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Healthy alternatives for ADHD

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citra

citra

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Jul 22, 2004
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Colorado
I've been struggling with trying to find other options for adhd. i've tried almost all the possible medications and just can't stand the thought of being on speed for the rest of my life. i've tried some of the alternatives such as biofeedback, herbal meds (lion's mane mushrooms, fish oil pills, b vitamins). I haven't seen any big changes from the alternatives I have tried...granted, i never tried them for a very long amt of time.

If you have adhd, what nonstimulant methods have you tried? what has worked for you? how long were you on the meds/ biofeedback/ whatever else you tried?

If you don't have ADHD, what is your lifestyle like? what helps best to get you focused on something?

thanks!
 
I'm 25 and finally got an adhd diagnosis. Since the thought of taking speed everyday makes me sick, I asked for strattera. BEST DRUG EVER! It feels like i'm on a very low, clear dose of speed 24 hours a day. The only difference is I feel great, can eat, and fall asleep. In my case, strattera FTW

imo, drugs only make things go more smoothly. you still have to use behavioral strategies such as making lists, listening to music etc etc if you ever want to truly address adhd symptoms.

good luck!
 
I've been on Strattera and Concerta. Strattera didn't do anything. Concerta makes me feel slow mentally, just braindead. Seems like controlling my overactive mind and shit only makes me less creative, dumber, y'know. I'm on concerta 36mg twice a day now and although my thoughts are alot less freely flowing now...I miss the days when I didn't feel slow and braindead. So I recently went off my meds. I've been off them a couple days and I still can't think as fast and free and I used to. I hope the damage done by methylphenidate isn't permanent. I'd like to be able to concentrate and sit still, but not feel slow mentally...maybe I'll try adderall or something next.

The only upper I've tried that helped my adhd and didn't make me feel braindead was MDMA. It was amazing. I think the next thing that might help me would be methamphetamine.
 
I'm been on 60mg/day methylphenidate for the past 6 months, and it just isnt working as well for me anymore either. I can't be fucked eating until I'm really hungry, and so I'm often running low on energy, which makes it really hard to concentrate. Then if I don't take the drug, and I eat normally, I have heaps of energy but no concentration. It's a real bitch and I hope someone has some useful strategies/advice, coz I haven't found any yet through my research :(
 
If you do take stimulants for ADD keep the dose low. IT makes all the difference.

A healthy diet and exercise can help heaps too.
 
I have a nephew that was on the Feingold (I think) diet and it seemed to work for him. He was about 12 at the time that he started but AFAIK it has continued to work. Something about cutting out artificial additives or something in food. If you would like more info I can find out for you. Just let me know.
 
^^try cutting them in half. SSRI's have been known to help adhd as well..especially if you have some depression.
 
Daily exercise (a 1/2-1 hour walk not on a treadmill), proper nutirition, and daily meditation.

The meditation part is important. I'm not talking about the kind where you sit in a trance, but focusing your mind on something benign and abstract is very good for mental, emotional, and physical health. It calms you down and clears your mind, much like the exercise.

Personally, I gather knowledge daily from books, and I also relax with Chinese wisdom (Taoism), but it really doesn't matter, as long as it is calming.

Many roll there eyes at such simple advice, but it worked for me. I don't have ADHD, but I have anxiety and my mind is a prison without these daily activities.
 
I take 20mg Desoxyn/day for my ADD (but been on amphetamines for 7ish years for the condition) and it has, by far, the lowest amount of side-effects of ANY ADD drug I've used (prolly 70% of what's on the market), believe it or not. Also, you only need 1/2 the dose you would with Dexedrine, 1/4 the dose of Adderall, or about 1/8-1/12 the dose of Methylphenidate (by weight, those three). That probably contributes to the lower incidence of side-effects.

Good luck. The supplements I've found best for helping ADD are:
Omega-3 Supplement (get the highest quality you can find; I like Solgar's the bets)
Full-Spectrum B Supplement
L-Tyrosine
Alpha Lipoic Acid
L-Taurine
 
what do you think of hte b12 and b6 in those emergenC packs? I take ~2 of those a day which helps with anything i may be lacking from the amphetamines but how about long term for energy/concentration?
 
Pemoline was, by far, the best ADHD medication (in my opinion). Unfortunately, it is no longer available due to some highly exaggerated hepatotoxicity issues.

Use ADHD to your advantage, especially the ability to hyperfocus, which I find exceedingly useful. I am still prescribed focalin, but I do not take it, as I find it impairs both creativity and critical thought. In high school, I took the SAT's on dexedrine, scored in the 1300's, took it a second time without any medication, and got a perfect score.

A person with ADHD should simply avoid occupations that involve boring or repetitive tasks. I am of the strong opinion that ADHD is FAR over-diagnosed and treated. If Mozart or J.S Bach (both hyperactive individuals) were given ADHD meds, there is little doubt that they would have produced the music they did...
 
yeah well to get to the point in life where you can be creative at work you need to go through with a bunch of boring/repetitive tasks. there's no way around it
 
Omega-3 Supplement (get the highest quality you can find; I like Solgar's the bets)
Full-Spectrum B Supplement
L-Tyrosine
Alpha Lipoic Acid
L-Taurine
Click to expand...

those are all great imo..i'm not a fan of B complexes though. I also like ginseng (energy) and ginko biloba (increases cerebral blood flow..which is limited by many stimulants).
 
Mehm said:
those are all great imo..i'm not a fan of B complexes though. I also like ginseng (energy) and ginko biloba (increases cerebral blood flow..which is limited by many stimulants).
Click to expand...

I agree with Ginseng. Gingko Biloba, I haven't had a lot of luck with. All it seems to do is give me headaches.

An interesting fact, however, is that Gingko Biloba is THE most effective thing to take for altitude sickness; more effective than any Rx medication. I used to work at a pharmacy that was 9750ft above sea level (and a popular vacation town), so we had people come in every day for something for altitude sickness. I would recommend them to just buy a bottle of Gingko, and I NEVER heard that it didn't work, only "Oh my God, thank you so much I feel so much better". Weird stuff.
 
Been diagnosed ADD, though Im pretty sure im ADHD. Been on Concerta and...dunno, some other things that I don't really remember, none of which ever worked. I find that a reasonable amount of weed actually helps me slow down enough to focus on one thing at a time. That's me though, YMMV.
 
citra said:
I've been struggling with trying to find other options for adhd. i've tried almost all the possible medications and just can't stand the thought of being on speed for the rest of my life. i've tried some of the alternatives such as biofeedback, herbal meds (lion's mane mushrooms, fish oil pills, b vitamins). I haven't seen any big changes from the alternatives I have tried...granted, i never tried them for a very long amt of time.

If you have adhd, what nonstimulant methods have you tried? what has worked for you? how long were you on the meds/ biofeedback/ whatever else you tried?

If you don't have ADHD, what is your lifestyle like? what helps best to get you focused on something?

thanks!
Click to expand...

I would suggest considering any of the following:

Neurobiofeedback
Pyritinol
Piracetam or Aniracetam
Phenylethylamine
Deprenyl
Reboxetine
Focalin
 
tried ritalin and dexamphetamine - dexies gave me mild psychosis (former meth abuser, prone to psychosis), ritalin i was on for awhile and i hated the side effects
now im on strattera - that seems to work
at the same time i take 1000mg methionine evryday as well as zinc and fish oil and im sposed to try coming off the strattera in like 3 months
apparently AD(H)D can b caused by a lack of methionine in sum ppl
heres to hoping thats it - it costs fuckloads less than strattera
 
deprenyl should work for ADHD, it should also expand your lifespan, this stuff also shown to protect from MDMA's toxic effects so this the healthiest solution if you ask me
 
pharmacy that was 9750ft
Click to expand...

altitude sickness? i live at 4,500 and have never heard of this. is it the same thing as when people aren't getting enough oxygen because of the altitude change? I thought that had to be more extreme..
 
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