"Lack of support"

I was diagnosed last May 2023 with MND, I'm in my mid 40's. Before I start my story I want to say that I continued to work full time throughout my struggles and continue to work full time, despite my short life expectancy and disability.

This plea for help is related to my diagnosis but not entirely. So for most of my life I have struggled and sought medical help. Like a large number of women in the UK I came to realise that I had the symptoms of undiagnosed ADHD. My symptoms got particularly bad after turning 40. It is now well established that women with undiagnosed ADHD tend to cope, but when peri-menopause starts they simply cannot.

Since turning 40 I have had endless therapy sessions and have tried several antidepressants. Coming on and off antidepressants is extremely unpleasant and the side effects can be awful. They didn't work, in hindsight because they were not the correct medication. I needed HRT and treatment to help me manage my ADHD. I was referred to a panel of psychiatrists 2 years ago and told that they didn't assess for ADHD (but would for other disorders, bi polar etc). Even though all my symptoms pointed to that. Even my GP thought this way ridiculous. I was put on a second anti depressant and sent away ( so am currently on 2 anti depressants, with side effects that are not the right treatment for me)

So fast forward to the last 2 years. My GP would not start me with HRT, because 10 years ago I had very early stages of breast cancer and a mastectomy. By this point I was struggling to function due to chronic anxiety and therefore depression. I ended up emailing my oncologist who emailed my GP saying there was no reason not to be given HRT.

I was then seen by an NHS menopause specialist at Forth Valley, after a 1.5 year wait and also told, there was no reason to have been refused it for so long. I could go on about the poor care I received, but in a nutshell, I have gone private and pay for all my consultations and prescriptions. I am feeling much better since being on the correct dose of HRT but it has taken 6 years plus to get here and considerable expense. The effort is also unfair and unnecessary.

As I mentioned, perimenopause makes ADHD worse. November and December 2023 were a massive struggle for me. My GP told me to drop my HRT in October (which was in hindsight the wrong advice, since rectified by the private clinic). I was working full time but in a bad way. My boyfriend urged me get support for my ADHD and HRT. I then went to private clinics for both. At great cost I was given a diagnosis of ADHD. I spoke to my GP about it recently and they said because of the demand they are unable to help.

I need to have blood tests done and an ECG before the clinic will prescribe me meds. The tests alone are expensive, plus the meds another large expense every month, but I also need a private consultation monthly for 3-6 months at an additional significant cost. I am sorry that women have been misdiagnosed for years and now there's a resulting increase in demand, but it is me who has suffered a great deal in my life. I cannot understand why the NHS will not help me.

In a nutshell. I used to cope by running and outdoor sports. I can now longer do these. I am going to be locked in my body, paralysed with an over active brain that never stops. I struggle to ever relax or switch off. Its an internal hyperactivity caused by my ADHD. Treatable with HRT and ADHD meds. My GP's are not offering support. I am working full time, in part to pay for my spiralling medical costs.

I have worked all my life. I feel so let down by the NHS at my time of need.

Can someone help me?