It’s not just you - we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.
As a former journalist and current ADHD'er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews and personal narrative. With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more.
Why aren't we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more. Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at adultingwithadhd.com/hormones.
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My ADHD medication suddenly stopped working(!) until I added hormone replacement. Testosterone for women is often overlooked, too. For me it helps even more than the estrogen and progesterone. If youve ever been on birth control pills, your SHBG is likely high. Don’t just test for total testosterone. Test for “free androgen index” and also iron/ferritin. All of our hormones get our neurotransmitters (like dopamine) to our brains via the liver. Also COMT gene is an interesting one to look into.
I'm just a dad of 6 months, and right around the same time my symptoms have gotten debilitatingly worse, it's actually why my first diagnosis is scheduled for a few weeks from now. I've always known 100 percent I have it, but I always managed at least okay, with circumstantial exceptions, but now, I can barely function. My house is messy, which is the polar opposite of me normally, and really just every facet of life is a mess and I feel like I'm sinking deeper and deeper. Excited to finally after 32 years pursuing treatment. I deserve it, and my family deserves me at my best as well.
I have always had ADHD and this is incredibly helpful and fucking maddening at the same time. I have been suffering for so fucking long. ugh I am 45 and have been begging for help for years this information is so fucked up.
I'm so sensitive to synthetic hormonal treatment. It actually makes me depressed. I ended up seeing a medical herbalist who has helped balance hormones with herbs rather than hrt/the CP.
29 I went through menopause, I was so alone 56 now ADHD diagnosis reflecting on some of it hurts Divorce, homelessness lonely. Now empowered helping others.
These conversations are so helpful. Happy that I can find it. I've been introduced to the idea of Adhd over a month ago and the way I look at life is totally different.. despite doing the screening and passing my therapist is having me look into pmdd .. they feel like the symptoms I am feeling may be due to that instead of adhd.. As much as I have learned about both now.. I know that it's both and not either or...I'm almost fighting to prove I have it.. which makes me doubt if I'm actually do.but I hear of the late diagnosis stories and I see myself so much
A lot of women who have multiple miscarriages and depression or anxiety etc actually have an undiagnosed vitamin B-12 DEFICIENCY .watch this video DIAGNOSING AND TREATING VITAMIN B 12 DEFICIENCY, that title exactly. The guy wearing a yellow shirt is a doctor who almost died from vitamin B 12 DEFICIENCY.
This is me, not diagnosed yet but trying, ADHD and 50 with severe perimenopause. Very depressed, lost so many jobs, juggling so many pressures. I always start journaling and meditation and gratitude but then forget to do it, memory completely gone. I’ve never been able to hold any relationship, job, home, my daughter autistic and I e to manage her yet can’t manage myself. Life difficult. Thanks for sharing x
At 52 dealing with executive disfunction so bad I had to get tested. Diagnosed with profound ADHD. I have all types. Tryed 2 different meds. Still trying to get a therapist and a coach.
Great chat Ladies. Tks. I had a full Hysterectomy, age 45.My Life changed sooo much. I thought I was going insane. Memory. Anxiety. Depression. Worse was Disaccotation from Reality. I lost years from Dr. To Dr. Cost me a fortune. To be told, it was all down to menapause. I couldn't accept it. I refused to live like that. I existed, but wasn't living my life. Age 60.I was finally diagnosed, ADHD. I owe my life, to that Dr, for sending me in the right direction. To be diagnosed. I am on Ritilan 'since. I have got my life back. Well much better than before. Tgod. But if only I had been diagnosed, from the early stage. I have lost a big chunk of my life. 😢But better late than never. Love to you all from 🇮🇪💚
I started my menopause at 56. I'm 61 now and my ADHD symptoms are through the roof. If I hadn't been doing these things my entire life I would swear I had dementia. It just seems I am overwhelmed.
i am so thankful for this talk soon to be 46 many miscarriages memory loss not listening to everything that was said when hearing giving different meaning to words mood swings no seeing the so called common sense sensitive to light and sounds and smells perimenopause started at 36 having to have notes for everything my past is blank and i can not pretend to save my life anxiety was never this bad started hormones and meds to see if i can function having young kids to chase around also i have tried diets and keto or carnivore helps my brain but i cant stick with it for a long time 😢 fasting is also helpful like if and that’s my saving strategy
I am 63 and was recently diagnosed after my 6 year old grandson was diagnosed. I had the same experience. I thought I was pre Alzheimer’s. This makes total sense
omg the guilt cycle is so real. I've definitely learned that having frozen food is my best bet when it comes to not wasting food. I actually feel like I've struggled with using my insta pot when it comes to meat. That extra step of having to cook the meat, is just always too much for me for some reason. What are some of your go-to full instant pot meals?
I'm 41, I feel like I'm loosing my mind. The night sweats started a few months ago. I didn't know about perimeopause till recently. I have 3 ADHD siblings and 1 Autistic sibling. My sister thinks I'm both. I have a doctors appointment in the morning. Is HRT something that will help me? Should I ask the doctor for HRT? Will he take me seriously, they put me on citelapram 2 weeks ago, it's done nothing to help. I fee like no one takes me seriously and I feel suicidal. Is anyone else having this problem? Thank you in advance ❤
I’m 72 & I’m not sure what to think as I had a brain toumar and had an operation to remove 1/3 of it & now I’m nervous about baking now I think I feel like I don’t no that I panic if someone is watching me I start to concentrate then if I can’t find my ingredients I panic and start to cry and get real upset
I’m not believing that this is me , I don’t have a clue as to how to declutter as I help others & have no problem saying where what goes but when it comes to mine I’m just not sure how to do it as to me it needs scyholicol help I think
Woah. I always thought this about chronic restriction having been on my first diet (WW) at 8. It was the 70s. I'm on my fifth tour of WW and cannot bring myself to continue. Just newly diagnosed with ADHD. I'm 60! This podcast is MADE FOR ME. 🎉❤
Tiktok is why I went to a doc to get an assessment at 39. And surprise I have ADHD. I've always suspected, but to have confirmation is so alleviating. But now it's getting worse (now 41), and I'm wondering if it's perimenopause with it.
most probably..I've suffered my entire life but got worse at 44 after early menopause. Now 62 got diagnosed for the 1st time ever at 60! Everyone here that got a late diagnosis had basically the EXACT reaction lol...My life wouldn't have been the train wreck it has been had I been properly DXd and treated...years ago! In my teens in the 70s..wow imagine how that would have been😅Only "crazy acting fidgety boys" had ADHD back then..girls masked it pretty well too. Could never do math to save my life but so smart in every other subject. Oh could I go on and on and on.. Go to a therapist. If you are here in the States. They can DX you with a questionnaire and a therapy session. That's what I did. Then I went on to get meds ( I also have anxiety/depression) and they've helped. Therapists and Psychologists cannot prescribe meds but once you get your diagnosis officially you can get meds from you GP or see a Psychiatrist. That's what I did. Luck n ❤! EDIT: Sorry I see you already were diagnosed lol..must be my racing brain passing that part right by😅..ill leave the info tho in case anyone else might see it 😊
I hope Dr. Kooij gets a grant to continue this important work. This explains so much. I have been on HRT since age 48, (am now 53) I suffered from severe PMDD when I was younger, and this explains why the PMDD got worse when I went off of birth control at age 44 due to the onset of ocular migraines and a perceived stroke risk. My doctor wants me to take 5 days a month off of my HRT but my body does not accept, I get undesirable symptoms, so I stay on the HRT all month. I had very irregular menstrual cycles in my late teens and early 20’s, often skipping my cycle entirely for 6 months at a time. I am formally undiagnosed but I am certain I am not only ADHD but also on the Autism spectrum, with no intellectual disability.
Diagnosed at 50. No meds have worked for me so far. I am on a PIP about to be fired and all I can do is watch it happen. Knowing it's ADHD is a nicety, but doesn't change much in a practical sense.
You employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for you. Ask them what paperwork they need filled out by your dr/psychiatrist and then do some research for Assistive Technology that might help. Your employer can get an incentive from DOR to make accommodations and purchase what you need to be able to do your job. I feel for you and understand how you must be feeling. I've just accepted a promotion (to be our assistive tech coordinator no less! lol) and I am panicking that my many symptoms and years of masking are going to contribute to a crash and burn. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get an official diagnosis in case I struggle. I am lucky that I can search for and test AT that can help both me and the people I will be servicing, as part of my job. I'll need to stop procrastinating and not wait til I'm about to have a nervous breakdown (happened before :( ) before I seek solutions. I wish you the best of luck, and if you need more information I can try to send you some resources. I'm in California and I work with adults with disabilities, so I am learning lots about all of this at the moment. If you're outside california I can see if I can help with resources that are local to you. I am doing a class on this at the moment, online, so I have access to people all over the states and canada for this semester.
You ladies are both telling my story. I,m 63.5 & still as yet only self diagnosed apart from my doctor, who says she thinks I have ASD. She also has autism. Awaiting assessment. I have felt like I am going crazy. I could write pages. I talked to a Doctor a couple of weeks ago & I broke down thinking she might say there was nothing wrong. I’ve been told this all my life… I wish I would do life again with more information. I’ve been learning on RU-vid and can’t believe how much I identify with everyone. I remember in my early 20’s having meltdowns & I have just gone through menopause. Wow! What a ride 😢
I was diagnosed at 63 after "going crazy" since I was 54. Old coping techniques didn't work anymore and I thought I had Bipolar disorder or dementia. Even Seratonin toxicity was diagnosed! I had to retire it was so bad! I also have PTSD and depression. My life has been explained!
Had adhd symptoms all my life, but they were especially more noticeable in my mid teens when I went into the sixth form and was left to my own devices and schedules... Up to then I had masked many of my symptoms as I am high functioning. On going symptoms include time blindness, clutter/paperwork processing issues, poor focus/concentration, easily distracted, transitioning processing issues etc. I worked in HR management up to manager level but I felt myself unravelling the higher up I went. Had a full hysterectomy in 2017 due to pre cancer reasons and went into menopause overnight. My beautiful 8 hour uninterrupted sleeps went into a state of chaos, my sleep pattern which was already skewed to going to bed late, changed to a 4 hour length in a bid to halve the restless leg interruptions, hot/cold flushes with my duvet off and on all night. My HR career ended with two redundancies (easily selected as my time keeping was poor etc). Every year I did an annual Xmas letter to friends and relatives - this by chance documented my constant clutter clearing failure issues each year and my limited to non existent love life etc. Although I had it on record with my GP about poor focus/concentration etc over t😮he years but no one connected the dots. Finally thanks to someone I didn't know on fb who put a list of their diagnosis and symptoms was my eye opening turning point. Prior to that I had dismissed having ADHD as it was about the hyperactive boy in the classroom. Finally got diagnosed with adult ADHD at about 55. For the next 3 yrs I was on Atomoxetine and it did nothing. Finally I went onto Elvanse a few months ago and my productivity has improved somewhat!! The tragedy is that apparently I can't do HRT is due to my hysterectomy pre cancer condition. But I can't find the exact hormone reason as to why I can't do HRT, as there maybe medical advances over the years. But I can't get any cooperation from any medical professionals to help me look into this matter! So I'm currently trying to track where in my medical notes it states the reason why I can't do HRT and go from there.
I’ve lost so much jewellery too 🙈.. only diagnosed because menopause made it impossible to hide the symptoms anymore . I was just relieved to know what caused the overwhelm, forgetfulness, clumsiness, concentration, obsessive shopping, etc, etc.. I gave up my job as I just couldn’t cope. I always think how different my life would have been if I’d been diagnosed earlier.. I also never though about it being ADHD😅
Vyvanse is the most helpful ADHD med for me. (When i can get it.. it's been on back order.) It helps my binge eating disorder as well. I have no problem walking away from food when i am on Vyvanse. I have not experienced the rebound binge when it wears off. I understand what you are saying about treating binge eating with an appetite suppressents....however, it reallh does help alot of us.
Im 60 yrs old ive been ADHD my whole life. Since menopause for 3 years. I feel so horrible and hopeless so depressed. I say every week how much i hate my hrain every week. I didn't realize thst menopause made it worse. This explains so much. Ive had the worst past 5 years of my life. Im so depressed , i feel so stupid. Im confused and brainfog constantly. Ive been trying to take so many vit. To help. Im embarrassed and i want to die, im going to think of HRT to help me. I need to live again. Im so glad i found your video thsnkyou
I love that she just said she was self-taught basically taught herself how to do all these things i too am self-taught I am ADHD and 49 years old I grew up on Ritalin and then I went off of it appropriately at age 14 I have not been traded since and life has been extremely hard for me but I love to study and I'm very creative and I build my own Furniture well I used to my children are also ADHD but successful I am experiencing the symptoms of perimenopause and I am a complete wreck I've always managed to work with it somehow usually by always having a hobby but now that I'm 49 and over the past few years have been extremely difficult I also work the way she works 100 mph and then when my work is completed I Collapse I've done that all my life my sister calls me a robot my legs are always trying to catch up to my brain I think. I don't want to be a mad menopausal woman I find a lot of value in this show thank you very much
OMG! Thank you! I am 47 and it's like a switch went off (or on) and it is terrifying when all of these symptoms pop up out of the blue. Diagnosed during covid, it is unbelievable!
