Episode 161: Empowering Advice from an ADHD Psychiatrist: Medication, RSD and Getting a Diagnosis
This week's ADHD Women's Wellbeing Wisdom comes from Dr Helen Read, who offers empowering guidance on medication, menstrual cycles, getting a diagnosis, and RSD.
Or perhaps you've been nervous about taking ADHD medication? Has it felt scary to start a medication regime due to the stigma behind stimulant meds?
Or perhaps medication hasn't worked for you in the past and you're now worried about how to manage medication that works for you at different times of the month?
If so, we hope to answer some of these questions and empower you with some personalised tools that work for you.
Dr Helen Read on The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast is an experienced Consultant Psychiatrist with 30 years of experience in NHS. She has many years of experience with neurodiversity, both in ADHD / ADD and ASD, and their many comorbidities.
Dr Read has a special interest in rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD) and other emotional issues that are often part of these conditions.
Dr Read also has ADHD herself, as do her children. Her advice, support and experience with parents are first-hand, reflecting the often difficult family journey she has taken, with many difficulties and many successes along the way. Dr Read's lived experience with ADHD means her treatment plans are incredibly personalised.
Dr Read's private practice, ADHD Consultancy, specialises in neurodiversity.
Dr Helen and Kate spoke about
Removing medication stigma
How ADHD medication can help
How to use and tweak medication to work for you
The ADHD diagnosis process
Helen's journey to work in ADHD
The power of being seen by an ADHD specialist
ADHD and RSD
Building new structures and scaffolding to help our new ADHD diagnosis
Feeling autonomous in our ADHD outcomes
The change that is needed in the diagnostic process
The harm the BBC Panorama Documentary did
How medication could make your life easier
To connect with Dr Read you can go to her website, www.adhdconsultancy.co.uk or connect with her on Twitter @DoctorHelenRead.
Look at some of Kate's ADHD workshops and free resources here.