It’s a trap. If you can wait 10 years without getting distracted and forgetting, then you don’t have ADHD
Christ.
I waited 10 years for an autism diagnosis, then another 2 years for a few useless post-diagnostic support sessions.
About the only useful thing to come of that was their willingness to refer for an ADHD diagnosis which apparently they should have done anyway based on the signs of ADHD in my autism assessment.
And then I have to wait 10 years for that?
And then wait for drugs which are in short supply?
Getting PIP is an absolute nightmare too, I could use the money for a private diagnosis.
What the fuck is the point? My youth is long gone. My young adult years are almost over. The prime of my life is almost behind me and I’m still stuck waiting.
I’ve been diagnosed twice, once as a child and once as an adult. I am now on the emergency list for meds… been on it 2 years
Unfortunately this is the result of what we’re all very well aware of and isn’t directly the fault of those providing the diagnosis in the first place.
Only last year I was told the wait times for diagnosis of any neurodivergent or similar cases were taking on average a minimum of 2.5 or longer years to get through the waiting list.
Since then from someone who just got on the list, they were told it was more like 5.
The NHS, as ever, needs a huge influx of investment and funding to adequately be able to serve the country and it’s people correctly – all the while re-shuffling the staffing so it’s not top-heavy with management and more of the actual staff delivering services.
I been waiting 4 years already, I was told my appointment will be roughly in August of 2026. I’m losing my mind and feeling abandoned.
No shit, my 7 year old is on a 38 month waitlist for adhd meds, this is after a 3 year wait for diagnosis.
Just paid £3k for a private diagnosis because of the wait times
I got referred for an assessment and waited just 2 weeks . This was back in December
Im half way there. Shame my life has already fallen to pieces during the 5 year wait
Lol. Seeing this a day before my GP appointment concerning ADHD
I have an ADHD diagnosis, however getting the medication is so hard. GPs don’t prescribe
And then you get to go through the circus of getting meds…
What’s funny is my doctor has given me the paper work for ADHD 3 times and I’ve never managed to get it filled in and given it back. So he knows I have it, just don’t have a diagnosis
I realise this will likely be an unpopular opinion, but we need to have a national debate over the purpose of the NHS, and whether its realistic to think that one public service can possibly do everything that is currently expected of it. When the NHS was first created it would have been inconceivable to think that we’d expect it to diagnose and support people for things like ADHD. Add to this an aging and increasingly unhealthy population and it’s no wonder the NHS is on its knees.
We’ve been waiting so long since we first started trying to get an NHS diagnosis in primary school that my daughter just got a letter to say she is being removed from the waiting list because she has moved out of the area (to university).
I’ve been on the list for a year and a half and was told it was a 12 month wait at the time
Assuming diagnosis starts at some point when you are in Uni, you won’t get a diagnosis, or the help you need until the prime career-settings years of your life are passed, leaving you at a lifelong disadvantage compared to normal people.
NHS: If you could die before your appointment that would help us greatly
I was diagnosed last year and have been waiting for the medication, but there’s STILL a shortage.
It’s an absolute shitshow but it’s an invisible disability so no-one gives a fuck.
Genuine question- what is the benefit of having a diagnosis?
Is it for medication?
Completely ignorant sorry
I’ve been waiting nearly 10 years for a gender dysphoria diagnosis. And here I was starting to feel as if the NHS just hates trans people.
I recently waited almost 2yrs for an ADHD diagnosis, right now I have to wait for 7mnths for medicine
…then once diagnosed, you won’t be able to get hold of the medication anyway.
It was mentioned I may have it as a child but not definite as I was apparently well behaved and back in the early 90’s adhd was something only naughty kids had. We all know this isn’t the case nowadays.
Over the last decade or so I’ve made four attempts to get a diagnosis, the first two occasions I was told I was depressed and given antidepressants. I wasn’t depressed. The third occasion I felt I was listened to a bit more but after seeing a doctor twice I was again offered antidepressants which I refused. The fourth time was a couple of years ago and the doctor told me as I wasn’t considered a risk to myself or others she was unable to put me on the waiting list.
What I believe to be adhd has massively hindered me in many ways throughout my life but I can generally get on with things. My main reasons for seeking a diagnosis were answers for myself and my weirdness for lack of a better word and also protection in the workplace as I have sometimes been subjected to bullying for what I believe are character traits linked to adhd.
I’ve made my peace with not getting a diagnosis and operate in a manner where I consider myself to have adhd and attempt to apply things I’ve learnt from reading book and stuff online. It’s not ideal and some mild support would be appreciated to help achieve my potential but overall I’m able to function more normally than more normal people in this fucking mess of a society we’ve created over the last half century. Feel for the people out there who are less able to help themselves and are really suffering.
This is a direct and intentional result of cuts introduced by Cameron in his first budget
New labour targeted mental health care expansion as a priority in their second and third terms. They began building clinics nationwide and were training and hiring thousands in the sector. The goal was to both normalise access, which had been location dependent, and expand the range of conditions treated, some of which had only had clinics in London etc.
Unfortunately the process was ongoing when they left office, and Cameron came in and immediately butchered their plans.
I was friends with a couple who were training for the sector at the time of the election. They had been approach in university by NHS recruiters and encouraged to join schemes, one as a vocational therapist the other as a clinical psychologist.
The psychologist was five or aix years into medical school in 2010 and had to change direction right before starting to practice as an intern (probably the wrong term here but I watched too much scrubs lol), his options were to go 100% private or to stay with the NHS in a different branch of medicine.
The vocational therapist had no choices. She’d just completed her training when suddenly all the entry level positions on the south coast evaporated. There was one clinic hiring sixty miles away and it now had 200:1 applicants. She works like a psycho so she got in, but literally hundreds in the same position her were denied.
This same story was repeated across the country across every facet of mental health care. There’s comments in this threat about waiting a decade and then getting three dogshit PowerPoint presentations about coping with X disease *because that’s all that’s left.
When New Labour left office they had turned NHS mental health from a junkyard in a postcode lottery into one of the most widely available and thorough public services in the world, and they were targeting being the best. The Tories destroyed it in a single budget.
Ask for Right to Choose. Essentially you’ll be able to choose a private clinic that the nhs will pay for. Have just this very morning been prescribed meds. Took about 6 months start to finish (will vary depending on the clinic) but a hell of a lot better than directly with nhs (will take years and years just to get an appointment)
It’s 3 years for toddlers aged 3. And by 6 years old the criteria changes and their difficulties which have gone without proper guidance are now worse, so they need a different referral, which takes…. 3 more years.
You can do it online private with a Polish psychologist in English. Around 300 quid
Been on the list 9 months and being assessed on Dec. I’m in London
I have been told I potentially have it. I believe I do
I am going to do an e-consult with my GP at some point, just finding time and the actual motivation to do it.
And reading this stuff makes me feel like there’s almost zero point in doing it.
In Northern Ireland we have THREE workers alone doing the adult ASD interventions and diagnoses…i actually feel grateful my 8 year journey is over while reading this headline….
GP referred me about 2.5 years ago. Finally got an appointment and diagnosed a month ago. Now I’ve been told I’ve got to wait another 6-8 months for medication.
Looking at this headline I’m glad I got in when I did.
What frustrates me about having ADHD – which was diagnosed in my early childhood (we went to the US in addition to NHS) is what a joke it’s become now. I’ve seen a bunch of ‘adhd influencers’ on LinkedIn and Tik Tok and it’s very clear that they don’t have ADHD but are using it to milk their products and other bullshit.
I think that I likely have ADHD and after trying several antidepressants and anti anxiety meds with no real luck perhaps the ADHD meds would be beneficial for me I have heard lots of people say that those meds changed their lives. My therapist recommended I get an appointment which I did and they gave me a test which gave came back at something 65% ‘yes’ or agree answers so the GP said it’s fairly likely that I have ADHD but not certain. This was 18+ months ago and the GP said there would be a follow up (but a long wait) and I haven’t heard anything since. May try to follow it up myself but feel a bit disheartened if that’s the word after another health issue ..basically they didn’t get back to me with that so I got in touch with them, booked it and the doctor had to cancel ..similar thing happened with my mate he actually went in and the doctor was at another practice apparently so he just had to go home. All seems disorganised in recent years doesn’t it? Sadly don’t have the money for private options. Good luck to anyone who’s waiting though hopefully things will pick up soon with appointments and waiting times.
34 comments
It’s a trap.
If you can wait 10 years without getting distracted and forgetting, then you don’t have ADHD
Christ.
I waited 10 years for an autism diagnosis, then another 2 years for a few useless post-diagnostic support sessions.
About the only useful thing to come of that was their willingness to refer for an ADHD diagnosis which apparently they should have done anyway based on the signs of ADHD in my autism assessment.
And then I have to wait 10 years for that?
And then wait for drugs which are in short supply?
Getting PIP is an absolute nightmare too, I could use the money for a private diagnosis.
What the fuck is the point? My youth is long gone. My young adult years are almost over. The prime of my life is almost behind me and I’m still stuck waiting.
I’ve been diagnosed twice, once as a child and once as an adult. I am now on the emergency list for meds… been on it 2 years
Unfortunately this is the result of what we’re all very well aware of and isn’t directly the fault of those providing the diagnosis in the first place.
Only last year I was told the wait times for diagnosis of any neurodivergent or similar cases were taking on average a minimum of 2.5 or longer years to get through the waiting list.
Since then from someone who just got on the list, they were told it was more like 5.
The NHS, as ever, needs a huge influx of investment and funding to adequately be able to serve the country and it’s people correctly – all the while re-shuffling the staffing so it’s not top-heavy with management and more of the actual staff delivering services.
I been waiting 4 years already, I was told my appointment will be roughly in August of 2026.
I’m losing my mind and feeling abandoned.
No shit, my 7 year old is on a 38 month waitlist for adhd meds, this is after a 3 year wait for diagnosis.
Just paid £3k for a private diagnosis because of the wait times
I got referred for an assessment and waited just 2 weeks . This was back in December
Im half way there. Shame my life has already fallen to pieces during the 5 year wait
Lol. Seeing this a day before my GP appointment concerning ADHD
I have an ADHD diagnosis, however getting the medication is so hard. GPs don’t prescribe
And then you get to go through the circus of getting meds…
What’s funny is my doctor has given me the paper work for ADHD 3 times and I’ve never managed to get it filled in and given it back. So he knows I have it, just don’t have a diagnosis
I realise this will likely be an unpopular opinion, but we need to have a national debate over the purpose of the NHS, and whether its realistic to think that one public service can possibly do everything that is currently expected of it. When the NHS was first created it would have been inconceivable to think that we’d expect it to diagnose and support people for things like ADHD. Add to this an aging and increasingly unhealthy population and it’s no wonder the NHS is on its knees.
We’ve been waiting so long since we first started trying to get an NHS diagnosis in primary school that my daughter just got a letter to say she is being removed from the waiting list because she has moved out of the area (to university).
I’ve been on the list for a year and a half and was told it was a 12 month wait at the time
Assuming diagnosis starts at some point when you are in Uni, you won’t get a diagnosis, or the help you need until the prime career-settings years of your life are passed, leaving you at a lifelong disadvantage compared to normal people.
NHS: If you could die before your appointment that would help us greatly
I was diagnosed last year and have been waiting for the medication, but there’s STILL a shortage.
It’s an absolute shitshow but it’s an invisible disability so no-one gives a fuck.
Genuine question- what is the benefit of having a diagnosis?
Is it for medication?
Completely ignorant sorry
I’ve been waiting nearly 10 years for a gender dysphoria diagnosis. And here I was starting to feel as if the NHS just hates trans people.
I recently waited almost 2yrs for an ADHD diagnosis, right now I have to wait for 7mnths for medicine
…then once diagnosed, you won’t be able to get hold of the medication anyway.
It was mentioned I may have it as a child but not definite as I was apparently well behaved and back in the early 90’s adhd was something only naughty kids had. We all know this isn’t the case nowadays.
Over the last decade or so I’ve made four attempts to get a diagnosis, the first two occasions I was told I was depressed and given antidepressants. I wasn’t depressed. The third occasion I felt I was listened to a bit more but after seeing a doctor twice I was again offered antidepressants which I refused. The fourth time was a couple of years ago and the doctor told me as I wasn’t considered a risk to myself or others she was unable to put me on the waiting list.
What I believe to be adhd has massively hindered me in many ways throughout my life but I can generally get on with things. My main reasons for seeking a diagnosis were answers for myself and my weirdness for lack of a better word and also protection in the workplace as I have sometimes been subjected to bullying for what I believe are character traits linked to adhd.
I’ve made my peace with not getting a diagnosis and operate in a manner where I consider myself to have adhd and attempt to apply things I’ve learnt from reading book and stuff online. It’s not ideal and some mild support would be appreciated to help achieve my potential but overall I’m able to function more normally than more normal people in this fucking mess of a society we’ve created over the last half century. Feel for the people out there who are less able to help themselves and are really suffering.
This is a direct and intentional result of cuts introduced by Cameron in his first budget
New labour targeted mental health care expansion as a priority in their second and third terms. They began building clinics nationwide and were training and hiring thousands in the sector. The goal was to both normalise access, which had been location dependent, and expand the range of conditions treated, some of which had only had clinics in London etc.
Unfortunately the process was ongoing when they left office, and Cameron came in and immediately butchered their plans.
I was friends with a couple who were training for the sector at the time of the election. They had been approach in university by NHS recruiters and encouraged to join schemes, one as a vocational therapist the other as a clinical psychologist.
The psychologist was five or aix years into medical school in 2010 and had to change direction right before starting to practice as an intern (probably the wrong term here but I watched too much scrubs lol), his options were to go 100% private or to stay with the NHS in a different branch of medicine.
The vocational therapist had no choices. She’d just completed her training when suddenly all the entry level positions on the south coast evaporated. There was one clinic hiring sixty miles away and it now had 200:1 applicants. She works like a psycho so she got in, but literally hundreds in the same position her were denied.
This same story was repeated across the country across every facet of mental health care. There’s comments in this threat about waiting a decade and then getting three dogshit PowerPoint presentations about coping with X disease *because that’s all that’s left.
When New Labour left office they had turned NHS mental health from a junkyard in a postcode lottery into one of the most widely available and thorough public services in the world, and they were targeting being the best. The Tories destroyed it in a single budget.
Ask for Right to Choose. Essentially you’ll be able to choose a private clinic that the nhs will pay for. Have just this very morning been prescribed meds. Took about 6 months start to finish (will vary depending on the clinic) but a hell of a lot better than directly with nhs (will take years and years just to get an appointment)
It’s 3 years for toddlers aged 3. And by 6 years old the criteria changes and their difficulties which have gone without proper guidance are now worse, so they need a different referral, which takes…. 3 more years.
You can do it online private with a Polish psychologist in English. Around 300 quid
Been on the list 9 months and being assessed on Dec. I’m in London
I have been told I potentially have it. I believe I do
I am going to do an e-consult with my GP at some point, just finding time and the actual motivation to do it.
And reading this stuff makes me feel like there’s almost zero point in doing it.
In Northern Ireland we have THREE workers alone doing the adult ASD interventions and diagnoses…i actually feel grateful my 8 year journey is over while reading this headline….
GP referred me about 2.5 years ago. Finally got an appointment and diagnosed a month ago. Now I’ve been told I’ve got to wait another 6-8 months for medication.
Looking at this headline I’m glad I got in when I did.
What frustrates me about having ADHD – which was diagnosed in my early childhood (we went to the US in addition to NHS) is what a joke it’s become now. I’ve seen a bunch of ‘adhd influencers’ on LinkedIn and Tik Tok and it’s very clear that they don’t have ADHD but are using it to milk their products and other bullshit.
I think that I likely have ADHD and after trying several antidepressants and anti anxiety meds with no real luck perhaps the ADHD meds would be beneficial for me I have heard lots of people say that those meds changed their lives. My therapist recommended I get an appointment which I did and they gave me a test which gave came back at something 65% ‘yes’ or agree answers so the GP said it’s fairly likely that I have ADHD but not certain. This was 18+ months ago and the GP said there would be a follow up (but a long wait) and I haven’t heard anything since. May try to follow it up myself but feel a bit disheartened if that’s the word after another health issue ..basically they didn’t get back to me with that so I got in touch with them, booked it and the doctor had to cancel ..similar thing happened with my mate he actually went in and the doctor was at another practice apparently so he just had to go home. All seems disorganised in recent years doesn’t it? Sadly don’t have the money for private options. Good luck to anyone who’s waiting though hopefully things will pick up soon with appointments and waiting times.