A.D.D and hrt

[Jane's Sweet Refrain]

Here is a reaction to hormones I certainly was not expecting. I have been on estradiol and spironolactone for a little over seven weeks. I have suffered from A.D.D. for all my adult life (officially diagnosed, not just casually observed). Somewhere in week two, my attention radically improved. I now find myself doing the things I think fall within the range of normal behavior. I make lists and actually do the tasks on those lists. It's not perfect; I'm still human. But life is better, even not counting the feminizing effects of the hormones.

I'm willing to admit that this effect may be placebo or psycho-somatic, but I was wondering if others who suffer from A.D.D. or even those who do not have found their attention spans improved by hormones. Or (and I doubt this) if studies have been done on the effects of mtf hrt on attention span. And don't worry about bursting my bubble. It has tough skin. Thanks.

[Jamie D]

http://add.about.com/od/treatmentoptions/a/Treatment-for-Women-With-ADHD.htm

In ciswomen, the lowering of estrogen levels have been associated with increased symptoms of ADHD.

I would not be surprised if adding estrogen for you had the same beneficial effect as in ciswomen.

[Teela Renee]

same here, I have ADHD, and within a few days of being on the patch, I was sitting still for hours on end, I stayed focused, almost to a point id called obsessed with what I was doing.  im still getting used to it. I sorta miss all that energy I used to have.

[MadelineB]

Same here. I also became more sensitive to stimulants. Whereas before HRT, I could handle massive does of caffeine or the stimulants used to treat ADHD, which actually had calming effect, on estrogen and spiro I am much more sensitive to caffeine and the stimulants. Need smaller dose or none at all because they give me the jitters.

[Jane's Sweet Refrain]

Thanks, for the links and the responses. I had not seen the study on low estrogen and ADHD in cisgendered women. Fascinating. It certainly adds to the host of other possible explanations for improved attention.

And, Teela, I can see what you mean about missing the energy. I haven't experienced that ebbing effect yet, but I certainly am more tired by the end of the day.

[Rita]

I never had ADHD or ADD, but I noticed without the testosterone I think a bit more clearly.  Because as a person I am significantly calmer, it was more pronounced than the first time I took high blood pressure medication(pre-HRT/Spiro)

[Jennifer.L]

You know I've noticed a fair bit of well good wit my ADD as well.  I tend to think   There is a lot more tied up in people being trasgender then you would think.  It's not that I really feel that much calmer, I have been on over a dozen different meds for ADHD in my formative year.  And I never really FELT different, but I could see how my behavior had changed if some one pointed it out to me.  and you know most every one I know has noticed a change in me.  and they say I'm calmer and a lot more pleasant to be around.

[heartlesstruths]

Same here. I also became more sensitive to stimulants. Whereas before HRT, I could handle massive does of caffeine or the stimulants used to treat ADHD, which actually had calming effect...

FWIW I've had the same experience... with going off antidepressants. In fact part of the reason I went off them was they basically made me unresponsive to caffeine and the stimulants I was taking, I was already on a pretty high dose and didn't want to ask the pdoc to maximize the dose (b/c it probably wouldn't have done much, if anything, and I wasn't gonna ask to go OVER the max indicated dose... asking that stuff, w/ controlled substance-status meds..it just makes you look suspicious to doctors; and also b/c I was already basically abusing caffeine lol.) That said they also dampened my emotions a lot more than testosterone ever did. And being off them, past most of the withdrawal funness...that's actually still kind of an issue.

I never noticed much of an attention difference. I've always said the antidepressants I was taking (for over a decade in total) did a lot more to alter me than T ever has... so far --it's been like 20 months (+/-) by now though--mentally/emotionally (probably also physically..) and that includes sex drive..which always went bonkers every time I tried (in the past I've failed) to stop taking them! In fact I was very apprehensive about going on T largely b/c of what would happen to me when I was off those... haha

I've also been seeing a therapist-mainly for things like panic attacks but also more generally (stress; AD/HD-related stuff; trans-related stuff) and she has AD/HD..but she told me she was Dx'd at..12 y/o I think? Which actually kind of made me jealous b/c I had to actually go and find a new psychiatrist--and this wasn't until jr./sr. year of high school mind you, so I was already 16-17..not 12...--and "prove" that I had a problem that required meds. It was also frustrating in several ways; other than "how come mine went unrecognized for so long?" there was also "why didn't I have the more typically 'masculine' version of it... why was I instead too busy being neurotic and anxious as a child and doing well in school so my concerns were dismissed as 'oh but you're smart'? WHY was I such a girl?!"
LOL.
The fact I was never (ostensibly) hyper or impulsive.. (in fact I'm usually not ostensibly inattentive either, at least not til after the fact, sometimes people like pointing it out then.. haha).. but instead tend to tire easily.. yeah, that hasn't changed... It's kind of been a trend through my life that people occasionally become frustrated by my lack of enthusiasm or ability to engage myself w/ something they really care about.

(Oh PS.. I guess this is my first post... been creeping around for a few days now.. actually a few years, but never in much depth. haha.)

[veritatemfurto]

I have ADD too on my diagnosis letter, and could manage it at first when i started dosing, but that was a decade ago and theres been several times that i ran out of meds... now i have a hard time remembering to take my pills, much less have a short term memory.

[Stephanie.Izann]

I take ritalin. I'm an adult with ADD.

I had to lower my dosage a bit, because it seemed amplified. However, you still have to deal with emotional lability when you take ritalin. It usually happens as the med is kicking in to your system. AND if you are going through HRT you'll notice that you are even MORE sensitive to emotions after around 40 minutes or so after taking ritalin.

Hope this helps.

[Rita]

I take ritalin. I'm an adult with ADD.

I had to lower my dosage a bit, because it seemed amplified. However, you still have to deal with emotional lability when you take ritalin. It usually happens as the med is kicking in to your system. AND if you are going through HRT you'll notice that you are even MORE sensitive to emotions after around 40 minutes or so after taking ritalin.

Hope this helps.

Did someone say my name O_o "Rita"lin

[John Smith]

And here I am, after a couple of years on T, about to get tested for ADD. XD

I always had issues that could indicate having ADD, but since I managed to get through the days in a somewhat acceptable fashion, I never bothered looking into it. When I had my initial psych screening before my transition, I was offered more testing but couldn't be bothered. Over the last couple of years my issues have increased to the point where it's harder to manage, so I decided to get properly tested. I had written it down to changes at work, more stress and less structure, but maybe the T plays a part in it too.

[Rita]

Testosterone makes you less patient period, separate to personality.

T is a force of action, where E is a force of calm far as I am concerned. 

If you are a calm thinker on T, you might feel more antsy than you would on E.

[Joelene9]

Testosterone makes you less patient period, separate to personality.

T is a force of action, where E is a force of calm far as I am concerned. 

If you are a calm thinker on T, you might feel more antsy than you would on E.

I had a whole lifetime on T, I find that to be true.  I don't Have ADD or ADHT, just plain old dyslexia, no change here on HRT.  My sister is the one with ADHT and she was on E all of her life. 

  Joelene