Adult ADD diagnosis & treatment?

I've struggled with symptoms of ADD (not ADHD) from childhood to now (I'm over 40) but my intelligence and creativity have helped me to compensate and function. I struggle with work and parenting and want to finally face and address my problem. But I've heard that getting doctors to recognize and treat adult ADD is difficult if you are not completely floundering in your life. I've brought up my symptoms to my doctor before but she always says it is stress and life and prescribes antidepressants. Though the RX helps with my tiredness it doesn't address my focus, craving for novelty, disorganization and procrastination.

Can anyone give me direction in identifying doctors that would be receptive to treating my problems? Should I go to a psychiatrist or family doctor? Why would a doctor not want to treat this condition?

I'm 27, and I was diagnosed with ADHD (it's all recognized as a single entity now) when I was 15 as a result of my sister's diagnosis, but like you, I was functioning fine and was never treated. A few years ago, I was working full time, in school full time, and also had commitments of at least 20 hours a week to various other organizations that I was involved in, and that's when my generalized anxiety disorder and ADHD got brought to the forefront. My internist absolutely agreed with the ADHD diagnosis, but wasn't comfortable treating it because he didn't feel that he knew enough about it, so we bagan treating the anxiety as a backdoor approach to treating the ADHD. Things got a little bit better, but not significantly, so we agreed that I needed to see someone who specialized in ADHD. Most of the time, the best place to start is with a psychaiatrist - ADHD is considered to be a behavioral disorder, and a psychaiatrist is more likely to not only know how to diagnose it but to also know the best ways to treat it. It can take a while and several trials before you find what works best for you, but once you do, you can probably go back to your doctor with the diagnosis and your treatment and she'll be able to maintain any prescriptions that you need. However, counseling and behavior therapy can be extremely beneficial in working with ADHD - especially in adults, who essentially have to relearn most of what they've ever learned - so it might be a good idea to consider that in addition to any medicinal treatments.

As to why a doctor wouldn't want to treat this condition - the recognition of ADHD lasting into adulthood, especially in women, is relatively new, and most internists/GPs don't have the background or experience to be the best source of information. I was very lucky to have a doctor who not only believed in it but was comfortable and confident enough to tell me that he didn't feel that he could help me with it as much as someone with more experience could. I'm sure that it's very frustrating for you, but in the long run you'll probably be better off.

There's a book that I HIGHLY recommend reading - it's called "You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid, or Crazy?!?" by Kate Kelly and Peggy Ramundo. Even having known since I was 15 that I'm ADHD, I read this book earlier this year and it's amazing how it really put things into perspective. It explains some of the medical theories behind ADHD (since there aren't really any concrete medical facts), but it's very conversational and never pretentious. Both authors were diagnosed with ADHD as adults, so it's very much first person experience coupled with research. Actually, I would also recommend it to parents of ADHD children - while its focus is ADDults (as they call us!), it can really provide insight for parents, spouses, or anyone else dealing with anyone ADHD in their life.

Good luck!

Amazon sells a book that advertises that it tells you how to find a doctor (Adult ADD : The Complete Handbook (Paperback) by David B. Md Sudderth, Joseph Md Kandel ).
The difficulty is that there is a suspicion that Eli Lily is using its advertising to convince people they have this disease in order to bolster their drug sales (see the CNN article below). It says:
"Some see the national ad campaign as a way to educate the public about a little-known condition; others said Eli Lilly is trying to convince members of the public that they have the disorder to increase demand for its new medication."
Regardless of which position is correct, you need to think carefully about whether you want to take a powerful and expensive drug when you are able to function as you are.
Also, have you tried any non-medical solutions such as yoga?
Good luck whatever you try.

An family doctor does not deal with ADD or anything remotely alike this. An Family Doctor can only refer you onto an psychiatrist; but be careful some psychiatrists deal with herbal rememdies. I am ADD myself! Many doctors still to this day are living in the past where ADD was known as more of a misbehaving and not an actual problem that could be handled. And ADD is disguised; many Doctors wouldn't refer me on, even with the symptons I produced, and even psychiatrists wouldn't deal with the managable situation so be careful!

ADD is a relatively new disease comparitively speaking. When most "doctors" attended medical school, there was little information available for ADD/ADHD. The little education they did receive on the subject taught them that ADD is a childhood disorder that "magically" disappears at age 18. I have spent my entire adult life researching and studying ADD/ADHD and the treatment medications. Over the years, I have come to understand that a mojority of Doctors are ignorant and undereducated on the subject of Adult ADD (including the treatment medication). To make matters worse, the DEA has undermined and discouraged the treatment of adult ADD by overregulating the treatment medicines and publishing negative propaganda about the treatment options. Because of the fact that ADD treatment medications are amphedimines, with the most effective treatment medication being methamphedamine, the DEA requires doctors to write prescriptions for the medication in triplicate. One copy of the prescription has to be sent to the DEA, one copy is sent to your state's department of public safety, and one copy is kept on file at the pharmacy. Doctors have to apply for a permit to write triplicate prescriptions, and once the DEA finds them worthy of the privilage, the doctors mal-practice insurance sky rockets. If your doctor will not write you a prescription for an ADD medication, it is very likely that your Doctor does not have authority to write trip prescriptions....or is completely in the dark about the disorder and the negative impact the disorder has on peole's lives.
All hope is not lost. There are a couple of ways to work around the DEA's Napolean syndrome generated God complex. 1ST OPTION: Pull out the yellow pages and start calling family practice doctors and Internal medicine doctors in your area. Ask the receptionist specifically if the doctor specializes in the treatment of Adult ADD. If no, then ask them if they know a doctor who does. Plan to spend a few hours on the phone, but eventually you will find one in your area that will work with you and write you a prescription for the medicine you need. Once you find an ADD Doctor, they will have you come in so they can test you. They will have you fill out a bunch of questionaires to find out if you have Adult ADD symptoms (misplace car keys, set your cell phone down to find car keys and lose cell phone, LATE EVERYWHERE YOU GO, inability to complete work tasks within set timeframes, STARTING SEVERAL PROJECTS AND NEVER FINISHING ANY OF THEM BECAUSE YOU ARE SO EASILY DISTRACTED, people have always called you SCATTER BRAINED or ditzy, JOB TRAINING INFORMATION IS NOT RETAINED, forget to pick kids up from school, INABILITY TO REMEMBER WHAT YOU READ, etc). Remember, the DEA and their God Complex had a hand in writing the questionaire. They do everything possible to try and trip you up because they don't want you to have the medicine you need. The DEA does not believe Adult ADD exists, and it infuriates them that doctors have the last say in the matter. This walks all over their tiny little egos, so they try to take your medicine away from you any way they can after you have filled your prescription. Make sure that anytime you travel, you have your pills in a current prescription bottle that has your name on it. Don't add any other pills to the container. Don't ever let the pharmacy fill half your prescription, if they don't have the pills to fill the entire prescription. Once they give you a partial prescription, the DEA passed a regulation restricting them from giving you the rest of them at a later date. If they don't have enough to fill your entire prescription, ask for your prescription back and go to another pharmacy. Get your prescription filled within 7 days or it is null and void....and you can't get it replaced for 30 days.
2nd Option: Buy your Ritalin in Mexico. They sell Ritilin over the counter in 10mg tablets, and you can take a 2 month supply back across legally. That is if your dosage is only 10mg/day. Instead of saynig a 2 month supply, they should say that you are allowed to take 600mg across the border (10mg x 60 days = 600mg). Of course, this is only the "legal" amount you can take across. The pharmicist in Mexico will show you how to get more across safely if your condition requires more then 10mg/day. Just ask the pharmicist. Unlike the DEA, Mexican pharmicists understand the necessity of your medication for you to live a normal life.
You should start off by taking 10mg/day for a week. if that does not help you, the next week take 20mg/day. Keep working up each week until you find the dosage you need to help you. I have been taking Ritilin since mid way through High school (24 years total). When I was in high school I took 20mg/day. My grades went from C's and D's to mostly A's with an occasional B. Ritilin is the only reason I graduated from college. Over the 24 years, I have built a slight tolerance to the medication, but nothing significant. I now take 100mg per day of slow release tabs. Ritilin has changed my life for the better. Because of the DEA's influence on the media, there was a 6 month period when I stopped taking Ritilin, because I was stupid and let the DEA's propaganda scare me into thinking amphedamines would harm me in the long run. Let me tell you what harmed me. When I stopped taking Ritilin, I was so scatter brained and disorganized that I lost my job, I got divorced, I left the door open and lost my10 year old dog that I loved like a child, and I made everybody mad who was close to me because I was late everywhere I went. I let the DEA's propaganda scare me and it cost me everything I loved. They are an organization full of little men with Nepolean syndrome, who build their egos by controlling your access to the medicine you need. You are about to find out that the DEA is the bully on the playground. They are the ONLY barrier between you and a normal life, but it is a significant barrier that you can leap over if you stay at it.. Find a way around their road blocks and hurdles, because nobody deserves to live with the chaos and anxiety brought on by Adult ADD. That may sound overly dramatical, but until you see the change the medicine will have on your life, you cannot fully understand. Find your own personal nitch to get the medication you need to find a peaceful, normal life that you never new existed.
I hope that helps.

"May all the little men, who attempt to keep American citizens from the medicine we need, all die a slow miserable death, and burn in Hell for eternity. They may only then feel a portion of the grief and pain they caused us to live through during our time on Earth.." -- Lick it, Stamp it, and Deliver it to God.

ive helped my husband and kids struggle with ADHD and ADD. The first step we took was with the family doctor. I directly asked for a referral to a psychiatrist specializing in children for my kids and my husband went to a psychologist specializing in adult ADD/ADHD. Best thing we ever did. It up to you whether you take meds, and in my own personal experience if meds are gonna work you will see improvement right away. Some doctor just prescribe antidepressants others will prescribe Ritalin or a similiar med. Give it a try.