(originally meant to post on the ADHD subreddit, but my post won't get approved for reasons unclear atm)
bear with me on this: i know NOTHING about how getting diagnosed/starting medication/healthcare works and this thing is a whole new world to me. i'm a chronic doctor avoider. so, I may be stupid.
basically, a couple years ago I was referred to a psychiatrist (i think that's the word) by a therapist I saw at the time because I mentioned I probably had ADHD/depression and my therapist agreed. so I went, and they gave me some questions about my life. they asked me about my drug use, and I was very honest with them which I now understand may have been a mistake (I mentioned how I smoked weed, drank, and occasionally used psychedelics). they told me in order to move forward, they'd have to drug test me then could work towards issuing me a prescription, and I said fuck it, sure.
fast forward weeks, and I get my clean drug test results – and a bill from the lab for ~$300. they didn't tell me I'd be charged, and that bill went straight to the fucking garbage and I never contacted that psychiatrist office again. i've also never faced any attempts to collect that money.
but, fast forward to now, and I think it'd be healthy to try again. but, will any other psych office I'm referred to be able to see that I was a "drug addict" with an unpaid bill? or will I have a clean slate? i just want to better my mental health in regards to my ADHD but that possibility (along with general apprehensions about medication) have scared me off for the longest time.