Finding the right drug fatigue/brain stimulation

[jonard2k]

Hi,

First post here. Don't know if this is in the right section. Anyways I wanted to hear some opinions here because I have heard some pretty useless unhelpful doc opinions and was hoping some people here could offer some advice. I have ibs and add. I manage the ibs quite well at the moment but often find that I can't get the most out of my day on the ADD side of things.
Main Problems
1. Getting out of bed in morning. Want to sleep, loose a lot of productivity in morning.
2. Organisation. Constantly late, messy around house
3. Procrastination/speed of work
4. Brain fog. At certain times when my brain functions correctly, I feel extremely confident in my abilities, but the lack of consistency with this is frustrating.
5. General feeling that I don't get enough out of my day or perform to my potential.

I currently take Ritalin when I need it, I take 5mg. It leaves me feeling quite stimmed sometimes. Nasty sides such as sweating, dry mouth and sore eyes.
Coffee gives me a short term solution but irritates my stomach when taken frequently through day
Have taken Provigil 200mg before. Off label, a friend gave me a months supply. Heart rate was extremely high on it, although left me amazingly awake. Felt a little irritable on it. Had to quit it because one day while exercising felt my heart rate went through roof, felt dangerous.

What are my options, if any? Is there anything I can take to help get that consistency without the irratibility, nausea?

 

[sekio]

NSPD is not here to act as your physician.

There's also no miracle drugs you can take that are going to make you a better person overnight. Work on improving things incrementally during the day and you'll find that it gets easier with time.

1. Getting out of bed in morning. Want to sleep, loose a lot of productivity in morning.

Set an alarm. Set two or three alarms. Put them across the room so you have to get up. Remind yourself if you sleep in you're going to feel pissed.

2. Organisation. Constantly late, messy around house

Start cleaning your shit up, one room at a time. Get a day planner or use your phone as one. Even shitty cell phones have calendar/alarm apps.

3. Procrastination/speed of work

Taking drugs won't make you stop procrastinating, it will likely just make you go fuck around with other stuff.

4. Brain fog. At certain times when my brain functions correctly, I feel extremely confident in my abilities, but the lack of consistency with this is frustrating.
5. General feeling that I don't get enough out of my day or perform to my potential.

Get more excercise, sunlight, and force yourself to get off your butt and do at least one productive thing a day. Keep a journal of this. Reward yourself if you do what you planned to, if you don't, too bad, try tomorrow.

Develop yourself as a person rather than trying to find a pharmaceutical solution. There's lots of resources for self improvement around.

NSPD --> HL

 

[belfort]

yeah sorry to say, but there are no magic pills/ drugs that you can take that will have only positive effects(increased motivation, cognition, energy) without the downsides(anxiety, irritability, insomnia)...if there is, i have yet to find it and ive tried most of the readily avail stims..

 

[flyhighk]

Start by making lifestyle changes. Sekio has given great advice, like usual. Just wanna add that you should try sleeping earlier. Waking up is obviously easier when you get enough sleep.
You're not gonna find a drug that helps your ADHD without side effects. You should try therapy. It won't provide instant improvement, but in the long term therapy is as effective as drugs.

 

[ilikestims]

Start a food and activity log. Time, what you ate, how you feel mentally/physically. Patterns will emerge.

Re sleep, cell phone/computer/TV maintenance near bedtime and morning helps.

 

[TriputoryHeadicine]

Rhodiola helps many with motivation issues, jsut make sure you get a product that has rosavins and salidrosides, or buy the root whole and make tea (my preference, the good caps are costly).

Other adaptogens like ashwagandha protect the brain from oxidative stress and are fantastic for promoting restful sleep, and nice during the day in lower doses in tandem with caffeine to promote a relaxed alert state.

Wish I had more time. All these suggestions above me are more important then taking herbs, but in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle they may be just what you need. Good luck optimizing your life, you can Dooooit!

 

[Foreigner]

I've been dealing with IBS-D since a food poisoning incident in September, which has lead me down a path of extensive research of all kinds and experimenting with many protocols, the majority of which have failed. In order to see a GI doc in my city, the wait list is 6 months to 1 year, and I had no time to lose since chronic fatigue was setting in.

There is a definitive scientific link between bowel health and mental health, and it specifically relates to nutrient absorption and the status of your gut flora.

Have you done dietary restriction for your IBS? Cutting out gluten and dairy is essential, even if it doesn't totally resolve things. The gluten content in modern baked goods is far higher than it used to be because factory breads are not being given the proper fermentation time. I found a reduction in brain fog right away when I started avoiding gluten.

In my case, IBS was caused by SIBO and dysbiosis. If you've tried oral probiotics and symptoms get worse, you should suspect SIBO. The protocol I'm currently on involves taking, before breakfast: 1 dose black walnut hull tincture, 1 dose grapefruit seed extract, 1 OO capsule of fresh ground clove, 1 clove fresh garlic, 1 small piece fresh ginger. With breakfast, I take 20g L-glutamine to restore the intestinal lining.

So far my BMs have been normal and my mental health has improved drastically.

Can't say that your IBS has the same root cause as mine, but I think you have to address the gut in this case before turning to herbal adaptogens and what not. Most of those adaptogens only target the nervous system and perhaps some aspect of the adrenals, but without proper bowel function, you aren't getting the nutrients to support that process anyway.

 

[ilikestims]

Rhodiola helps many with motivation issues, jsut make sure you get a product that has rosavins and salidrosides, or buy the root whole and make tea (my preference, the good caps are costly).

Other adaptogens like ashwagandha protect the brain from oxidative stress and are fantastic for promoting restful sleep, and nice during the day in lower doses in tandem with caffeine to promote a relaxed alert state.

Wish I had more time. All these suggestions above me are more important then taking herbs, but in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle they may be just what you need. Good luck optimizing your life, you can Dooooit!

What sources of rhodiola and ashwagandha do you use?