 Things are not always as bad as you expect them to be
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Feb. 25th, 2009 @ 06:41 pm 
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So, I've now been to a psychiatrist who includes in his list of specialities Adult AD(H)D.
I do not have ADD.
I have ADHD.
That whole loud, manic exuberance thing I get when I'm in a good mood/excited about something? One instance of my hyperactivity thing, apparently. There was much discussion involved in going through the diagnostic criteria (including me not being allowed to answer 6 of the 18 questions myself; this is why I was specifically instructed to bring along someone who knows me well, so the questions were directed at Chas, who came with me).
At the end of all this, it was concluded that I am definitely ADHD and should be given appropriate medication. However, because the appropriate medication is a heavily controlled substance by the rules of the Health Department, in addition to special forms for tracking the stuff I had to sign...
... I had to go to a drug screening, to prove I'm not just a junkie looking for speed.
My psychiatrist mentioned this in terms of me having to go get humiliated. Because this is that test where you have to give a urine sample... and be supervised while doing it.
Because we were in town and I'd been given a Clinipath referral thingie, we stopped by the pathologists at Wellington Train Station. The woman there was very, very nice, just treading the fine line between absolute professionalism and sympathy for a very awkward procedure. (She was also very, very quick to block the door when someone didn't see the sign she'd put on the door to say that the ladies' toilets were temporarily unavailable due to urine testing in progress and started to open the door, which, no.)
I discovered the hidden benefits of a short attention span when I got distracted from feeling freaked out that someone was (as unobtrusively as humanly possible) watching me pee by a thought that occurred to me and was able to complete the procedure handily. (Once you've given your little jar to the pathologist, you are allowed to close the door if you choose and complete your business in privacy. If you're paranoid, I imagine you might choose not to do this, so as to see the pathologist doesn't tamper with your sample.)
Afterwards, you sign a document saying you are satisfied that the process was conducted properly. This is because drug screening is a big freaking deal in a lot of cases - the pathologist mentioned things like having women who can't see their children unless they pass the drug screening. A portion of the sample is poured into a little vial to be kept as a referrer in case the result is called into question, even, and the vial and jar are sealed in front of you with stickers you and the pathologist both previously signed, then put into a bag which is *also* sealed like that, which is, in turn, put into an transport envelope that locks with a large padlock, and there are, I'm told, strict records of chain of custody of the envelopes...
Drug screening is Serious Business.
Me, I'm not that fussed. My test may come up positive for opiates and benzo-somethings - opiates because I sometimes take codeine for pain, and benzowhatsits because lately I occasionally take temazepam to try and help me sleep. Also on the list are cocaine, cannabis and amphetamines, none of which I'm even slightly worried about. The things I may come up positive for aren't an issue either, because it was already noted on the form that they may come up due to legitimate medications I'm taking. It's essentially a formality that will tell nobody anything that was not already known as a result of asking me what medications I take and whether I take any drugs. (He was going down a list, and I circumvented it by just saying I don't take any drugs other than my prescription medications we'd already discussed.)
But it's a procedure that must be completed, so completed it was. In all honesty it wasn't actually nearly as bad as I expected it to be - the pathologist I had was incredibly good at making it seem like really nothing at all, and observing in a non-freaky way.
I have another appointment with my psychiatrist next week at which I am to be supplied with Happy Brain Concentration Medications.
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Opium fiend!
I would find being observed while providing a urine sample excruciating. Not so good with strangers watching my nethers. Glad it's not my job to be the invigilator either.
Quite. Although as a man, you might be inspected still more closely, as there are a lot more drug-screening-defeating devices available for men. (No, really, you can even get fake penises and the like.) Which would be unpleasant.
And yes, I am a mad crazy junkie, now on the way to becoming a speed freak, clearly.
Huh, I didn't have to go through drug testing to go on dexies. I did have to go through three sleep trials, though, but more time consuming and very little embaressment.
There was a bunch of paperwork, but nothing more than you'd expect. Obviously, you are actually a crackwhore. Or maybe I'm clearly too boring to be a crackwhore.
(Sorry you had to go through that :P)
By your mention of sleep trials, I'm assuming it wasn't for an AD(H)D diagnosis. It's the specific thing - the Health Department takes the cynical view that they're expecting people will fake AD(H)D symptoms in order to get the meds, which is going to be less likely with other diagnoses that lead to prescribing dexies.
Wow. Urine samples are weird enough even when noone is watching.
Hope you get your medication soon and it does you good!
I know rite
Apparently lots of people get caught on stage fright and have trouble peeing in front of someone else. I can kind of understand that. The pathologist said that she tries to reassure people that she does lots of them, and it's totally not a Thing, but people still have trouble. I can kind of understand it, because yes, having someone there is weeeiiird.
I should get meds next week, and the expectation is that they will do me good; if they don't, there's other treatments, but stimulants (e.g. dexies) generally work very well and don't mess with your neurochemistry as much as the others and so are preferable, as I understand it.
Yayayayay! Well, not for the supervised peeing, but for a firm diagnosis and treatment plan (with backup plans if the first treatment is not optimal for you).
I don't know about you but when I have unspecified 'issues' (eg. an unidentified skin lesion or medical condition) and I see an expert who can confidently say "that's definitely a such-and-such and this is the treatment which will help", before the treatment has even taken effect, I just feel like such a huge weight has been lifted off. Because my problem has a name, and it's been dealt with many times before, and it's no longer a big scary unknown. I love being able to put it back into its box.
Of course, it's a pretty big freaking box for you, but still... yay!
Yeah, it's just that reassuring thing of "okay, this can be handled". I don't have to deal with this, even if it feels like it shouldn't be this is just a known, treatable medical condition. I get the medication, it'll probably be fixed, and if it isn't, that's still not the end of the world.
So yeah, I'm pretty pleased about it, and the advantage of having got the way awkward pathology stuff out of the way that same afternoon is that I don't have to worry about that either. :)
Yay for Happy Brain Concentration Medications!
*hugs*
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