When I'm 64: Why ADHD Treatment Gets Tougher with Age

8 Comments: When I'm 64: Why ADHD Treatment Gets Tougher with Age

1. This resonated with me. I was diagnosed in my late 20’s. Stimulants were successful and made me feel so much better. When my dr moved at age 35 I couldn’t find a dr that took my diagnosis seriously. Even in a big city and seeing so called adhd specialists. None were willing to prescribe me stimulants. Was told “adhd is for children”. One office gave me a test for adhd children, another wanted me to submit a drug test before I walked out of the appt in frustration. I ended up calling the office where my old dr worked and drove the 2 hrs to the appt just to get treated. She has since moved closer to the city thank goodness. Although it is getting increasingly difficult to fill my prescription, insurance coverage issues, pharmacy issues, new laws, etc. I at least am being treated properly.

2. My the doctor I was seeing when I turned 60 dropped me because he said he didn’t work with geriatric patients. About that time I was moving 2 hours away so thought I would get another doctor in my new location. It’s a small city in the south. I’ve been looking for two years now. There is very little mental health care and no one is taking new patients. There doesn’t seem to be anyone who specializes in ADHD. There is no CHADD for hundreds of miles. I’m at my wits end. None of the doctors in a larger city 83 miles away take insurance. I’m sure there has to be but I can’t find them. They are so scarce they can do anything they want and still be in demand. I am now going to a Physician’s Assistant in another state. The state I live in does not allow PA’s to write prescriptions so I have to drive to the next state every time I get a refill. It’s about a 2-1/2 hour round trip to the pharmacy and 5-6 hours to the PA. I cannot find anyone to help. I am getting worse and no help to be found. Do not move to the south if you need any mental health care.

3. Dear Newtry011:

   I understand your concerns: I will soon be 63 years of age and get my ADD meds from a community mental health clinic. My psychiatrist didn’t blink an eye – either it was my 6″ record or the fact that practically any mental illness known to man passes through. Anyway, I check in here periodically and I would be happy to be a listening ear. Despite medication, my ADD (because I am seriously spacey and out of focus) seems to have gotten worse as I get older. Sometimes it seems like early dementia. It would be very helpful to talk about this; I am trying to differentiate the two and it is stressful. Please don’t give up on getting your meds back; the difference in the quality of life cannot be overrated. See if your son can give you a heads-up on an appropriate health care provider. There is no need to try to hide your difficulties. He probably has seen them all along and was just waiting for you to ask for help. I also agree with your assessment of a match with a therapist I have been going to my present mental health clinic for more than nine years, and I have finally found one who “gets” it. I have made more progress with him than I have in all of the time I have going there. What I think helps that he is a little older than I am and he is also experiencing all of the aches and pains and mental changes that accompany growing older. Keep your chin up and eventually things will work out. I guarantee it!

4. This is interesting as it illustrates the ‘catch 22’ quality of seeking help as a woman in her 60s. Unless you lived next door to a successful ADHD healthcare provider, and gave him cookies and milk when he/she was growing up, you aren’t likely to find a friendly, accepting face in mental healthcare.

   During my whole childhood, my symptoms were blamed on me, and I could not become what all my loved and admired friends and family urged me to become, and said “you could do it if you just tried!”

   Early adulthood saw me lock myself into a route that said “I’ll show you how hard I can try, I’ll become perfect” Cheers from the friends and family department, so long as I don’t hold anyone responsible for all the rejections and bullying I navigated around, while trying to be the perfect child, adult, and parent.

   Fast Forward, I’m raising a boy with ADHD, and must accept that he is apart from the norm, and it is likely my fault, either genetically or behavior related. I am not rich, but make a good wage as an RN. I can afford his treatment, since I sacrifice for it, but can’t afford to seek diagnosis when I realize what has been missing in my own life all these years.

   Get him raised, and then consider what is likely causing most of my emotional trials now. My parents lived well into their 90s. I have a lot of years left, and would like to be happy. I may have to deal with this completely without the help of any professional, since I am now considered to be too old for consideration or treatment. (as in, why don’t you just die and get out of my office?)

   So now I’m left with seeking a friend. I understand what has been amiss all these years, but if I go to a doctor, I will be rejected once again, or treated for a while, but then the doc who stuck his neck out retires, and I’m likely to only find docs who will NOT stick neck out, and reject my quest, or call me a demented pill-seeker.

   I actually only seek a friend who will talk without judgment. A friend who will listen and exchange information. I have had friends like this but as we age, they die, or move away, or stop caring.

   I’m lucky to have a spouse who does understand, but the catch 22 includes that he has ADHD also, and an impressive amount of baggage that was ALSO not addressed in his youth. We’re both invested in living without emotional pain, but it’s very hard to avoid triggering each other’s PTSD, or RSD, or whatever the wash of agony that keeps on hurting is currently called. We have only each other. So we soldier on, trying to figure it all out for ourselves.

   I raised a child, who is almost 50, who is now a psychologist/counselor. I know he is a good one, but hey, he is my kid, and I don’t want him to know about my troubles.

   I’ve been to therapists off and on in my life, and recognize that a therapist has to ‘fit’ or does not help. A therapist who denies or belittles my carefully researched and lifelong search for answers, will only set me back and cost me the price of his ‘hour’.

   I don’t want pills, only an ear, but those ears are very hard to find. You’re more likely to run into an intellectual snob who will not listen. And this is not an age of respect for seniors. I’m just ‘sayin’.

   1. I too would so like a friend to talk, laugh and cry with. Someone to just sit at the kitchen table and have great conversations. I used to. I’ve looked for nearby ADHD groups and no luck. I feel so isolated. I am so isolated.
      I hoping you have better luck and find a good friend or better yet several friends.❤️ Praying for you.

   2. I am working on a documentary can you direct me to a resource for adults over 60 with ADHD who are having a difficult time getting medications because they are getting older. I have ADHD am older but do not take medication. Any help would be appreciated.

      1. That would be me. I can be reached at [email protected], or (985) 415-1922. Jack M. Gandolfo. Age 74. I’ve been having a great deal of trouble finding a physician who is willing to prescribe my Ritilin, a med I’ve been taking for decades. Unfortunately, I am made for your documentary!

5. I found this to be true for me I just started taking stimulants as an adult over 60 yrs old. I wish I would have sooner. It did take a lot of persistence to find a Dr. who thought it would be a good thing for me to do. I am still working and I wonder if after I retire, especially as I plan to move away from the Dr. I now see if I will be able to get medication. I did a lot of phone calling and searching for help before I found it.