Celebrating 8 Years With My ADHD Child
Eight years ago, we brought our adopted daughter Natalie, who has ADHD, home from Russia. For the first time, I'm not just celebrating the anniversary. I have finally embraced the symptoms and treatment of our medicated, hyper, disorganized lives.
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I enjoyed reading this, Kay! As an adopted adhder myself, I commend you on what you’ve likely endured to this point in time! 🙂 My message to you: hang on to your hat! I hate to be the bringer of bad news but when your daughter hits puberty, adhd tends to get way worse. (Actually, you seem like the type that does her research and braces herself for what is to come, and you are probably well aware of this, but I feel the need to mention this to help you both further.) Seriously, aside from perimenopause, my teenaged years were some of the most devastating years of my life. It turns out that dropping levels of estrogen (read:pms) wreak havoc on an adhd lady’s ability to make neurotransmitters. Monthly cycling is beyond torture for a teenaged lady adhder. Combined with an adoptee’s potential for a myriad of lifelong chronic health issues (early childhood trauma does this), and the tendency of adhders to have other problems including horrible migraines and you have the makings of a perfect storm. Brace yourselves, encourage her to track her cycles and consider eating some extra whole grains, sesame seeds, pomegranates, etc. (phytoestrogens from food) that last week or two before her bleeding. It will make a world of difference for her self esteem and her ability to function in her relationships. Your mothering style is heartwarming to me, and I wish I’d had this support for myself growing up. I wish your family all the best in love, happiness and in outcome on this incredible journey.