How I'm Managing My Late Diagnosis ADHD

Well this is just a perfect way to start this blog again...Yesterday I wrote half of it, got distracted, forgot to save, so now this is take 2. Welcome to ADHD.

To be fair, I am in Switzerland on holidays and there are many distractions but really, losing physical and digital things really doesn't need an excuse as most ADHDers will know.

Switzerland may be distracting but it sure is beautiful!

I was trying to remember how I began the first blog attempt and a line came back to me...I had started with: "First of all, despite the name Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, this is not a disorder" but today I'm reminded how it certainly can be!

And despite the debate on whether it is or isn't a disorder, the fact is, ADHD is just a different set of wiring in the brain compared to neurotypical brains (how the neurotransmitters work) and yes, it can sometimes be hindering but it can sometimes be the most amazing way to think!

I'm not going to explain what ADHD is or isn't, but there is a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to how ADHD can look and present in people especially in females so if you'd like more info or just want some different ways of it being explained, please go HERE or HERE

And if you would like to see how I got to my diagnosis at 47 and how that journey looked, you can read my blog What Masking ADHD and My Late Diagnosis Looked Like For Me

So now we are onto my management and understanding so far of Late Diagnosis ADHD. And again, this blog is purely based on my personal experience and not general naturopathic advice.

Medication prescribed by my psychiatrist

Medication

So once I was diagnosed by a psychiatrist, I didn't necessarily want to try medication but curiosity did win out and now I'm glad I did because it IS helping me. Not everyone is helped by ADHD medication so it's such a personal journey but to have the help I have now has been so worth it so I will share my experience.

ADHD medication is stimulant medication so you do need to have an ECG before being prescribed. So for a neurotypical brain, things would feel speedy and anxiety would be a symptom but for an ADHD brain, things actually slow down and thoughts can be more organised so you actually feel calmer. My heart checked out fine and so I started on Vyvanse (Lisdexamfetamine).

You start with the lowest dose and slowly titrate up until you find your sweet spot and for me that was hard to work out. I knew I immediately felt better on these meds but my 'day time' sweet spot was 50mg but it started to affect my sleep. I'm not the greatest sleeper as it is, so to have increased interrupted sleep as well as find it harder to get to sleep was not ideal for me and so I decided to try Ritalin.

I could immediately tell this medication was not for me. I just didn't get the clear thoughts. It did slow them down but I felt things were still a bit jumbled and I missed the effect of Vyvanse so went back to Vyvanse and settled on 30mg. This was a good compromise for me as it still helped me during the day (not as much as the 50mg did but still helped a lot) and my sleep was ok (as ok as it can be with perimenopause also going on!) I was also prescribed the short acting version of Vyvanse (dexamfetamine) in case I needed just a half day or a boost to the 30mg on some days.

It's such an individual thing, especially for females, to find your sweet spot on medications (if you choose them at all) as some weeks your body will need different amounts to help you as your hormonal fluctuation will affect how these medications are working. I find the week before my period, I need more Vyvanse to make a difference to my concentration and focus.

And I also learnt to take my supplements an hour away from these meds as Vitamin C also reduces the effectiveness.

Speaking of supplements, this is what I am also taking to support me as a Neurodiverse woman in peri-menopause:

I had to cull my usual supplements while travelling so only have these ones with me to photograph!

Supplements

Magnesium and L-theanine work together to support brain health and function. Together they help regulate neurotransmitters (particularly balancing excitatory neurotransmitters like glutamate with inhibitory ones like GABA) and L-theanine can increase alpha waves in the brain, promoting a sense of calm. Together, they can help manage stress, enhance focus, and improve sleep quality. I use a product called Magnesium Theanine by Orthoplex
EPA/DHA or high strength fish oil for brain health and maintaining brain cell structure, reducing inflammation, and supporting neurotransmitter function. I take Metagenics High Strength EPA/DHA
Turmeric for inflammation. Having a neurospicy brain means there is more inflammation going on in the brain and the body so anti-inflammatory supplements and lifestyle choices are very important. I find turmeric really great for this and I take Theracumin Triple by Bioceuticals
Herbs to help with hormone regulation so the dips and troughs aren't as wild during this stage of my life in Perimenopause so I take Chaste Tree by MediHerb for progesterone balancing and Estrovera by Metagenics for supporting oestrogen levels. I am not adverse to trying out bioidentical progesterone and oestrogen if things get worse for me, or once I'm in menopause but that's a bridge I will cross later.
Herbs to support stress and energy levels like Saffron, Withania, Rhodiola and Ginseng. I have all these herbs in a personal compounded powder along with protein, collagen, more magnesium, healthy gut fibre and prebiotics which I get from my naturopath (yes, I see a naturopath as treating yourself is not very objective!)

Grounding under a tree after a session with my psychologist

Emotional Regulation

Emotional regulation can be a lot harder for people living with a neurodivergent brain so I think I have been so helped for so many years thanks to the emotional support of my flower essences!

The 3 blends in my Mind-Full Pack (Slow Down, Focus and Help) are my go-to's for emotional regulation and both my daughter and I (another ADHDer) find we can use these really well alongside our medication and also when not on it. I mean I have lasted 47 years without medication and I sometimes wonder if that is also due to the emotional support I've received from these blends!

Speaking to my psychologist every fortnight also helps keep me working on and learning about regulating emotions and tackling little and big problems that come up for me.

Lifestyle

And anything else I can do for keeping inflammation down also helps with my brain fog, alertness and downgrading aches, pains and stiffness in my joints and muscles so I'm also TRYING to do the following more:

Decreasing inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy and sugar
Decreasing alcohol
Having 3-4 infrared sauna's a week
Daily mental health walks
I can't meditate very well (well duh!) so now I just do a lot of open eyed meditation like my walking and listening to my sleep stories or meditations on my Calm app

Other Very Important Stuff To Note

And to finish this blog off...it's important to note that there are two parts to managing ADHD.

There are some parts that can be modulated which is what I have outlined above. Medication, supplements, tools and resources as well as lifestyle changes but there are parts that can not be modulated or changed at all because this is our wiring! It's what we are born with and how it's been shaped by genetics and environment.

We can use so much of it to our advantage as we have such creative and BIG innovative ideas and thoughts as well as big feelings so we can be incredibly empathic and understanding of others as well.

So embracing the good that comes with our neurodiversity and learning to manage this it is imperative as ADHD is not a 'disorder' that needs to be fixed or cured. And learning how to make our brain work best for us with organisation tools and apps, reminder alarms, lists etc. Can help us manage all the 'sticky' bits of our life. I get stuck a lot so I can luckily delegate a lot of the stuff that my brain just isn't as good as.

So it's about learning to work smarter, not harder when it comes to living with ADHD and if this is your journey too, I hope something in here might help you or that you have found ways to utilise and maximise that amazing brain of yours!

Yours in Health,

Alisha