ADHD

[u/rombill]

Has anyone here been diagnosed with ADHD while in? I’m fairly certain I’ve got it, but in the spirit of not self diagnosing I’d like a professional to take a look. If you have been diagnosed, what were your options? I’ve been in for 7 years, currently as shore duty and fully intending on separating at the end of this contract. Any info would be appreciated.

[u/fizzzzzpop]

I was in almost your exact position and I pursued the diagnosis. It was going to med and getting the chain of referrals until eventually I was sent to a community psychiatrist for diagnosis. It didn’t hold up my separation. I used the diagnosis to get Adderall, Ritalin, and now Straterra from the VA

[u/rombill → u/fizzzzzpop]

Where/how do you recommend starting the process of seeing a psychiatrist? Would that be a discussion with my PCM?

[u/fizzzzzpop → u/rombill]

You have to start with PCM. You can be open and tell them you struggle with the symptoms of ADHD and want a diagnosis. They will refer you to behavioral health and they will take it from there

[u/Donutsbeatpieandcake]

First off, make sure you understand there's a big difference between having attention deficits and having ADD/ADHD. The "D" is for disorder, and it has to be something that actually impairs you, your decision making, and your everyday life. I say this because nearly the entire nuclear Navy has some attention deficit tendencies, typically self-medicated with caffeine. But there's a big difference between that and having an actual disorder. Another good example is OCD. Everyone says they're OCD because they like pictures on the wall to be level, or they have to have their sleeves rolled up evenly. That's not OCD, and the difference is the D.

Second off, I'm pretty sure getting an actual diagnosis will also mean loosing your security clearance and getting de-nuked, at least it did back when I was in. I knew a couple different people who were diagnosed and were promptly de-nuked for it. They lost re-enlistment bonuses, nuke pay, and had to finish out their enlistment as a conventional. That definitely has it's ups and downs.

It also may affect your security clearances after the military if you decide you want to work for DoD, federal government, three-letter agencies, shipyard, data centers, etc. Something a lot of nukes and ex-military don't appreciate being fresh out of the military, especially up in the Washington DC area, is how valuable having a current security clearance is for the three years it's considered valid after you separate. You can take most any job and add 30-50% pay for the same job if you need a valid clearance to do it, and employers will always hire someone who already has a clearance over someone who doesn't because of the money it costs them to get someone a clearance.

Third, it absolutely does also mean a certain disability percentage from the VA after you're out. I have absolutely no idea what that percentage is, but it's not nothing.

[u/Smooth-Bad-5425]

I think almost everyone has ADD/ADHD etc to some extent these days with all the electronics, social media, 24 hr news cycle, online gaming. I know i do. I go from TV streaming to the iPad for streaming, then to my phone for reddit navy nukes 😀, back to the iPad and so on. Growing up we had one TV channel and read a lot of books.