ADHD & PMDD: How to Manage Both
🔊 Audio Recording
In this episode, I catch up with Savannah LeJeune a Colorado-based photographer to talk about how PMDD (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder) im
In this episode, I catch up with Savannah LeJeune a Colorado-based photographer to talk about how PMDD (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder) impacts her ADHD.
Summary
Savannah Lejeune shares her compelling story of resilience as she navigates the complexities of ADHD and PMDD. Initially misdiagnosed with depression, Savannah discovered her true diagnoses in adulthood, profoundly impacting her career in the fast-paced film industry. With the support of her family and mental health professionals, she emphasizes the importance of self-advocacy in navigating the healthcare system to find the right treatment.
The podcast explores the modern landscape of mental health treatment, highlighting the convenience and accessibility of online therapy platforms like BetterHelp. Savannah and the host discuss the challenges of medication management for ADHD and PMDD, sharing personal experiences with medications like Vyvanse, Prozac, and Wellbutrin. The conversation underscores the significance of persistence and self-advocacy in securing effective mental health resources.
Listeners are invited to participate in a survey to help shape future podcast content, ensuring it aligns with their interests and needs. The episode concludes with gratitude for Savannah's insights and a call to action for listener feedback, aiming to enhance the podcast experience. As Savannah's story unfolds, it becomes a testament to the power of resilience and advocacy in achieving mental wellness.
Transcript
00:19 - Sarah (Host)
The Adulting with ADHD podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Please see a medical professional if you think you have ADHD or if you have questions about your current treatment. To support this podcast or to access the podcast archives, visit patreoncom slash. Adulting with ADHD. This is the adulting with ADHD podcast self-empowerment for people with ADHD. Today, I have with me Savannah Lejeune. She is a wedding photographer based out of Denver. How's it going, Savannah? Hi, thanks for having me.
00:57 - Savannah (Guest)
I'm so excited to be here.
00:59 - Sarah (Host)
Yes, and so today we were going to talk a little bit about what happens when PMDD and ADHD collide. So I guess, first do you want to tell us a little bit about your ADHD diagnosis story and we can take it from there.
01:16 - Savannah (Guest)
Yeah, absolutely. I think my story is similar to a lot of women that I've encountered on this journey where the ADHD wasn't obvious until I was older. Once I was fully responsible for myself childhood my parents would feed me, I didn't have to worry about putting food in front of myself. And in college there's a lot of routine and I was able to manage and I did well in school, you know, was involved in a lot of extracurriculars. After college ended, that's when things started to get really hard and I actually discovered the PMDD.
01:53
Before the ADHD, I worked in the film industry in LA. That's a very fast paced and pretty intense industry fast-paced and pretty intense industry and I felt like I couldn't keep up, especially because once every month for a week I would be just debilitatingly exhausted and unmotivated and just felt terrible, sometimes to the point where I would call in sick, even though I wasn't sick, but I just didn't think I could mentally handle the day ahead. I started to finally see the correlation between these extreme mood swings and the time of the month, and then I started to do some research and discovered that it was a lot more than just standard PMS, because I mean I would have as extreme as like some suicidal ideations once a month. I never wanted to act on them, but just like I get to this mood breaking point where it was like I can't keep living like this, this is just too intense for me. So eventually I moved back to Colorado because LA was taking its toll on me and I started seeing a therapist who specializes in EMDD. So she used dialectic behavioral therapy to help me regulate my emotions and stuff, and it was with her that I discovered I might have ADHD. She had this questionnaire we'd fill out every session to see where I was at and under the category of being distractible and anything related with ADHD. She was like you're always scoring like really high on this. I really think you need to talk to a psychiatrist about this. And finally I did and lo and behold, you know, once I also started looking into what ADHD looks like in women, I was blown away. I felt like someone was writing a book about me and I think a lot of people have that same kind of experience. And what's been interesting is I've gotten help now with the PMDD and ADHD and my life has turned around significantly.
04:01
When I was younger I also saw a lot of therapists and psychiatrists because I was diagnosed with depression. I think if I had been properly diagnosed and gotten the help I needed back in the day, the depression wouldn't have been as severe or at all. And I even had a psychiatrist, you know, when I started looking down the road of ADHD, who dismissed my thoughts. Down the road of ADHD, who dismissed my thoughts, he was like, oh no, you probably don't have that.
04:33
Depression can cause ADHD, like symptoms, because you know if you're not in a good place then you're distracted and this and that. And I was like, okay, but I've also been dealing with this my whole life. What if it's the other way around? What if the ADHD is causing the depression? And I eventually did find another psychiatrist who was willing to work with me and understand and it's been pretty life-changing. So I'm still dealing with ADHD and the PMDD, but my life has done a full 180 in the last six months. I've only been diagnosed with ADHD for about six months now and the PMDD I've been diagnosed with for a couple of years hard from an executive function standpoint.
05:27 - Sarah (Host)
So major props to you for that. And I've had to do the same thing sometimes. It's not clicking.
05:30 - Savannah (Guest)
They don't get it. Yeah, I will say I'm a very fortunate person. I have a very strong supportive family who has always advocated for me and wants the best for me. When my executive function my executive function wasn't working, they would help me search for people and stuff. I'm so grateful that I have them, and it's also made me wonder if I took this long and had to go through this many hoops to get to where I am, even with all the support of my family. How does someone do it without that? And I had to also advocate for myself with medical professionals all over the place. Eventually I was just like I'm not going to take this as an answer, because that's been the answer my whole life, this depression thing, and I don't think that's the deal. So just even finding the right person who would actually be on board and willing to help me was an ordeal in itself. So I can't even imagine anyone navigating. So navigating the healthcare system has also been majorly challenging for me.
06:34 - Sarah (Host)
Oh yeah, on both those fronts, because I've even run into that with gynecologists as well. I am having some mental health challenges. I know there's overlap here and radio silence. Did you have anything like that? Or just being dismissed?
06:48 - Savannah (Guest)
Yes, so I was dismissed in a lot of areas. I never sought out a gynecologist, but I did seek. I helped through my primary doctor and asked her to recommend someone who was on the same page with psychiatry to help me out. One of the blessings of our very challenging year of COVID is that I actually lost my main health insurance. Because of the employment situation. I ended up on Medicaid and because of that I was connected with the psychiatrist that I currently have, and when I was at my previous insurance, no one seemed to be able to help me. So, even though I had good insurance, I think the doctors I met with were more old school and they just didn't have a modern understanding of ADHD. So meeting with a psychiatrist and being forced onto Medicaid ended up being really the best thing that could happen.
07:47 - Sarah (Host)
Yeah, I think you really nailed it on the head about the old school thing.
07:51 - Savannah (Guest)
That's what.
07:51 - Sarah (Host)
I've run into quite a bit. That's incredible. So at what point in the journey? Maybe you always knew, but at what point in the journey did you realize ADHD, pmdd that there was this correlation?
08:04 - Savannah (Guest)
I actually to be completely ADHD PMDD that there was this correlation. I actually, to be completely honest, wasn't even that aware that there was a correlation. It kind of thought, oh cool, what in the world? I have multiple things going on. I'm just like a bag of joy over here.
08:19
But one of the cool things is that I have discovered a community of women with ADHD and there are different Facebook groups where people can participate and talk about their own experiences. And then it was through some of those that I started to see hey, wait, I'm not the only one dealing with ADHD and PMDD. I started to connect the dots, that they actually are correlated, because so many women had similar stories and issues with the two combined and it's really just even a crazy double whammy because they both affect you so strongly on their own. So combining them, I think, is why I really had a really hard time. I think your listeners know this. A really hard time, I think your listeners know this. Both of them cause an imbalance in chemicals in your brain and without getting everything balanced out, it's hard to function and it's hard to motivate and keep going through the world. I had a very big issue with a lack of interest in anything, even the things I used to be passionate about, and hey, I just lost my train of thought.
09:22 - Sarah (Host)
I totally do that like a million times a day.
09:26 - Savannah (Guest)
They're both difficult on their own, but at the same time yes exactly and then when, when you actually get you know the chemicals that you need to help with these issues, it makes a world of difference. Obviously not perfect, cause I did just zone out and still have some lingering things, but yeah, I tell people this, I'm 29 now. I haven't felt this kind of passion for things and motivation towards things and just overall a sense of fulfillment and joy since probably early high school years and childhood, like it's been that long since I have felt this more or less normal. So when I say life-changing, it's quite truly life-changing for me.
10:10 - Sarah (Host)
These days, I've found myself needing quicker access to therapy from the safety and comfort of my home. This is why I started using BetterHelp for my immediate therapy needs. They will assess your situation and match you up with a licensed professional therapist, one who you'll likely start communicating with in 24 hours or less. It's more affordable than traditional therapy, and financial aid is available. You can do it through text or chat if you don't like phone calls or video appointments. To get started and to save 10%, go to betterhelpcom.
10:40
Slash ADHD adulting and it's incredible to me that something so life-changing for so many of us could elude us for so long and elude our doctors. Something about the research is there and it's just not trickling down. Hopefully this more modern approach, as you said that's an elegant way of putting it this more modern approach to ADHD, hopefully that'll start making its way through, because it's just, it's like you said, it's all interconnected, which I just I don't think enough. I know. For me it was just like I had heard that about holistic health and I was like, yeah, that sounds good, but I never realized how, how fundamentally, like we're talking hormones, yeah, like kind of fundamental, and it's just incredible that we're having these conversations yeah, it really is.
11:33 - Savannah (Guest)
And I have to say, throughout this journey I've had my fair share of frustration and you know, I also have been disappointed with the fact that I didn't get someone on, you know, my side and someone who realized what was going on years ago, because, of course, I feel like I maybe squandered time when I could have been more productive and more this and that, more productive and more this and that. So I certainly I have had my fair share of frustrations throughout this journey, especially for the sheer amount of self-advocating that I've had to do. It's like I've grown up going to doctor's appointments assuming that they know what's best for me and will seek out answers on my behalf, and the last few years has clearly taught me that's not the case. It's been frustrating but simultaneously I am grateful that I found an answer and I am 29. I still have a long, you know, journey ahead, like, I think, a lot of people, still frustrating, but I am glad it's becoming more widely known and accepted and dealt with.
12:45 - Sarah (Host)
Yeah, absolutely. I was looking at my questions here and I think you pretty much already answered this. But when you're dealing with your medical providers now, does the hormones and mental health overlap? Is that an accepted thing that you guys are talking about now, or is that still one of those things that it's? You know it, but you're just going to let them do their jobs?
13:10 - Savannah (Guest)
My. So my current psychiatrist is awesome and we haven't actually talked a ton about the overlap, but what she has been prescribing me has helped immensely. So I currently am on Vyvanse for the ADHD. For my PMDD I actually take Prozac for one week leading up to my period and I don't know the science behind it, so I'm definitely going to garble this. But essentially it's for some reason only necessary because normally, like an antidepressant takes a while to get into your system. But for whatever reason, during that week that you're depleted of the right chemicals, the Prozac can come in and just like help balance everything out, and that has been huge for me. For the PMDD, I finally get to feel good for four weeks each month instead of three.
14:13 - Sarah (Host)
You get a whole month. I get the whole month out of a month.
14:17 - Savannah (Guest)
It's pretty cool and that was one of the things that was just starting to eat away at my life, which was disappointing, and I have a lot of things that I want to accomplish, but if you only have three weeks of productivity every month, then it takes forever to get to your goals. So the Prozac has been so helpful and I would say to any of your listeners who might think they have PMDD to do some research, to talk to your psychiatrist and and check out possible solution. I know there there are like scientific papers out there. I just don't know how to explain the science, but it helps. It helps like amazingly.
14:56 - Sarah (Host)
I love that same here. I try not. I try to interview the experts, so I don't have to explain it. And so. I'm just going to have the readers check out the work of Dr Patricia Quinn. She's quoted a lot in Attitude Magazine talking about this and the various things you can do, and I'll leave it at that, because I also don't want to open that can of worms. I'm not a scientist, I just interview them.
15:21 - Savannah (Guest)
Yeah, exactly. And then, on top of those two, I also am still on one of my original antidepressants, because, at the end of the day, I think I still have some depression a little bit, so I'm on a but butren for that. So I'm on three different things. Finally, I have found a cocktail that works and feel like I've got my life back. It took forever, though it really did, and that's just another thing I would pass on, or would like to pass on is just don't give up. I know how frustrating the process is, I know how hard it is to advocate and I know that there are so many barriers, but if you can stick with it, it's why.
16:01 - Sarah (Host)
Yeah, totally spot on. I'm gonna echo that statement because it works. You were talking about switching insurances. I've I've had to pay out of pocket for doctors because it's like what's going on, so I don't want to go anywhere else, you know, and it is a gigantic pain in the butt.
16:19
Yeah, yeah and medicine it's like I had this doctor prescribe something to me that I knew was what I needed, but it was not covered by my insurance. So it's like, can I full price for this and have a functional life? Or I could right get the cheaper version and sort of be all right. So you're, yeah, absolutely like we get put in all kinds of impossible situations, but I agree it's worth it If you can make it through to the other side.
16:48 - Savannah (Guest)
It is just a mess. It's a mess, that is for sure, and I think I will also say to your listeners like the barrier to entry feels really high sometimes because it's costly and, um, you know, time intensive to like research and stuff. But even one of the things that helped me was listening to podcasts like this one and starting to reflect on all the things that resonated with me and that I felt I had going on. So when I actually went and spoke with an actual doctor, I said I had my list ready. I said I relate to this and this and you know I also filled out.
17:25
Their like official test also scored me pretty high in ADHD. But I came prepared with that information because if I hadn't scored the way they wanted to see on their test, I still wasn't going to just walk out and be like, oh okay, this is it. Because I just felt so strongly at that point that I did have it. From all the research I've done podcasts and there's some great YouTube channels I haven't gotten on the TikTok train I know some people do that for learning ADHD tips and tricks, but yeah well, is there anywhere you would like people to connect with you?
18:02 - Sarah (Host)
where can people find you online?
18:04 - Savannah (Guest)
Yeah, absolutely. I'm a wedding photographer, which we mentioned at the top of the show. I'm based in Denver and travel the US for different weddings, but if you're curious, feel free to check it out. It's called this Fearless Love wwwthisfearlesslovecom, and you can find my contact on there too, if you have any random questions about my journey with. You know, pmdd and ADHD combined, because at this point I'm so excited to be in a place where I feel normal that I want everyone else to feel normal too so feel free to reach out if you have any like questions.
18:44 - Sarah (Host)
Thank you so much, savannah. This has been such a wonderful interview.
