Help Getting diagnosed with ADHD

[lwovely]

Hello, I am 20 years old living in Canada. I want to get diagnosed with ADHD without doing the AHS route due to the long wait times. I know the paid route is quite expensive but I can afford it. I'm wondering what your guys' experience is with being diagnosed. Was it a good experience or terrible? Especially for women since it's harder to get diagnosed from what I hear.

I've heard it's super time consuming which is why I haven't done it yet. Also school has been occupying my time so I haven't really got the chance to do some research. However I really want to push myself towards semi recovery. Even if I don't have it, at least I got some answers. I did try to get diagnosed using the AHS route but they cut me off last minute and said I had anxiety. The person diagnosing me was a student btw. I wish they would hear me out personally but they never do.

Even if you guys aren't from Canada, please let me know how it is and be honest! I would like to hear the rough idea on how much it costs for yall, since it's around 2,000 CAD for me. I can get it cheaper but it's online only.
AHS stands for Alberta Health Services for non Canadians! just wanted to put that out

 

[timf]

I am not sure what advantage there is in a diagnosis unless it is being able to get a prescription for speed. Fifty years ago I found that getting one from a psychiatrist (medical doctor specializing in psychiatric medicine) is more likely to give you a diagnosis than a regular physician.

I found out that as useful as speed was for work during the week, it required almost a full weekend off to recover and get ready for the next week.

 

[lachrymost]

I've learned the testing is different everywhere, even throughout Canada. You might want to learn ahead of time if they require an IQ test. To me that was gruelling. I've also heard of the QB test, which I didn't have to do. They typically want lots of information from family, so you'll probably have trouble if you don't have someone to talk about what you were like as a kid.

I'm happy to have another disability diagnosis because the more disabilities I have the harder it might be for my province to take my disability money away. The drugs didn't do anything for me, though.

 

[bluefeather177]

Sorry you're having a hard time getting diagnosed as a woman. I can relate, I knew since elementary school that I had it due to my brother having a diagnosis but only got medicated two years ago.

Hopefully you have a more competent doctor next time. Maybe look into doctors that specialize in it? Not super familiar with how it works over there as I'm in the US.

I'll just say, sometimes as a woman (especially if it's a male older doctor) you have to exaggerate certain things or omit others for them to take you seriously. Don't outright lie but it would help looking into DSM diagnostic criteria if you haven't already and seeing what they're looking for. When the odds are stacked against you getting treatment you need, you've gotta learn how to advocate for yourself.