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Should I get accessed?

Whatif2043

Hello,

I am 27 years old.  I was diagnosed with ADHD and Dishgraphia when I was 6.  I took medication for ADHD until I was 16. I stopped because my mom let me decide and I wanted to be "normal" and felt like I could deal with it on my own.  I recently started medication again.

Things have improved but not all the way.  I focus better at work.  I am able to keep from being as distracted at home. But I still struggle.  Especially socially.  My relationship with my husband included.

Through a research deep dive into ADHD comorbidities I ended up looking at adult diagnosed autism.  I connected with much of it. I researched more and connected more and more with what I'm reading.  And things about autistic experience from childhood make me think of some things from my childhood.  But there is so much that overlaps with adhd.  I took every assessment I could find as honestly as I could and every one of them resulted in the likely to have symptoms category, but how valid that is with an ADHD diagnosis.

So, I'm considering getting accessed by a professional, but I am afraid.  I'm worried about the cost.  I'm afraid of asking my doctor for a referral and her telling me I'm a hypochondriac or that I'm dumb and wrong or something.  I'm afraid of telling anyone I know that I'm thinking about it bc I am afraid it will make them think badly of me or that I'm being dramatic or want attention.  And what if I am diagnosed?  I don't know what benefit that would have.  Just knowing?  Im not sure I would tell my employer so I don't think it would help with work and I don't know if people close to me would be supportive or if they would even believe it.

I've retyped this message like 10 times because I don't know the right way to ask and I don't want to be offensive on accident or accidentally tell you my whole life story.  So please let me know if I've said anything wrong and sorry for the super long post.

I guess what I'm looking for is maybe some advise.  How useful has a diagnosis been for you?  Is it worth it?

Thank you for reading and having this space for questions and help and even if I don't specifically have autism I want to say hello to all my nuerodivergent fellow humans and thank you again.

Parents

  • Hello, welcome to the community. The things you are worried about are more or less the same as what I was worried about. I did ask my doctor for a referral in the end and he was very obliging. I told the receptionist it was about anxiety, which was also true but let me avoid saying the word 'autism' until I talked to the GP. I've heard that some GPs have better knowledge about autism/the referral process than others. 

    I wasn't sure whether I should get assessed or not but I decided that I would rather know one way or the other, even though I know it won't really change anything.

    By the way I also do obsessive retyping of messages and I think it must be a common autistic/anxiety/OCD thing.

  • in reply to BassFace

    What did knowing help you with?  Did it help you feel better, or guide you with how you tackle some things?

    I went to my doctor to talk about ADHD and get a referral to an expert, but she took my prior diagnosis and didn't want to refer me to a psychiatrist or psychologist because she can provide advice in medication and dosage.  I didn't know how to day that I wasn't sure it was just ADHD and push for a referral.

    I read everything I send in messages and emails over and over at work too.  Always worried I missed something or that my wording is bad.

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  • in reply to BassFace

    What did knowing help you with?  Did it help you feel better, or guide you with how you tackle some things?

    I went to my doctor to talk about ADHD and get a referral to an expert, but she took my prior diagnosis and didn't want to refer me to a psychiatrist or psychologist because she can provide advice in medication and dosage.  I didn't know how to day that I wasn't sure it was just ADHD and push for a referral.

    I read everything I send in messages and emails over and over at work too.  Always worried I missed something or that my wording is bad.

Children
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