Possible ADHD

[Clues_Of_Blue]

Recent conversations with my counsellor, family, friends and partner have shed a different light on a whole bunch of things that have been normal for me for as long as I can remember. Like most people, when I heard about ADHD, it was usually about little boys bouncing all over the place. If you're not specifically looking, it's not at all clear it's something experienced by girls and adults of both sexes as well, and the symptoms are surprising. My sister has recently discovered she has it. It runs in families, but that's only one box checked.

Mind running constantly, like two or more radio stations blaring all the time. Check! Constantly getting distracted and bouncing from task to task to task, forgetting each as a new one (or one I started earlier) presents itself. Check! Insanely lengthy (and plentiful) to-do lists everywhere, reminders and alarms - and still forgetting important things (like meds) regularly. Check!

There's a lot more, but that's the gist. I have a referral to a psychiatrist in hopes of diagnosis (or ruling it out, but somehow I don't think so) - and I'll be stewing on it at least 3 months, as the dude's booked up until June. I'd like to hear from anyone who has been diagnosed, about the journey there. I'm somewhat concerned about being taken seriously and listened to, as everything I'm reading suggests even professionals are often poorly educated about ADHD and an adult has an uphill battle getting a diagnosis for this - a female adult all the more so. I'm writing down every example I can think of, of symptomatic behaviour (so many notes!), and could do with an idea of what sort of questions they will ask - a lot of what I'm reading suggests adults and women present very differently to little boys, but the little boy symptoms are often what they base diagnostic criteria on. Sounds like a problem area right there.

I'd also like to hear about symptom-related experiences, coping strategies and therapies that have helped people here. I've already read a few good tips, like having someone around to keep you "on task" when possible to get things done around the house, regularly tweaking routines to keep boredom from undermining attention to important things, aiming to achieve something small early in the day to break the sense of getting nowhere for the day ahead (boy that's a big one for me, I struggle when I don't do that).

I could waffle on for ages (following that daisy-chain of runaway thoughts), but I'll stop there for now.

Blue.

[Clues_Of_Blue]

Update:

I had my psychyatrist appointment, today. He was actually really good - he read my notes, listened to me, and took me seriously. Huge difference from any psychologists I've dealt with. Anyway, end result is I have my ADHD diagnosis. It's a relief to have this officially recognised, to have answers as to why managing ordinary things has always been so difficult for me, and to have some potential for positive change.

Blue.