Interested in hearing how other people who have been diagnosed with ADHD late in life are coping

an2knee

Hello. I’m recently diagnosed with ADHD. I’ve managed my life up until this point with no support or medication. Next year I will be 50. I’m interested in hearing how other people who have been diagnosed late in life have and/or are coping. 

I have spent a lifetime allowing people to make me wrong because of my condition. I am so glad to have my diagnosis as it gives me something to orientate myself and my shattered sense of self around.

Please do reach out or comment if any of this resonates with you.

Keep safe and stay strong - above all, let nobody make you wrong for who or how you are. Celebrate your difference. It’s what makes us special. 🕺🏻

Ross_Alumni

Hello @an2knee and welcome to the community, how are you today? Hopefully you're managing okay in the heat.

It's good that you have managed without support or medication. Do ensure though that if you ever feel as though you need some support that you get in touch with your doctor or medical team  

an2knee said:

Keep safe and stay strong - above all, let nobody make you wrong for who or how you are. Celebrate your difference. It’s what makes us special. 🕺🏻

Just wanted to say that I really like what you say here, I couldn't agree more  

This is a very supportive and welcoming site to be a part of so I’m hopeful that you’ll find it to be a positive outlet. Feel free to have a look around and get involved wherever you’d like 😊 I have included below a few of the pages I’d recommend having a look through to get used to things:

• The virtual coffee lounge which is one of our categories, in which we play games and talk about general subjects such as hobbies and interests
• The recent discussions page, which shows an overview of everything happening across the community
• The categories page, which shows a full list of discussion groups on the community

If you have any questions at all then don’t hesitate to ask.

Tori_Scope

A warm welcome to the community from me too @an2knee  

I've moved your post into our category for discussions relating to neurodiversity. We've had quite a few members who've been diagnosed with ADHD later on in life post here, so I'd recommend that you take a look through and see whether any of the posts resonate with you. 

There are plenty more out there, but here are a couple of threads you might be interested in reading to get you started:

• Age of diagnosis
  
• How to choose somewhere for private diagnosis
• ADHD assessment - question about diagnosis

I'm wondering whether you and @Biblioklept might find it helpful to connect  

I'm glad to hear that getting a diagnosis has been a positive experience for you! 

I have spent a lifetime allowing people to make me wrong because of my condition

What would you say are some of the main barriers you've faced, in terms of people's attitudes towards you?

Jo_2022

Hello @an2knee!  It's lovely to have you join us on the online community. That is brilliant you have accepted your diagnosis and embraced your unique individuality! How are you feeling today?

Many thanks for sharing your situation. Yes I can relate, my younger brother has Autism and sometimes people aren't understanding. We love my brother the way he is, although he has heard some rude comments for example, once someone said they thought there was something wrong with him.  

an2knee

I’m not sure how to reply to individual comments. Do I just namecheck with an @ sign?

Thanks for all your comments so far.

@Biblioklept yours resonated with me. Particularly the bits around others seeming to know how life works and not being let in on the secret.

Feeling intrinsically different and sensing the visceral reactions of some people to me used to make me very uncomfortable. It impacted my self esteem because I allowed it to, somehow, make me wrong.

It’s a difficult habit to unlearn. But I’m so much more inclined to embrace my difference as a positive now.

an2knee

Biblioklept said:

an2knee said:

Hello. I’m recently diagnosed with ADHD. I’ve managed my life up until this point with no support or medication. Next year I will be 50. I’m interested in hearing how other people who have been diagnosed late in life have and/or are coping. 

I have spent a lifetime allowing people to make me wrong because of my condition. I am so glad to have my diagnosis as it gives me something to orientate myself and my shattered sense of self around.

Please do reach out or comment if any of this resonates with you.

Keep safe and stay strong - above all, let nobody make you wrong for who or how you are. Celebrate your difference. It’s what makes us special. 🕺🏻

Hello @an2knee I'm a bit younger than you but was also diagnosed as an adult. Honestly it changed so much for me and I finally felt like I understood myself. Ignoring medication for a moment, just having the diagnosis helped me rebuild some of the confidence I'd lost from a lifetime of feeling disorganised, confused and like I was never good enough. It always felt like everyone else knew how life worked and I'd missed the manual and I finally understand why. And it wasn't that I was lazy or didn't try hard enough like I'd spent decades telling myself, but because I have ADHD. 

I've fully embraced it and feel so much stronger for the diagnosis. 

How are you? Did you decide whether you'd try medication? 

Hello. Thanks so much for this. Sorry to be so long in replying. Guess what? I'm not the most focused or organised person in the world. 

I so identify with what you're saying. It really resonates. I had spent so long making myself wrong - and allowing others to do so. Now I have an explanation that makes sense. That alone is amazing.

However, the lifelong impact on my self-esteem, I believe, has been substantial. I don't think it's possible to quantify the full extent. But when one's default mode is to accept that you're the one who's always getting it wrong, that's a tough one to rewire. I'm starting to though. I don't believe it's insurmountable. 

I did decided to go with the medication route. I'm on Elvanse. It helps I think. This, together with my awareness of what I need to be mindful of, means I'm prepared at least. Some of the time. In some ways. 

I'd really like to be able to advocate for people who don't have a voice or need support. I feel a sense of injustice on their behalf. But I want to balance this with being positive around how things can work out.

I'll keep you updated. 

Do feel free to reach out and connect if you'd like to. 

L_Volunteer

@an2knee How have things been for you more recently? I appreciate it has been a little while since you last posted on this thread now.

I want to make sure you have access to the support you need and deserve but I am also aware that things might have changed since.

Please don't hesitate to let us know if we can do anything to help. We are all here for you