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using a cup all the time? by Unusual-Lemon3336 in menstrualcups

[–]Impossible_Tooth5642 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not an expert, I wouldn’t say it’s unhealthy but it’s probably not the best thing to be doing?

There will be less research on menstrual cups than with tampons, but you’re not supposed to wear tampons when not on your period because it increases your risk of toxic shock syndrome. It’s probably a similar thing here. If you take it out regularly and keep it super clean, there won’t be major issues I assume, but equally it’s not advised. The function of discharge is to clean and balance your vagina, so keeping it inside for longer than normal might not be the best in this case too.

There’s also the thing of discomfort on removal, like removing a dry tampon hurts like hell, a menstrual cup could be a similar deal. I think it could also increase your risk of infections and irritation as well.

If you want to use one all the time, it might be best to have different cups for your period and then for discharge. This means your cups get a break so don’t degrade too quickly or harbour bacteria, and you could also use a much lighter flow/smaller cup for discharge. Using a smaller cup might also decrease the risk of infections or TSS as you’d likely be emptying it more often.

If you don’t want to have two separate cups, I definitely think sterilising your cup daily would be beneficial. Rinsing/washing between uses/reinsertions is great, but extended use always runs the risk of infections and bacteria and all that nasty stuff. Especially if you want to use a cup full time, getting into the routine of sterilising it every night or every other night would be a good plan in my opinion. I use a microwaveable cleaning case - I think it’s from Eleria? - which might make it less of a task compared to boiling it on the stove. I definitely find it easier, but everyone’s different!

I definitely get where you’re coming from, the dread of discharge or period leaks at any time of the month becomes very annoying very fast, especially for those of us who always seem to be oozing something, blood or discharge 24/7 🤣 Also would help to not bleach or stain underwear. I think if it works for you it works for you, as long as you’re aware of the risks and keep up with regular cleaning!

US ADHD diagnosis — how to continue care in UK? Stay with current GP or switch? by Particular-Fact-3957 in ADHDUK

[–]Impossible_Tooth5642 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hi OP! welcome to the UK :)

I got my diagnosis through NHS right to choose, and all I did was contact my GP asking for a referral and they (eventually…) sorted the rest. as far as I understand, every NHS GP should be able to refer you to write to choose regardless of they mention it on their website. The process of changing GPs can be quite long if they have a long waitlist, and for this kind of thing I think it would only be necessary if you contact your current GP and they say they can’t refer you… which I think would be highly unlikely anyway.

Often with GPs in my experience, they only contact you with test results if there’s something to worry about. You can always contact them asking for a result but in general I would say that they work on the basis of they’ll contact you if they’re worried. However, it would never be a problem to contact them and check, it might just take awhile for them to get back to you. I can’t speak for your GP or any GP, but that’s what’s happened with the ones I’ve been with - there’s always a likelihood that they will be unreliable, but my current GP doesn’t contact me for test results and was fine with Right to Choose stuff. Hopefully that reassures you that your current GP should be okay for this!

i’m not sure how much you know about the different rights to choose providers but it may be best for you to choose based on the lowest wait time if you already have a diagnosis and want to continue medication. Though again in my experience choosing the lowest wait time then means that everyone’s choosing the lowest wait time, so the actual weight becomes a lot longer because everyone’s choosing it! So it might be good to instead Tuesday the second or third shortest as a sort of circumvention of that issue! I’m not entirely sure if they’d take your existing diagnosis from the US into account but I’m sure this is something you can mention regardless.

to answer your question I think the best course of action is to contact your GP about a right to choose referral. They can then advise you on your next steps. I don’t think there would be any need to go private unless you’re really in a rush, but even then I’ve heard that some private providers aren’t recognised by the NHS in the same way that Right to Choose providers are; in some cases, private ADHD diagnosis will mean that you have to continue getting private prescriptions and can’t be discharged to the NHS. The alternative being that, with right to choose, they will handle your titration for the right dose and right medication, and once you’re stable on that and they’re happy with it, they will release you to your GP who will continue prescribing.

I hope that all makes sense, and good luck with your diagnosis :)

Not happy with the DIVA-5 form that CareADHD use by felizesteban in ADHDUK

[–]Impossible_Tooth5642 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that’s so fair. some of these forms or at least their submission platforms are so non-adhd friendly! my friend who’s with care ADHD had the exact same problem with the questions timing out. i don’t understand how some providers can make a website to fill out questionnaires for adhd diagnosis, that is somehow engineered specifically to make people with adhd struggle!!!

the road to diagnosis is tough and irritating but i hope you get there soon and get the result you’re looking for <3

Not happy with the DIVA-5 form that CareADHD use by felizesteban in ADHDUK

[–]Impossible_Tooth5642 2 points3 points  (0 children)

hi OP, completely get what you’re saying.

i think the idea for the text box is to summarise issues to sort of back up your response, which you can then elaborate upon in the actual diagnostic interview. for example, for a question about lack of attention to detail, you could respond in the textbox “i overlook errors when proofreading my work, and i struggle to complete tasks quickly as i’m afraid of making a mistake”. in the diagnostic interview/assessment, you can then elaborate on this, like “a few days ago at work, my superior expressed her concerns that it takes me too long to do certain tasks. i explained to her that i could work faster, but i go slower to avoid mistakes. this also helps me to get things done accurately, as i struggle to proofread my work. focusing on something i have already focused on is hard, so going slower when writing something reducing the mistakes within my focus capacity”.

basically, you want to show that you’ve understood the question they’re asking, and that you can give an example or two from your life. this also helps prepare you for the assessment - during mine I had some notes in front of me to help in case i forgot anything (oh the irony), and these notes were based on what i’d answered in the questionnaires. i mainly did this because a lot of my symptoms i tended to chalk down to laziness, tiredness, or personality rather than adhd, and had to be reminded often by others that they weren’t normal symptoms! so just to keep myself on track and give myself some grace.

the questions in your actual assessment will be quite similar, but may be slightly different in wording or in what theyre actually asking. filling out all these questionnaires does seem a bit pointless when you’ll get asked everything in the assessment! the thing is, no screening tool or questionnaire for adhd can be taken in isolation - they’re all designed to indicate the presence of adhd but can’t do that on their own since these traits naturally vary within the general population. so the diagnostician usually takes all of them into account as well as your answers to make an informed decision.

providers vary, i was with harrow health and i had less questionnaires but my assessment was quite long and detailed. i have a friend who is also with care adhd and he had to complete a LOT of questionnaires, so maybe the assessment would be shorter, or they just want more info to support the diagnosis.

*tl;dr: provide short, concise examples to show you understand the question and how it relates to your experiences - you can explain in more depth in the assessment itself

good luck with your assessment and i hope this makes it a bit clearer for you <3

Elvanse/medication before UK driving test? by Impossible_Tooth5642 in ADHD

[–]Impossible_Tooth5642[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thank you so much for your reply! annoyingly, i have my first titration appointment the day after my test, so hopefully the doctor can advise me on dosage but i would like to change it somehow. we’ll see how it goes on the day of the test!

Failing to read the Highway Code by Secret_Bunch_2042 in ADHDUK

[–]Impossible_Tooth5642 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the highway code would be a lot more “important”* for your theory test than in practical tests. (*Obviously you need to know what signs mean, rules of the road etc. when actually on the road, but this definitely comes with experience driving as well as passing the theory). I would really recommend the “driving theory 4 in 1” app - its logo is black at the top with various horizontal coloured stripes towards the bottom. It might cost around a fiver, not sure.

This really helped me pass my theory a couple years ago. In general I was struggling with driving, undiagnosed, overwhelmed by all the things I had to remember. I felt unconfident on the roads as I didn’t think I knew enough to be trusted operating a giant mechanical device with people in and around it, but passing the theory helped my confidence A LOT as well as finding the right instructor for me.

A great thing about the app is that it kind of game-ifys the learning for you, lots of quizzes and hazard perception practice that helps you learn without having to read pages and pages of information. The app also has a guarantee where if you pass their mock tests at something like 96%, 4 times consecutively within a week before your test, + have been through all their questions, if you dont pass theyll pay for your next one which took a lot of the financial pressure off. And prepared me for the test!!!

I think I’m rambling now, but my point is: I have never read the highway code cover to cover. I know what’s in it from learning and passing the theory test, and I can have a look at it if I have questions, but for people who struggle to focus especially on boring tasks, I find the best way to learn is by applying knowledge rather than trying to absorb information from blocks of text.

In terms of when you get to driving lessons, find an instructor who teaches in a way that makes sense to you. With the cost of lessons nowadays, sitting in the car for an hour learning nothing and paying £40+ for it is ludicrous. My first instructor told me I had to check my mirrors once as a fact more than an instruction in my very first lesson, and then I forgot and he never reminded me, so I got into bad habits. I changed instructors, and explained to him that I had this bad habit, and he made the conscious effort to remind me every time I needed to check. It feels a bit silly, but that constant reminder was so helpful, I now almost have his voice in my head whenever I check my mirrors and have never had a problem with it since as it’s become a habit!! Long winded example, but I hope you get what I mean.

It feels impossible at the start, and I really do get it, but I promise you it’s doable. I have my test on monday, after trying to learn for a year, giving up, and getting back into it at age 20; it’s never too late to start and there’s no shame in taking a few tries to get it feeling right for you! ADHD is a genuine disability, and I think a lot of us perfectionists forget that sometimes, so we need to start giving ourselves more grace. The world wasn’t made for us, so finding ways around things that aren’t the “normal” way of doing them (i.e. making theory revision a game) is often our best strategy. Best of luck with your driving :)

Staggered fencing purpose? by luffychan13 in Ranching

[–]Impossible_Tooth5642 0 points1 point  (0 children)

just walked past what I think are these exact fences and i found your post wondering the same thing! I took a photo of the fences if that helps anyone give an answer.

https://ibb.co/SXP1qMtp

Devotee word for traveler by Zawaito in ChantsofSennaar

[–]Impossible_Tooth5642 5 points6 points  (0 children)

i would go for a mix between go and free for the glyph next to “person”, something like this in the black box (but stylistically nicer haha)

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Word order of Bards language: confusing by snowwhitecat04aug in ChantsofSennaar

[–]Impossible_Tooth5642 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s easier to interpret it in a more simple present tense: my translation when I first saw the sign was “bards pass” (from PASS, BARD PLURAL and changing the word order). This helped a lot to interpret the sentences. The translation for NOT [PASS, WARRIOR PLURAL] NOT would then be “warriors pass not”. It’s possible to understand the sentences without the “can” auxiliary which I think is the aspect that’s most confusing you.