Unmasking Our Health: GLP-1s & ADHD

Episode 213 with Katy Weber & Kalin Johnson

In this first episode of our new series “Unmasking Our Health,” host Katy Weber teams up with cohost Kalin Johnson, PharmD, to explore a side of ADHD in women that isn’t talked about enough: What it’s like to live in a neurodivergent body. 

After years of interviewing late‑diagnosed women and seeing the same patterns — chronic pain, fatigue, autoimmune issues, hormonal chaos, gut problems, “mystery” symptoms — Katy created the Unmasking Our Health series to explore the bigger questions behind neurodivergence: What if ADHD isn’t just about our brains, but about our whole bodies — and how and why is the medical system missing the full picture?

Our first topic for discussion: the explosion of GLP-1 medications (think Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro) and what their surprising, wide-reaching effects are revealing about the deeply intertwined relationship between metabolic health, inflammation, hormones, and ADHD.

In this episode, we cover:

• What is metabolic psychiatry? And why it's expanding how we understand ADHD beyond just dopamine and norepinephrine
• GLP-1 medications and ADHD — what patients are actually reporting (quieter brain, less emotional reactivity, reduced compulsive behaviors, improved executive functioning)
• The inflammation connection — how chronic neuroinflammation creates "cognitive drag" and why reducing it may give the ADHD brain more bandwidth
• The vagus nerve and GLP-1 receptors — a fascinating look at how the gut communicates with the brain (and why 80% of vagal fibers run from the body to the brain, not the other way around!)
• Estrogen, perimenopause, and metabolic decline — why women over 50 are going on GLP-1s faster than any other population
• Drug interactions (and physiologic interactions) — what to watch for if you're on stimulants, SSRIs, or HRT while starting a GLP-1
• Food noise, reward-seeking, and binge eating — what GLP-1s are actually doing in the brain's dopamine reward circuits, and what that means for neurodivergent women with disordered eating histories
• Where is all of this going? Kalin shares her genuinely optimistic vision for how GLP-1 research is opening the door to a more holistic, systemic understanding of neurodivergent women's health

Note: Nothing in this episode constitutes medical advice. Always consult with your physician and pharmacist before starting, stopping, or changing any medication.

Kalin’s website: kalinjohnson.com

Instagram: @kalinpharmd

Links & Resources:

• Listen to Kalin's first episode: Episode 97 (August 2022)
• Have a topic you want Katy and Kalin to cover? Contact us

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Episode edited by E Podcast Productions

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Women & ADHD coaching: www.womenandadhd.com/coaching

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Work 1-on-1 with Katy: www.womenandadhd.com/katy

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Order the “Hey, it’s ADHD!” course: www.womenandadhd.com/adhdcourse

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If you are a woman who was diagnosed with ADHD and you’d like to apply to be a guest on this podcast, visit womenandadhd.com/podcastguest.

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