Please visit the forum for lots more info on how and where to get diagnosed.
Cambridge Clinic - updated details
Updated Contact details for Adult ADHD Clinic in Cambridge:
Adult ADHD Clinic
Psychiatric Outpatients S3
Box 175
Addenbrooke's Hospital
Cambridge CB2 0QQ
Email: jenny.hall@cambsmh.nhs.uk
OR
Dr Ulrich Müller
Department of Psychiatry
University of Cambridge
Box 189
Addenbrooke's Hospital
Cambridge CB2 2QQ
Lost referrals...
It has come to our attention that a few referral requests have gone
astray within the NHS network, so if you have not heard anything three weeks after your doctor sent in your referral request, we suggest you follow-up with your doctor to confirm that the request has not been misplaced.
Clinic in Bristol
There is now an adult ADHD clinic in Bristol. Any GP from the Bristol area can refer a patient by sending a letter with some reason for suspecting an ADHD diagnosis to the clinic. If the patient is not from the Bristol area (e.g. Weston-super-Mare, Bath, Gloucester) the process is currently a little more complicated because the relevant PCTs only fund, currently, on a case by case basis.
The clinic cannot at the moment accept patients that are currently in prison, under 18 years old (there may be some exceptions), or have active and severe addictions (again there may be exceptions to the latter). There is a waiting list, but at the moment, it's not very long.
For referral contact details please contact us. Click here.
Excellent new book on adult ADHD treatment
(Scroll down to bottom of page or click here to jump down.)
Do you have it?
First of all, you need to know that there are a lot of things that cause very similar symptoms to ADD. Let's be honest, even the common cold will make you feel 'foggy' (although,obviously, this wears off after q few days). It is best to rule everything else out. Your doctor should help you do this. However, there are some on line tests you can do that will give you a good idea as to whther you have it. Here is one. (Note: Dr Amen practises in the so his techniques and prices may be rather different to the UK). So...
Visit your G.P.
Your GP should be your first port of call. If you are one of the lucky ones, your GP will accept that adults can have ADD. If so, skip down to 'Getting referred'. If not, read on.It is very frustrating, but a lot of doctors do not accept that adults can have ADD. Presumably they think we should 'just' pull oursleves together, or lack moral fibre and should stop wating their time. If this happens to you we suggest you take a look at this article in British Journal of Psychiatry. It is an Adobe file. Although you may need the 'reader' software, it will print out easily. Or you may like to give people this link:
http://www.aadd.org.uk/bjop_article.pdf
Perhaps the most interesting and useful bit is on page one near the top of the second column that says:
"An increasing number of adults
are recognising themselves – or
being recognised by family members,
general practitioners, probation officers,
drug and alcohol specialists,
psychologists and others – as being
disabled by ADHD and requiring assistance.
In addition there is a pool of adult
psychiatric patients in whom the diagnosis
of ADHD has gone unrecognised and for
whom treatments put in place for
alternative diagnoses, such as anxiety,
depression, cyclothymia and personality
disorder, are ineffective."
You may also like to point any sceptics towards the latest guildlines from N.I.C.E.. They are only draft at this stage, but the completed version is to come out shortly (we'll post a link here). They also only apply to England and Wales, although we have heard that the laws of science are the same whether you're in The Mull of Kintyre, Ballymoney, Nether Wallop or Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Einstein said that natures' laws are universal, and, given a choice between him and [insert latest Government Health Wonk here], we know who we'd pick. However, this should help you get referred. If not, contact us and/or try a different GP.
Getting referred
If you are very lucky your Patient Care Trust (local branch of government that decides what ahppens to the health budget) will allow you to be referred to one of the only two specialist adult ADD centres in the UK - The Maudsley in sout East London and Addenbrookes in Cambridge. You could live quite close to either of these and still not get referred if you are outside their catchement areas.
In principle you can be referred to these clinics, but your Patient Care Trust won't want to spend the money, so you will get sent to your local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). It is the experience of many of our members that they are treated by a local CMHT psychiatrist who has never treated an adult with ADD before. We hope this will change in the future.
You will most probably be offered methylphenidate as drug treatment and sometimes cognitive behavioural therapy as non-drug treatment (althoug that is rare).
Please let us know your experiences (click here to e-mail).
Treatments and Coping Stratagies
Eventually we hope to have a proper compilation of coping strategies and tips and advice on treatment. In the meantime we have come a cross a book that is excellent. Having said that, it is more aimed at the therapist than the patient, but a lot of ADHD sufferers who can cope with that type of reading will get a lot out of it. If it isn't for you, get your doctor / therapist to read it. If you are a docotor or therapist or other professional dealing with adults with ADHD, this book is the cutting edge. Get it. Now.
ADHD in Adults: A Psychological Guide to Practice
by Susan Young and Jessica Bramham
Click here for a review on Amazon (we confess that that the reviewer is known to us.) Opens in new window.
We found it competetivley priced on the comparison site Bookbrain.co.uk click here. We don't get anything from the sales other than the satisfaction that the word is being spread.
Please let us know your experiences (click here to e-mail).
