First step, you need to be properly diagnosed.  I went to my Primary Care or if you don’t want to go thru VA, see if someone you trust can rec a good psychiatrist.  There are several “tests”/ questionnaires that you can take with you to help them properly diagnose you.  There are several disorders that can be combined with ADD/ADHD.  This is an awesome website.  You will get alot of advice and support here.

Nickdog ...the diagnosis is the start of your journey ... once you are diagnosed (with or without ADHD) then you need to do something. Do you/will you take meds (do you/will you like the side effects good (better able to focus) and bad (those that you don’t like so much); do you try therapy with the good side effects (get some perspective and hope) and the bad (got to make time for one more appointment this week, ugh).

The great challenge, in my experience is the ‘what now’  question that occurs after the diagnosis.

SIDEBAR - this is a question you can begin to consider now as you seek a professional to diagnose you ... let’s presume you are diagnosed ... what now? OR let’s presume that the professional tells you you do not have ADHD ... what now?

I am not minimizing the importance of the diagnosis ... but it is in your ability to answer the ‘what now’ question that will begin to take you to where you want to be ... to be able to focus, to have the capacity to settle yourself and to have the willingness to act and think with purpose.

I soon will offer a program I call Thriving with ADD that addresses the core symptoms of ADHD ... symptoms of inattention where the struggle is distraction, the symptoms of hyperactivity where the struggle is with balance and the symptom of impulsivity or impulse control where the struggle is with burnout and loss of drive.

Take the first step, today, consider, even answer your ‘what now’ question.

Dr. Frank

There is a men’s ADHD support group started.  It is a free telephone conference call, no fee for the meeting, just a phone charge if you get charged for long distance.  If you are interested, e mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).  We are reading DELIVERED from Distraction by Edward Hollowell   The meeting is on Monday nights at 5 PM PACIFIC time zone.  The group will continue for as long as men show up.  You may join in anytime and will gain from it.
Hope to hear from you and you will join in the sharing that can help everyone.
Bob

Nick,
I wrote to a friend who works for the VA in Minn. This was his reply:
Good to hear from you!  I would have to agree that most doctors (MDs) at the VA aren’t very familiar with the treatment/management of ADHD—at least not beyond the scope of pharmacological management (i.e., stimulant medication); however, the mental health department and the ‘other’ doctors (PhDs)—licensed psychologists, and particularly neuropsychologists—should be more than familiar with ADHD and its sequalae (anxiety, addiction, sleep disorders, etc.) and should be able to establish a comprehensive treatment plan that includes both pharmacological intervention and behavioral and executive strategies to address the functional areas that the individual is encountering problems:  work, school, relationships.  Also, a psychologist at the VA can make a referral to the speech pathology department where the individual can be assessed for deficits in executive functions and receive therapy to address deficits related to attention, memory, speed of processing, organization, new learning, executive functions and other domains that fall under the umbrella of ‘Cognitive Rehabilitation’, which is a treatment that speech pathologists specialize in, including the use of assistive technology for cognition (ATC), which may include the use of smartphones, paging systems (Neuro Page), watches (VibraLite 8) or highly specialized alerting systems (PEAT) to name just a few.  The most important thing is to instruct the person to ask his doctor to consult neuropsychology and speech pathology for ‘deficits in executive functions’ related to ADHD.  They have a brand new cognitive rehab center in San Antonio with expert clinicians in this area that can address these issues.

I hope this information is helpful…
When you get ready for a coach I would appreciate it if you gave me a call.
Bob Hathcock ACG
828-331-8014