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Showing posts with label AD(H)D and Menopause. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AD(H)D and Menopause. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Monday, June 22, 2026
When Perimenopause Meets ADHD: 4 Important Insights
Perimenopause is highly impairing for women with ADHD, who experience more severe symptoms and at an earlier age than neurotypical women.
By Nathaly Pesantez | Updated on June 9, 2026
Perimenopause is the most impairing phase of life for women with ADHD. From worsening ADHD symptoms to mood changes and sleep issues to brain fog, fluctuating and decreasing estrogen levels wreak havoc on the lives of women with ADHD, whose brains are far more sensitive to hormonal changes. (In an ADDitude survey, 94% of women said their ADHD symptoms grew more severe during perimenopause and menopause.) Despite this, many neurodivergent women going through this transition still aren’t getting adequate care.
“Perimenopause is when you need the most help, the most support,” said Patricia O. Quinn, M.D., during her May 6 ADDitude webinar, “Perimenopause in Women with ADHD.” “You need to take care of yourself during this time.”
Here’s what all women with ADHD and their health care providers should know about the perimenopausal transition.
Perimenopause Occurs Earlier in Women with ADHD
Perimenopause begins up to 10 years earlier for women with ADHD, who report in one study that their more severe perimenopause symptoms occurred between the ages of 35 and 39, compared to ages 45 and 49 for neurotypical women.
What’s more, women with ADHD report more severe perimenopause symptoms across all categories — somatic (e.g., hot flashes), psychological (e.g., depressive mood), and urogenital (e.g., vaginal dryness) — compared to women without ADHD.
“This is something that needs to be addressed in women with ADHD in addition to their ADHD symptoms,” Quinn said.
Estrogen and Medication Changes May Be Warranted
Research on the most effective treatments for ADHD during perimenopause is limited, but available data and observational evidence suggest that many women benefit from estrogen supplementation and increased stimulant dosages during this phase.
“Estrogen… makes your stimulant more effective,” Quinn said, emphasizing that all treatment decisions must be made in consultation with a doctor who considers the patient’s family medical history and individual risk factors.
Read more on ADDitude.
By Nathaly Pesantez | Updated on June 9, 2026
Perimenopause is the most impairing phase of life for women with ADHD. From worsening ADHD symptoms to mood changes and sleep issues to brain fog, fluctuating and decreasing estrogen levels wreak havoc on the lives of women with ADHD, whose brains are far more sensitive to hormonal changes. (In an ADDitude survey, 94% of women said their ADHD symptoms grew more severe during perimenopause and menopause.) Despite this, many neurodivergent women going through this transition still aren’t getting adequate care.
“Perimenopause is when you need the most help, the most support,” said Patricia O. Quinn, M.D., during her May 6 ADDitude webinar, “Perimenopause in Women with ADHD.” “You need to take care of yourself during this time.”
Here’s what all women with ADHD and their health care providers should know about the perimenopausal transition.
Perimenopause Occurs Earlier in Women with ADHD
Perimenopause begins up to 10 years earlier for women with ADHD, who report in one study that their more severe perimenopause symptoms occurred between the ages of 35 and 39, compared to ages 45 and 49 for neurotypical women.
What’s more, women with ADHD report more severe perimenopause symptoms across all categories — somatic (e.g., hot flashes), psychological (e.g., depressive mood), and urogenital (e.g., vaginal dryness) — compared to women without ADHD.
“This is something that needs to be addressed in women with ADHD in addition to their ADHD symptoms,” Quinn said.
Estrogen and Medication Changes May Be Warranted
Research on the most effective treatments for ADHD during perimenopause is limited, but available data and observational evidence suggest that many women benefit from estrogen supplementation and increased stimulant dosages during this phase.
“Estrogen… makes your stimulant more effective,” Quinn said, emphasizing that all treatment decisions must be made in consultation with a doctor who considers the patient’s family medical history and individual risk factors.
Read more on ADDitude.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Exacerbated ADHD symptoms with age
Recently I have noticed, that my ADHD symptoms get worse and that I get more "quirky". I wondered and thought that especially my bad memory may be because I have Fibromyalgia or because of the last remains of my almost-overcome anxiety disorder or because I had Neuropathia vestibularis 3 years ago or because I maybe had a TGS (Transient global amnesia) last year or because I lived in England in the 1980s and am now developing Creutzfeldt-Jakob. Or perhaps because of all of it all together.
Today I found out it could simply be the changing hormones. I am 47 and have started noticing changes, so why not!
Overall the articles that I have read state, that there is yet no scientific research on this topic, but some of the information is interesting:
...In an ADDitude survey of nearly 5,000 women with ADHD ... more than 93% said they noticed a difference in the severity of some ADHD symptoms during perimenopause and/or menopause. More than half of survey respondents said the following symptoms had a “life-altering impact” from ages 40 to 59:
- Feelings of overwhelm (73.67%)
- Brain fog and memory issues (74.32%)
- Procrastination (65.60%)
- Time-management difficulties (64.27%)
- Inattention/distractibility (61.74%)
- Disorganization (60.98%)
- Emotional dysregulation (58.82%)
...From brain fog to emotionality and poor memory to disorganization, the symptoms of ADHD grow markedly worse and largely unmanageable in perimenopause and menopause. Nearly half of ADDitude readers call this the most challenging time of life for them....Women almost unanimously report that their ADHD symptoms were most debilitating and life-altering during perimenopause and menopause, when executive dysfunction and emotional dysregulation grew beyond their capacity to manage them effectively.
So here are some of the articles on that issue, that I have read on ADDitude - you might also find them informative:
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