How to Get a Second Opinion on an ADHD Diagnosis

You walk out of the appointment with a prescription in your hand, or with a sentence that says "you don't have it," and somewhere inside something still does not sit right. It lasted fifteen minutes. Half the things you wanted to be asked were not asked. Or the opposite: a scale was filled in, a diagnosis was made, medication was prescribed, and you left through the door thinking "is that all?"

This feeling alone is not a sufficient reason to change doctors. But it is not something to ignore either. Below I wrote when a second opinion is meaningful, how it is done, and what happens to the medication during the process.

When a second opinion makes sense

I think it makes sense in four situations.

The first is if the consultation was very short and your childhood was never asked about. In an adult ADHD assessment, the symptoms are expected to have started at an early age, and a diagnosis made without this history needs to be looked at with caution. I described in detail how an assessment should go in the article on how adult ADHD is diagnosed. If none of the things described there happened in your consultation, that is a sign.

The second is if the diagnosis was made only with a scale or a test. Scales are one part of the assessment, not the diagnosis itself.

The third is when no diagnosis was made but your story is still unresolved. The sentence "you were fine as a child, now there is stress" sometimes turns out to be right, and sometimes it is said without the real history ever being heard. If the doctor did not explain how they conducted the consultation and why they reached that conclusion, you can ask for an explanation. If it is still insufficient, a second opinion is reasonable.

The fourth is when medication was tried and nothing has changed for months. In that case you first need to talk about the dose and the medication with the same doctor, because the first medication or dose tried does not suit everyone. I wrote about the reasons in the article on what to do if ADHD medication isn't working. If no solution comes out of that, it makes sense for another doctor to take a look.

When it may not be necessary

This needs to be said honestly too. A second opinion should not mean going from doctor to doctor until you find the answer you want. Going to three different doors with the same question and listening for a "yes" neither strengthens the diagnosis nor reassures you.

There is a real debate about diagnoses being made too often or wrongly, and I wrote about it from both sides in the article is ADHD overdiagnosed: there are diagnoses made unnecessarily, and there are diagnoses never made. For this reason, I think it is more balanced to think of the second opinion not as "the first doctor was wrong" but as "I want to put this decision on a solid footing." You can go to the doctor with that sentence too. Most doctors are not bothered when you put it this way.

Then there is the doubt that comes from internet tests. Scoring high or not scoring high on a screening test does not invalidate the doctor's consultation. I wrote about this in the article are online ADHD tests reliable; tests should be used not as evidence of a diagnosis but as a starting point for a conversation.

Collecting the previous records

What makes the new doctor's job easier is the trace of the previous process. Depending on what you collect, the first consultation either starts from scratch or continues from where it left off.

I look at these in order. First e-Nabız (the national health records system): examination dates, diagnosis codes, prescribed medications and lab results usually appear there. Then asking the previous institution for a copy of your file. A patient has the right to access their own medical records, and at most institutions this application is made with a written petition to the patient communication unit. You have to learn from the institution itself how long it takes to provide each document; the times can vary from place to place.

Next, the scale results and psychological test reports, if there are any, in their original form. Saying "a test was done" is not enough, it matters which test was applied on which date and what the scores were. Finally, a page you write yourself: at what age the difficulties started, in which settings they appear, how they affect your life today. You can put this together with the flow on the doctor preparation page, and it should not run over a single page.

What to say to the new doctor in the first minute

It is easy to soften everything for fear of seeming to run down the previous doctor. I do not think that is necessary. A clear and neutral sentence is enough. For example:

"I was assessed on this date at this institution, and a diagnosis was made. The consultation lasted about fifteen minutes and my childhood was not discussed. Because I cannot be sure about the diagnosis, I would like a second assessment. I have my records and a summary I wrote myself with me."

For someone who was not diagnosed, it is similar: "I was assessed on this date, and ADHD was not considered. But these and those difficulties have been there since my childhood. I would like you to take it up again."

There is no blame in these sentences, there is information. The doctor immediately understands what they need to ask again. And it gives them one more thing: it makes them feel they do not have to reach the same conclusion as the earlier decision.

If you feel anger toward the previous doctor, write it down on the side before you go to the appointment. It takes up space in the consultation and starts to replace the real problem.

What happens at the switch if you take medication

What people fear most when changing doctors is the medication being stopped.

It is not stopped, but the doctor who writes the prescription changes. In Turkey, medications containing methylphenidate are controlled and prescribed with a red prescription; you can find who is able to prescribe in the article which prescription are ADHD medications written on. The new doctor can continue your medication at the first appointment, change the dose, or ask for another assessment first. Which of these they do is their decision.

So have this information with you: which medication, at what dose, for how long, at what times it is taken; what difference it made; which side effects there were; whether you ever took a break. Also the state of your report. The duration of the medication report, its expiry date and which doctor it came from are things to discuss with the new doctor. I explained how the report works in the article how an ADHD medication report is issued. Whether the current report will continue with the new doctor needs to be confirmed from the current practice of the doctor and the pharmacy.

I do not think it is a good idea to quit the medication on your own before the appointment day arrives, thinking "I'm changing doctors anyway." Stopping or continuing is a decision to be discussed with the doctor.

If the two assessments come out different

This is the most common and the most wearing situation. The first doctor says "you have ADHD," the second says "you don't." Or the other way round.

Instead of choosing one in a hurry, it helps to write the reasoning of the two side by side. Which doctor asked about your childhood? Which of them assessed other explanations separately, that is anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, substance use, or a physical cause such as the thyroid? Which one gave reasons for their decision? The view of the doctor who can explain the decision best and whose assessment is most complete is generally more reliable. But this is a hint, not a rule.

Still, you need to see clearly the point where the two part ways. Sometimes the difference is not in whether ADHD is there or not, but in the weight of an accompanying condition. In adult ADHD it is ordinary for another picture to be present alongside it, and this can lead two doctors to see the same person from different angles. If you put the two side by side and still cannot decide, I would go to a third opinion, and I would take the records of the first two as well.

What I take from it

I do not see getting a second opinion as something anyone should be ashamed of. A diagnosis is a sentence that makes you reread your life. Decisions about medication, working life and relationships are built on top of it. It is very normal to want the decision all that rests on to be solid.

But a second opinion should have a purpose. My suggestion is this: first write in one sentence what does not sit right. "The consultation was short," "the medication didn't work," "no diagnosis was made but my story is unresolved." Then collect the documents that will resolve that sentence, go to a single doctor, with your records. One prepared appointment, I think, works better than many appointments.

If you find a doctor who explains their reasoning and listens to you, then whether or not a diagnosis comes out, you will have a path that serves you. Take every step about medication together with them too.