I’d like to know what anyone is using that they really think is helping them that isn’t taking traditional prescription medication for ADHD. Please make sure whatever it is can be found “over the counter” or readily available commercially. Please keep it to simple items that are easily found separately - i.e. a B vitamin of B6, 12 and vitamin C along with Magnesium glycinate or something. If you notice it helping in a specific area, please say what it is.
I have to throw in a couple caveats, just to make sure we can get a decent picture of what is actually helping, so…
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Please nothing illicit or illegal.
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Please no blends or other proprietary herbal combinations. If a blend helps you, great…but we don’t know what is in the blend that is helping, and someone may not have access to that product where they live.
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Please be specific, like making sure to differentiate between magnesium glycinate and magnesium L-threonate.
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Edit: “votes” so far:
1 - Creatine monohydrate - short term memory
2 - Lion’s mane (a fungus) - brain fog
2 - Omega 3, 6, and 9 - brain fog
1 - exercise. Not really a supplement, but it’s a great idea for overall health.
1 - keto diet - brain fog
2 - N-Acetyl-cystein (NAC) - anxiety/hyperactivity
2 - magnesium glycinate - ?
1 - Magnesium carbonate
Stimulants:
2 - Coffee
1 - caffeine (via energy drink)
1 - Guarana
1 - Green tea (caffeine and L-Theanine)
Coffee, fasting during mornings, and lowering carbs
Another upvote for coffee!
Coffee makes me crash, I don’t understand how it works for you guys. I fucking love it still, but boy can it send me back to bed in a jittery mess as soon as I get a strong morning cup of if I haven’t eaten breakfast.
I mean, chelated magnesium helps take the edge off of Adderall but no, I doubt you’ll ever find anything otc that is effective as something prescribed.
I wouldn’t expect any supplements, vitamins, or similar to be as effective, but to use your words, maybe some things that help “take the edge off.”
Well, the CM takes the edge (jitters) off of the adderall. The supplement does zero for ADHD. There aint a lot of options aside from stimulants. Soooo 500mg+ of caffeine in whatever form is your preference?
The best supplement is regular exercise imo
Added. It’s not really a supplement, but improving one’s health can do a lot for stress and sleep. That can take some of the edge off the related ADHD issues.
Ketogenic diet helps with ADHD. So it’s the opposite of a supplement, you have to take the sugar out of the food
I.e. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289133 Ketogenic diet ameliorates attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in rats via regulating gut microbiota
Not much research in human studies yet, but the anecdotes and n=1 case studies are compelling. Not eating sugar is free, so it’s worth a try
That’s interesting, I always said I felt somehow more sharp and sort of “present” when I am ketoing. Though I’d advice anyone considering it to first talk to your doctors. For me, I shouldn’t do it due to problems with my blood sugar and liver, but we figured if it helps, ought to find a way to make it work. So I do keto “periods” alternating with normal periods, which hasn’t, it seems, had much of an impact on my lab results. But this is all to say, it might have consequences you ought to be wary about.
Yes, if your taking any medications changing your metabolism can change how powerful those medications are (going to keto usually makes medications stronger, which could be dangerous)
If you don’t mind me asking - What are your blood sugar and liver problems that prevent keto? Keto is well known for improving blood glucose control.
Im not going to pretend to understand or really know, just what my general practitioner told me once I brought up the possibility of testing going keto long-term. I have pre-diabetes, which I suppose convinced the doc to go for it even if in an alternating fashion, since it’s good for my weight which is good for all of the rest. I could ask next time though, maybe mention this adhd connection in lab rats, seems like it changes things a bit more to favor ketoing
Ok, I’m happy to provide documentation, medical texts, papers, and the like… But keto is excellent for glucose control, and improves liver function. If your GP was skeptical about keto, fair enough, but I can give you/them the resources to satisfy themselves to the efficacy and safety.
Added that to the list.
A keto diet is far from without consequences. It’s a very extreme change, that can only be done safely with a lot of care , as it implies cutting out most fruit and vegetables, for instance.
Afaik it’s not medically recommended for anything but a few very specific serious neurological disorders.
I wouldn’t go around recommending something like that.
If you want to enter a ketogenic state, intermittent fasting is a much less worrisome way to do it.
It’s a very extreme change, that can only be done safely with a lot of care , as it implies cutting out most fruit and vegetables, for instance.
https://www.metabolicmind.org/is-keto-safe
You can still eat non-starchy veggies on keto. You can have fruit in moderation. When changing your metabolism care should be taken with medications and worked out with the prescribing doctor as the power of medicine change change in the new metabolism. The eating pattern itself is without harm, there is no essential carbohydrate for human nutrition, no deficiencies.
it’s not medically recommended for anything but a few very specific serious neurological disorders.
And ADHD isn’t a a Neurological disorder might not experience some benefit?
Here is a medical textbook Ketogenic : The Science of Therapeutic Carbohydrate Restriction in Human Health
But TLDR it is used in the treatment of type 2 and type 1 diabetes, the treatment of high blood pressure, etc.
More specifically for NDDs : https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-821617-0.00006-1
While the brain is perceived as a glucose-dependent organ, ketone bodies are an alternative and possibly superior fuel, allowing patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), dementia, and mood disorders to improve their glucose hypometabolic states and associated symptoms. Ketogenic diets (KDs) are an accepted standard of treatment for refractory epilepsies and alleviate neuroinflammation in other neuropathologies. Research on the KD in the treatment of these disorders is in its infancy, yet has demonstrable restorative potential begging further investigation.
I wouldn’t go around recommending something like that.
The bad part about learning about a better metabolism is you feel the need to help others, so I do what I can to make sure people are informed about the option.
If you want to enter a ketogenic state, intermittent fasting is a much less worrisome way to do it.
I would agree, but in the context of someone wanting general health improvements - and perhaps a good starting point for ADHD. For Neurological issues consistency is key, going in and out of sugar burning and insulin resistance may not be enough of a treatment to see positive results. Using your Epilepsy example - the benefit is seen only with consistent adherence.
I thought even nuts and carrots were too much carbs to maintain a ketogenic state, and even broccoli had to be consumed with moderation, or symptoms would resume.
But to be fair my knowledge is from my complete memories of, like, Doctor Mike videos.
haha, I don’t know doctor mike.
There is a whole spectrum of glucose control.
At the one end we have
- Carbaholic
- Low Carb < 100-150g / day
- Ketogenic < 20-50g / day
- Zero Carb ~ close to zero
Throw in intermittent fasting of some type, and you have a bit more variability. The literature I’ve seen indicates most of the major benefits are seen proportionally to the time glucose isn’t elevated.
Broccoli at 7g of carbs per 100g serving could fit into most of the keto protocols, its more of a carb budget then a restriction of all carbs.
The blood/brain barrier can become insulin resistant and when that happens the ratio of glucose and insulin in the brain itself isn’t the same as in the blood stream, so even though there are major glucose levels in the brain it can’t be utilized without insulin in the right ratio. Interestingly ketones pass through the blood brain barrier with no resistance, and can be utilized for energy for most brain function 70-95% depending on the keto adaption period… There are some non-human studies on how ketones can signal repair pathways in mice brains to dispose of misfolded proteins, though its a bit of a black box at the moment.
I bring up the mechanisms we know about the brain to indicate that some neurological conditions may benefit more from ketones persistently then just low carb, but i do agree intermittent fasting is a great place to start.
If the condition is serious patients can use a ketone and glucose monitor to track their carbohydrate tolerance and avoid events. I.E. everyone’s carbohydrate tolerance is different based on genetics, muscle uptake, GI function, etc. The indexes above are conservative.
Omega 3-6-9 fatty acids. There’s been a fair amount of research done on its role in mitigating ADHD, specifically. I take them and notice a decline in mood and overall presence of mind when I’ve forgotten to take my pills for a while.
Interesting, thanks for the paper link, I’ll have to come back to that!
Could you recommend your supplement? There are a LOT out there.
I get whatever’s on sale.
Big props for the PubMed link, hard to take anything else seriously.
I believe in good sources. Thanks for noticing ~
Lions mane extract seemed to help me, before I knew I had ADHD. Just seemed like when I had it regularly I had less brain fog. I used a few ml every morning in stone water.
I stopped using it because it seemed pricey, and I only bought it from one guy at the farmers market because I know a lot of commercially available supplements dont have what they say they do in the US.
I should try to find another good source to see if it helps now that I have other things as well.
Also black coffee but fresh roasted / fresh ground specialty coffee seems to help way more. Grocery store coffee gives me heartburn
Added to the post
Just grow it, to be honest. Not that hard, though might be a little pricy?
I find a combination of St. John’s Wort and Lion’s Mane Extract help with my mood and focus.
FYI, St John’s wart can affect serotonin, which can be dangerous if you’re on anti depressants.
It can also reduce the effectiveness of hormonal birth control.
Added lion’s mane. Which one do you use for what?
Lion’s Mane is for focus. St John’s Wort is for mood but as someone else has correctly commented, SJW should not be used if you are already taking any prescription anti-depressants as it can cause seretonin syndrome.
Try tyrosine and see if it does anything for you. Maybe with a good meal
Creatine monohydrate helped for me. It’s usually taken by athletes and gym-goers but there’s a study saying that it may improve short term memory and intelligence/reasoning
Added to the post
Magnesium glycinate. Made every difference in the world for me - I still need my meds to perform at my best, but I can muddle through without them with magnesium and a good night of sleep
This.
I’ll apply your “this” as a second person using it.
I used take other forms of Magnesium, but recently found Glycinate has made a massive improvement in my sleep.
Best sleep I’ve had in years.
Added
Adding my own, and I just started these a month or so ago so I’m not entirely sure that the effects are correct, but they seem to be helping slightly.
Magnesium Glycinate
L- Threonate (1/2 dose, found it made me sleepy too early at full dose)
D
Standard multivitamin (no “extreme” values, everything is 100% or less)
Omega 3
I have absolutely noted a better sleep. Far less mind-churning time when trying to fall asleep. I would guess a little less brain fog and stress, but I don’t know if memory is any better. Having a little less anxiety does help a bit, because you’re not focusing on the stressful thing and have a chance to remember what you were supposed to. The last three I was taking anyway for general health reasons. The magnesium and L-Threonate I picked up just to see if they might help with ADHD.
Magnesium, D and Omega 3 are, as far as I know, all things where you gain a lot if you have a deficit that they compensate, otherwise nothing.
I too took shots in the dark, as I didn’t find a doc who was willing to do some more tests. But recently I found out that in some countries, you can just go to a lab directly and they’ll draw the blood.
Currently on Magnesium, too (Carbonate though), paused the D due to long times in the sun recently, Omega 3 currently through engineered staple foods & rape oil.
Added.
It’s super hard to “OD” on D, so probably not much need to stop it other than just not consuming the $ as fast. Added to the list.
I hyper focused on my gut microbiome and the results are very interesting. No more anxiousness, amazing sleeps, and way better ment focus. Almost never forget things now. There is a lot of scientific support here too as the microbiome really does play a large role in our mental state.
What did you do exactly?
Tom Brady poop
It was not one thing but months of things starting with a 7 day water fast then on to rice porridge and then onto streamed sweet potatoes and carrots and over time more and more options. It was brutal but my circumstances dictated such extreme measures as I had developed a severe histamine and glutamate sensitivity. AI was amazing at navigating it all, but it is not perfect so I used 2 AIs and many other sources to validate each step of the journey. I am honestly shocked it worked so well.
It sounds like you’re improving your overall health. That’s always valuable.
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Caffeine?
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NAC - N-acetyl-cysteine. Psychiatrist recommended it for weaning myself off a THC dependency, but after reading a few PubMed-available research papers I found data supporting further research into its effects on ADHD.
Additionally, I kept researching in an attempt to improve brain fog and sleep issues I suspect are from long COVID. I found studies indicating NAC combined with guanfacine may help those symptoms.
I’ve found better results from 600mg NAC (standard daily dose is 1200mg) taken three times a day, and started 1mg guanfacine twice a day recently with plans to increase to 2mg twice a day in a week or two.
I would love to share the NIH papers with anyone interested. Educating yourself about your condition and its particular manifestation will get you far with an invested care team. I’m headed to bed bit will reply to any and every person interested in the research tomorrow morning.
The message I sent to my psych two days after she recommended NAC contained inline citations referring to the papers I had linked at the bottom. That due diligence communicated my dedication not only to my own care, but also to my dedication and respect for knowledge.
Don’t take random supplements recommended to you on the internet. Discuss their use with a doctor or, barring that, ground your decisions in science.
Doesn’t seem to be that much evidence, but I’m in the mood for a new supplement obsession - on it!
I looked back through my NIH history and you’re right about the sparse evidence for ADHD, actually. Looks like my interest in NAC, in addition to weaning off THC, came from the bipolar and autism angle, its ability to act a a lead chelator, as well as some tentative dots I connected between its glutamatergic effects and some reading into a mutation of the MC1R gene as passed down to me by my red-head mother.
Likely also conflated my more recent readings into the guanfacine+NAC combo for my brain fog and sleep issues and misremembered my findings from the initial research. Good catch, and an excellent example of ‘don’t listen to the internet dude.’
Here are some starting points
NAC https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8211525 - NAC review
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763415001190
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35316513/
NAC+Guanfacine https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10960163
I personally had phenomenal results with decreased skin picking compulsions after my dermatologist recommended it. May not work for everyone but absolutely worth a shot.
May I ask what dosage you’re taking? I started at 1200mg twice a day for awhile, but ran out and about a week later noticed a worsening of my tics/hand-talking/dropping things issues. Started 1800mg (3x600mg taken morning/afternoon/night) once I bought more, but saw dosages of 2000-2400mg in a study or two.
I added the NAC, but Guanfacine is prescription, so I’m leaving it off.
NAC without guanfacine improved several of my hyperactive symptoms and the other poster’s skin picking if you’d like to mention that in the post.
Also, I think it’s chelating effect on lead and other heavy metals in the bloodstream is valuable on it’s own since we’re still using leaded AVgas and such. Leaded gasoline is why engineers need history classes; the Romans showed us how great ingesting lead is, and then 2000 years we decide aerosolizing it sounded like a good idea‽
p.s.: argh, typed this over 12 hours ago and just found this open page. It’s clearly not working. But here we go anyway:
- Guarana, for example in a capsule. Effectively a mild stimulant, basically extended release coffee.
- Get out of the slow cycle of: symptom -> doctor -> check for specific deficiency -> supplement. Check for everything proactively. In many countries, you can go directly to a lab and have your blood taken there, if your doctor doesn’t play along.
Added guarana as a stimulant
