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Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD

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Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD

#1
Dear fellow concentration skills challenged people.

I definitely have all the typical ADHD symptoms you can find in literature. They all look way less acute than many of stories you find on HN. Though I really struggle sometimes and they affect my life and work performance. For this and other more important reasons I prefer not to disclose, Im not able to get an official diagnosis and get prescription in near future.

Other tools aside (lifestyle, sleeping, eating, therapy etc) — what legal prescription free drugs, vitamins and supplements have had even slightest yet noticeable positive effect on your ADHD?

Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD

#2
N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) has been studied in relation to a myriad of psychiatric disorders with a lot of positive results. It works as an antioxidant and neuro-regulator. For some reason it was recently pulled from supplement classification in the US, but it's available just about anywhere in Canada. Not sure about other countries.

Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD

#3
In terms of vitamins: zinc, magnesium, vitamin D and B6 - this are the ones that help me the most in terms of feeling well. Will this help with focus? Maybe, when you are feeling better you might have a better disposition to work/focus.

Coffee, nicotine and CBD also help, but pls dont smoke.

But my advice for you is prioritizing and managing time. Before the day ends, make a list of what you have to do the next day and the first thing you do IS something from the list.

I feel that fighting the first base-case of inertia early, when you start working, is the key.

Dont be afraid of failing.

Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD

#4
I know you counted this out, but diet has been by far the biggest factor for me. I started rigorously eating a keto diet, with almost all grass fed organic meat/eggs and organic veggies. Very expensive if done properly, but I feel like a different person. The change is astounding, to the level that I am more articulate and am better at holding a conversation. It takes a few days of proper eating for the effect to take. I would give the keto diet a shot before anything else. I have found zero supplements and vitamins that have any long lasting effect.

Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD

#5
I have tried every supplement/herb/nootropic you can think of + more. I've also asked this question to many of the folks I interviewed for my book about adult ADHD.

The only thing that was directly effective was prescription stimulant medication (in my case, a low dose of Vyvanse).

The biggest impact outside of that was lifestyle design, self forgiveness, and an array of the "healthy lifestyle" choices you've mentioned.

I truly empathize with your quest for a helpful supplement because I've had the same curiosity and have done the same search, but to no avail.

Even more frustrating is that you'll find some studies that vaguely point to some vitamin that "helps boost focus in those with ADHD!" But once you dig into the data, the "results" are some insignificant "boost" & are generally just a side effect of study participants getting better sleep/less anxiety/etc.

Feel free to email me if you want to discuss/rant/chat about this more: rob [at] adhdpro [dot] xyz

Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD

#10
post #2

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) has been studied in relation to a myriad of psychiatric disorders with a lot of positive results. It works as an antioxidant and neuro-regulator. For some reason it was recently pulled from supplement classification in the US, but it's available just about anywhere in Canada. Not sure about other countries.

Er, when I went looking into the research I only found inconclusive results for it's benefits. I took it for a long time to help with nicotine cravings and ADHD and never noticed a semblance of a beneficial effect.

There's also an increasing concern that it's actually a carcinogen.

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