NOTE: I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am speaking from my own experience as someone who was diagnosed with Adenomyosis and ADHD. This is not a medical blog.
Imagine having a tough time with getting things done, and then on top of that, having a condition that actually physically stops you from getting anything done some days.
Just hanging out with my uterus and my heating pad, as per usual!
That’s what it’s like living with ADHD and Adenomyosis. These two conditions aren’t related, as far as I know.
But for me, they’re both equally important to consider when it comes to being a mom, running a podcast editing business, and, oh, living in 2021 currently.
Adenomyosis, for those who don’t know, is a uterine condition in which cells grow in the uterine muscle that aren’t supposed to be there. It causes discomfort, a swollen uterus, pain, heavy bleeding, extra difficult periods and ovulation and a host of other symptoms.
Most symptoms can be predicted, like during my period and ovulation, I know to expect pain and discomfort. I try to keep my schedule as light as I can on those days.
With ADHD, there are good and bad days, but I’ve been working with my ADHD for so long that when I wake up, I know to expect it to make an impact on my day — it’s how I process the world, so I don’t really have a choice.
I was diagnosed with ADHD at 30 after being in therapy originally for anxiety for almost 3 years. As it turned out, my anxiety was actually an indicator of ADHD and in fact a side-effect of trying to live and function in a neurotypical world with a neurodivergent brain for so long.
The struggle I didn’t know I was fighting with every day was in fact my own brain trying to make sense of the world in its own way, but forced to mask and adhere to societal standards.
ADHD makes it difficult for me to make and keep plans in my head, gauge how long projects will realistically take, and get started and stay focused on tasks sometimes. There’s another fun trait to ADHD that almost contradicts this called Hyperfocus, when I can spend hours on a single task and get it done at lightning speed. But that’s, like, advanced-ADHD powers to be able to predict and control it.
I knew if I could set up a system to stay on top of my schedule that I stayed on top of on a regular basis, I could get more done and actually make some headway on all the ideas and creative projects my ADHD brain naturally excelled at coming up with.
I used medication for a while, until I got pregnant with my son at 33 and had to stop. And then I needed to figure out a way to stay focused on what I needed to do without medication.
I won’t go too deep into my organization and planning system in this post (there will be one in the future), but after years of tweaking and trying different systems, I finally settled on a hybrid system consisting of a Google Calendar, and paper weekly and daily planners that keep me on task and goal-oriented for work and whatever else needs to get done. I have a kind of Bullet Journal system so I create my own planning pages and have used this system for years now.
As the symptoms of Adenomyosis got worse month after month, I found myself tracking my symptoms to be able to talk to my doctor about them. In doing so, I was able to recognize which days of my cycle were more likely to be low-energy days and not to schedule anything on, and which days I would most likely feel great and be able to get more done.
For example, the week before my period, I NEED to write it on my planner to give myself the constant reminder that the world doesn’t hate me, that my clients don’t hate me, and that I need to be extra gentle with myself. The Week following my period and right before ovulation is my highest-energy week and that’s the week I like to plan outdoor things with the kids or self-care that takes me out of the house since I don’t necessarily need to be tethered to my heating pad.
When I sit down on Sunday for my weekly planning sessions, I am able to look at the week ahead in my period tracking app (I use an app called simply Period Tracker) and see what kind of energy I’m looking at for the week and what to expect.
Learning these routines actually helped with my ADHD, since my brain thrives on recognizing patterns and routines — even though it can get restless and bored easily if the routine stays too bland. In an odd way, my body has kept my brain on a particular schedule, or at least helps me stay on top of some of the natural rhythms of my body I probably wouldn’t have paid attention to otherwise.
While there are some benefits, I will say that one of the downfalls of having both of these is the brain fog that comes from them, especially the week of PMS and my period. Periods can already be tough for folks with ADHD with the hormone changes.
Add on top of that a pain in the uterus that sends my brain reeling into panic mode. It’s the kind of pain that any other human would go to the emergency room for, but for me since I know it’s all part of my benign condition, I know logically the pain won’t kill me.
But many people with ADHD will tell you that if one thing is bugging them, like a pain or sore body part, they may find it even harder to concentrate and focus on anything else. Since I have pain from Adenomyosis on some level pretty much every day, there is usually at least a portion of my brain constantly distracted with whatever random stabby pains or throbbing aches hits me on that particular day.
I think the worst part is trying to start an Adenomyosis Podcast but I haven’t figured out yet how to work that into my schedule. ADHD Emily is very excited and had a nice, long Hyperfocus on the podcast when I was getting it started. So much of the backend marketing stuff is done, even website copy and social media post drafts. I even have a few interviews recorded. But I had to put it on hold when my mom got sicker and we weren’t sure what was going to happen.
It’s been difficult to pick back up, especially since it’s felt like it’s been just one thing after another the past few months.
But I’m hoping to incorporate some of that podcast idea into this blog. If, for no other reason, so I can get more information out there somehow on this under-researched condition that is said to affect at least 10 percent of those who menstruate! Some sources even say 20-65 percent!
If you’re interested in following more about Adenomyosis and ADHD from me, make sure you’re checking out the tags at the bottom of the posts 🙂 It can be tough to navigate both of these on their own. But for the rare unicorn who has both like me, welcome! Happy to talk about our current Hyperfocus, as well as your favorite brand of heating pad!
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