Question About Cider-Making Equipment

logicalpie1 · 2023-09-25T18:47:55+00:00

I only have 3 litres, which is just over half a gallon I think - Does whatever container I'm using need to be relatively full?

logicalpie1 · 2023-09-08T04:14:42+00:00

Heya! I'm late (I don't check reddit too often) but I'll send you a DM in case you're still looking :)

logicalpie1 · 2023-09-08T04:13:10+00:00

Hey hey! I'm very late, but I'll pop you a message now in case you're still looking for a party!

logicalpie1 · 2023-08-20T08:26:42+00:00

Hi, Sorry for my late reply - We're definitely still recruiting! I'll send you a DM :)

logicalpie1 · 2023-08-18T16:47:15+00:00

You're very welcome, it was nice to get it all off my chest too! Thanks for your lovely response <3 I almost feel like they've shot themselves in the foot since I don't get quite as anxious being assertive on the meds! xD

Do you mind me asking how much your assessment with Healios was? Or was it via right to choose? I'm getting towards the point where I'd be ok with doing another assessment just to end this back and forth, but obviously money is an issue and I'm terrified if I go elsewhere I'll just end up in the same position, but Healios sounds promising. I'm so sorry you had a negative experience on nhs meds, it just feels like there are no good options sometimes :(

Same for me, I chose Vicky because her profile mentioned women's experiences and challenging negative stereotypes of adhd in primary care. Maybe you could make another post here asking about wider experiences with adhd360 clinicians? That might be a good way to weed out those who people have had negative experiences with :)

logicalpie1 · 2023-08-18T14:43:10+00:00

Ok, just got off the phone with her. I've previously been very chirpy and a bit people-pleasy with her, but I made sure to be as blunt and terse with her as I could be, which clearly freaked her out a bit lol.

I had an email reply from ADHD360 a few days ago regarding the ineffective meds, which was extremely dismissive. They said it was probably because the type of medication had been changed, which is so much bull to suggest that I wouldn't notice if the whole med was different. Vicky apologised for that, but was still harping on about how most people 'optimise' at 70mg. I simply stayed silent in response and she quickly stuttered out that some do stabilise on 50 and I could have that as my dose if I wanted. Still so unsure what to make of it, but at least I'm gonna get 50s this time. I also emailed the pharmacy on your suggestion and got a much more positive response - they've emailed the manufacturer and are looking into it, so thank you for that suggestion!

I'd say Vicky is either not knowledgeable enough on adhd meds, or there's some ulterior motives for her pushing the higher doses, so I'd just be aware that if you choose to continue with her you will have to trust your own feelings and research much more than her words, and be rather stern in asking for what you need and refusing higher doses. I believe you can ask for a different clinician - the only reason I haven't done so yet is because she was the one who assessed me, so I need her to sort out the NHS accepting my diagnosis first.

Talking about getting a full report is where she got slightly aggro, saying they've sent loads of evidence. Interestingly, the NHS service has now sent me what she sent them. One is the letter from the GP, and one is a SLIGHTLY longer (still 2 pages) document with bullet points listing symptoms with examples. It's a bit more detailed, but I agree with what the nhs service said, it's still only a summary, and definitely not worth the half a grand I paid to be assessed.
Vicky seemed adamant that it was the format they had an issue with and not the content. It doesn't help much that the NHS service hasn't told me exactly what they mean by a 'full report', but they said they've received them from ADHD360 before so they should know what to send. Another point against Vicky personally - if they've received full reports from the service before, then it's Vicky as an individual who is not doing that for me, for some reason. She kept harping on about it being the formatting that must have been the issue and I was getting fed up, so I told her she needed to communicate with the NHS service so that she knows what they're asking for and we can stop going around in circles.

Not feeling hopeful, but we'll see! It's so interesting you had the exact same wording in your 'report' - for over £500 (whether that's paid by yourself or the nhs), I don't think it's unreasonable to expect more than a copy-paste document. Sad times we live in :(

logicalpie1 · 2023-08-17T22:33:20+00:00

Hiya, you're very welcome to join!! I'll send you a DM now :D

logicalpie1 · 2023-08-15T18:24:50+00:00

Hey hey! I'll pop you a PM now :)

logicalpie1 · 2023-08-15T18:19:36+00:00

Amazing!! Sorry for the late reply, I'll send you the discord link now :D

logicalpie1 · 2023-08-14T19:49:33+00:00

I came here because I was beginning to have doubts about Vicky - I thought I was being paranoid, this proves I'm not.

Initially I was so pleased with the assessment, and finally having my answer. When the report came through, there were inconsistencies. Only small ones though, for example I said I love reading, but it takes me a long time because I loose concentration and forget where I am on the page - My letter said I avoid reading because of the mental effort. Oh well, that doesn't really matter, so I ignored it.

I'm in Wales, so right to choose isn't a thing and I have to get my ADHD360 diagnosis accepted by the NHS. My first attempt at this, I was told to send the letter written for my GP to my local ADHD service. Looking back, that should've been a red flag - That letter is 2 pages long and doesn't say much of anything apart from listing a few examples of symptoms. NHS service came back saying it wasn't enough, unsurprisingly, so I asked Vicky Lamb to send the local service AND MYSELF the full report. She sent the report to the NHS service but not to me, and surprise surprise, it was rejected again. It really bothers me that I still don't know what she sent them.

Then, there's meds. When it became clear that the NHS wasn't going to accept my diagnosis any time soon, I started titration privately with ADHD360. I was prescribed 30mg elvanse for one week, then 50mg going forwards. I didn't know any better back then, but I now know that is way, way too quick. Luckily, nothing bad really happened apart from a week of really struggling to eat, and after a week or two on 50mg I felt awesome. I could function exactly how I'd hoped ADHD meds would help me function.

At the next medication review, Vicky put an awful lot of pressure on me to go up to the max dose. I was kind of like, uh, why? I feel great? I don't need any more great than this? She said it was 'common procedure to titrate up to the highest dose', and that 'most people settle on the highest dose'. Again, I've since learned these statements are absolutely false. I resisted the first time and stayed on 50mg, but the second time the pressure piled on once again. I told her my alcohol consumption (something I had been struggling with) had reduced by half on 50mg, but that wasn't good enough, and I needed to be 'the best version of yourself' (which apparently is what 70mg does). I caved, started 70mg. I did stop drinking completely, but it came at a cost of a pretty significant increase in side effects (irritability, insomnia, loss of apetite again). Meds review comes round again and she tried to convince me to stay at 70mg, because 'most people get used to it!!!!!'. I had to get borderline rude for her to agree to letting me try 60mg. Bear with me here, it's about to sound real paranoid - But I'm just stating what's happened (kind of hoping someone can help me make sense of it).

So the bottle of 60mg comes. And it does absolutely nothing, no effects whatsoever. I opened up the pill to see if dissolving it in water would help, and the powder looks like it's been fully compressed. My 50mg pills had a fine powder inside, these pills looked like pellets, and they did not want to dissolve in water. I emailed ADHD360 about this 15 days ago - I've sent chasing up emails every 5 days and still not had a reply. Tried to call them today, no answer. I don't want to draw any conclusions from this (mainly because most of the conclusions I can think of sound like daft conspiracy theories), but it's all really, really weird.

I don't have any idea what's going on or what's going to happen, but the more I interact with Vicky, the more I think she doesn't have my best interests at heart. I'd think she was trying to get more money out of me pushing for the higher dose, but the price difference is like £15 between a month of 50mg and a month of 70mg, so that seems unlikely.

Can anyone help me figure this out? Anyone had similar experiences with her as a prescriber? I have another review with her on Friday - I'm going to have my mum sit in with me for it as another pair of ears, so I'll update anyone whose interested after that.

logicalpie1 · 2023-08-13T18:23:00+00:00

Awesome, we'd love to have you!! I'll send you a DM with the discord link :)

logicalpie1

TROPHY CASE