I am an Adult Psychiatrist with 25 years’ experience of treating Adults with Mental Illnesses. I am registered with the General Medical Council and Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK.
I have worked as a Consultant Psychiatrist for 18 years. I jointly developed and expanded the Leicester Adult ADHD Clinic. I have also worked as a Consultant and Clinical Lead in a Specialist Mental health Hospital in Canada. Currently I am working as a Consultant in Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation NHS Trust, and I also work privately in London and Leicester.
I have extensive experience in assessing and treating Adults with a range of mental health problems/ diagnoses such as: Bipolar, Depression, Generalised Anxiety Disorder, OCD, PTSD,Schizophrenia, Borderline personality disorders(EUPD), ADHD and ASD.
In the last 14 years I have also gained extensive experience and expertise in treating 100s of Adults with ADHD.
The diagnosis of ADHD is based on Lifelong and impairing Inattentive symptoms (Distractibility, forgetfulness, poor organisation etc) and Hyperactivity /Impulsivity Symptoms (like restlessness, agitation, impulsivity etc).
However2 out of 3 patients with ADHD haveemotional dysregulation(rapid mood swings, anger, irritability and getting easily overwhelmed)and/or sleep problems (delayed sleep pattern, night owl tendencies, restless leg syndrome etc). Often these other symptoms lead to misdiagnosis such as EUPD, BPD, CPTSD, substance misuse and chronic fatigue syndrome and underlying ADHD gets missed. Patients often go through years of medication treatments, therapy and counselling without any lasting benefit.
ADHD patients can often also be extremely successful in their careers and hence remain undiagnosed. However, to achieve this, they often have to work much harder than other people and this results in high stress, anxiety, relationships problems, medical problems, injuries or substance misuse most commonly binge drinking, cannabis use or using other stimulants.
I strongly believe that most of the people who abuse substances do so for self-medication and once adequate treatment is initiated, reducing and stopping substance use becomes easier. Hence, I adopt a very pragmatic and flexible approach to substance use.
Because of this overlap of ADHD and other mental illnesses, over the last 10 years, my special interest has been in helping people arrive at the correct diagnosis and most importantly find a safe treatment pathway even when the diagnosis is not entirely clear. To that end I have developed and designed special questionnaires and charts to help patients understand and monitoring their symptoms and their progress.
I have published extensively in academic journals; have been part of international research studies and I have lectured extensively nationally and internationally on the above topics.
Having said that, approach has always been to help the person and not just treat the diagnosis and I am guided by patients regarding their specific choices and priorities. I have aholistic/ rounded approach towards my patientsand considerall aspects of their illness and treatments. This includes biological/ physical aspects like genetics, brain changes, medication, physical health, sleep, diet, hormonal status in women and men) and psycho- social aspects such as their personality, work, relationships, cultural and religious beliefs or other personal wishes and priorities in making the diagnosis and planning their treatments.
Lastly, for all patients and/ or carers reading this, irrespective of whether I am involved in your care, I would like to congratulate you for trying your best to address your problems. I know it takes a lot of courage even to admit and researchthings, but you have taken the biggest step in that journey. Please keep going.
I would also like to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to all my previous patients as I have learnt so much more from you, than I have from books and medical journals. You have put your trust in me, and I hope I have done justice to that trust. You have also taught me that that despite suffering from such disabling psychological problems, it is possible to live life with dignity, pride, resilience, and self-respect. These are the values that have become the inspiration and guiding force for my professional and personal life.
Please click on link below to read reviews from patients in UK and Canada.
https://www.iwantgreatcare.org/doctors/dr-amol-vaze#profile
