You should probably get diagnosed before medicated. ADHD has overlap with a ton of other mental illnesses. Maybe you're autistic. Maybe you have BPD. Or are bipolar. Or just depressed.

Always see a doctor before taking medication.

[–] xintrik@lemm.ee 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

This meme literally doesn't apply to you then!

Jokes aside: It was the memes that piqued my curiosity, then got me reading more formal sources, took an ADHD self test which I scored fairly high on but there were a few things I didn't really see in myself. Waited a year to see if it was just me obsessed wiith another idea that would go away like all the others after a week or two.

Well I couldn't shake the feeling and now that i knew some of the symptoms to look for, I was noticing the symptoms I hadn't thought applied to me before.

Anyway, I went to a doctor and a therapist and am now, for the first time in my life, developing positive routines and habits and enjoying things that aren't exceptionally interesting.

tldr: saw myself in a meme, doc agreed, now i take pills that make life easier.

[–] Cirom@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So uh, what was that self test you took?

I kinda want to be a bit more sure myself before going to doctors and such, because a lot I've heard about ADHD seems eerily familiar. (Heck, more familiar than Asperger's which I actually HAVE been diagnosed with, but I heard the two tend to go hand in hand anyway. Would like more sources on that, though.)

[–] xintrik@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

I don't think I specifically took this one, but the questions look the same. add.org's ADHD questionnaire Best of luck!

[–] paris@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 year ago

A big part for me was also going through the DSM-5 and using that to diagnose myself using the official criteria. Ended up finally getting medication that works for me (after fighting the US healthcare system for like a year) and I take it when I need to focus up for the day, assuming I actually remember to take it.

DSM-5 via Anna's Archive (I'm on mobile right now so I haven't checked how good this pdf is but there are a bunch of other versions if this doesn't work)

[–] jandar_fett@lemmy.fmhy.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Maybe you do, but do you really want to get on medication for a thing you aren't 100% you have? Do you have health insurance? Reason I ask is that ACA plans all have to treat mental health like normal medical coverage, so there is a good chance you could go see someone to talk about whether you may or may not have ADHD and other stuff for cheap, and if your plan doesn't have good coverage you could maybe look into switching to one that does once open enrollment happens again.

[–] Cyanogenmon@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Oh I definitely want to officially get diagnosed.

I do have health insurance. Thankfully open enrollment doesn't nexissarily apply to me, got a kid due in November so I'll be able to modify the plan as I see fit!