How Hormones and Menopause Impact ADHD Women | Dr. Louise Newson
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How do hormones influence ADHD traits in women?
We see so many women who are neurodivergent and get worse during perimenopause and menopause. And a lot of people like hyperfixate. They get quite obsessive. They can ruminate. They can worry. They can think a lot more. And the reason I'm so confident that a lot of it's related to hormones is because I see people improve. You know, I don't do anything else to them other than rebalance their hormones. And they're like, wow, I feel like my brain's been freed.
Dr. Louise Newsome is an award-winning physician. Sunday Times bestselling author and leading menopause specialist. Today, she speaks about her one mission. Spreading awareness of women's ADHD. Hormones and the negative impact they can have on menopause and perimenopause.
Menopause, many people think, is just a few flushes and sweats. Actually, the main symptoms affecting people during menopause, but also perimenopause, when levels are really fluctuating and changing, are symptoms affecting the brain. So a lot of people find they have brain fog, they have poor memory reduced concentration irritability i have poor sleep they get these symptoms and then their period comes and they feel fine again and then the second half of their cycle they find it harder to concentrate harder to do things and if they've got adhd they often find that their symptoms worsen we find that when women have the right dose of hormones especially testosterone actually then a lot of their adhd symptoms really improve
A woman gets a diagnosis of ADHD and they're reading they need to exercise more to combat the executive function challenges. You're saying they should consider other options first. And what might those be?
Often, if I think symptoms are related to hormones, then I'll always...
Loyal listeners and viewers, I can't thank you enough for tuning in. If you've ever felt broken or different, I hope this helps in your search for answers and community. And do you know what would really help me in return? By clicking the follow or subscribe button wherever you're listening. It might not seem like much, but at ADHD Chatter, it means a huge deal. And with this, I can book more incredible guests and keep the self-discovery fire alive for all of us, myself included. Just one click of a button goes really far. And remember, you have always been enough. This episode is dedicated to any late diagnosed neurodivergent women who were made to feel crazy by a medical doctor, but always knew that their hormones were responsible all along.
Dr. Louise Newson, what an absolute honor to have you grace the ADHD chat studio.
Ah, well, I'm delighted to be here. It feels great. It feels very comfortable.
They are comfy, aren't they? Really comfy. The risk of falling asleep is there, but no, thank you so much. I want to start with a bit of a blunt question, I suppose, and that's why should somebody watching or listening stick around for the next 50 minutes or so? What can you teach them and how is that going to help them?
I want them to think differently about hormones and how they affect the brain. Because a lot of people don't even know what hormones are. Or if they do, they think about periods. And I'm not really wanting to talk about periods other than how hormones change with the cycle. But I want to be thinking about how hormones work in the brain and how they can affect our brain function in ways that people probably haven't thought about before.
Okay. What is an example of a way that they could affect the brain that the sort of layman might not have thought about before?
So the hormones really that I'm talking about are estrogen, but a good form of estrogen called estradiol, progesterone and testosterone. And they are made in the female brain and the male brain. So they are actually made in the brain. Whereas if you, most people, even lots of doctors will say, well, they're just made in the ovaries, but they're not. So they're neurosteroids. They affect the way the brain works. And that's really important because they work with other chemicals in the brain, other hormones in the brain, other neurotransmitters. And once you understand the science of how hormones work, when we don't have them, i.e. we're menopausal, or they're fluctuating, i.e.
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