always go back to sleep afterwards. It's really difficult when you're having sleep problems and that's the only way you can book. I've been through it before. If it comes to it, see if someone else can book one for you
Original post by becca385
You could go to a walk in centre and say that your doctor couldn’t see you? They’ll probably refer you to a specialist
Walk in centres aren't really equipped to deal with longer term problems like that. There'd probably be a long wait and a 'go visit your GP' at the end of it. At least where I live, they refer you back to the GP for services like that
Original post by chelseadagg3r
Walk in centres aren't really equipped to deal with longer term problems like that. There'd probably be a long wait and a 'go visit your GP' at the end of it. At least where I live, they refer you back to the GP for services like that
Ah the one I went to I just told them that my doctor didn’t have space so they saw me and then referred me to a specialist and that was a longer term thing. Must depend on the area!
Original post by becca385
Ah the one I went to I just told them that my doctor didn’t have space so they saw me and then referred me to a specialist and that was a longer term thing. Must depend on the area!
Yeah, probably then. I know mine only deal with more urgent things. People are getting turned away all the time
Its like you described me.I have the exact same symptoms as you but never thought that I had ADHD, I thought it was csv being anaemic (even though iron didnt help)
. I am considering going to the doctor after reading this but the problem is my gps always get p****d when I go because they expect you to g if you're certain about stuff. My mum has also studied mental health agesss ago and gets angry when I bring up adhd saying im just lazy, so I just left it. Are you absolutely sure? Can someone else tell me what would help me make sure that this is ADHD because I will consider going to the doctor if I am 100% sure. I do think that I have a habit of thinking the worst so im really confued as to whether the symptoms can be normal?
. I am considering going to the doctor after reading this but the problem is my gps always get p****d when I go because they expect you to g if you're certain about stuff. My mum has also studied mental health agesss ago and gets angry when I bring up adhd saying im just lazy, so I just left it. Are you absolutely sure? Can someone else tell me what would help me make sure that this is ADHD because I will consider going to the doctor if I am 100% sure. I do think that I have a habit of thinking the worst so im really confued as to whether the symptoms can be normal?
There was loads of information online that’s can be found with a simple google search, symptoms etc. But something that I found quite interesting was this video : https://youtu.be/JiwZQNYlGQI and her accompanying YouTube channel xx
Also, I thought it might have been down to low iron, I had blood tests and was told to take folic acid, vitamin D and iron but I don’t feel much different tbh
Also, I thought it might have been down to low iron, I had blood tests and was told to take folic acid, vitamin D and iron but I don’t feel much different tbh
(edited 6 years ago)
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