Shed always been anextrovertvery active, expressive, and energetic.
I felt I was treated differently and sometimes felt very misunderstood.
At the same time, the constant thoughts that had always swirled in her head also increased.
She became easily irritated and frustrated, and her battles withbrain fogleft her struggling to remember words and dates.
Multitasking became a ginormous burden.
It became an impossible feat for me, she says.
clinical psychologist with extensive experience working with ADHD women and girls
I was always articulate and intelligent.
I have two masters degrees.
But everything became very effort-full.
I was unable to prioritize, so I shut down, just overwhelmed.
After seeing a psychiatrist at age 48, Reed Roberts was formallydiagnosed with ADHD.
I felt a whole gamut of feelings.
clinical psychologist with extensive experience working with ADHD women and girls
As it turns out, noticing an uptick in ADHD symptoms during menopause is not uncommon.
Seventy percent also said that brain fog and memory issues had a life-altering impact in their 40s and 50s.
Why is this important?
If any of this resonates with you, there is hope.
A quick Google search will show hundreds of articles and personal accounts about ADHD and menopause.
Estrogen is an extraordinarily important hormone, says Wasserstein.
Its not only a sex hormone.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, meaning it occurs in the development of the nervous system, she says.
If you never had ADHD and symptoms first came in your 40s, its not ADHD.
High-functioning women might now be struggling enough that they get diagnosed, says Littman.
ADHD is extremely inheritable, Wasserstein says.
If no one in your family has ADHD, I would likely attribute symptoms to menopause.
Littman says many clinicians who treat ADHD arent aware of the connection between worsening symptoms and menopause.
There is a gender bias and women often may be dismissed, says Littman.
Clinicians see the most observable symptoms, so women can be misdiagnosed and given antidepressants.
It wasnt included the assessment and menopause was not recognized or discussed as being part of it.
Its also well known thatADHD symptoms can changethroughout someones lifetime.
Im not going to do this, she says.
You are actually trying desperately to get these things done, but your brain is not engaged.
The catch-22 is that many psychiatrists who treat ADHD dont prescribe HRT, say Wasserstein and Littman.
Seeing an OB/GYN with menopause training either in-person or virtually to discuss HRT.
it’s possible for you to manage symptoms, and lots of coping skills can be taught.
With a combination of HRT and medications, I have definitely improved and moved forward, she says.
She also encourages other women who have worsening ADHD symptoms, especially if undiagnosed, to seek help.
ADHD is not an illness or a disease, but something I was born with, Reed Roberts says.
Being diagnosed was empowering and freeing.
There was less self-blame and I could reframe my life in a different way.
Diagnosis is not a label.
Its a roadmap to yourself.
ADHD Symptoms in Females of Childhood, Adolescent, Reproductive and Menopause Period.Materia socio-medicavol.
33,2 (2021): 114-118. doi:10.5455/msm.2021.33.114-118
Stibbe, Tina et al.
Gender differences in adult ADHD: Cognitive function assessed by the test of attentional performance.PloS onevol.
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