Speaker 1: You're listening to a Muma Mia podcast.
Speaker 2: Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of the land and
Speaker 2: waters that this podcast is recorded on.
Speaker 3: Oh well, Hi there, but are you happy?
Speaker 4: Fam?
Speaker 2: I am Claire Murphy. I'm from Mumma MEA's new health
Speaker 2: podcast called Well. It's hosted by me and doctor Merriam
Speaker 2: who is this absolutely brilliant gp and advocate for women's health. Well,
Speaker 2: if you haven't come across it yet, is a podcast
Speaker 2: about the taboo, the annoying, the embarrassing, and the scary.
Speaker 2: We cover concerns that you might be considering seeing a
Speaker 2: doctor about, from I don't know insomnia, to weird periods
Speaker 2: to how to prevent dementia. And this month we're focusing
Speaker 2: in on the mind. So in this episode we're talking
Speaker 2: about ADHD in particular, including how women often experience more
Speaker 2: inattentive features and why they may try to mask those symptoms.
Speaker 2: We're also going to talk about things like time blindness
Speaker 2: and memory issues and emotional dysregulation and if you have
Speaker 2: been diagnosed with ADHD or feel that you might have it,
Speaker 2: or someone you know and they're always told they're just
Speaker 2: too sensitive, maybe they're dealing with a condition called rejection
Speaker 2: sensitive dysphoria. This is well Australian women. Welcome to your
Speaker 2: full body health check. I'm Claire Murphy, the journalist who
Speaker 2: wants to know everything about your health, and let's be
Speaker 2: honest my own while we're at it.
Speaker 5: And I'm doctor Mariam, the GP girlfriend that you wish
Speaker 5: you had so you could ask all those annoying health
Speaker 5: questions over a glass of wine midweek.
Speaker 2: Today, we're trying to focus so we can talk about ADHD.
Speaker 2: I'm so sorry if that is a terrible, terrible joke,
Speaker 2: I forgot what you said.
Speaker 4: Stop it.
Speaker 2: We are legitimately going to find out if those ADHD
Speaker 2: tests on TikTok are real or bullshit. We're going to
Speaker 2: look at the pros and cons of medicating and how
Speaker 2: we manage some of the tougher parts of an ADHD diagnosis,
Speaker 2: like you know, your partner feeling like you just don't
Speaker 2: care when really you're struggling to remember things. Will also
Speaker 2: beating into a quick consults where you can ask our
Speaker 2: very own doctor Marriam anything about your weird and wonderful
Speaker 2: body doing weird and wonderful things.
Speaker 3: Today.
Speaker 2: Amali says she's got no idea how to tell the
Speaker 2: difference between a good lump and a bad lump. But
Speaker 2: first up, it's time to head to med school for
Speaker 2: today's lesson on why your vagina's problem might also be
Speaker 2: your partner's fault.
Speaker 3: Welcome to med school.
Speaker 2: Look, we found something out recently which is very interesting
Speaker 2: because we as women have been dealing with it pretty
Speaker 2: much solo. But we've heard it actually can get better
Speaker 2: if we treat the men in our lives too. So
Speaker 2: an Australian clinical trial found that bacterial vaginosis can actually
Speaker 2: be transmitted sexually and that treating a suffer's male partner
Speaker 2: for it could reduce reinfection and reoccurrence. So technically it
Speaker 2: is also an STI. According to Professor Katrina Bradshaw, who
Speaker 2: co authored the study, it appears the penis and its microbiome.
Speaker 2: I don't know why I get weirdly laughy when I
Speaker 2: say the word penis.
Speaker 3: I'm very immature.
Speaker 2: I've seen peters and it's microbiome plays a role in
Speaker 2: some instances, not all off BV bacterial vaginosis cases and
Speaker 2: their partners, with uncircumcised men having a more how should
Speaker 2: we put this diverse microbiome than circumcised men, including the
Speaker 2: types of bacteria that can take over the vagina.
Speaker 5: Yes, this is such a great study and I'm hoping
Speaker 5: this is going to lead to guideline changes and maybe
Speaker 5: a new name, bacterial pinios. That sounds like Harry Potter
Speaker 5: doing some kind of spell bucketerial pineosice. But yeah, recurrent
Speaker 5: BV massive issues something I see all the time in clinic.
Speaker 5: We know bb effects one in three females reproductive age.
Speaker 5: We treat it fifty percent of the time. It will
Speaker 5: come back within three months. It's very frustrating, very difficult
Speaker 5: to treat. So yeah, now with this study we're seeing
Speaker 5: this potentially maybe some going back and forth from partners
Speaker 5: getting treated and she's having sexual contact again with her partner,
Speaker 5: they're getting reinfected.
Speaker 2: Well, you know, like men, you're not responsible for all
Speaker 2: the things, but in this instance.
Speaker 3: Most of the things you are, let's be honest responsible.
Speaker 2: Maybe in this instance that's terial pineos be gone. Okay,
Speaker 2: grab your fidget spinners, folks, it's check up time today.
Speaker 3: We are talking about ADHD. Yes, let's do it. It's
Speaker 3: time for the checkup.
Speaker 2: ADHD is really having a moment on social media right now.
Speaker 2: I particularly love this song by Guy with the Hair
Speaker 2: on TikTok, so funny.
Speaker 1: I have ADHD, and just maybe it's a thing that
Speaker 1: sometimes I get distracted with, Oh look a shiny ring.
Speaker 1: I start a project than my god, like nine hours
Speaker 1: go by and all I've done is started twenty other
Speaker 1: things in crime. When I'm super hyper focused, yeah I
Speaker 1: notice everything, But when I'm not, my frazzle dots go
Speaker 1: bivity bobbity thing. I don't think it's a secret that
Speaker 1: some people think I'm different just because I have the
Speaker 1: attention span of a goldfish or a pigeon. So if
Speaker 1: you are like me and talk it ninety miles per hour,
Speaker 1: then help me normalize us born with eighty HD powers.
Speaker 2: And I also saw this really great video of lots
Speaker 2: of hidden symptoms of ADHD, so people who actually have
Speaker 2: been diagnosed with it talk about the ways in which
Speaker 2: they knew maybe they were. Things like being able to
Speaker 2: predict the movie plot from the get go, so your
Speaker 2: worst cinema going friend you could potentially have hating appointments
Speaker 2: if they're in the afternoon because it is way too
Speaker 2: long to be in waiting mode. And being able to
Speaker 2: smash out an essay at the last minute, even though
Speaker 2: you've had like actual weeks to get it done, but
Speaker 2: then also constantly losing your things, not being able to
Speaker 2: remember someone's name, and fighting with your significant other because
Speaker 2: you forgot that thing again. And it's actually believed to
Speaker 2: be the most common mental health condition around the globe.
Speaker 2: There's about a million Aussies who have been diagnosed. Mariam,
Speaker 2: If someone does come into your rooms and you have
Speaker 2: a suspicion that they might have ADHD, what are you
Speaker 2: actually looking out for and are you seeing more people
Speaker 2: come forward looking for.
Speaker 3: A diagnosis now?
Speaker 5: Yeah, So if someone comes into my claim and I
Speaker 5: suspect or they suspect they might have ADHD, I'm looking
Speaker 5: out for a few key signs and symptoms and I
Speaker 5: usually kind of direct the consult by using like an
Speaker 5: ADHD Adult questionnaire, which kind of helps we through and
Speaker 5: kind of direct those questions so I can get those
Speaker 5: answers that I need. So we know that there's three
Speaker 5: types of ADHD. So there's the hyperactive and impulsive type,
Speaker 5: and generally the signs we see with that are you're restless,
Speaker 5: you're agitated, your fidgety, you know, you're interrupting conversations, you
Speaker 5: can't wait in the line, you're talking over people, you're
Speaker 5: acting impulsively, and you're not thinking of consequences.
Speaker 2: Then this is what we see commonly in like young
Speaker 2: boys and where they're like a thinking habit.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and so I think that's kind of the picture
Speaker 5: of people always assume ADHD looks like but it doesn't
Speaker 5: always look like that, you know. It can also be
Speaker 5: the inattentive type, and this is where most females generally
Speaker 5: tend to fit as well. Here we're looking for difficulties
Speaker 5: with attention, so difficulty starting tasks, initiating tasks, finishing tasks,
Speaker 5: poor time management for getting appointments, easily distractable, you're going
Speaker 5: off with the fairies, you're daydreaming, you're losing things, you're procrastinating.
Speaker 5: And the third type is a combination of the two
Speaker 5: as well. I also consider the context of these symptoms,
Speaker 5: whether they were being present in childhood and their effect
Speaker 5: on your quality of life in different settings, whether that's
Speaker 5: work at home and in relationships, and then family history
Speaker 5: is also a big part of the consult as well
Speaker 5: as for whether I'm seeing more people come in definitely,
Speaker 5: and I think that's just because ADHD is finally getting
Speaker 5: the platform it deserves, is a lot more awareness. Interestingly,
Speaker 5: being a female GP, I see a lot of patients
Speaker 5: going through the perimenopause or space, and I'm picking up
Speaker 5: ADHD so much in these patients a lot from my
Speaker 5: own conversations with the patients, but a lot of the
Speaker 5: time they're like, hey, I think I have ADHD. We
Speaker 5: know those hormonal changes can exacerbate a lot of the
Speaker 5: symptoms of ADHD.
Speaker 2: What do people need to do to prepare for a
Speaker 2: diet diagnosis? I've heard it does involve a lot of
Speaker 2: appointments and a fair bit of paperwork, and it can
Speaker 2: also be pretty costly too.
Speaker 5: Unfortunately that is the case. You know, gps are really
Speaker 5: pushing for a massive reform with ADHD, and we're hoping
Speaker 5: that will come in the near future, but for the
Speaker 5: time being, it is a bit of a process. You
Speaker 5: start by seeing your GP. Your GP will assess your
Speaker 5: symptoms and your history. They will use those screening tools
Speaker 5: and questionnaires in the consultation or send you home with them,
Speaker 5: and if they do suspect you have ADHD, you'll be
Speaker 5: given a referral to a psychiatrist. Or a psychologist who
Speaker 5: has that specialty in diagnosing ADHD. It's your preference where
Speaker 5: you want to go. But a lot of people prefer
Speaker 5: just going straight to the psychiatrist because they can prescribe
Speaker 5: the medication if you do have ADHD and the medication
Speaker 5: is needed, so you just kind.
Speaker 3: Of save that extra step.
Speaker 5: Unfortunately, diagnosis does come with a hefty price tag, and
Speaker 5: that could range from one thousand to three thousand dollars
Speaker 5: with limited rebates. But to make your appointments more effectively,
Speaker 5: I will offer some advice which people might find helpful,
Speaker 5: and so I always say document your symptoms. So anything
Speaker 5: you suspect might be ADHD related, put it all down
Speaker 5: in a journal and write its impact on your quality
Speaker 5: of life and how long you've had these symptoms, what
Speaker 5: school life was like for you, what your partner thinks,
Speaker 5: what your family thinks, those sorts of things.
Speaker 3: Gather your history.
Speaker 5: So if you've seen mental health professionals in the past,
Speaker 5: try to get your notes from them as well. That
Speaker 5: will be really helpful for the psychiatrist or psychologists to
Speaker 5: collaborate and help with with the diagnosis. So complete the
Speaker 5: questionnaires and take those to the appointment and prepare questions.
Speaker 5: So if you are diagnosed with ADHD, you're going to
Speaker 5: leave with a million questions. Try to think, Okay, if
Speaker 5: I do have ADHD, what are things that I want
Speaker 5: to know? Write them down and make sure that you
Speaker 5: get those answers before you leave that appointment and ask
Speaker 5: for support. So bring a friend or a trusted family
Speaker 5: member for emotional support or to help remember important details
Speaker 5: and get that organizational help. So a big part of
Speaker 5: why people find the diagnosis process difficult is because of
Speaker 5: that organizational part.
Speaker 2: I need to ask you about another person who can
Speaker 2: potentially be in your ADHD diagnosis journey, and that is
Speaker 2: the ADHD coach in this instance. Who is an ADHD
Speaker 2: coach And do you ever refer people to them?
Speaker 5: Yeah, definitely. So the Australasian ADHD guidelines actually recommend ADHD
Speaker 5: coaching as a valuable non pharmacological tool for managing ADHD,
Speaker 5: and the approach focuses on educating people about ADHD, leveraging
Speaker 5: their strengths, and developing practical strategies to modified behavior, so
Speaker 5: like you know, emotional regulation, time management skills, those sorts
Speaker 5: of things. The coaches might be allied health professionals or
Speaker 5: they might be specialized ADHD coaches. It's just important to
Speaker 5: ensure that they're affiliated and credited by the International Coaching Federation.
Speaker 5: So if you are booked in, make sure that they
Speaker 5: have that tick of approval. That's really important. The only
Speaker 5: issue with accessing ADHD co coaches is that might require
Speaker 5: a private payment, so there might not be any Medicare rebate.
Speaker 5: Some psychologists do offer that service and if they do
Speaker 5: that you might get some rebate through the Better Access Plan.
Speaker 2: Okay, So because we are talking about ADHD, we absolutely
Speaker 2: wanted to speak to somebody who specializes in this space.
Speaker 2: So the other day I caught up with doctor Kieran Kennedy.
Speaker 2: He's a psychiatrist and ADHD specialist and health and mental
Speaker 2: health advocate.
Speaker 3: He's also the author of the book.
Speaker 2: The Manual, A Practical Guide to Life, Health and Happiness. Kieran,
Speaker 2: thank you so much for joining us today to dispel
Speaker 2: some ADHD myths and beliefs.
Speaker 3: But we wanted to.
Speaker 2: Start with something that has become more apparent in recent years,
Speaker 2: and that is that ADHD presents differently in girls and women.
Speaker 3: As opposed to what it does in boys and men.
Speaker 4: As you say, there's so much out there at the
Speaker 4: moment around ADHD, and I think in a lot of ways,
Speaker 4: girls and women are being hit with the brunt of
Speaker 4: a lot of that information. And I obviously see a
Speaker 4: lot of women questioning ADHD as a diagnosis at whatever
Speaker 4: age and stage they might be at. And I think
Speaker 4: it is this really growing awareness, thankfully around ADHD presenting
Speaker 4: differently not just for girls and boys, but also for
Speaker 4: men and women as well. We know that that's different
Speaker 4: for a number of reasons. I mean, as with all
Speaker 4: medicine and mental health, you know, there's an element of
Speaker 4: biology potentially there in terms of how ADHD presents differently
Speaker 4: in the brain for girls and boys versus men and
Speaker 4: women as well. But a really interesting part to it
Speaker 4: is that women often present more with inattentive features of ADHD,
Speaker 4: which is where the struggles are actually less overt or
Speaker 4: externally observable, and so that might be focus and distraction
Speaker 4: related issues, It might be really struggling with rejection, sensitivity, organization, procrastination,
Speaker 4: all of these elements that I think for a long
Speaker 4: time we didn't traditionally see on the surface as being ADHD.
Speaker 4: Compared to say, the more hyperactive or behavioral features, which
Speaker 4: are a lot more common in boys and men comparatively
Speaker 4: I think for women and for a lot of adults.
Speaker 4: In terms of adult ADHD for women, we're also seeing
Speaker 4: that culture, gender pressures, socialization. This has a huge part
Speaker 4: to play for ADHD for women and girls as well,
Speaker 4: because even if there are hyperactive elements or other features,
Speaker 4: I think from an early age, girls are pressured to
Speaker 4: be behaving in a certain way, presenting in a certain way.
Speaker 4: And so I speak to a lot of women who
Speaker 4: have their entire lives really known and felt something's there
Speaker 4: on the inside, but they've sort of been pressured in
Speaker 4: a way to containing that and to actually never really
Speaker 4: allowing themselves in a lot of ways to align with
Speaker 4: or really recognize those fearstures of ADHD that might be
Speaker 4: there all along.
Speaker 2: Well. Some of the things that we're seeing these women
Speaker 2: experience include things like time blindness, which is I've only
Speaker 2: just come to realize is something that our boss Mia
Speaker 2: Friedman has to deal with because she believes in her
Speaker 2: brain that everything is just twenty minutes either twenty minutes
Speaker 2: to do twenty minutes away, and so she doesn't have
Speaker 2: a comprehension of just how long things might take to
Speaker 2: do or to travel to and so that then will
Speaker 2: often lead to.
Speaker 3: Things like chronic lateness.
Speaker 2: How do we find strategies to deal with those kinds
Speaker 2: of things?
Speaker 4: Yeah, really tricky, and I mean time blindness is a
Speaker 4: really really interesting one that so many women and just
Speaker 4: people of all gender struggle with when it comes to ADHD.
Speaker 4: But it's not on we typically sort of really put
Speaker 4: up the front of our mind. But it is one,
Speaker 4: as you say, that can really impact our work, It
Speaker 4: can impact our relationships, our personal goals, and so I
Speaker 4: think when it comes to time blindness, it's that level
Speaker 4: of insight that's the first step, and that's key. I
Speaker 4: think often with time blindness, we're often just that we're
Speaker 4: blind to the fact that we can actually really struggle
Speaker 4: to sort of conceptualize time in our mind and how
Speaker 4: long things might take, or that we need some scaffold.
Speaker 4: So I think being aware that time blindness might be
Speaker 4: part of ADHD for you is a really really kind
Speaker 4: of key one to just acknowledge it, and then strategies
Speaker 4: for that do come around just giving ourselves more structure
Speaker 4: and planning when it comes to timing. It's also practice
Speaker 4: we know that for ADHD, a lot of these things
Speaker 4: do gradually kind of change and can improve with time
Speaker 4: and practice. So it's almost like a little bit of
Speaker 4: a muscle.
Speaker 3: Does ADHD affect your memory?
Speaker 4: Memory and retention are really prominent features of ADHD for
Speaker 4: a lot of people. And it's amazing how many people
Speaker 4: I see who actually get a little bit emotional or
Speaker 4: obviously anxious when we come to this point of the assessment,
Speaker 4: because they've often said to themselves, God, I wonder whether
Speaker 4: I'm sort of getting early onset dementia here, or I
Speaker 4: just always felt like some was actually wrong with my
Speaker 4: brain when it comes to memory. But if we really
Speaker 4: nail it down, it's not so much an issue with
Speaker 4: the actual memory or recalling things or laying down memories.
Speaker 4: It's more an issue with that intentional dynamic, meaning our
Speaker 4: brain didn't quite get the chance to sort of take
Speaker 4: and focus on and retain that information from the get go,
Speaker 4: And so that's where things like names being given instructions
Speaker 4: by a colleague or our partner conversations. Even it's often
Speaker 4: the sense that it's it's not the hardware of our
Speaker 4: brain that's struggling to actually lay down memories and recall them.
Speaker 4: It's the fact that that intentional dynamic of ADHD impacts
Speaker 4: being able to take in that information and then recall
Speaker 4: it later.
Speaker 2: A lot of people who have ad actually say they
Speaker 2: struggle with personal relationships.
Speaker 3: And it can be for various reasons.
Speaker 2: I mean, the time blindness and the chronic lateness and
Speaker 2: you know, the memory issues like all of that can
Speaker 2: add up if you are in a relationship with someone
Speaker 2: who has eighty eight and they can get frustrating. But
Speaker 2: other strategies to help improve communication for someone who is
Speaker 2: struggling to maintain a relationship.
Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely. And I think you know, for so long
Speaker 4: as well, we focused on for kids obviously with school
Speaker 4: and learning, but also for adults when it comes to study,
Speaker 4: but also work. We focused on that very work learning
Speaker 4: study related side to ADHD and how these symptoms impact
Speaker 4: kids and adults, and especially for adults. We know that
Speaker 4: the impacts on relationships and our personal lives are just
Speaker 4: as wide reaching and significant, and relationships as an area
Speaker 4: where those with ADHD can really struggle, And as you say,
Speaker 4: it's often to do with a number of different things,
Speaker 4: but I think it's often the level of again calling
Speaker 4: that out an insight around what's happening and why that
Speaker 4: I see making the biggest difference. And I think part
Speaker 4: of my work and working with people with ADHD that
Speaker 4: I love so much is just these beautiful little ripple
Speaker 4: effects to a diagnosis that we see. And I have
Speaker 4: so many patients say, God, things have been so much
Speaker 4: better with my partner and with my nearest and dearest
Speaker 4: since the diagnosis, because not only now do I understand
Speaker 4: where some of these things were coming from, but they
Speaker 4: have a much gentler, more open understanding of that as well.
Speaker 4: And with ADHD, we know obviously that things like forgetting
Speaker 4: a conversation with our partner, or struggling with time management
Speaker 4: or getting to the restaurant to meet them on time,
Speaker 4: these things are not anything to do with an active
Speaker 4: sense of trying to do those things, or not finding
Speaker 4: that relationship important, or not valuing that information or that time.
Speaker 4: It's just that these things on a more neurochemical level
Speaker 4: are very, very difficult.
Speaker 2: Can we talk about diagnosis, because if you're to believe
Speaker 2: social media, you can ask one question, like I was
Speaker 2: just watching a video of someone who said pretending to
Speaker 2: be the therapist, saying, do you interrupt people a lot,
Speaker 2: and the person who's the patient says, no, I don't no,
Speaker 2: because I'm constantly stopping myself in my head saying don't interrupt,
Speaker 2: don't interrupt, don't interrupt, don't interrupt it, and thinking about
Speaker 2: what it is that I'm going to say to contribute to,
Speaker 2: and then forgetting what I was going to say, and
Speaker 2: then the therapist goes, oh, you definitely have ADHD, Like,
Speaker 2: is it that simple?
Speaker 4: Unfortunately not. I mean, my job will be a lot
Speaker 4: easier if it was. But no, I'm so glad that
Speaker 4: you wanted to chat on this point because I see
Speaker 4: so much of it too, and it does drive me
Speaker 4: slightly insane, even as a psychiatrist to see some of this.
Speaker 4: I mean, I think even earlier today, I saw something
Speaker 4: on my Instagram scroll of if you see green in
Speaker 4: this image, it means you have ADHD. There's so much
Speaker 4: floating around on social media now that obviously is really
Speaker 4: grounded and misinformation, but also for me as an ADHD psychiatrist,
Speaker 4: really concerns me because I think it oversimplifies and actually
Speaker 4: disregards a lot of what ADHD is. And I've had
Speaker 4: a lot of patience and even friends and people I
Speaker 4: know with ADHD say when they see that type of
Speaker 4: thing on social media, it's actually really quite invalidating to
Speaker 4: feel that their experience and their diagnosis and condition can
Speaker 4: be boiled down to a oh yeah, you look at
Speaker 4: this color chart and if you can see green rather
Speaker 4: than blue, then it means you must.
Speaker 2: Have as can We talk about another aspect of ADHD,
Speaker 2: and that is dysregulation and rejection sensitive dysphoria.
Speaker 3: Now a lot of women I know have.
Speaker 2: Experienced this, not because they have ADHD, but because they
Speaker 2: get PMT. You go through this week every twenty eight
Speaker 2: days where you think everybody hates you, and there's no
Speaker 2: reason for it, but you just have convinced yourself that
Speaker 2: everyone hates you, no one likes you, You're the worst
Speaker 2: person in the world. And that is apparently something there's
Speaker 2: quite common for people who have ADHD, but not just
Speaker 2: for one week every twenty eight days.
Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly. I mean it might be slightly worse for
Speaker 4: that one week every twenty eight days.
Speaker 3: Okay, that's rip that week.
Speaker 4: Here exactly, very very are But no, you're exactly right.
Speaker 4: For those with ADHD and for neurodivigence in general. We
Speaker 4: know that regulating emotions can be really quite difficult. I
Speaker 4: often talk to patients about pinball emotions, where there's a
Speaker 4: sense that our emotions can really shift and pinball and
Speaker 4: change quite quickly but also quite intensely. And I think
Speaker 4: hand in hand with that can come RSD, where As
Speaker 4: you say, we're sort of really really hyper vigilant to
Speaker 4: any perceived sense of rejection abandonment, that the other person
Speaker 4: or people might be displeased or unhappy. And the interesting
Speaker 4: thing is that we're starting to see there might be
Speaker 4: a neurological correlate to that in terms of that vigilance
Speaker 4: to rejection and emotional responses in ADHD. But the fascinating
Speaker 4: thing is that for those who struggle with rejection sensitivity
Speaker 4: and ADHD, it's often because there's been a collection of
Speaker 4: messages and signs across their life from early in childhood
Speaker 4: that they're not quite behaving as they should, or they're
Speaker 4: not quite achieving as much as they could. She would
Speaker 4: have amazing potential if she just learned to not talk
Speaker 4: so much in class, And so when it comes to
Speaker 4: rejection sensitivity, it's often this background history of being made
Speaker 4: to feel and soak in explicit and implicit messages across
Speaker 4: a lifetime. That lead us to be really really sensitive
Speaker 4: to gauging how we're doing with other people. And if
Speaker 4: we sense that there's a sense from them that we
Speaker 4: are not doing as we should, performing as we should,
Speaker 4: or that they might be considering rejecting or leaving, that
Speaker 4: can strike this hugely powerful emotional and even physical type
Speaker 4: reaction where we feel that intensely. And so we now
Speaker 4: know that that is really really common for a lot
Speaker 4: of people with neurodivergence and ADHD.
Speaker 2: Do we know what causes ADHD? I've been reading quite
Speaker 2: a bit that it's got a genetic hereditory aspect to it.
Speaker 2: Is that what we sort of understand is its root cause.
Speaker 4: Yeah, absolutely, we know that compared to especially a lot
Speaker 4: of our psychiatric or neurodevelopmental conditions, ADHD has a significant
Speaker 4: genetic component. So we are much more likely to have
Speaker 4: a diagnosis of ADHD or maybe struggle with subdiagnostic traits
Speaker 4: or elements of ADHD if we have a direct family
Speaker 4: member who also struggles with ADHD or has the diagnosis.
Speaker 4: We're not exactly sure how and why that gets expressed
Speaker 4: in some people rather than others. There's no clear environmental
Speaker 4: cause for ADHD or one clear trigger or switch, and
Speaker 4: so it's probably, as with much of medicine, this really
Speaker 4: complicated melting pot mix of genetic, biological, environmental, and other
Speaker 4: factors that leads to ADHD being there.
Speaker 3: Well, finally, let's talk about medication.
Speaker 2: I did see this great video of a doctor who
Speaker 2: said the side effects of taking ADHD medication might be
Speaker 2: that you graduate high school or graduate university, or reduce
Speaker 2: your likelihood of getting arrested, or becoming an addict or
Speaker 2: getting divorced. Like, could we talk about the impacts of
Speaker 2: ADHD medication?
Speaker 4: Absolutely, you know, And I love that spin on it
Speaker 4: as well. You know. I think there's a lot out
Speaker 4: there about ADHD medication. But as you say, if the
Speaker 4: diagnosis is there, if the medication is right for someone
Speaker 4: and it works, the positive side effects and spin offs
Speaker 4: can be some massive improvements and supports. It's really really
Speaker 4: important to not feel like medication is the only option,
Speaker 4: because it's absolutely not. We know that psychology and coaching
Speaker 4: for ADHD can make a huge difference. Things like a
Speaker 4: balanced diet, regular meals, exercise, sleep, managing other elements of
Speaker 4: our mental health like mood and anxiety. These things can
Speaker 4: all help support and prop up our brain to make
Speaker 4: sure ADHD symptoms are significantly improved.
Speaker 2: What's the side effects that we need to be concerned about.
Speaker 4: When it comes to stimulant medications for ADHD, There are
Speaker 4: some potential significant risks, even though those are very very low.
Speaker 4: I don't want to worry people or parents at all.
Speaker 4: With adults, we can notice some initial things because it
Speaker 4: is a stimulant around our heart rate picking up slightly,
Speaker 4: maybe some headaches, shapes, even feeling slightly anxious as the
Speaker 4: medication settles in. But significant symptoms to watch out for
Speaker 4: can be reduced appetites, reduce food and taken loss of weight.
Speaker 4: That's one that mean kids need to be regularly monitored
Speaker 4: by their pediatrician or psychiatrist and GP sleep can be
Speaker 4: something that's impacted sometimes. And the very very rare but
Speaker 4: potentially serious side effects would be around the heart and
Speaker 4: brain and so depending on the psychiatrist and doctor. Getting
Speaker 4: checks for heart fire, option with an ECG, getting routine
Speaker 4: blood tests, getting a medical exam. All of these are
Speaker 4: paths to the medication side of things that mean we
Speaker 4: try and make sure there are no significant risk factors
Speaker 4: or contraindications for people. Generally they're very safe medications, but
Speaker 4: as we mentioned, it's always a weighing of risks verst
Speaker 4: benefits and can be a complicated question. So definitely one
Speaker 4: of people, whether they're on medication or not. For a DHD,
Speaker 4: if you have concerns, if you have questions, going straight
Speaker 4: to the horse's mouth and talking to your GP or
Speaker 4: your psychiatrist about that is really really key.
Speaker 2: A really big thank you to doctor Kennedy for taking
Speaker 2: the time to explain a bit more about ADHD to us.
Speaker 3: Mariam, how did you feel about what he said?
Speaker 5: What he was speaking about with females obviously getting diagnosed
Speaker 5: later in life, and that's generally what we see in
Speaker 5: general practice is you know, females in that forty five
Speaker 5: age range group coming in and getting that diagnosis. And
Speaker 5: a big part of it is those cultural and gentle
Speaker 5: pressures to behave a certain way. So it's really sad
Speaker 5: to I think they've been masking and acting for all
Speaker 5: this way because of all these pressures on how they
Speaker 5: should behave.
Speaker 2: It sounds thoroughly exhausting that they've had to essentially put
Speaker 2: on a show every day just to get through. Yeah,
Speaker 2: from waking to sleep that's incredible. Next, we are heading
Speaker 2: into the consultation room to find out exactly what is
Speaker 2: totally fine and normal when you touch your boobs and
Speaker 2: might find something a little lumpy and what is it
Speaker 2: totally not fine and needs a biopsy kind of lump.
Speaker 2: As we remind you all to do your monthly boob checks.
Speaker 4: The doctor will see you now. Just through here to
Speaker 4: consort Room one.
Speaker 5: Thank you for waiting.
Speaker 3: How can I help you?
Speaker 1: So?
Speaker 2: This is where you can have your health concerns heard.
Speaker 2: If you have something you want to ask doctor Marriam
Speaker 2: or any expert in the health space, make sure you
Speaker 2: reach out our email as well at mmamea dot com
Speaker 2: dot are you all leave a voice note. You can
Speaker 2: find a link to that in the show notes. Amali
Speaker 2: said in this question and it is one for all
Speaker 2: the lumpy boobed gals.
Speaker 3: Okay, here we go.
Speaker 6: She wrote this, I just don't know if I'm doing
Speaker 6: my breast check exams right. I've been doing them for
Speaker 6: a while now, and I feel things in there. They're
Speaker 6: not lumps as such, but they're not not lumps, if
Speaker 6: you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: Now, I hear you, Amali, as a fellow lumpy boobed gal,
Speaker 2: and I've been trying to tell my colleagues that I
Speaker 2: wish it wasn't an HR violation and I could allow
Speaker 2: them to touch my boobs so they could feel what
Speaker 2: I can feel. Because everyone's boobs feel different, right, they
Speaker 2: have decided not to break that HR violation.
Speaker 3: You're lost, ah, exactly, So how.
Speaker 2: Do we tell the difference? And what are we actually
Speaker 2: feeling when we're feeling our boobs?
Speaker 5: Yeah, Amali, First of all, great work that you are
Speaker 5: breast aware, so we know breast self awareness is about
Speaker 5: becoming familiar, having your relationship with your breasts, getting on
Speaker 5: top of how they look and feel. So generally advise
Speaker 5: all my patients to be breast self aware, and that's
Speaker 5: doing a breast examination every month, and I generally recommend
Speaker 5: that two to three days after your period if you
Speaker 5: don't have a period anymore, setting a start date every
Speaker 5: month and sticking to that date. Everyone's breast look and
Speaker 5: feel different. They may be lumpy, you might have inverted nipples,
Speaker 5: whatever it might be. Everyone's breasts are normal, so you
Speaker 5: need to get used to your normal by doing these
Speaker 5: self examination tests. So, Amali, the things that you might
Speaker 5: be feeling when you're examining your breast. They might be
Speaker 5: the fatty tissue which you've described. They could be the
Speaker 5: glandular tissue, and that includes the lobes and the lobules,
Speaker 5: and that's what produces milk. You've got the milk ducks,
Speaker 5: which are thin tubes that go from the lobules to
Speaker 5: the nipples. You've got the nipples and.
Speaker 3: That because lobules is the most glorious word. I have. Lobules.
Speaker 3: Is that what I'm feeling under my nipple.
Speaker 5: You've got some lobules.
Speaker 1: I love that.
Speaker 5: And then yeah, so you've got these milk ducts, which
Speaker 5: are thin tubes that carry the milk from the lobules
Speaker 5: to the nipple, the nipple and the surrounding areola. And
Speaker 5: then you've got the supportive connective tissue. You've also got
Speaker 5: lymph vessels and lymph nodes. And when you're doing an examination,
Speaker 5: you want to make sure that you're going under the arm,
Speaker 5: around the breast, all the way below the collar bone,
Speaker 5: all those lumpy breasts. You need to know what your
Speaker 5: normal is. So if you're feeling something and you're not
Speaker 5: quite sure, just go in and see your GP. They'll
Speaker 5: do a breast examination, and there's aside whether or not
Speaker 5: you need some imaging. If the imaging is all fine,
Speaker 5: then we know that's your normal, and then you just
Speaker 5: continue examinations and then if anything changes, you see your doctor.
Speaker 5: So it's just knowing what is right for you and
Speaker 5: what is your normal. It's very important to note that
Speaker 5: self awareness does not replace the two yearly mammograms, so
Speaker 5: you still need to do those mammograms from the age
Speaker 5: of fifty, or if you want to do them earlier,
Speaker 5: you can do them from the age of forty as well.
Speaker 2: There's also been a lot of chat around about DNSE
Speaker 2: breasts because imaging it's harder to pick up breast cancer.
Speaker 2: If you have dance breast. Can you feel if your
Speaker 2: breast tissue is dense, like, would it feel different to
Speaker 2: someone who's isn't.
Speaker 5: It may or may not feel that way during examination.
Speaker 5: We only generally pick that up in imaging. But yeah,
Speaker 5: if you've got any concerns during an examination and you're
Speaker 5: feeling like, oh, I don't know if this is normal,
Speaker 5: just see your doctor get some clarity, don't leave it.
Speaker 2: Thank you Omali, and remember if you do want to
Speaker 2: send through a question to doctor Mariam go in our
Speaker 2: show notes, leave us a voice note, or if you
Speaker 2: want to remain anonymous, there's a way to do that too.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for joining us on our well
Speaker 2: adventure today. If you have any questions about what we
Speaker 2: discussed or any health concerns you want us to look into,
Speaker 2: shoot us an email well at mamamea dot com.
Speaker 3: Dot au or leave us a voice note.
Speaker 2: Next week, we're talking about two things that can either
Speaker 2: be a constant companion or an infrequent visitor, but always
Speaker 2: messes with our heads. It is something that both Mariam
Speaker 2: and I have experienced at some stage. We're talking about
Speaker 2: anxiety and depression. They also sometimes hang out together along
Speaker 2: with Adhd, as we.
Speaker 3: Found out today.
Speaker 2: And if you are interested in anything that you have
Speaker 2: heard or learnt here today, make sure you sign up
Speaker 2: to the Well newsletter. You can find a link to
Speaker 2: that in our show notes. Of course, the advice you've
Speaker 2: heard here today.
Speaker 3: It's general.
Speaker 2: It may not suit your exact needs, so make sure
Speaker 2: you reach out to your own doctor or a health
Speaker 2: specialist to get the info that is one hundred percent
Speaker 2: right for you and Mariam.
Speaker 3: We will see you for your appointment next week. Back
Speaker 3: to your opinions.
Speaker 2: Well is produced by me Claire Murphy, Our Group Executive
Speaker 2: producer Georgie Page and SEENI producer Sasha Tanic, with audio
Speaker 2: production by Scott Stronik. We hope you enjoyed this episode
Speaker 2: of Well. If you're after more women's health news, just
Speaker 2: like this, Well is your full body health Check. We
Speaker 2: drop episodes every week on a Thursday. Coming up in
Speaker 2: our next topic, we're going to be focusing in on
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Speaker 2: there in the show notes.