Wow, this sounds exactly like what I've been experiencing for the last four to five years. Even the misdiagnosis, which have mostly turned me off from seeking any kind of mental health treatment. Can you recommend how to screen for a competent psychiatrist specializing in adult ADD?
I live in Vancouver and have had the best success working directly through the local hospital's mental health group. The key is to do a lot of testing. I've also found pink noise to help quite a bit in those times where I need an extra bit of focus.
A misdiagnosis and even the wrong medication is the worst to experience. Finally in my 33rd year of life (18 years since finding out about ADHD) I found a medication that helps my anxiety and depression which allows me to focus on the downsides of the ADHD.
It's mainly for the depression - - but I've found since starting the medication that I've been able to focus far better than before. There are some studies around where they tested this drug for ADHD with kids.
I've tried a few other drugs for both ADHD and depression / anxiety over the years, but this one seems to be the sweet spot between helping with everything. Hardly scientific, but it's my experience.
I should note that at lower doses mirtazapine (remeron) helps with insomnia. For me, I'm on a higher dose (45mg) where this isn't the case.
To add to this; If any of you with ADHD have found that you're miraculously killing at Scrabble or Boggle after a few drinks, being on this medication is a similar feeling. It's as if the anxiety or whatever is the noise and the medication filters that out.
Unfortunately, I can't. In my opionion, ADD diagnosis must be test driven. There are some very good tests which indicate what your problems are. If someone suffers from borderline or bipolar disorder, ADD treatment may be bad as well. In the german speaking world, a test like this would be ADHS-LE. Also a test for concentration over time should be done. Here's one in german. http://www.psychomeda.de/online-tests/konzentrationstest.htm...
