How ADHD Treatment Is Not ADHD Friendly

I wasn't sure if I was going to share this because it's very raw and personal, but I decided it's important to. If you resonate, comment. Share. Let's let others with ADHD know they're not alone in this struggle and help mental health professionals understand what we go through. Let's make some change.

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Music for "How ADHD Treatment Is Not ADHD Friendly:"
"The Show Must Be Go”
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

[giventogrow]

“I should have been asked more than is the medication working and are there any side effects” OMG this!!!!

This is all my psychiatrist asks me. There is zero discussion on adhd management skills or tools or any guidance on how I can better set myself up for some (if any at all) success with my treatment. Medication had the power to relax my brain enough to where I can finally be able to put in the psychological and behavioural work that will help me to better cope with/manage my adhd but without any assistance or what to do or guidance on what I could be improving on I’m at a loss. I keep trying things but I feel so lost and on my own with this. I got diagnosed at 37 and it felt like a life saving revelation in my life to finally have answers. But I need to do something with this knowledge and understanding for it to have any real long lasting value in my life. I need someone to guide me on my journey of learning how to make my brain work in this world or how to beat use my brain to make the most of what I can do. This video touched me so much. I feel your struggle so deeply. I am sending you so much love and a huge hug. You, we and *all* of us are not alone. Even in our loneliness. ❤️

[NielMalan]

The last time I saw a psychiatrist it felt more like a police interrogation than a medical consultation.

[TimTom]

I wish people understood this. Everything you need to do to get meds is made exceptionally difficult by ADHD. It's a nightmare.

[samdryden]

There's a mantra of "you need to get help, you need to get help." Medical help needs to be available, affordable and accessible. Period.

[ericvelazquez-sanchez]

I am a therapist with ADHD and this is a real thing. I try to treat my people as best as I can. I hope everyone else can find a therapist that does.❤

[ladypinetree]

I once saw a meme on Reddit where the caption said “what navigating the health care system with ADHD feels like”. The picture was of a dog holding the end of its own leash in its mouth.

[unclesunbro]

I finally had to ask the doctor, "Why is this so hard to get you to take seriously?" I think it shook him a little.

[carlmckay]

“Don’t give up if they dismiss you because you’re smart or because you’ve succeeded so far, when you know what it’s done to you on the inside to make it this far”

I’ve never heard it said better by anyone in my life. Thank you so much. I think you’re the only person in the world who really gets it.

[lailanitukuafu]

I'm a pharmacy technician with ADHD and I completely understand. My heart breaks every time I have to tell someone that their med is on backorder or insurance won't pay for it because they're an adult. A few of my own coworkers go on rants about how these days, anyone can go to a doctor and say "I can't focus" and they'll come to us with a prescription for Adderall. Or how when they get upset that they can't get their medication, that it's just because they're addicted and want to keep abusing it.

I completely understand that there are people out there who do abuse ADHD medication, but I get so angry when my coworkers scoff at our patients who are getting meds. How do they know that whoever it is doesn't actually have ADHD? And it is NOT that easy to get a prescription for Adderall. At least not for me. This year I started my own journey for finding a medication that works for me. I had a therapist that knew me really well and believed me, but he couldn't prescribe me anything and then he got a different job. I started seeing a psychiatrist, but even after I came in saying I had been diagnosed by a mental health professional, towards the end he told me that he was still on the fence if I had ADHD. For that and a few more reasons, I started to have anxiety when I see him. He eventually prescribed me one of the meds, but it was a nightmare to actually get it filled. My usual pharmacy told me that they had stopped manufacturing the generic a while ago (a total lie because I knew for a fact that the pharmacy I work at had plenty of it and had no trouble getting it in). So I took the prescription to my work (on my day off) and my coworker told me that my insurance doesn't cover the med for anyone over 18yo without a prior authorization. Because either ADHD magically disappears when you turn 19 or they just want you to suck it up and stop being lazy or just try harder. So I call my psychiatrist's office and ask them to work on the prior authorization. By the time Monday rolls around, they still haven't done it. So I called them again and they just told me to try the store discount card because it would probably be cheaper anyway. It was $98. Next day, I called them AGAIN and the guy I talked to got it done in less than an hour. Even with the PA, I still had to pay almost $70 for a one-month supply. I started taking it and I haven't noticed any effect yet on my ADHD symptoms, but I was short of breath with an increased heart rate and I started to feel nauseous when I tried to eat food I would normally really enjoy. I have enough trouble eating enough as it is without getting nauseous about my food.

I just started college and I was trying to get accommodations for my classes. They told me to get a letter from my psychiatrist at my next appointment which, at the time, was a couple of weeks away. When I was finally able to talk to him about accomodations, he questioned if I really needed a couple of them and because I'm a doormat, I gave in and he didn't write those ones down. When he wrote the letter, he didn't do it right and the accommodations center at my college told me he had to rewrite it. So I gave up on accommodations because I didn't feel that I was worth the hassle and there was no way I was going to push for him to write it again because of the anxiety that he's been causing me. So now I need to find a new psychiatrist and I probably also need to try a new med that may or may not be on backorder at every pharmacy in the area and that may or may not even work if I do get it.

I know this is 3 years after the release of this video and probably no one will see this comment. But I'm really frustrated about it all too. I needed to see this video today, thanks.

[Ennuigo]

Well said. ADHD “treatment” boils down to “Don’t have ADHD.” It’s barbaric.

[hotonionsoup]

"I feel like I've been trying my whole life to figure out how my brain works and to do my best" - this hit hard

[michellem]

I don't have ADHD, but I can relate to this!!! I'm diabetic, and my doctor and I have been trying for more than TWO YEARS to get medicine added that my insurance company will approve. My doctor will prescribe something, then the insurance will say no. Then she'll try something else, and they'll say fine, but it's $500 out of pocket (which I can't afford). Meanwhile my blood sugar is out of control, and there's not a damn thing we can do until we hit on their magic formula (which they won't tell me what medicines the doctor IS allowed to prescribe). Anyone who says that the US has the best healthcare in the world is seriously delusional.

[veronicanaumov]

I just want to share a personal story, so I go to college at Indiana and I have been diagnosed with ADHD when I was 7. More than a decade ago, I’m 18 now. My college’s Disability services straight up told me that because my ADHD was diagnosed a decade ago it’s not valid and therefore I need a new diagnosis. Which for the record costs roughly 3000-4000$ alongside tuition. I have had this condition for as long as I can remember every day was a struggle, and it infuriates me that this part of me was so unexplained for a long time. I’m thankful that I found away around this particular problem but it’s important to address that this is a problem. Later into the first year of college I had a math exam and the professor did something that really impacted me, he pulled me aside and asked me “hey I notice you’ve been struggling but you do every problem and seem to run out of time? Would extended time be beneficial for you?” This surprised me because I had genuinely had no idea that I didn’t need approval to get support. So yeah this video hits close to home and it’s one of the things that I want to change.

[MR.MUFFIIN]

I’m tired of feeling like a criminal for asking for meds. Or that others get treated better because ADHD is just lazy

[saraht]

“[B]ecause I don’t know if my mental health is worth an extra $50 per day” whew, this is too familiar.

[ryanm]

I know this video is old, but it absolutely broke me. It was relatable to the point I was getting pretty emotional. The pain and struggle of dealing with the Healthcare system in regards to these medications is almost as bad as adhd itself. It's always a fight. Always an inquisition, and it does not have to be this way.

To anyone else out there struggling to get their proper meds, my heart goes out to you.

[brianlink]

00:00 ADHD Treatments: Are They Truly ADHD-Friendly?
01:16 Challenges: Missed Appointments & Accessing Medication
02:16 Navigating Health Insurance & Locating ADHD Specialists
03:19 Hurdles in Securing ADHD Medication
04:24 Advocating for an ADHD-Friendly Treatment Process
05:36 ADHD Care: Beyond Just Medication
06:38 Healthcare & Insurance Barriers in ADHD Treatment
07:41 Despite Challenges, ADHD Treatment is Crucial

Thank you for shedding light on these vital issues surrounding ADHD treatment. Your dedication to raising awareness and educating the community is truly commendable. Keep up the amazing work! 👏🌟

[dabi]

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who cries or seems sad when really angry

[partysparkelz]

People will sit here and try to tell us that adhd is a lie fed to us to get us to buy meds and yet its this difficult for us to get meds? Make it make sense 🤷

[MysMystique]

It’s such a relief to hear other brains have struggled with this as well. US healthcare system is not ADHD friendly. It’s very difficult to find a doctor or providers that takes the disability seriously. We shouldn’t have to suffer so much just to get help. I have and have heard too many horror stories just for people to get help. Humans shouldn’t be treated less then for needing help.