Hi! How did you about getting your diagnosis for ADD? Like what was the process like for you?

Well, I was seeing my PCP for treatment for depression, but nothing we tried was working. So she referred me to the behavioral health office in the same medical home for medication management.

While I was discussing my symptoms with the psychiatry PA (physician’s assistant), she pointed out how severely I’d rated my problems with things like focus, concentration, restlessness, goal-directed behavior, etc. I told her I thought they were just symptoms of depression - which they frequently are - and she said she wanted to have me tested just to check out the possibility of a comorbid attention deficit. Because depression and ADD originate in different parts of the brain, treating the depression alone wouldn’t be enough to alleviate those symptoms if I was experiencing both disorders.

I took a CPT, which is a computerized test of sustained attention, and the results from that test along with a review of my clinical history resulted in the diagnosis. I have to admit, I didn’t actually believe I had ADD until after the testing. And even then, there was still part of me that doubted it - until I took the medication and experienced immediate, dramatic improvement in pretty much every area of my mental health.

It just makes me feel… normal. Like something clicked into place in my brain that’s been missing for a long time, if that makes sense.