Hormones and ADHD

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Are you beginning to realize that everything in your life affects your ADHD symptoms? Your hormones are no exception.

The hormones in our bodies are very important because they affect many of your body’s processes, including metabolic rate, growth, sexual function, reproduction and your mood. (We all know about that one :)).

Well it turns out that hormones can affect your ADHD symptoms as well.

When a child begins to go through puberty and their hormone levels change, it can cause a change in ADHD symptoms. You may find that they are moody, irritable, less focused, and even aggressive.

Most kids going through puberty will experience growth spurts as well as other changes in their body. Any time a child has a significant growth spurt, you need to re-evaluate whether or not their ADHD medication is continuing to work as it should. Sometimes the added body weight calls for an increase in the dosage of medication.

For teen aged boys, this approach will usually solve any problems with the effectiveness of the medication. But teen girls do not typically respond well to an increased dosage in medication while they are going through puberty.

Teen girls who have ADHD have higher rates of academic troubles, aggression, substance abuse, and depression than girls who do not have ADHD. An increase in medication dosage may make symptoms worse than before.

It’s important for you to be aware of this and to educate your daughter as well.

If her ADHD symptoms are worsened by hormonal changes (particularly close to that time of the month), then you both need to aware of how those hormones are affecting her.

You may find that a change in medication is helpful or perhaps a change in her diet. Working together to help her through those problems and learn coping skills will be beneficial to her for the rest of her life.

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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