I know people with estrogen have said their ADHD gets worse during perimenopause/menopause, but I'm wondering if people with testosterone 50+ also notice their Autism/ADHD symptoms getting worse. Especially more "inattentive"/stuck in their thoughts.
I feel like we really need more research on all of this.
estrogen drops during perimenopause & i've gone from basically none to too much recently. I don't think i'm any more or less stuck in my thoughts than before hormones.
My autism symptoms do feel worse BUT I've also been doing a lot of work unmasking work, & listening to 🧠's needs, & feeling / being percieved as "more autistic" is normal then.
@KitMuse@actuallyautistic@neurodiversity person with mostly estrogen here (I think, anyway): my neurodivergent stuff did not get worse with changes. I had almost zero side effects of peri/meno except weight gain though. No hot flashes or other disturbances.
@KitMuse@actuallyautistic@neurodiversity Not sure if mine have got worse, or if it's a side-effect of late diagnosis and being super-attuned to all the behaviors and symptoms as a result.
@erosdiscordia@actuallyautistic@neurodiversity Thank you so much. Spouse was designated male at birth, no change in hormones, but this is very helpful and relieves us. I'm not sure a dx is possible due to rural health care, but what you're describing tracks.
The description I've used is executive function takes exactly the same amount of energy to do as when I was 20, but I have far lower energy reserves to fake it.
Thank you. This isn't my first rodeo with an older person and dealing with diabetes/heart issues, but it also doesn't FEEL like cognitive impairment I dealt with then. It reminds me so much of being five steps ahead in my brain (I am an AuDHD'er) and missing the little steps in between. (Like running to the store, coming home, getting what he needed, but forgetting to turn off the car because he was in a hurry to drink his morning "coffee" (mt Dew)
@KitMuse@randomgeek@actuallyautistic@neurodiversity
One of the things I've noticed, both in getting older and also realising that I am autistic and quite possible also having adhd, is that I seem to be getting more forgetful. But, I don't believe that I am. It's more that the energy sapping requirements of the various processes that I had in place to offset this tendency in myself, have become more difficult to maintain. So, it's more glitches in my ability to not be forgetful, than an increase in being forgetful;
@pathfinder@KitMuse@actuallyautistic@neurodiversity this! I feel like I've got the same patterns and baseline, but the improvised tools that got me through the first few decades have worn out, and I need to be more deliberate.
@randomgeek@KitMuse@actuallyautistic@neurodiversity
Throughout my life I've always had to tweak the various processes. But normally to re-simplify them. They have a tendency to become more complex and difficult to maintain otherwise. Normally, by adding the potential for covering fail points that don't actually apply anymore.
@pathfinder@randomgeek@actuallyautistic@neurodiversity Thank you! That's exactly what it feels like as his spouse. (It very much DOES NOT feel like what my mother dealt with, for example.) I will share this with him and see if it resonates.
My go-to would be slowing down and mindfulness work, which I do to help my anxiety and keep me moving one step at a time. I don't believe medication/formal dx would be possible for us easily. (I got mine through the college before grad school, but it was a big process and 100 miles one way)
@KitMuse@actuallyautistic@neurodiversity Slowing down and taking a breath is honestly the only thing that helps consistently, and even that's not 100%. Also constant journaling and microblogging help to track what I was doing or planning last week / yesterday / five minutes ago.
I am on meds (dx at ~45) and they help my situation, but only in that they make it easier to focus on a thing when my brain has decided what to focus on. Not and I repeat not necessarily what I intended to focus on.
@KitMuse@actuallyautistic@neurodiversity Seems likely. Something to note is that people with testosterone as their primary sex hormone do also go through a monthly cycle just less dramatic than primarily estrogen. Both of which affect things like medication, focus and emotional regulation.