I was diagnosed about 7-8 years ago, and I was in my early/mid 30s at the time. I was referred to a specialist by my pcp, and they started out by asking me some questions about my symptoms and whatnot. The final thing I had to do was take this computerized test thing that involved looking at a screen while doing some simple stuff. There were cameras that tracked my eye movement to determine how long I was appearing to focus on what I was supposed to be looking at (versus anywhere else on the screen or in the room). Afterwards, we talked about what meds/dosage to start out with. For the first 6 months or so I was going in almost monthly to adjust my dosage and/or switch meds entirely. Once we found something that worked, I started going in every 2-3 months to check in. Overall, not an unpleasant experience.

I was diagnosed about a year ago. I’m mid-60s. I was given a preliminary inventory to complete and then met with a psychiatrist for further evaluation. She asked me questions and we dug into some topics more than others. Most were about challenges I’ve had in life. At the end she prescribed a medication. I followed up monthly, had a med adjustment and now follow up every 3 months.

As far as other symptoms, I’ve dealt with low thyroid, low testosterone as well as depression. When my child was noted in school to have dysgraphia (poor or illegible handwriting) it brought into focus that I had the same learning disability. This was previous to my adhd diagnosis so I can’t comment on that issue. I work in IT so I’m not bothered by disgraphia as I type everything anyway.

I’ve was in my late 30’s on active duty in the military. As someone who has been in more than a decade, I still couldn’t remember all my uniform pieces on workout days.

When I spoke to my doctor, he referred me of base for testing. There testing was fairly straight forward. There was some testing for learning disabilities and IQ. Mostly written work, but half was doing a rather long computer questionnaire. When I took the test for the ADHD it was a particularly bad day. Apparently the psychiatrist had seen 3rd graders with worse scores. I think she thought I threw the test. When the testing concluded I got the results and went back to base for the rest of the treatment.

I don’t know your circumstances, but I would advise simply asking your doctor for a referral. They did check for other disabilities, and also other contributing conditions, like depression. Getting treatment started with a few different drugs in very small doses. My biochemistry muddy be off because I had significant reactions to those small doses, but just communicating was able to solve it all. There was even one that made me not want sleep anymore. On day 2, I called and they made me stop immediately (given that is pushing deadly if it continued). So definitely don’t think it’s all smooth sailing.

On the far side of that wall now it’s amazing though. I can read again and play video games again for longer than a simple phone game. Once you figure out the right balance for your body chemistry, you’ll be amazed you managed without it.

I was diagnosed 10 years ago via a neuro-psych assessment. It wasn’t cheap but I wanted to assess for other areas of needs, such as short term memory retention. The assessment included an interview followed by several hours of structured testing.

These days, I believe there are quicker ways to test specifically for ADHD via a limited set of questions. A psychiatrist can certainly do this but most primary care physicians should also be able to as well. Depending on where you live, access to psychiatry might be limited and your primary care physician may be the one to manage your meds (if warranted) in any event. A psychologist may be able to diagnose ADHD but can’t offer medication options.

Re: learning disability/dyslexia, the neuro-psych testing can identify these issues. There may be simpler, more cost effective methods to identify these or other deficits. If you potentially need accommodations in the workplace, they may require some proof of assessment.

Hope that helps.

I was diagnosed approx a year ago. Late 40’s. I saw my GP for a referral to a specialist. The wait was about 9 months. GP and specialist asked why I thought I might have adhd. They asked about how school went, work habits, etc. I filled out a long questionnaire that really helped me to see how obvious it was that I have adhd. I did a zoom call with the specialist and his partner. It was pretty cut and dry which really floored me. He faxed an Rx to my pharmacy, but said to start at a low dose, but move up quickly as I likely need a higher dose. Parts of it were embarrassing. I’d tried to hide it for so long and I guess I thought I had? But nope. My life is clear evidence of adhd. I started vyvanse and I still have adhd, but getting work done isn’t impossible for me. I should probably be on a higher dose, but it’s a fine balance. If i was diagnosed and treated as a kid, im positive my entire life would be different. Anyhoo. Thanks for reading.

“There’s no way you have ADHD since you didn’t have symptoms as a kid” … instead I have bipolar. I believe it’s ADHD, can’t get anyone to listen. I’m not hunting for god damn stimulants. Im 36 with 3 kids… I just want help.

I just got a confirmation diagnosis and prescription and I seemed to have the easiest time out of anyone here. It definitely helped that I was aware of a prior diagnosis and had discussed various symptoms and behaviors that I expressed with my partner who also has adhd prior to the visit.

Once I discussed my desire for an assessment to my PCP he had me fill out a survey of symptoms based on severity, all of which I had in significant or extreme amounts.

From there he provided me with a script for Adderall with the requirement to return in three months for a follow-up.

I got the questionnaire and an interview and the psychiatrists said, yeah that’s probably ADHD.

The real epiphany I had when I went into a group therapy setting and suddenly I was somewhere where everyone fucking understood me! That’s how I came to actually believe, yeah, it’s probably ADHD.

However the diagnosis turned out to be somewhat irrelevant, what’s relevant is to change yourself so that you can live with yourself.