164 - When ADHD collides with perimenopause with Margaret Reed Roberts

The Dr Louise Newson Podcast

Dr Louise Newson

Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Medicine

4.8 • 798 Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Margaret Reed Roberts is an experienced social worker and educator who noticed a change in how she felt in her late 40s. Along with more obvious symptoms of perimenopause, such as hot flushes and migraines, there came a deterioration in her cognition – she struggled to initiate, plan and complete daily tasks and the mental load became unmanageable. A friend suggested there may be more than perimenopause going on and questioned if Margaret was neurodivergent. In this honest and insightful conversation, Margaret shares of the ‘relief and grief’ of being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and the impact she now understands ADHD has on her daily activity, home life and relationships. Margaret’s three tips for those who have ADHD or think they might have it: (provided after the conversation) Be informed. Knowledge is a game changer. You feel more confident when you understand and are better able to advocate for yourself. Challenge others where necessary, using your acquired knowledge and pass that information on. Don’t be alone; join support groups, talk to empathetic friends and family. Tell your story. You and your story are valuable, not everyone will listen or care, but the more we talk, the more we break taboos and stigma. Follow Margaret on Facebook Twitter: @geordiereed

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Dr. Louise Newsome and welcome to my podcast. I'm a GP and menopause specialist and I run the Newsome Health Menopause and Wellbeing Centre here in Stratford-Bron-Avon. I'm also the founder of the Menopause charity and the Menopause support app called Balance.
0:29.9	On the podcast, I will be joined each week by an exciting guest to help provide evidence-based
0:36.5	information and advice about both the perimenopause and the
0:40.9	menopause. Today on the podcast, I'm really excited to introduce to you someone called Margaret,
0:50.2	who has been working hard, like many women do, behind the scenes actually to help.
0:55.4	And we've just written a booklet together with other team members about ADHD and the perimenopause and menopause,
1:03.2	which is something that hasn't actually been spoken about before.
1:06.7	And the number of women we see in the clinic means we're learning so much through our patients.
1:11.5	And we see a lot of women who have ADHD or just some traits, actually, that get a lot
1:17.7	worse during the perimenopause and menopause. A lot of people find that their attention
1:22.4	isn't as good or they ruminate a lot. They have quite obsessive behaviour as well, which can often
1:28.7	worsen with low hormone levels. So we've produced this booklet that's come out and Margaret has
1:34.5	been working with my team and she's here today to talk a bit more about this. So welcome Margaret.
1:39.3	Thanks for coming today. Thank you. It's great to be here. It's a real privilege. Thank you.
1:43.6	So do you mind just sharing a bit? Well,
1:45.7	firstly, let's talk. I've just mentioned four letters and some people won't even know what they
1:49.5	stand for. So medics are very good at that. We use lots of terminology that people don't understand. So
1:55.3	do you mind talking what ADHD is and also about your journey as well, if that's okay.
2:01.7	So ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
2:06.5	It's quite a mouthful.
2:07.7	It is loaded with negative words.
2:11.8	It doesn't suit a lot of people, ADHD.
	...

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