First of all, I am not certain I have ADHD. I do recognize myself in a lot of attitudes, hardships and little things, and it’s impacted my life for too long now.

I can’t afford to go on like this anymore. Who should I go to? How long does it take for me to recieve a diagnosis and how expensive will it be? If I’ll have to take meds, for how long and how expensive are they in your experience?

Thank you all in advance

  • WxFisch
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    54 days ago

    I’m in the US, I found a local psychologist’s office that does adult evaluations. It was a virtual intake, a bunch of questionaries for me and my wife, about an hour of in person testing, then a virtual feedback appointment to go over my diagnosis, answer questions, and discuss options. I actually never got a bill for this but have followed up since I’m pretty sure that was an error. I expect it to be about $1500 with insurance coverage for the three appointments. The whole process took about two weeks, from my first appointment, but they book three to six months out usually.

    I then had to find a psychiatrist to ask about meds. I use talkiatry which is an online practice and have been happy with my doctor so far. Each appointment is about $200 under my high deductible health plan. It took about a month to get an appointment.

    I am on 60mg atomoxetine right now. The sticker price is around $330 a month but with GoodRX it’s about $25. I need a prior authorization through my insurance to get it covered which I’m fighting through now but the price is a few bucks less through them (and more consistent, GoodRX prices can swing a lot month to month). Unlike stimulates, atomoxetine takes about a month to start really taking effect, and I’ve stepped up my dosage once so far with maybe one more in 4ish weeks.

    Even at $300-$400 a month with appointments and medications it is life changing worth it. I have moderate combined type and have generally been successful but knowing now this is how I could have been for years is frustrating to a degree but now is better than later for sure.

    Timeline wise I made my first appointment for a diagnosis evaluation in early august and got a prescription the day before thanksgiving. From my understanding that’s on the quicker side of things.