u/gobenji34

Hi all. Firstly, very glad to be part of this community and reading along to all of you has been a big help for me, so thank you all.
Going to try and be brief and not ramble! 54M, diagnosed combined ADHD about a year ago by private assessment after long NHS wait. In assessment, was told probably autistic traits too but if I wanted it put in writing, I'd have to do a separate assessment. Only went for ADHD assessment as I wanted to explore meds if diagnosed. Went onto Elvanse and been on it for a while now. Initially game-changing for work and personal organisation. I'd heard others say, with meds starting to manage ADHD symptoms, that autistic traits can become more pronounced and become more apparent. 100% that's where I'm at now. I'm feeling completely lost, not knowing what to do as a next step as I'm on limited budget and will need to stay private really.. I don't know whether I'm better off getting an autism assessment to confirm or not. Whether there's any benefit to having that diagnosis. Or whether a therapist or coach is a better use of money to talk through specifics. Or stay on the meds route and talk to the prescribing psychotherapist and see if it's worth trying something else. That titration is a really expensive process on the private prescriptions until you can agree a dosage and get prescription transferred to shared-care on NHS though.

I just don't know which route I need to choose at the moment. I'm not asking for someone to tell me what's right or wrongs but I'd be interested to hear of anyone else who might have been at a similar crossroads. But I'm just so confused as to who I am and what to do next. I'm feeling broken if I'm honest but think, in some ways, that might be a bit of a positive thing. In that I've realised help is there but don't know what to do with it. Sorry this has been a bit of a ramble but, if nothing else, just wanted to say it out loud to myself but anybody with a similar experience, I'd love to hear any experiences

Hi all. Firstly, very glad to be part of this community and reading along to all of you has been a big help for me, so thank you all. You've already helped me a lot!
Going to try and be brief and not ramble and posting in the first place is probably a worthwhile exercise but any thoughts would be amazing.

54M, diagnosed combined ADHD about a year ago by private healthcare route after long NHS wait. In assessment, was told probably autistic traits too but if I wanted it put in writing, I'd have to do a separate assessment. Couldn't afford it and had only gone for ADHD assessment as I wanted to explore meds if diagnosed. Went onto Elvanse titration and been on 50mg for a while now.
Initially game-changing for work and personal organisation etc. I'd heard others mention that on starting meds and starting to calm or manage ADHD symptoms a bit, that autistic traits can become more pronounced and start to become more apparent. 100% think that's where I'm at now. I'm feeling completely lost, just not knowing what to do as a next step as I'm on limited budget and will need to stay private really.. I don't know whether I'm better off getting an autism assessment to confirm or not. Whether there's any benefit to having that diagnosis. Or whether a therapist or coach is a better use of money to talk through specifics. Or stay on the meds route and talk to the prescribing psychotherapist and see if it's worth fiddling with meds. That titration etc is a really expensive process on the private prescriptions until you can agree a dosage and get prescription transferred to shared-care on NHS.

I just don't know which route I need to choose at the moment. I'm not asking for someone to tell me what's right or wrongs but I'd be interested to hear of anyone else who might have been at a similar crossroads. I'm happy to have the ADHD diagnosis and have felt a real benefit from the meds and am scared to stop them. But I'm just so confused as to who I am and what to do next. I'm feeling utterly broken if I'm honest but think, in some ways, that might be a bit of a positive thing. In that I've realised help is there but don't know what to do with it. I'm been clinically depressed for many years but pretty well managed but this is different. Just feel broken and a bit hopeless. Sorry this has been a bit of a ramble but, if nothing else, just wanted to say it out loud to myself but anybody with a similar experience, I'd love to hear any experiences