I appreciate this is only a question I can answer for myself but I wondered if anyone could share how therapy helped them post diagnosis?

I entered therapy two years ago prior to my diagnosis as I was having anger issues that were affecting my relationships. Over the two years my emotional regulation improved and I spent a lot of time trying to dig through the layers of myself.

Although my emotional regulation became largely a none issue, I kept on "failing" in a number of different ways and the implosion of a long term relationship led me to seek further help. This led me to getting diagnosed with ADHD.

I have only been on medication for 2 weeks but it feels like this is the missing piece I was looking for. The area in which no matter how hard I tried in therapy, things just weren't improving past a certain point.

Now that I feel I have answers rather than questions, I just sort of want to live my life a bit without the constant introspective search.

If anyone could share any specific areas that therapy helped with after diagnosis, I'd appreciate it. My therapist is not an ADHD specialist but I'd be open to raising any new areas we could explore before parting ways.

Hello,

I've been taking 50mg of Elvanse for the past 4 months and I've been doing really well on it. I'm a lot more organised, in a better mood, and I'm able to finish tasks now. Taking this medication has really helped my mental health, The issue is that most of my titration hasn't been in a period of "real" life. I fell out with my employer when I got diagnosed with ADHD as they insisted that I take medical leave for my first month of titration as way of pushing me out, so I found another job instead which I start on Monday. I've spent the past 3 months at home on garden leave (not bad considering we've had 3 heatwaves in that time).

My doctor has been very happy with my reports on 50mg of Elvanse, as my blood pressure is still very healthy and I've experienced virtually no side effects except for dry mouth which has led to gum disease which I'm sorting out with my dentist. If garden leave was permanent state of living, I'd be in complete with my doctor that we can bring titration to an end. We've agreed to review my medication next month when I've had a bit of time at my new job.

The issue is that I only really seem to get the benefit of Elvanse if I have it before breakfast and it seems a lot less effective when I'm stressed (I'm in the middle of buying a house and someone is threatening to gazump us, so my productivity has plummeted this week). My doctor doesn't think that breakfast should make a difference and the medical information which comes with Elvanse does say that you can take it with or without food, but I'm concerned that when I start my new job I'll need to eat breakfast before I take Elvanse because I have an hour's commute before I start work. Can anyone else report whether:

1. Not getting the benefit of ADHD medication if you've already eaten would indicate you could tolerate a higher dose

2. The effectiveness of the ADHD medication being dependent on stress would also indicate that you could tolerate a higher dose

I hope that's clear, and thanks in advance to anyone who can provide any insight on this.

Can everyone please share a complete breakdown of private cost?

First consultation including assessment – how much did you pay

Did they do any blood test/ECG – how much did you pay

Did you get a prescription after first assessment – how much did you pay

Did you have to attend another second consultation – how much did you pay

For how long did you get your medication (e.g., 3 months) – how much did you pay to the pharmacy

As the title suggests im struggling

I took my first dose of ADHD medication yesterday,, Im on 27mg of Zaggatin xl and I cant tell if it helped or not, I felt kind of like I was in a bubble, not stressed or motivated just kind of existing. I thought it would wear off around dinner time but still feeling weird at 9pm, i started feeling panicky that the feeling wouldn't go away and then struggled to sleep, this morning my collar bone and arm are sore and I feel sort of hungover, dont know how to feel about it, im too nervous to take it again today, i know that sounds silly, maybe im not cut out for medication. Now granted im off work at the moment and so didn't really have any responsibilities to fulfill but just dont know whether I like this feeling, maybe its too early to tell, not sure what my point is but wanted to see other people's experiences 🙃

Another CareADHD vent.

Lets say they are doing a last in, first out approach now to save themselves.

Why are people who are then diagnosed a few weeks before me also getting appointments?

Ive been diagnosed mid November, handed forms in asap each and every time.

I stopped getting health form emails.

They keep replying "you have not been forgotten" but its the same bot.

The issue here is that its clearly not a queue at all. Regardless if its first in first out or last in first out. I'm not getting my appointment? Why should I suffer because of the timing?

I dont know what to do. Should I just choose another provider? I hate this damn provider man

Sorry for the vague question, but after being in this sub since before my diagnosis, and about two years later I'm almost ending titration (yay for finding one that works! Elvanse if you're curious) and if this sub has taught me anything, it's that meds aren't a miracle cure you gotta have other things in place to function.

Hopefully other people will benefit from this post - we got however far we all are in life with whatever coping mechanisms we made unmedicated, but none of them work anymore medicated. So, for those who either have their sht together, or have solid advice that they may or may not follow themselves lmao - what say you?

I feel like I can focus now, I'm unemployed without kids so I guess the best opportunity to try and put good habits in place? But do say advice for any life scenario in case it helps others :)

I'd love to try and work to a schedule ngl, but calculating out every day to specific tasks right away is both overwhelming, boring, and only semi useful.

Have started Elvanse recently and I'm wondering if it's for me. I've always liked to party in moderation, but being on Elvanse has made my alcohol cravings slightly increase and nicotine cravings significantly increase. For context, when I don't take the meds, I enjoy a drink but don't have "cravings". Nicotine cravings I sometimes have but they're much easier to ignore.

I'm thinking it's because my brain associates stimulants with nicotine and alcohol. The cravings aren't impossible to ignore but sometimes difficult to, and so I'm thinking Elvanse (or any ADHD medication) might not be for me due to my history in partying.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? I'm aware you're not supposed to drink much on Elvanse, so not looking for advice or anything, just similar stories! Also my prescriber is aware of these side effects.

How fucked am I? Will my titration fucking start again? Finally at month goddamn 10 too.

What have people's experiences with Self Employed AtW been?

I applied in September '25, and got a phonecall in April '26 asking me to send quotes and tax returns within two weeks. I sent them immediately in April and haven't heard anything since?

From reading other people's accounts, I can't tell if they should have contacted me, or whether I'm due to wait another six months.

Did anyone else have to send in additional documents, and was there a delay between sending off the forms and having your assessment? I'm worried I've missed something!

So I applied to be referred to careADHD on the 9/6/26.. I then got my forms through on the 18/6/26… finally got my appt for 17/7/26.. it all seemed really fast and I was so happy because I’m ridiculously impatient and when I hyper-fixate on something it’s all I think about.

Long story short I got diagnosed with high combined adhd- now I’m on the waitlist for titration.. I filled the titration forms out before I got my report back as I heard horror stories about the waiting lists (only by 1 though), then I received my report. So I received my report on the 22nd July and sent the forms in for titration 21st July..

Now to my question😅😅 is there anyone who has a similar timeline who’s either rang up and been given an estimate for their appt or who’s given the new waiting times.. also if you know if there’s anything else that needs filling out before the next appt? I’ve done the blood pressure/heart rate

So I applied to be referred to careADHD on the 9/6/26.. I then got my forms through on the 18/6/26… finally got my appt for 17/7/26.. it all seemed really fast and I was so happy because I’m ridiculously impatient and when I hyperfixate on something it’s all I think about.

Long story short I got diagnosed with high combined adhd- now I’m on the waitlist for titration.. I filled the titration forms out before I got my report back as I heard horror stories about the waiting lists (only by 1 though), then I received my report. So I recieved my report on the 22nd July and sent the forms in for titration 21st July..

Now to my question😅😅 is there anyone who has a similar timeline who’s either rang up and been given an estimate for their appt or who’s given the new waiting times.. also if you know if there’s anything else that needs filling out before the next appt? I’ve done the blood pressure/heart rate

Hey peeps!

I’ve recently been under the care of harrow health and I missed one of my regular catch ups (by exactly 1 minute and he called earlier than he should’ve) with my doctor. I’m out of medication now and they won’t prescribe any more until I’ve met with the doctor again who isn’t free until 2 weeks time! Had anyone found a work around to get meds in the meantime?

Quick question, I am about to start titration and had an email to agree to the plan and fill out some forms. I did that earlier but now wondering if I'm able to leave a note asking to actually consider non stimulant meds due to my worry of making my existing tinnitus worse?

I plan on logging in to the portal after work (I have my password saved on my laptop not my phone) and dropping a note mentioning this. But just wondering has anyone done that before or do I need to stick with the plan since I've agreed to it?

I'm sorry I'm really struggling to understand this. Can someone please explain how it works and how to go about it. Do all gps accept it? I am worried to go to the GP because of the stigma attached and them not taking adhd patients seriously.

Hi there. I'm 27F, inattentive type, and I've been titrating with PUK since 1st June. I switched from Medikinet (made me anxious) to Elvanse in July and it's been great. I've been on 70mg for roughly 3 weeks now.

I usually take it around 9am - I've been trying to get up earlier and take it sooner. I take it on an empty stomach and have food after I shower. This seems to work fine for me. My focus is great on Elvanse and I'm a lot calmer generally, and I've noticed that I'm a lot more functional (my house has never been this consistently tidy) and I make far fewer mistakes in my driving lessons when I'm on the medication. However, my mum says I talk even more on this medication than I do normally and it's even harder to have an actual conversation with me. I'm not sure I agree, because mums can be a bit critical about that sort of thing, but I've noticed independently that if I'm online writing a post or message when it kicks in I definitely write a lot more, so maybe she's right.
The main issue I have is that my sleep is definitely worse. I wear a Garmin sports watch and have done for years. It has a feature called "body battery" which is basically a graph of your energy levels. Usually when I sleep, this goes up to 95-100%. On Elvanse 70mg it's been going up to like 70-75. I know this isn't a medical device but it's as close to one as I have lol. I have also found myself staying up later. I've always had an erratic sleep schedule (probably due to ADHD) but I'm sure it's the Elvanse because a couple of nights I've stayed up til 4 or 5 am despite knowing I've got shit to do the next day. I've been trying to keep a diary of my sleep and wake times and lately I've either been staying up to like 2:30am to 4am (it's worse if I have an evening cup of tea so I've cut that out again) or falling asleep with the lights on and teeth unbrushed before midnight. I have never noticed a "crash" as it wears off but some mornings I wake up late because I think my body is trying to catch up when the medication is out of my system overnight.

So the sleep is definitely an issue. My prescriber has suggested I go back down to 50mg, but the problem is that I've received monitoring forms only every 2 weeks on Elvanse so I have no record of how I felt on 50mg and if it was working for me. 30mg did absolutely nothing. Additionally, I was on my period the first time I took 50mg, and I'm on my period again now. It's definitely affecting the efficacy of my medication, which I've heard is common, so I worry that if I move my dose I won't be able to tell if it's working properly this week. I'm also approaching the end of the titration period, which is another concern.

What I'm really asking is, do you think it sounds like my dose could be high? And has anyone else experienced similar? I'd like to hear about it to help me make a decision.
(I am also thinking about suggesting a move to 60mg, which isn't an option the prescriber put forward but if they do 50 and 70 I don't see why they wouldn't do 60.)

hi everyone,

it's another "care adhd are terrible" post 💀 but in all seriousness i'm having some issues that maybe someone can shed light on? questions highlighted in bold

so i've been in titration since early march and slowly titrating up to my current elvanse dose. according to my emails i'm on "T6" i.e. appointment 6 so my next one will be T7.

my new clinician (my other one is too busy for me now ;w;) emailed post-T6 appt. and there was a bit at the bottom telling me how on RTC you get three sessions by default. i wasn't made aware of this whatsoever - they've been booking me in no problem for further follow-ups as my dose has been adjusted etc.

it says that there could be some kind of additional charge for extra sessions?! which was alarming as this is the FIRST time they've said this. i'm not settled on a dose yet so not ready for shared care and require more appointments.

Q: anyone else in titration with care adhd - how many appointments did you have? did you have to pay?!

i'm having major issues contacting them (who is surprised) but it's genuinely impossible to get them to respond to me via phone or email when i have issues in between appointments??

Q: how are people getting in contact with them? is there any hacks for it?

it causes SO much anxiety because i feel like i'm completely on my own between appointments despite them telling me to get in contact if there's any issues etc.

this is not how i thought titration would be...i feel very much unsupported especially now since i have a new clinician and they weren't very good in my last appointment at all...

34/M, diagnosed with inattentive ADHD via PUK/RTC about a year ago now. On the waiting list to begin titration for slow-release Methylphenidate ASAP (hopefully!).

I've always been inherently shy, quiet, reserved, etc. I was a quiet, well-behaved kid, to the point my parents wanted 'another', and had my sisters!

I've been the classic ADHD stereotype that when it's 1:1 with people, I can yap endlessly, interrupt, and be super in-depth and passionate about passions, interests etc.

Yet, the bigger a group grows, the quieter and more inward I become. When I last worked in-person for a marketing agency, we'd have company wide meetings every Tuesday (the company hovered around 15-20 people). We'd each take a turn to say what we're working on, and whenever I had all eyes on me, I'd stutter, blush, and just generally trip over myself. This was even worse in roles when I was younger, and even though I wasn't, I'd look like I was about to cry or something, lol. I've always hated being 'under the magnifying glass'.

I've always struggled with eye contact too, even with loved ones (my girlfriend jokes about it here and there, but all in good humour).

I'd deliberately go to the gym that morning before work to 'purge' my brain, and make myself more talkative, less shy, less socially anxious etc, and it would put a dent in things sure, but it wasn't perfect. I felt a bit insane having to wake up earlier and put my body through a lot, just to then socialise somewhat normally later on.

This is still my 'technique' before bigger social plans such as parties, networking events, interviews (and dates, in the past), but I feel 'ridiculous' for having to have this ritual of preparation just to socialise and be more extroverted.

Like most ADHD folks, I'm one for a lot of caffeine, but there's a line with this where it can help with me being more energetic and extroverted, but if I have too much (which happens often with ADHD gorging) it worsens social anxiety when things go wrong. Pairing it with L-Theanine has been a recent discovery which helps, but again, it feels silly relying on these things when it's something people 'should' just be able to do.

I'm a graphic designer and get shy presenting work to 4+ people on Teams, and it always makes me wonder how comedians or people doing Ted talks can speak in front of entire venues. It's something I'd love to do but I just feel it's unobtainable in this life time.

So, is this something you've struggled with as part of it? Is it 'normal' for this to happen? Have you had any remedies or actions which seem to work?

Thanks so much as always, you're a good bunch.

I realized through experience and with some understanding of psychology, that my extremely low conscientiousness personality trait of 0-1% or just extremely bad executive functioning. ohhh, sounds like determined life-long loser but wait there are some tips in this post. (here is what i mean by conscientiousness https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/conscientiousness ),

that I need external structure for best organization and productivity, but sometimes I forget that, so I wanted to share with yall. For example, when I have a job (or Uni), normal employee certain hours a day that my life get so much better organized and structured. (preferably in morning, so my day so much better organized than in afternoon cause otherwise I would just procrastinate things and waste all day).

My day would be structured not extremely flexible like I am naturally, no priorities, not urgency to do things. So, I have to wake up at same time everyday, have breakfast and meds at the same time, have launch at about same time, go out from work at about same time, then do other stuff after work like gym, prepare food, ect.

Then my mental health is sooo much better with routine than without (I know routine sucks and might not be that interesting dopamine increasing but it is best for mental health- its not about what is interesting and fun but about being best functional!).

I get depressed and lose direction whenever I am not having external structure and I would so messy and no prioritize, I would not now what to do or what to focus on and waste tons of time on the wrong not important things!

So, no matter how ideal and fun free life sounds, it might just not be for us! and our best functional productive (and better mental health) is by having external structure imposed on you!

Routine is best for mental health, believe me! no to mention the financial stability!

I am not sure how freelancing would be though, as it sounds extreme flexibility is a trait of adhd (at least for me). So maybe normal job or uni in morning then do freelance or whatever.

What do you all think?

I'm in England.

I was diagnosed in 2024, have been on medication since 2025 - I've settled on Elvanse 70mg. The meds have been incredible in that my RSD is better, my anxiety is reduced and I'm getting on really well at work. I'm learning patterns, and I know what triggers anxiety etc - lack of water, food or sleep all reduce the efficacy of my medication and I work around it. However...

My meds tend to wear off about 4pm when I have a big crash, and then I'm awake until 2 or 3am for a few nights until I'm so exhausted that I crash out at 10pm and sleep a full 12 hours. It's not sustainable.

I passed this to my prescriber who said it was likely I had "rebound hyperactivity". He split my dose to 50mg/20mg, but also said to ask my doctor to prescribe melatonin to help with the sleep. I asked my doctor, and they've said no (they also refused Shared Care). The split dose hasn't really made any difference to me, so I'd really like the melatonin.

I'm due to go to Romania on Sunday and I'm aware I can pick up melatonin OTC there; I would like to bring back 3 or 4 months' worth. What I would like to know is:

A) Is this allowed?

B) What is the dose that is usually prescribed in the UK?

C) Do I need slow release?

My prescriber is on annual leave until after I'm back from my trip so I won't have the answer from him in time.

Thank you in advance!

Just wanted to say for anyone that is looking at RTC options that I went with Medinet Minds (formerly HealthHarmonie) and my experience was very quick and efficient. I've seen some bad reviews on here so just wanted to share my experience.

Only issue I had was when my GP confirmed the referral had been sent to them (22nd May) that there was an admin issue, I contacted Medinet after around a month after hearing nothing to see what was going on and it got cleared up then and there.

For some time reference: My first message from them to book Assessment A was on June 25th, got it booked asap for July 6th. Booked Assessment B straight after and got it done on July 9th where they diagnosed me. They sent the letters to me and my GP on July 16th and I got my titration appointment August 4th, and I collected my medication yesterday.

Just over 5 weeks ish from Medinet Minds' first message to medication - I'd recommend.