Wait what did I come into this thread for again? Oh yeah, ADHD!

@Shaz51 aww that's awesome!! Maybe your kidlets could learn a thing or two from hubby?

Hope so @Jynx

I think the youngest finds everything the hardest

A family member says said to him ( what about shazzy ) what does she want

Internalised shame/pressure maybe @Shaz51?

Love that link @Jynx Says it perfectly.

I agree @Glisten , @Jynx , the link was great 👍

Hi everyone,

I'm a late diagnosed AuDHD woman. Currently in burnout, but, working on it 🙂

I forgot I signed up to Sane, until I got a text and a phone call. Did that. Signed up to the forums and forgot about it again until I got mentioned in the welcome post. How amazing would object permanence be?!

Hi @Aqualemonade

Welcome to the forums. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of things. Especially when easily distracted. I am glad that you are here

Does anyone have any encouraging stories about establishing good communication with a psychiatrist?

I live in a regional town, and even if I were in Sydney, it would probably be hard to find a psychiatrist who works with adults with recently diagnosed ADHD, or at least, one who is taking new patients...

I've seen a local psychiatrist in private practice three times now (very lucky that I can afford to do that, not so great that it feels like a dead end), and he is really not open to my questions. He's the second psych I've seen about ADHD, after the one who diagnosed me.

He doesn't seem to understand what it's like to have ADHD, he's only working from what the DSM has as the criteria for diagnosis, but doesn't Get It.

He asked so many questions to screen for various diagnoses, but doesn't know anything about what my day to day life is like. He was going to send me off with a new prescription, assuming I could stop taking the ADHD meds that the previous psych had prescribed and start taking the new ones the next day. But I have my meds in webster packs, and it was a Friday arvo, and the pharmacy couldn't do the re-pack until Monday. And no way could I manage the changeover on my own.

And it's in the psychiatrists' code of conduct that they should have a discussion with a patient before suggesting a change of meds, and give reasons why, what are the pros & cons of the various options, and they should ask what the patient would like to do -- not just spring a change of meds on someone at the end of an appointment, and then say they can't do anything else until the review appointment in four weeks' time...

so if anyone has had an experience of getting a psychiatrist to listen, particularly one who seems pleasant but doesn't respond well to questions -- if you've managed to get them to start to listen and see your point of view, I'd really appreciate hearing about it.

not feeling hopeful atm, and I'm struggling to stay engaged with life in general, because this is so disheartening. (not sui, just disengaged and wanting to sleep all the time)

I don't know about any advice in speaking to psychiatrists. I've come across 3 amazing psychiatrists, but they were just amazing because they listened and it felt like that cared. I can't say it was about what I did, but more that they were just 'good' psychiatrists?

On the other side of the spectrum, I've had psychs that ask how you are, don't seem to even listen to the response, and then they write a script...

@greenspace

Sorry if I don't have any thing more helpful to say.

Hmm such a tricky one @greenspace - you said yourself it's in their code of conduct, do you think you will report/make a complaint?

I've sorta found that with psychiatrists, it's more about the medical side of things. They don't always have the same sort of 'bedside manner' as a psychologist and tend to focus only on medication. It is indeed a massive undersight that they don't take the time to get to know us better!!

That being said, there are some pdocs out there who will take the time with you, they're just very hard to find. If you're looking for support with the emotional side of things or the day-to-day management of ADHD then a psychologist, counsellor, social worker, maybe even a life coach - all might be options worth looking into.

Self-advocacy is HARD. We're socialised to believe that these professionals are always the experts and always know what's best for us, but they're as human and fallible as anyone. You're allowed to 'shop around' so to speak!