for women | ADHD Information
I'm wondering if anyone else's symptoms change according to where you are in your menstrual cycle?During the week before I ovulate, I am a complete space case and cant concentrate on anything to save my life! I literally am completely zoned. The few days right around ovulation, I'm happy and can concentrate fairly well. Then I get a few days of utter adhd mayhem and irritability, followed by a week of evil pms.
Yes, I actually tracked my moods on a calendar! That was before I realized I had adhd and was trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with me- I was hoping my estrogen was out of balance or I needed extra vitamins or a new pair of glasses or something.
I've never really noticed before - it seems like I am ALWAYS spacey!However, for the week before my period starts, I often get very depressed. Usually I think about my job and how much I hate it, how my boyfriend hasn't given me an engagement ring yet, and other stupid things. But I get VERY down. I also get irritable and extra restless. I always chalked this up to PMS.
I know one thing - during that week everyone had better steer clear of any chocolate in my path - especially Tim Hortons Black Forest Cake!!!!
Okay - I have to add to this. THIS is the week before my period starts and I have been the ULTIMATE space case today. My 8 hour day is almost over and I've done next to nothing. Ugh!
Here's an article that actually acknowledges ADD symptoms being worse during certain points in the menstrual cycle:
http://add.about.com/od/womenandadd/a/women.htm
"Hormones can affect ADD. Women often complain that their ADD peaks during PMS and the overwhelming sense of job and home become even more overwhelming for up to a week surrounding their monthly cycle." ... "See your doctor if you have problems with PMS. PMS can add to the frustrations of ADD, make sure you receive treatment if this is causing problems for you."
Maybe I'll start keeping a calendar of my own... wait... that means I would have to stick to something for 30 days...
Sonya....I may have asked before, but that dosesn't mean anything. When's your bundle of joy due???Well, ladies, I can only try to remember, because I've been post-meno several years (started menopause at 37 yrs!) But I do know I had terrible PMS. Probably quit some of my jobs around that time, I'm sure. But I'd have to go to a hypnotist in order to find out if my ADHD behavior changed with the cycle. However, I do know that even to this day things are different during the full moon, but I'll have to wait until the next FM to let you know exactly in what ways. So I'll pick this up again around the 25th.
Chocoholic...that doesn't leave you many "normal" days in a month, does it?
That dark chocolate doesn't help much either.
Interesting topic.
On a serious note, I used to get ever so "dangerous" towards my husband during my time of the month, very violent... But it lightened up dramatically when I was on medication.....Though I still noticed a slight difference very month...
Haven't had to worry about pms or medication or none of that stuff recently,though, because of my active, twisting, brake-dancing little "bun" in the oven.... ( I hope this doesn't mean he is going to be hyperactive when he get's here!!!....
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A few days before I get my period and the first few days of it I feel like I might as well not take my medication because it doesn't seem to work at all. I usually get really bad PMS, either I have an upset stomach and cramps or I want to cry about everything, so I yell at everyone instead. I've read in a few places that women with ADD tend to have bad PMS. The frustrating thing for me though, is that my cycle isn't predictable at all. I've been writing down when it starts and stops the last few months to see if I just wasn't paying attention to when it was supposed to come, but it's almost always a few days earlier or later than I thought it would be. I've tried to find a pattern, but I don't think that there is one. It's also really heavy some months and fairly light others. I thought it was irregular because I was young, but I'm almost 21. I would have thought it would have evened out by now. Could this be an ADD thing too?
I have no idea if it's an ADD thing, but I was not regular until I started taking the pill. I tracked it on a calendar for years, and the result was never the same. My cycle varied between 27 days to up to 35 days sometimes.Irregular periods can sometimes be a sign of thyroid trouble. Mine was tested and apparantly it's normal. You should get yourself tested, just in case.
However, I read somehting very interesting in "Driven to Distraction". Hallowell mentions a rare condition called Thyroid Resisitence - apparently your thyroid hormone levels are normal, but your body just doesn't use them properly. A study concluded that almost everyone with this condition had ADD (but not everyone with ADD has Thyroid Resistence). You can have symptoms of hypothyroid - difficulty losing weight, cold hands/feet, irregular periods, etc, but tests I'm assuming would show up normal since the hormone levels would be normal.
He didn't go into any depth though, and there is limited info on the internet. I thought it was pretty interesting though. A doctor once asked me if I had thyroid problems because of something about my lower eyelids (shrug), and was a little surprised when I said no.
Well, hate to bust the add and irregular periods theory, but I've always been like clockwork, down to the time of day I'll start. My pms, however, is absolutely horrible. I used to pass out and throw up (not at the same time!) when I was a teenager.
That's interesting about the thyroid stuff. Have you seen anyone else about it? I've never heard about 'hidden' thyroid problems.
I'd like to know more about the Thyroid Resistence thing too. Like I said, Hallowell only mentioned it very briefly in his book. He said it is a topic that is still being researched (but that book was also written nearly 10 years ago).
I was fascinated by it because I've always suspected I had thyroid problems. I have many of the symptoms - irregular periods (when not on the pill), low body temperature, difficulty losing weight, etc.
The little bit of info I did manage to find on the subject stated that in individuals with Thyroid Resistence, TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone, produced by the pituitary gland) levels almost always test normal, but T3 and T4 (the actual thyroid hormones) are elevated. Standard blood tests for thyroid trouble ONLY measure TSH, leaving many people undiagnosed.
It's a subject most doctors don't know much about. Basic MD's only learn the absolute basics about the endocrine system, so unless they specialise, most doctors don't know any better to follow up a normal TSH test with MORE tests.
Can you get your doctor to refer you to a specialist? I'm not sure how the healthcare system works in Canada.
The reason I'm thinking about this- arent thyroid conditions fairly easy to treat with medication? I mean, imagine if you could get some thyroid pills and all your adhd symptoms go away! LOL - that would be pretty cool! But I doubt it would actually treat the ADHD symptoms, just the thyroid ones.
Instances of this thyroid resistence thing just seem to have a corelation with instances of ADHD - I don't know if treating one would treat the other...
It's like depression often accompanies ADHD - treating depression alone won't treat the ADHD...
My son (who is turning 1 this week!!!) was so active in the womb, that I felt him moving before the books and doctors said it was humanly possible. And, he is a very active little boy now. I'm curious if he will turn out adhd or not.
He's very obedient (so far as a 1 year old can be) and listens to his mommy, which my mom said I didnt do, so maybe that's a sign he's not. I know we learn to handle whatever our kids have, but I just can't imagine that i am capable of doing a good job with a kid with adhd when I have it myself! Although, in a way maybe that would be an advantage, bc I'd know what he was going through.
Sonya, I hate to tell you, but my son (who is now 7) was extremely rambunctious before birth, and he is VERY adHd! 
He's an energizer battery monkey - never stops, and is all over everything. I've given up on my furniture. He LOVES his new loft bed. Good thing we don't have climbable trees.
Enjoy!
[QUOTE=kittyheaven]Enjoy!
[/QUOTE]
great
...I'll try.....Maybe I should start developing my sense of humor right now...
but seriously, I am ADD (plenty of ad/hd aunts and uncles in my family) and my husband is AD/HD and it is all up in HIS family too, so I would not be a bit surprised...
at least he will have sympathetic parents, right???
Can you tell I am FAMOUS for totally missing the point when someone tells me something ??!!??
LOL - don't feel bad - I totally missed that you thought the thyroid thing caused the ADHD... No... what I gather is that the thyroid resisitence is one of these comorbid conditions that sometimes comes with ADHD.