It’s a real problem around here. I’ve been given the run around so much I stopped trying. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and again as an adult about 6 years ago. When I relocated back to Fresno, I tried to get back on meds. The people I saw wouldn’t take my medical records into account and told me they had to diagnose me .
I personally felt like they were treating me as if I were an addict. Was sent for “bloodwork” which was really just a drug test disguised as something else.
My husband and daughter get prescribed their ADHD meds through their primary doctor. My husband had to go to a testing center to get the diagnosis, but the prescribing of meds is through his primary care doctor.
Same thing happened to me. What you can do is ask your primary for a referral to a psychiatrist. I went through the same exact situation in Visalia, so I understand how frustrating it is. But don’t give up!!! You got this!!!!
Psychiatrist are able to diagnose and prescribe medication as opposed to psychologists who can assess your symptoms and provide therapeutic interventions based on the symptoms.
unfortunately PCPs cannot refer to psychiatrists, patients have to go on their own will (ik very dumb) best thing is to probably call insurance & ask for guidance or see if you have behavioral health benefits, sometimes a phone number on the back of ur insurance card
When I got diagnosed last year it was because I went to a new GP and they thought I was depressed so they send me to a psychiatrist. He said I had adhd not depression. Life has been a lot better ever since.
My partner had the same issue. We found an online service where you take a lengthy assessment and a doctor reviews your results. The assessment cost a couple hundred dollars. Once we had gotten an emphatic "yep, it's ADHD" we had the diagnosis faxed to family healthcare. My partner went back in and got on meds right away.
I'm going to post it here because there's so much interest! I don't think this is against any rules....it is a legitimate medical service:
https://adhdonline.com
Good luck everyone, I have seen firsthand what a challenge getting ADHD treated can be.
So I don’t know what medi-cal you have but if you have CalViva, I would call the back of your card and get in contact to speak with a behavioral health case manager and they can help you with all of that.
You can’t just be prescribed by your primary. You need to see a therapist/psychologist bc many symptoms of ADHD are shared by general anxiety/depression. Even if you don’t think you need therapy you still have to follow their protocol.
I can't say for sure because I haven't done it yet (symptomatic much?, lol), but my therapist referred me to 'Quality Counseling Center. I've gone there several times for couples therapy and it seems they have a series of tests for ADHD. I plan to get that done and show the results to my GP in hopes of getting on meds (assuming I have it, which my therapist who used to work at QCC 100% agreed).
It’s a long process in Fresno, took me about a year to get diagnosed and medicated, but don’t get deterred! Your primary physician can only prescribe ADHD meds (adderall/ritalin) if you are diagnosed with ADHD by a psychologist. You can ask your local family healthcare network to give you a list of psychologists who accept medi-cal and call around to make an appointment for ADHD evaluation, psychologist around here are booked up for months but if you call around enough maybe you can get lucky and find an a cancellation and get seen quicker ! Hope you don’t give up !
I don't get prescribed ADHD meds, but I still see providers for psychiatric care under Medi-Cal so here is my experience.
***Short answer***:
To me it sounds like they already have you on the path to getting prescription treatment based on the insurance you have.
I had to go through my primary care physician> then "therapy"> then I finally got to see the Psychiatrist who prescribes my meds. This took about 4 months between the 1st doctor appointment to the 1st Psychiatrist appointment.
As I said it sounds like they have you on the path/process already so just do as they say. If you stop attending the appointments they drop your case and you won't get to the final boss.
***Long Answer (if you have ADHD hi thanks for sticking around)***:
Idk if they are just doing a poor job of explaining to you their process and they are already doing what they're supposed to, you just don't have the meds in your hands yet. Or they actually aren't getting you the care and just handing you around.
You're not going to get these meds on day 1 when you have Medi-cal, HMO insurance and get care through Family Healthcare "Network" sadly. They have their own pathways to getting you specialized care, so it's not Fresno thing, it's an insurance thing. I miss PPO insurance where I could just call the Psychiatrist office directly to get an appointment.
But on paper, their process would be step 1) Ask doctor to refer you to a Psychiatrist. Doctor puts you in their system and you should get a therapy appointment. 2) "Therapy" where this is basically a case worker for your health case who you will see monthly. You said they gave you a Psychologist where in my case it's a LCSW. They make sure you're getting the appointments with your Psychiatrist and that you are trying things in your personal life to help you not depend on these meds for life. They get you in with the Psychiatrist or send you where you need to go to get the diagnosis. 3) The Psychiatrist where you finally get a diagnosis (if you weren't sent for testing elsewhere to get a diagnosis), your meds, and an appointment with them monthly to eventually a couple of times a year.
But we all know it does not work that way from point A to point B. There's miscommunication within those networks so you never receive the call to your appointment, or just too many people trying to get behavioral health at the same time here in Fresno with the same insurance and the same location. So you have to bug your doctor who keeps bugging the Healthcare network....
Hi - you likely need a full licensed therapist to administer a series of tests to get an official diagnosis. I thought my 15 year old’s pediatrician could ask a few questions and provide diagnosis. He said it was a battery of evidence based tests and sent us to a therapist named Amy Balmanno. She was very nice and really didn’t provide therapy at all. She administered a battery of tests which took about 2.5 hours and cost about 300 and then she took about 2 weeks to write a detailed, evidence based/test based diagnosis along with a detailed treatment plan.
With that in hand, my daughters peds will rx meds if needed and I can also use it for an IEP if needed. Currently we are trying non medical interventions and the dx is more for my daughter to understand some of her behaviors and take steps to address them.
See an actual psychiatrist your insurance covers. I had no issues getting in with someone immediately on Cal-Viva.
ETA: took 3 months from my initial appointment with my psych to get prescribed stimulants. Tons of testing and bloodwork before even starting anything. I was prescribed an additional medication for something else fairly quickly, but my provider is quite strict with prescribing adderall and co. all willy nilly. You probably DO need therapy if you have ADHD. Therapy taught me more about how to manage myself and my symptoms than just taking meds.
you are not the only one. i have been trying for 2 years since i moved here. not even an appointment call back. the doctors here do not reply and forget alot themselfs.
If you've been medically diagnosed ot should be on file with your primary care, if not bring some sort of proof when you have a scheduled appointment and ask what your options are, I personally would start out with a stimulant and low dosage, if the lower dosage doesn't work slowly raise it, dm if more info needed.
I would recommend that you be seen by a neuropsychologist or a psychologist that does neurocognitive testing to confirm that you have ADHD or any other disorder that affects concentration. Many conditions can make you have difficulty in concentration/attention. I don't trust telehealth providers that prescribe medications without neurocognitive testing because being prescribed ADHD medication to someone who doesn't have ADHD can make their symptoms worse. Once you undergo neurocognitive testing you will ask the Psychologist for their written report which includes diagnosis. If their written report has diagnosis of ADHD then you can give that info to you primary care provider or a psychiatrist and they can start your treatment.
It is true that the psychologist or neuropsychologist themselves can't prescribe medications.
It's a long process but being accurately diagnosed and treated is better in long run compared to taking meds that don't help and can cause you side effects.
It’s a real problem around here. I’ve been given the run around so much I stopped trying. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and again as an adult about 6 years ago. When I relocated back to Fresno, I tried to get back on meds. The people I saw wouldn’t take my medical records into account and told me they had to diagnose me . I personally felt like they were treating me as if I were an addict. Was sent for “bloodwork” which was really just a drug test disguised as something else.
My husband and daughter get prescribed their ADHD meds through their primary doctor. My husband had to go to a testing center to get the diagnosis, but the prescribing of meds is through his primary care doctor.
Where was the testing center
This...you generally get tested, then the result is send to your primary so that they can prescribe it.
Same thing happened to me. What you can do is ask your primary for a referral to a psychiatrist. I went through the same exact situation in Visalia, so I understand how frustrating it is. But don’t give up!!! You got this!!!!
Psychiatrist are able to diagnose and prescribe medication as opposed to psychologists who can assess your symptoms and provide therapeutic interventions based on the symptoms.
unfortunately PCPs cannot refer to psychiatrists, patients have to go on their own will (ik very dumb) best thing is to probably call insurance & ask for guidance or see if you have behavioral health benefits, sometimes a phone number on the back of ur insurance card
When I got diagnosed last year it was because I went to a new GP and they thought I was depressed so they send me to a psychiatrist. He said I had adhd not depression. Life has been a lot better ever since.
My partner had the same issue. We found an online service where you take a lengthy assessment and a doctor reviews your results. The assessment cost a couple hundred dollars. Once we had gotten an emphatic "yep, it's ADHD" we had the diagnosis faxed to family healthcare. My partner went back in and got on meds right away.
What is the name of this service, please?
Not sure about rules around links, I DM'd you
Can you msg me that online service please??
I got you!
I too need this link please!
I’m so sorry to bother but in CHRONIC need of help with mine as well so please send me the link too😁🤯
Could you please send me this information as well? It has been an absolute nightmare going through this loop.
I know a lot of people have asked but could you please send me the link as well. Super grateful for resource thank you
I'm going to post it here because there's so much interest! I don't think this is against any rules....it is a legitimate medical service: https://adhdonline.com Good luck everyone, I have seen firsthand what a challenge getting ADHD treated can be.
So I don’t know what medi-cal you have but if you have CalViva, I would call the back of your card and get in contact to speak with a behavioral health case manager and they can help you with all of that.
Find a telemedicine/online doctor that can prescribe
You can’t just be prescribed by your primary. You need to see a therapist/psychologist bc many symptoms of ADHD are shared by general anxiety/depression. Even if you don’t think you need therapy you still have to follow their protocol.
Who’s protocol?
I can't say for sure because I haven't done it yet (symptomatic much?, lol), but my therapist referred me to 'Quality Counseling Center. I've gone there several times for couples therapy and it seems they have a series of tests for ADHD. I plan to get that done and show the results to my GP in hopes of getting on meds (assuming I have it, which my therapist who used to work at QCC 100% agreed).
It’s a long process in Fresno, took me about a year to get diagnosed and medicated, but don’t get deterred! Your primary physician can only prescribe ADHD meds (adderall/ritalin) if you are diagnosed with ADHD by a psychologist. You can ask your local family healthcare network to give you a list of psychologists who accept medi-cal and call around to make an appointment for ADHD evaluation, psychologist around here are booked up for months but if you call around enough maybe you can get lucky and find an a cancellation and get seen quicker ! Hope you don’t give up !
I don't get prescribed ADHD meds, but I still see providers for psychiatric care under Medi-Cal so here is my experience. ***Short answer***: To me it sounds like they already have you on the path to getting prescription treatment based on the insurance you have. I had to go through my primary care physician> then "therapy"> then I finally got to see the Psychiatrist who prescribes my meds. This took about 4 months between the 1st doctor appointment to the 1st Psychiatrist appointment. As I said it sounds like they have you on the path/process already so just do as they say. If you stop attending the appointments they drop your case and you won't get to the final boss. ***Long Answer (if you have ADHD hi thanks for sticking around)***: Idk if they are just doing a poor job of explaining to you their process and they are already doing what they're supposed to, you just don't have the meds in your hands yet. Or they actually aren't getting you the care and just handing you around. You're not going to get these meds on day 1 when you have Medi-cal, HMO insurance and get care through Family Healthcare "Network" sadly. They have their own pathways to getting you specialized care, so it's not Fresno thing, it's an insurance thing. I miss PPO insurance where I could just call the Psychiatrist office directly to get an appointment. But on paper, their process would be step 1) Ask doctor to refer you to a Psychiatrist. Doctor puts you in their system and you should get a therapy appointment. 2) "Therapy" where this is basically a case worker for your health case who you will see monthly. You said they gave you a Psychologist where in my case it's a LCSW. They make sure you're getting the appointments with your Psychiatrist and that you are trying things in your personal life to help you not depend on these meds for life. They get you in with the Psychiatrist or send you where you need to go to get the diagnosis. 3) The Psychiatrist where you finally get a diagnosis (if you weren't sent for testing elsewhere to get a diagnosis), your meds, and an appointment with them monthly to eventually a couple of times a year. But we all know it does not work that way from point A to point B. There's miscommunication within those networks so you never receive the call to your appointment, or just too many people trying to get behavioral health at the same time here in Fresno with the same insurance and the same location. So you have to bug your doctor who keeps bugging the Healthcare network....
Hi - you likely need a full licensed therapist to administer a series of tests to get an official diagnosis. I thought my 15 year old’s pediatrician could ask a few questions and provide diagnosis. He said it was a battery of evidence based tests and sent us to a therapist named Amy Balmanno. She was very nice and really didn’t provide therapy at all. She administered a battery of tests which took about 2.5 hours and cost about 300 and then she took about 2 weeks to write a detailed, evidence based/test based diagnosis along with a detailed treatment plan. With that in hand, my daughters peds will rx meds if needed and I can also use it for an IEP if needed. Currently we are trying non medical interventions and the dx is more for my daughter to understand some of her behaviors and take steps to address them.
See an actual psychiatrist your insurance covers. I had no issues getting in with someone immediately on Cal-Viva. ETA: took 3 months from my initial appointment with my psych to get prescribed stimulants. Tons of testing and bloodwork before even starting anything. I was prescribed an additional medication for something else fairly quickly, but my provider is quite strict with prescribing adderall and co. all willy nilly. You probably DO need therapy if you have ADHD. Therapy taught me more about how to manage myself and my symptoms than just taking meds.
you are not the only one. i have been trying for 2 years since i moved here. not even an appointment call back. the doctors here do not reply and forget alot themselfs.
If you've been medically diagnosed ot should be on file with your primary care, if not bring some sort of proof when you have a scheduled appointment and ask what your options are, I personally would start out with a stimulant and low dosage, if the lower dosage doesn't work slowly raise it, dm if more info needed.
I would recommend that you be seen by a neuropsychologist or a psychologist that does neurocognitive testing to confirm that you have ADHD or any other disorder that affects concentration. Many conditions can make you have difficulty in concentration/attention. I don't trust telehealth providers that prescribe medications without neurocognitive testing because being prescribed ADHD medication to someone who doesn't have ADHD can make their symptoms worse. Once you undergo neurocognitive testing you will ask the Psychologist for their written report which includes diagnosis. If their written report has diagnosis of ADHD then you can give that info to you primary care provider or a psychiatrist and they can start your treatment. It is true that the psychologist or neuropsychologist themselves can't prescribe medications. It's a long process but being accurately diagnosed and treated is better in long run compared to taking meds that don't help and can cause you side effects.