The Manhattan Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Support Group
www.maaddsg.org
Our Goal Is To Offer Support And Information To Adults In New York City
And The Surrounding Communities With ADD/ADHD
We Are Not "Lazy, Crazy, Or Stupid"
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Past Meetings
 
Judi Chervenak, MD, clinical and research endocrinologist; assistant professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; staff physician, Larchmont Women's Center, Larchmont, NY; staff physician, Montefiore Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Health, Hartsdale, NY

 By 2002, the use by fortysomething women of supplementary hormones -- estrogen, progestin, testosterone -- had reached record levels. Goals ranged from relieving hot flashes in the present to warding off future threats of osteoporosis.

Then came the bad news: studies suggested that the use of estrogen-progestin combinations increased -- slightly, but measurably -- a user's risk of breast cancer, blood clots, heart attack, and stroke; and often with little offsetting benefit. An uproar followed, and use of these remedies dropped by at least 50 percent.

But a few women -- no doubt a minority -- reported something odd. They said they needed such supplements to either maintain or stabilize their moods; or to concentrate. In the
words* of one writer: "I was running around the house in a panic looking for my car keys when they were in my hand.... There I'd be, sitting at the kitchen table with the morning
newspaper, unable to read even a sentence. Somewhere between the capital letter and the period, I became lost. Usually, I did things quickly. Now I had to budget twice as much time for everything." This approaches ADD territory, and -- at least in one quarter -- estrogen has been proposed as an ADD medication for some.

Getting us started with this complex topic will be reproductive endocrinologist, and OB/GYN specialist, Judi Chervenak. Dr. Chervenak earned her medical degree from the University of
Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and did graduate work there and at NYU. In addition to teaching and clinical work, she lectures widely on health and quality-of-life issues for
women nearing or undergoing or finishing menopause. This will be her first appearance before the Support Group.

* Jane Gross, "Strokes or Insomnia? A Woman's Hormone Quandary," New York Times, 3/23/04

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