My guest, Alex Petrovnia, this week shares his experience of being diagnosed with ADHD and transitioning as a trans man. 
Alex is a biologist and director of The TransFormations Project. 

ADHD & Gender

Alex describes the beginning of 2020 as an interesting time, as the pandemic swept through the country he had two major revelations about himself. 

He suspected he was trans and probably had ADHD. At first, he avoided dealing with either (something he doesn't recommend!) but the quarantine forced him to deal with them.

Coming out 

The first person Alex came out to was himself. He describes it as the most important coming out moment. Alex says he had come out to themself several times but suppressed it.  
The other important person was coming out to his finance. His fiance came out as trans a few months later and they have been transitioning together. 

Hormones and ADHD

Alex describes us as a deeply interconnected system, when there is something wrong with one part whether it's mental, physical, or emotional it will all impact each other. 

Alex was on HRT before he was prescribed Adderall for his ADHD. He says he experienced a shift, the Adderall with the HRT was effective. Alex explains when you have the correct brain chemistry it's a moment when you realize how you're meant to experience the world. 

Alex's links

Twitter

About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast

It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages. 

As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.

With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more. 

Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at https://adultingwithadhd.com/hormones.

Show highlights

2:40 min Coming out story

8:00 min HRT & ADHD meds

10:30 min HRT & changes in the body & mind

16:00 min Endometriosis 

17:30 min HRT, mental health & testosterone 

22:00 min medicine & misogyny