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The ADHD Centre 2024-01-21 Person 1 5 0

I spent more money then I ever had in my life on this assessment and I had to borrow from family to do it. I spent weeks fillings out the forms they sent beforehand and really struggled with them. I had to get my family involved and get access to my medical history. I stressed out about the meeting and was very nervous when the day finally came. I travelled to London because I do not like video calls, this cost an extra £300. I do not think the Dr even read the firms because our meeting was us filling out almost the exact same form, but this time I could not come back to it or spend days mulling over my answers. We did not cover half of what I put on the initial ones. I have been using cannabis to self medicate for years and have made great steps to stop, helped by the hope that this appointment would give me the push to pack it in for good. I had one smoke 14 hours before the meeting, the night before because I could not sleep. The Dr asked about drug use and I was honest. She then stated she could smell it on me, despite the fact I'd showered and was wearing different clothes. She used this information to dismiss me and seemed pretty righteous about it. I was not put at ease at all and I chose this Dr specifically because her reviews said she was understanding and helpful in getting as much information as possible. She focused on the questions that I could not relate to my life, for example 'can you sit in a lecture?'. I have not attempted higher education because I know I could not focus on the workload or manage myself in that setting so I have never been to a lecture, so I told her I didn't know because I have never attempted to. I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety previously and have suffered under useless GPs who do not take me seriously, I believe they are secondary symptoms from untreated ADHD. I emailed the ADHD centre in the research stage asking specifically about how they would affect the assessment and was told only that I would be referred back to my GP for baseline healthchecks and the cost of follow up appoinrtments. I chose to pay for private care because the wait time through GP is immense and the stress of even getting an appointment is affecting my overall health. My GP had referred me for further mental health tests and I scored highly on the initial ADHD assessment, but this was over a year ago and I am sick of waiting for an undetermined date. This did not matter to the private doctor. She told me I am too depressed to be diagnosable, that the medication I had been prescribed previously was of a very low dose and even stated that I was self medicating with Cannabis. She advised I return to the GP for treatment for anxiety/depression and continue to pursue further testing through the NHS as well as requesting autism screening. I left disheartened, disillusioned and robbed of my dignity and hope. My mental health has dipped further as a result. It has been over 2 weeks and I have recieved no report from her, despite her saying it would arrive within 2 weeks. The whole experience has been a waste of time, money and energy.