You should ask him to clarify what he meant with: “not approved for adults with ADHD”. One thing is the legal status of the drug, but there may be a psychiatric association with its own treatment guidelines.

For example, here in my country there are tons of drugs that are deemed safe to use (and rightly so) by the competent governmental authority, but many associations from different medical specialties have their own treatment guidelines and are just as competent to decide which medications to recommend and which not. Obviously these associations can’t recommend drugs that haven’t been first approved by the government.

And yes. You shouldn’t be doing your psychiatrist job because you are not a psychiatrist. That’s why communication between the two of you is important. Unless it’s an extreme case, you have seldom to say about his or hers qualifications or lack thereof. And bear in mind, we all do mistakes. Doctors aren’t always required to know every single drug in existence. That’s why hospitals have pharmacists so that other doctors can make consultations about specific drugs.

He could have mixed up the names, perhaps he was referring to another drug, etc. That’s not incompetence. ADHD’ers make this type of mistakes all the time.

The bottom line is: listen to your doctor. You are not qualified to direct your own treatment. If you have something to say for yourself, please do. Send him research papers whenever you want to discuss your treatment.

But ultimately, err on his side. He is educated, you are not. And if you aren’t comfortable with the treatment plan, seek another doctor. But jumping around from doctor to doctor because they won’t cave to your demands may not be the best idea if you want to receive quality care.