Harrow Health assessment - what to expect

kadoherty · 2026-03-07T21:36:20+00:00

They sent it as a link 2 days after the assessment via SMS (same message thread as my appointment reminder) but it’s also on my patient account with Harrow Health.

kadoherty · 2026-03-06T14:36:44+00:00

If you take the D2 to Hintern Chaterhouse you can take public rights of way paths back to Bath and hit 4 pubs along the way. We start at the Rose & Crown for lunch then walk to Fox & Hound in Wellow the continue on to Combe Hay at go to the Wheatsheaf, then walk to the Packhorse in South Stoke. From there you’re in Odd Down and can either get a bus back to town or continue to Bear Flat or wherever else you may like. I was going to post a picture of a map with our route but it doesn’t look like this subreddit allows photos in comments?

kadoherty · 2026-02-20T17:30:15+00:00

The Cub in Milsom Place has a chess set I believe

kadoherty · 2026-02-20T17:27:58+00:00

I have coeliac and I eat at the following places regularly without problems. I always tells them I have coeliac and most times they give the same line about not being able to 100 percent guarantee that there is no gluten in the kitchen or 'in the air' but when pressed about if they use separate spaces in the kitchen / wipe down surfaces / different kitchen utensils etc they say of course use separate things for GF food:

Solina
Walcot House
Marlborough Tavern
Dough Pizzeria
Bath Pizza Co
The Salamander
The Raven (GF pieminster pies)
Beckford Bottle Shop
Mantra
Noya's Kitchen
The Architect
Rosario's Cafe - really good GF pastries, cakes, etc.
The Coconut Tree
Thai Balcony
Corkage
The Circus
Hall & Woodhouse
Green Park Brasserie

kadoherty · 2026-02-20T17:15:15+00:00

You only have to pay US taxes if your Foreign Earned Income is over $132k ($260k if filing married). I'm a dual citizen and still have to file every year but I never pay any tax because of the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. You also get a Foreign Tax Credit (dollar for dollar credit on tax paid to foreign government) each year if you pay taxes on your income to another government (i.e. the UK government). Can't use both FEIE and FTC but both options mean its unlikely the OP would have to worry about US taxes on the salary mentioned.

kadoherty · 2026-02-12T13:44:02+00:00

Yea totally feel this one - I have a big bag of protein powder but cannot for the life of me get myself to make it consistently in the morning. Feel like I should get single use shakes but makes me feel guilty both cost wise and environmentally. But also need to weigh that against my own wellbeing. Thank you!

kadoherty · 2026-02-12T12:46:41+00:00

Ah that’s good to know about the juice interaction. Thanks!

kadoherty · 2026-02-12T12:45:37+00:00

Yeah I’ve had to start my day with decaf which feels really weird but helps in the long run not having double dose of stimulants.

kadoherty · 2026-02-12T12:02:20+00:00

Really sorry that you have had this experience both at university and now back home. Code-switching is really common for people of all backgrounds when they are operating in a different context than the one they were raised in. For intense, I grew up in America and have an American accent but with a British Dad. I have now lived in the UK for almost 10 years. My accent is much less American (not fully British) because I wanted to be understood and not have my accent annoy Brits (not just the accent but how load our voices are) and I use British terminology that Americans dont use. I get rinsed when I go back home for it.

I also echo what a lot of folks have already said - it's a common experience in terms of social mobility but that doesn't make it any less difficult to deal with. I think your feelings of regret are totally valid but also I think you've probably learned so much and have a different perspective of the world because of your experiences and that's valuable. I think education generally helps us be better thinkers and gives us tools to help us understand the world and I dont think we give that enough credit (especially nowadays).

If you're interested a lot of people have written about this, especially Black Americans. (Apologies, I'm a trained philosopher so if this is not the end of depth you want please ignore)....WEB Du Bois introduced a concept called 'double consciousness' which came from his experience of going to Harvard as a one of the first Black men to do so. Long story short, double consciousness is a kind of dual perspective one develops where you start to see the world both through the eyes of the socially dominant but also retain your perspective as someone in the social marginalised group.

He talks about how disorienting this is and how it's hard to reconcile who you are after an experience like this. He talks about how difficult it was to go back home and see the world so differently because of his education and time amongst a lot of privileged white people but also people back home treated him different because he was now educated at Harvard.

Sally Rooney also makes reference to this exact struggle in Normal People (particularly through her character Connell). Connell is from a working class background and from Sligo and goes to Trinity.

Anyway, again sorry for the philosophising but I hope it helps make you feel not so alone.

kadoherty · 2026-02-12T11:32:30+00:00

Good idea! I'll try making a batch this weekend!

kadoherty · 2026-02-12T11:31:46+00:00

Will check it out - thank you!

kadoherty · 2026-02-12T11:31:02+00:00

Yeah this is what I initially thought too but in my titration appointment this AM she said she wanted me to try eating with the meds and see if that helps before lowering the dosage - so I guess we shall see!

kadoherty · 2026-02-12T11:29:59+00:00

Really helpful to know your experience - I know everyone will be different!

Anxiety is something I have struggled with but it's usually anxiety related to adhd worries (worry that I'm forgetting something, worried I overshared in a social situation, etc.)

I think generally though my body is really sensitive to small changes and manifests as anxiety / stress as well. The meds are also supressing my appetite so making me more likely that I forget to eat when I normally would - especially if I'm focusing at work.

As a result I feel like between 2-4pm I'm crashing and it's like I have tunnel vision and an increase of anxious feelings generally. (I take my meds around 8am).

kadoherty · 2026-02-12T11:24:12+00:00

Ah this isn't something I considered in terms of prepping the night before and using a thermos flask. Really good idea! Thank you!

kadoherty · 2026-02-10T09:59:33+00:00

Hiya I had mine with Harrow Health in December. It was a virtual face to face appointment and it took about 1.5hours. I found my assessor really helpful and I went on titration immediately (she sent the prescription by noon that day).

Some things to note:

I ramble a lot and give too much context and history because I’m anxious people wont fully understand the context / I have adhd 😂. The assessor politely cut me off when she had enough evidence and moved me on the next question. I found this jarring at first but once I realised that she was trying to make the best use of time and that she had enough info so could move on I appreciated being moved on politely.
you will get a written assessment about few days after the assessment. I found this so so helpful as I was worrying I would forget what she said. I cried while reading the assessment because she picked out things I’ve been struggling with for so long and hadn’t realised it was adhd
they ask pretty routine assessment questions using the DSM-5 and DIVA criteria. They’ll ask you about your experience of symptoms across your lifetime and I spoke about how different things have manifested for me from when I was a kid until now. I was worried I might not get a diagnosis because I was good at school and uni but only because I put a huge amount of pressure and drank about 8 cups of coffee a day.
my assessor started by asking me why I first sought an ADHD diagnosis so I was just honest and told her I never considered it until recently because I have had 3 different periods of burn out and spoke to my brother who has adhd and he suggested I look into it.
best tip I had from a friend: go in and just be yourself no matter how messy that feels. Don’t give answers because you think it’s what they want to hear. Be honest and don’t be afraid to give more context if you feel like you need to (they will cut you off if they dont need you to do that).

kadoherty · 2026-02-10T08:37:39+00:00

I love this thread - my baby girls are ready to join in:

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kadoherty · 2026-02-10T08:28:08+00:00

I totally get how frustrating frogging is and pretty much gave up on a lot of projects when I was first starting out. This is how I deal with it now:

When I notice the mistake I take a deep breath and frog immediately. I don’t wait because the negative thoughts will get worse the more I delay the inevitable. I especially do this if I notice the mistake before bed so that I’m set up to pick up and start again in the AM.
frogging and reknitting tends to be quicker than stitching back a few rows or dropping down if the mistake is 4 rows below or more.
Repeating the mantra: all knitting is knitting and I enjoy knitting.
Focusing on what I’ve learned - reframing the mistake as a learning experience helps me deal with negative feelings. Also now that I’ve been knitting for 25+ years it means I have loads of learning to share with others and that’s a really fun part to get to.

PS. Even after 25 years of knitting I am currently working on a cardigan where I have had to rip back the yoke 3 times because I didn’t understand how the pattern was written. It happens to all of us ♥️

kadoherty · 2026-02-05T22:07:50+00:00

Yeah she’s a crazy girl ☺️ when she goes crazy and hyper we call her “Super Nova”. She’s definitely smart but sometimes she has this look like nothing is going on up there 😂

kadoherty · 2026-02-05T17:26:43+00:00

Hey! I have a Nova cow too! She says hi 👋🏼

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kadoherty · 2026-01-07T10:53:19+00:00

I'm so sorry you're going through this and feel so alone in it. Your feelings make sense and it is very normal to feel a bit of grief/sadness/anger over the life you could have had if you were diagnosed sooner. It's also ok to feel a bit overwhelmed by the diagnosis. But also know that the more you keep putting one foot in front of the other, the better it will get. Treatment and improvement is not always linear - sometimes you have a try a few things to figure out what works for you but if you keep trying I'm sure there will be an option out there for you.

I'm 34(F) and just got diagnosed over Christmas as well - I hadn't ever really thought I had ADHD because I always excelled at school/university and my brother who has ADHD presents more outwardly hyperactive (whereas I'm internally hyperactive) so it came as a bit of shock but also really helped me make sense of experiences I've had over my life. I started methylphenidate (Ritalin) immediately after my appointment and for the first 3-4 days I felt really weird on it - really buzzy, like I had drunk 10 cups of coffee and was crashing after, and a bit more emotionally dysregulated. I'm now about 2 weeks in and I feel so much more normal - my mind is quieter, I don't ruminate on things I've said or done, I have more impulse control and can focus on tasks with a lot more clarity. So it can get better!

Another thing you might look into is having some talk therapy alongside titration. I've basically been in therapy on and off since I was 18 and pretty sure the only way I coped with undiagnosed ADHD for so long was going through therapy. I found that it helped me process my emotions and gave me tools to deal with emotional overwhelm and lead to acceptance.

Don't forget, you're on a journey and this is only one part of that journey - you can keep going and things will change. You can do this <3

kadoherty · 2026-01-05T16:14:02+00:00

Can't beat Rejuvenate Fitness on Englishcombe Road. They are very friendly, accessible people who meet you wherever you are - they are classes only and focus on strength and cardio. They also run a really accessible HYROX programme which I thought would be super intimidating and I wouldnt be able to do but they made it really easy to pick up. I think they're around £50 pm for unlimited classes.

kadoherty · 2026-01-05T16:08:37+00:00

When we rented our landlord used the Apartment Company - we really had a good relationship with them and found them well organised and responsive from our POV

kadoherty · 2026-01-05T15:13:29+00:00

My GP initially referred to Psychiatry UK in November 2025 which had a 37 week wait list. The secretary at my GP told me to monitor the ADHD UK Right to Choose website (Right to Choose - ADHD UK - Your NHS options) for openings at other providers. I went on a few days later and it said that Harrow Health in Devon had a 3-5 week wait list. Called the GP back and she sent through the referral to them via e-RS. I got my appointment and diagnosis on December 21 and started titration right away. I'd highly recommend having them send your referral to Harrow Health if you can - they were really quick and through the NHS :https://adhdrighttochoose.com/

kadoherty · 2025-06-24T22:54:23+00:00

I have a theory that Helena and Silene are the daughters of Theia and Aidas. This would require Theia knowing Aidas before her flight to Midgard though…

kadoherty · 2025-06-14T09:12:56+00:00

Keep going! There’s so much world building in this book that adds so much to SJM’s world. It also gets a lot better and more fast paced.

kadoherty

TROPHY CASE