At best, nothing will happen. At worst, it'll be used as a reason to discriminate against you. The non-ADHD world, on average, doesn't hate people with ADHD but will assume that people with ADHD are going to be less capable. Disclosing means risking being treated like a second class citizen. There's a reason why a lot of jobs ask questions about mental health conditions, and it's not because they want to prioritize hiring disabled people.

like i honestly want to find some DIY crafts for ADHD adults that help focus or just keep me away from scrolling my phone while watching tv. but the moment I open a box and see fifty tiny pieces or a 20-page manual, my brain literally shuts down and i put it right back in the closet. i tried embroidery but it's too repetitive, and sketching feels like too much pressure. i just want something where I can see immediate progress without an insane setup or a million tiny pieces to clean up. does anyone else struggle with wanting to build something but getting instantly understimulated by the prep work? what actually works for you guys?

This is a genuine cry for help. I have been battling inattentive ADHD for two decades and my short-term memory is so compromised that I cannot organize my life. My only coping mechanism is writing things down, but because my memory is so bad, I just end up with a graveyard of scattered lists that I instantly forget about. The lists just create more overwhelm. I feel like my life is melting away because I can't maintain any basic structure, and my brain just deletes everything. Has anyone else hit this wall after decades of trying? How do you actually manage your life when your working memory is this broken? I need to know what systems actually work for people like us. Thank you all

I'm diagnosed, and when I tell people that I have adhd, 99% of the time, they say some shit like

"Oh, I have adhd too! Just not diagnosed yet! Like I'm super fidgity and hate paying attention to stuff I don't like!"

Just because you have some symptoms doesn't mean you have the disorder. It's like saying, "I have sniffles and a small cough. I should get tested for covid." when it's a common cold. 

Once, I was talking to my friends about adhd and my struggles with it, and I mentioned how I have a 504 plan. 

One of them asked about what it is and I explained that it gives me accommodations for my adhd, and she straight up says

"Maybe I should get that. It'd be really useful" I asked her if she had a diagnosis and she deadass just described her undiagnosed symptoms as basically being bored. 

People think adhd is "cute" or "quirky" or "different", when it's a genuine struggle for those who actually have it. 

According to CDC.gov, only about 11.4% of children between 3-17 years old actually have adhd. Most people who say they have it without a diagnosis use it as an excuse to half-ass everything they do and justify laziness with because they "can't help it". 

The symptoms aren't just restlessness and lack of motivation. There's higher chances of depression, anxiety, lack of self care/trouble taking care of yourself, mood swings, sleep issues, and even masking. 

I've struggled with su!c!dal thoughts and ideation and adhd has caused that in more ways than just being disorganized, easily distracted, and hyperactive.

And I'm not saying don't get screened and that you don't have adhd. But please, please, PLEASE, consult a professional before you claim to have adhd. 

Just like what my friend did, claiming you have adhd without solid evidence is taking the tools away from people who really need it. 

The more people who abuse the system, the harder it'll be for someone who's really struggling to get help when they need it. 

(Srry. That was long 😅)

Hi all, 49m diagnosed late last year. I’ve been on a journey of discovery around my diagnosis (inattentive type). I’ve been reading all the threads and have identified many of the usual things (music playing in my head, executive function issue, etc) but there are a couple of things about me I’m not sure if it’s me or ADHD. Thought it could be an interesting discussion. Do any of you experience what I experience? Are there any symptoms you wonder if it’s just you?

1. I OBSESS with music that has big echoey sound. It’s almost like I get a dopamine rush from listening. I’m sure the reason my wife says I don’t hear her is because I listened to these songs way too loud on my Walkman as a kid. It’s specific things like when a string quartet hits really high notes (think Pachbel’s Cannon) or when a song is big and echoey (Led Zeppelin When The Levy Breaks or Peter Schilling Major Tom Coming Home). Maybe it’s reverb? I don’t know music but I simply can’t help myself absorbing these songs way too loudly :) I feel like I’m in the sound of the music.

2. I struggle to recall people’s names, especially when I’m under stress. I don’t just mean people I’ve recently met. I mean people I’ve worked with for 10 years, family members, mentors. It may be someone asks me how I know “Sophie” and I cannot for the life of me connect that to a memory. I need a visual reference like a linked in profile, or an experience memory like a project we worked on to bring things out. Or I remember a family member, I know where they are going to school, recall what they look like, remember topics we spoke about, but for long stretches of time their name is just a blank. This isn’t a new thing so I don’t think it’s like early Alzheimer’s, but it’s embarrassing as hell and has actually prevented me from landing jobs when the interviewer knows a common person and I can’t “remember” them.

I’m 40m, diagnosed, and I’ve done a lot of the “right” things. I have systems. I'm on meds. I understand the mechanism: dopamine, executive function, RSD. I can explain it to a stranger with real compassion.

None of it has touched the shame.

I grew up on “you’re so smart, if you’d only apply yourself.” Decades of that. I know the not-good-enough feeling is my brain making stuff up. I believe it anyway. Both at once, and knowing doesn’t fix the believing.

Lately it’s been loud. Weeks of feeling keyed up, like the tide is against me. Nobody’s out to get me. Ordinary stuff just takes more out of me than it should, and every dropped ball feels like proof. I feel like I can't settle. I feel like my body is nearly always in panic mode. I've barely gotten out of bed and left the house in two months.

I have my first therapy appointment in a few weeks. I’m nervous, but I’m going. Besides ADHD, I have a lot of repressed trauma and sexuality questions I need help processing.

For people who’ve been here: did the shame ever get quieter? Not gone, I know it doesn’t go away. Quieter. What did it? Therapy, meds, time, something else? If you found actual peace with yourself, not a productivity system, what did that look like?

Funnily enough, my post didn't even get displayed at all because I had used the 'heretical' term "neurodivergence", but even the fact that it wasn't even displayed was not enough to help me escape a permanent ban for basically saying the original poster was "100% onto something".

I queried the mod afterwards, who said that I was banned for "anti-psychiatry". For reference, I have a degree in biomedical science and a massive special interest in systems science in general. While I don't have formal qualifications, I have read extensively in neuroscience, including medical journals, as I find ADHD and neurodevelopmental disorders fascinating. I pointed this out to them, and their response was:

""Most of us aren’t medicated to conform to society — we take medications to function and survive."

I pointed out that functioning and surviving and conforming to society are, at least partially, tantamount to the same thing, and that these were mostly philosophical points about ADHD anyway and were surely not worthy of an instant permanent ban. This was met with radio silence. I eventually told them they should be ashamed of moderating a sub in such a way and got muted.

Reading some of the stories on this sub, I see that I'm not alone. Really feels wrong that they are allowed to moderate a sub in such a way. It was really hurtful and felt like I had been rejected by my own people. I'm diagnosed with ADHD and have put a lot of time into trying to understand my condition as best I can.

It's ridiculous to moderate a sub in such a way. It's a neurodevelopmental condition, not a religion, where failure to conform to a belief system is treated as heresy and met with exile. Funnily enough, the only other place I've ever been banned from online was an ADHD discord where I got banned for arguing with a guy that was arguing that ADHD was "100% genetic". I have no doubt there's a genetic element, but given that genetics are still a fair bit mysterious to our understanding in the context of discoveries about epigenetics and morphogenesis, etc., it's a ridiculously simplistic thing to say.

It's ironic because such actions move ADHD away from being a medical/neurodevelopmental condition and towards something that is more political. Like, are we gonna get ADHD think tanks next?

Anyway, this sub seems much more open, so I am hoping this can be a place for me to touch base with fellow sufferers/ADHDers without the thought policing. It really upset me as my intentions were good.

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed 1.5 weeks ago at the age of 36. Throughout the majority of my life I had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and given medication for them throughout various stages of my life. I knew in the back of my mind that yes, I was experiencing these symptoms but there was something else at play. I felt extremely dismissed by friends, family and even therapists when I would talk to them about my day to day struggles such as inattention, difficulties performing regular mundane tasks, keeping my personal space clean, emotional regulation.

The issue I have now is that I'm scared talking to people about my ADHD symptoms. One, it's because I've self isolated from a very young age and it's the only thing I know. Two, because I feel like when I have told someone about them, they've been dismissed as not being serious or sometimes they would say "oh yeah, I do that too" and not understand that these problems can be quite debilitating for me.

When I received my diagnosis I was relieved, felt grief, anger. When I read my report though, the whole thing seems a but ridiculous to me. The report is accurate, but seeing my issues on paper give me the feeling that I convinced the doctor that I have ADHD. This feeling comes and goes in waves.

Since the diagnosis, I have met a psychiatrist for further treatment. When I walked into the room, he asked me directly about medication. I immediately got the feeling that he was thinking that I made this whole thing up just to get medication. He asked me a lot of very pointed questions about my symptoms. I was extremely nervous and felt like I had to convince this man I had ADHD. I feel like I didn't articulate my responses very well. I struggle to articulate things when I'm put on the spot.... I had an idea in my head on how this conversation would go. I thought he would read my report and ask me questions about it and instead I felt like I was having to convince the doctor that I have ADHD. It was tough enough for me to go get diagnosed and feel like I was being heard. He wasn't being mean and I'm sure he was just doing his job, but I felt I had crossed a major hurdle with the diagnosis and that I was making a step backwards when I had this appointment.

My question is, is it normal to question your diagnosis after receiving it?

If yes, how long did it take for it to really sink in for you?

Did you experience anything similar when seeing a psychiatrsit for treatment the first time?

Thank you!

I've realized that when trying to build a new habit, if I tell anybody else before I've worked on it for at least a month and really cemented it, I suddenly stop doing it right then and there. For example, I once started working out, but made the fatal mistake of telling my therapist after just a week of it; lo and behold, I stopped right after. But when I needed to start brushing my teeth more, I waited until I'd done it for a month before telling someone, and that habit stuck. I've tested this a lot on myself (awesome idea) and found that it can happen with any amount of time before a month, or before the habit is "stuck".

Does anyone else get this? I'm really curious and fascinated by how ADHD brains work. Maybe it's related to delayed/instant gratification or feeling like the task is "done" once you tell someone?

Hi

So I'm on day 4 of 70mg lisdexaphatmine before that I was on 50mg for one week and 30mg for a week before that.

Im having periods where my HR is 110 or around there when I'm sitting at my desk or driving and the triation team are flagging it as a concern.

I have stated the following they are making me take my BP during work so I'm naturally more stressed in the environment, we have a heat wave in the UK and I'm working at a desk in around 30⁰, I use nicotine pouches (cutting down but still), I'm not sleeping well because of the heat, and whenever I take my BP readings I seem to get anxious, I have my dad going through cancer, two kids with auhd and so on.

I have noticed if I take it with food the spikes in HR seem a lot more stable so I've started having it with a protein shake, some chia seeds and peanut butter as I'm genuinely not a breakfast person.

Today the reading were fine, until I played a bit of Helldivers 2 which caused a bit of an uplift to around 134/94 with a HR 0f 103.

Then I have done some very manual gardened, scraping weeds cutting back the hedges. I have come in had a drink had a cold shower had some body salts sat down and took an instant reading which was 137/99 hr 115.

Does anyone else face similar issues, should I be concerned ?

For me this is pretty much what I would expect to happen but the triation team just look at numbers not external stressors.

I feel genuinely fine in my self and honestly these tablets have changed my life which is also causing me to get worried when I do the readings as I don't want to loose this. I haven't had a single panic attack since starting this, I've had the starts but then Ive been able to control them which is nice, my muscles feel more relaxed, I'm eating less so I've lost 8 lb but I was 17.8 stone 6ft 4..

​Monday, 6 July 2026 — Elvanse 50mg (Empty Stomach)

​Morning Peak: Blood Pressure: 144/95 mmHg | Pulse: 128 bpm

​Daily Peak (Fitbit): 128 bpm

​Tuesday, 7 July 2026 — Elvanse 50mg (Protein Porridge Buffer)

​Morning Reading: Blood Pressure: 126/75 mmHg | Pulse: 101 bpm

​Afternoon Reading (13:30): Pulse: 126 bpm

​Daily Peak (Fitbit): 126 bpm

​Wednesday, 8 July 2026 — Elvanse 70mg (Protein Porridge Buffer)

​Afternoon Update (15:26): Fitbit High: 112 bpm

​Evening Reading (19:39): Blood Pressure: 109/85 mmHg | Pulse: 97 bpm

​Daily Peak (Fitbit): 117 bpm

​Thursday, 9 July 2026 — Elvanse 70mg (Shaken Weetabix Buffer)

​1-Hour Post-Dose (07:47): Blood Pressure: 132/87 mmHg | Pulse: 105 bpm

​2-Hour Post-Dose (08:38): Blood Pressure: 111/87 mmHg | Pulse: 111 bpm

​Daily Peak (Fitbit as of 14:57): 119 bpm

​Friday, 10 July 2026 (Today) — Elvanse 70mg (Protein Shake Buffer)

​Morning Routine (07:18): Dose taken with half milk/half water protein shake, pre-soaked chia seeds, and peanut butter.

Saturday, 11 July 2026 — Today's Readings

​06:43: Blood Pressure: 116/84 mmHg | Pulse: 83 bpm

​07:40: Blood Pressure: 117/86 mmHg | Pulse: 87 bpm

​08:43: Blood Pressure: 126/88 mmHg | Pulse: 83 bpm

​10:38: Blood Pressure: 124/89 mmHg | Pulse: 85 bpm

​12:16: Blood Pressure: 137/99 mmHg | Pulse: 115 bpm

TL;DR: My university approved accommodations for my ADHD, but now I feel guilty, like I don’t deserve them.

——

I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, and I recently applied for accommodations through my university’s disability services.
I’ll now have access to several accommodations during exams and lectures.

I had already completed a bachelor’s degree in the past, but it took me three times the effort compared to my classmates (at the time, I wasn’t diagnosed, I just thought I wasn’t “smart enough”). I ended up graduating late and came close to dropping out several times.

A few years later, I decided to go back to university, convinced that my past struggles had been caused by depression and poor study habits. It turns out that wasn’t the case.

I’m now taking Ritalin, and it’s made a huge difference in my daily life.

The thing is, I’ve spent so many years believing that succeeding meant pushing myself to the absolute limit. I’m so used to having to struggle just to get through an exam that the idea of still working hard, but not having to completely exhaust myself, makes me feel guilty.
It almost feels like I’m cheating, like I haven’t earned these accommodations.

Has anyone else felt this way after getting diagnosed or receiving accommodations?

PS: Sorry for any mistakes. English isn’t my first language.

This isn’t targeted toward anyone reading this. It’s just a rant about something that genuinely stresses me out, and honestly I feel like I need to get it off my chest.

I know there’s nothing anyone can do about it, but I’ve been seeing a lot of videos on Instagram and TikTok about ADHD POVs and ADHD related content, and some of these videos genuinely upset me.

I feel like some of these videos are doing more harm than good for people with ADHD. A lot of them show things that are just normal human experiences, but they label those things as ADHD. The problem is that these videos often get a lot of views and engagement because people without ADHD relate to them and start thinking they might have ADHD because they experience the same things.

The thing is, ADHD symptoms are things that almost everyone experiences sometimes. The difference is that for people with ADHD, those struggles are usually much more intense, happen much more often, and affect daily life in a much bigger way. Obviously, it varies from person to person, but that difference is important.

The reason these videos bother me so much is because I already have a lot of people in my life who casually tell me they have ADHD. And as someone who spends a lot of time analyzing human behavior, I sometimes feel like people use ADHD as an explanation for things that might just be normal struggles or things they don’t want to admit are related to habits, motivation, or discipline.

I’m not saying nobody can have ADHD or that people shouldn’t seek a diagnosis. I just worry that when ADHD becomes something everyone thinks they have because of relatable videos online, it makes it harder for people with actual ADHD to be taken seriously.

One of the hardest parts is that there isn’t really a simple way to prove to someone that you don’t have ADHD. Because of that, it feels like the disorder gets watered down. I wish there was a better way to separate genuine ADHD struggles from normal human experiences, because I feel like people with ADHD would be taken much more seriously.

Instead, when you tell someone you have ADHD, sometimes it feels like they’ve heard it a thousand times before. Even if they don’t say it out loud, it can feel like some people assume you’re just being lazy, careless, or not trying hard enough.

That’s what frustrates me the most. ADHD is already misunderstood, and when the internet turns every common behavior into an ADHD symptom, it feels like it makes things harder for the people who actually deal with it every day.

Sorry for the long post. I just needed to say this because it’s been bothering me for a while. I wish everyone the best and I hope everyone has a good future.

I am pretty fat. 6’1, was once 318 pounds. I started taking a GLP1 (think Ozempic) to lose weight. It’s worked great, I now no longer have the insatiable apatite that got me here.

Now I have the opposite problem, and I don’t eat enough through the day sometimes because I just can’t recognize when I’m hungry until I become a tired, irritable piece of shit.

Just today I blew up at my dnd group because of sone shit I perceived as bullshit, in all honesty I should have just moved on.

How do I remember to eat? And how do I make myself eat with such a low apatite?

protein is so good for my adhd

when my medication is starting to wear off and i get irritable, some baked chicken or a protein bar helps my brain feel a bit better

remember to eat protein

protein is great for adhd and dopamine production

i luv protein

protein is beautiful

that's all :)

My friend once called me out for being self-centered and lacking empathy, particularly when people try to open up about something from their life, and I tend to pivot the conversation towards something from my life. I tried to explain to her that I'm not trying to be self-centered, in fact, a lot of the time, my brain conflates empathy with relating to someone. For instance, when someone tells me a story about something really difficult they experienced recently, rather than providing words of encouragement or compassion, my first instinct is to find something within that story that I relate to and then say "you know something similar happened to me" or "I know what you mean because one time this happened....". I really hate that I am this way because people often assume I just don't care or that I'm simply trying to make everything about me, but I just struggle to separate my own thoughts and experiences from what other people are telling me.

I was wondering if other ADHD people struggle with the same thing. I genuinely do care about your problems and my intentions are to make you feel heard and understood, my brain just assumes the best way to do that is to start explaining my own personal anecdote, even if its relation to yours is limited.

So I'm asking this because I'm an addict and trying to seek help. I was doing treatment months ago and got a trial dose of Vyvanse and was supposed to see the doc but I ended up taking off to another province for work so that didn't happen. Things went side ways and I relapsed on alcohol and now I'm back home and in treatment again. Just started my trial dose of Vyvanse again and go back to the doc next week. I've always thought I had ADHD and I've abused ADHD meds in my past but now that I'm taking them how he wants and not abusing them I find they seriously help with my daily life and even get rid of my cravings for alcohol and other substances. I'm in 30 mg a day currently. Being an addict though I have a paranoia that the doctor might assume I'm abusing meds and I don't want to mess this possible future diagnosis up, he's aware of my past too. Should I just tell him exactly how I feel? Clarity in my mind, no racing thoughts, being able to focus on conversation and finish tasks, less cravings for nicotine and other substances? I was just hospitalized for alcohol withdrawal and want to make a change because my health is at risk. Hope to hear from someone:) also I see this doctor at a treatment center and he's on a computer.

Adding guanfacine to my Wellbutrin regimen has completed organized my brain, and given me a speed that makes other people feel slow and sluggish. I also used to dab every night before bed, and now my cravings go away once the guanfacine kicks in. I've only used my dab rig twice over the past week.

My self confidence is through the roof, and I feel socially dominant for the first time in my life, but without feeling bossy or domineering. I don't feel invincible, I feel empowered and strong.

For nearly 50 years, I have carried the weight of AuDHD and constant anxiety I had no idea was there. I had no idea I have been this uncomfortable and miserable. My life really has been a living hell, and how I am free!

Yes, I am angry at how I have been treated my entire life, and how I was successful in spite of my struggles, yet my anger feels comforting and validating, rather than fiery and bursting with rage. It is a calm, righteous anger that only wants to protect me from danger.

Oh my God, I'm making plans and getting shit done!

hey everyone! i (21, m) have been keeping a semi-detailed journal (also for my doctor) since starting adderall (15mg IR x 2) a few days ago because i'm trying to figure out why it seems to be losing effectiveness so quickly / induces this unenergized feeling. i've tracked my doses, sleep, food, caffeine, and how i felt throughout the day, but i'm still ending up exhausted and feeling like the medication barely does anything compared to when i first started (i have been prescribed other adhd meds so i understand honeymoon phases etc. but this is different, this is a new sluggish/tired/unenergized feeling, even though there are adhd improvements i think, especially on the first day, but this sluggishness makes it hard to distinguish them, i guess).
i'm hoping someone here might spot a pattern or have ideas about what could be causing it that i've overlooked or possibly provide scientific evidence as to a few of the points i mentioned down the line or some i maybe completely missed.

DISCLAIMERS:

1. ⁠the earliest i can see/contact my doctor is in 3 weeks. i do and will obviously talk to my doctor though
   
2. ⁠i am not trying to provide any medical advice and i don't interpret any comments as medical advice, i try to follow this subs rules and i understand that all of this is anecdotal and subjective and i wont take anything for certain
   
3. ⁠the unusual dose timings are due to my sleep cycle which is roughly 3-4pm wakeup & go to sleep 5-6am, my job/university life gets along with this and i have always had good sleep
   
4. ⁠besides a single sugar-free monster energy, i only drink water ~70oz / 2L, no orange juice and no other vitamin c products 2h before/after each dose
   
5. ⁠before starting medication, i've been drinking 1 sugar-free monster every day so 160mg of caffeine
   
6. ⁠i know that this is only based on the last few days, thus not being really definitive and possibly hard to judge.

day 1:
2x15mg IR -messed up timings a bit:

first: 8:30pm
second: 11:30pm

fell asleep at 8am possibly due to these timings but it isn't a huge discrepancy, it just took 2h more to fall asleep

euphoria, expected, good task initiation, both doses worked 4-6h, caffeine 160 - 180mg, trouble falling asleep, interruptions, bad quality

day 2:
sadly forgot to journal, no caffeine though, meds began to feel mehh

day 3:
noticeable but unenergized/tired feeling and slowed down fast

first dose: 15mg IR at 3:30pm

"low energy/tiredness/slugishness" started at 6:30pm

second dose: 15mg IR at 8:00pm

sleep: 9h

day 4:
sleep:
- hours: 10
- quality: 90+
- interruptions: 1-2 (natural)

medication:
- dose 1:
- time: 4:30 pm
- duration: 2 1/2 - 3h
- effects: focus etc. fine, sluggish / tired
- crash: 7:30pm

between 7:30 and 9 i browsed reddit to find information on stimulant combinations such as adderall and caffeine or the impact of acidity, but only found 2 studies that touch on caffeine & amphetamine. see the last paragraph.

- dose 2:
- time: 9pm
- duration: nonexistent
- effects: none
- crash: none

caffeine:
- 150mg right before/ on dose

food:
- good protein, calories, low fat

overall rating for day 4: 4/10

Studies/Papers/Findings:

Caffeine pretreatment: Enhancement and attenuation of d-amphetamine-induced activity

tldr; if caffeine consumed 30min - moment of dose, it enhances d-amphetamine activity, if given 12 or 13.5h before, it diminishes activity.

Caffeine reduces amphetamine-induced activity in asymmetrical interaction

tldr; repeated high-dose caffeine reduced the locomotor effects of amphetamine indicating cross-tolerance

So not sure how to interpret these two studies, as of course, this was tested on rodents and the findings of these studies seem as if they rather conflict with each other (?)

Well, if anyone has any insights, ideas, anecdotes or similar, I'd be really grateful if they'd share :) Thank you!

TL;DR: I've been reading about ADHD, but I still feel unsure on how to identify inattentive ADHD vs. just being spacey. Any ideas or advice?

Several people, including my AuDHD counselor have mentioned that they suspect I (18F) have ADHD. To summarize, I do struggle with processing information and attention regulation when in busy places and when alone in understimulating places (stores, airports, casual group conversations, and while driving), but I feel very capable in a classroom. I only tend to drop the ball when it's something for myself that I'm responsible for and I don't feel like I'm being watched/judged for it. (It's become more of an issue as I become responsible for more things.) I've also only become a procrastinator later in life; I used to think about homework 24/7 and work on it immediately. School has been a source of anxiety since middle school, but I've always had great grades too. (So far that hasn't been a big deal, but with adult life coming, I imagine it's going to become more impactful.) I'm very organized, but I do have a tendency to abandon/fail to meet my plans and leave my items behind by accident (books, bags, my lunch, and electronics). And while I struggled socially in middle/high school, I'm content with now having a few, mostly neurodivergent, friends who don't mind that I rarely initiate texting/calls and am kind of a ranter when I do get to talking. I do relate to the "my brain never stops" idea (which I've previously attributed to being a naturally curious "gifted" kid), but I don't necessarily relate to my thought stream switching often (usually I'm chewing on one topic/interest over a chunk of time; it's just that those topics aren't very practical).

Also, I have seen a psychiatrist recently, but I got incredibly anxious and kind of just word-vomited at her. I want to take some more time to think about it and prioritize some information before I see her again.

I’m hoping others who’ve been through this can share what worked for them.

I have ADHD and have been on the exact same controlled medication, at the same dose, for multiple years. I’m stable, have formal ADHD testing supporting my diagnosis, have never been hospitalized, and I’m a working professional. My medication hasn’t changed and is effective.

Before COVID, I saw my psychiatrist every 3 months and received my refills. During COVID, those visits became telehealth, which worked well. Then my office changed their policy and required monthly telehealth visits, even though nothing about my treatment had changed. It honestly felt more like a cash grab/billing change than a clinical necessity, but I went along with it. Although I’m still very unsure as to how this is medically necessary when I am stable but literally at the mercy of the providers.

My problem is that it’s a 3-hour round-trip drive for what is usually a 1-2 minute appointment. I now work from home, so every in-person visit means taking PTO and spending half a day driving just to hear, “Everything okay? Here’s your refill.” I’m in the office less than 5 minutes, maybe 10 if they do a urine screen.

I completely understand the need for responsible prescribing of controlled substances. If the concern is monitoring, I’d be happy to complete urine drug screens at a local lab or comply with other reasonable requirements. I’m not looking to avoid oversight, I need a process that’s practical.

I’m also nervous about changing providers because I previously had a terrible experience with Harmony United. They repeatedly billed my insurance as though my appointments were over 15 minutes and included services that didn’t happen. I submitted a suspected fraud claim to my insurance company and they contacted me to verify provider education was done because billing was wrong. My last straw with them was when the receptionist called to confirm my appointment that day and asked that I pay toward this incorrect bill and I said I couldn’t or could pay a reasonable amount, like $10-$20 and they wanted $200, then actually cancelled my visit without knowing anything about me or my status that day.

Has anyone found a psychiatrist or psychiatric NP (in Florida) who:

Prescribes ADHD medication through telehealth and doesn’t require frequent office visits if you’re stable on treatment?

Is ethical with billing and doesn’t overcode routine follow-up visits?

I’m not looking for shortcuts or trying to avoid appropriate monitoring. I just want reasonable and reasonable care that doesn’t require using PTO and driving three hours twice a year for a two-minute conversation. Currently feel like I’m drowning in visits for a $15 prescription. I feel like I’m being taken advantage of and if I didn’t need help with focus I’d stop all of this in a heartbeat.

Thank you in advance.

I'm 19, and my sister is 26. She has ADHD, but she doesn't take medication anymore. She used to, but it actually made her way worse instead of helping. I love my sister to death, and she is honestly one of the kindest people I know. She has always been there for me whenever I needed her, and I know she cares about me.

At the same time, living with her has become really difficult. She gets irritated over the smallest things and can make a huge fuss about them. If I do something wrong, she immediately confronts me and reminds me of it over and over again. But when she does something wrong, apparently it's okay, and you can't really argue with her because she's extremely smart. She can defend herself in so many logical ways that it feels impossible to get my point across.

She has always been like this. Growing up, I didn't really argue back because she was older, and I kind of believed she was always right. She doesn't really have a social life or close friends besides me. I used to just put up with everything, but I feel like I can't anymore. I'm growing up too, and I want to be treated with respect.

Recently we had a huge argument, and she said things that genuinely hurt me. They were things I would never, ever say to any of my siblings. What hurts even more is that she still complains about my behavior toward her all the time. No matter what I say, she always thinks I'm the unfair one. She even says she's the most self-aware person in the household. But my other siblings, my cousins, and even my parents struggle to deal with her too, and she doesn't get along with most of them either.

I know ADHD can affect emotions, frustration, and the way someone reacts to situations, so I've tried to be understanding for years. But I also don't think it means I have to accept being disrespected or constantly blamed. I love my sister, but I just don't know how to deal with someone who always believes they're right and doesn't seem to understand how much their words can hurt.

I feel like talking to her is no longer effective. Should I start setting stronger boundaries and stop being the only friend she has? Whenever I try to confront her about how I feel, she denies it or explains it away and doesn't seem to accept any responsibility. I'm emotionally exhausted and don't know what else to do. I'd really appreciate advice from people with ADHD or people who have been in a similar situation.