This site is also very good: http://orthomolecular.org/
Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD
11–20 of 23 posts
Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD
#12Nothing that I know of has the same effect as medically prescribed stimulants.
However, I've found consistently that high quality saffron (Affron TM) extract has a mild SSRI quality, which when used during the seratonergic phase of your day (i.e. after lunch) can be noticeably effective in normalizing mood, limiting depression and generally getting into "the zone" or flow with certain types of work, like writing etc..
There are some papers on this, mostly from Iran I think.
As for non-medicinal, as cold shower or bath before starting work can really help breaking through the wall.
Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD
#13Prescriptions free drugs/“supplements” that are just drugs: phenylpiracetam and most other racetams. Huperzine A. Caffeine. Ephedrine.
Supplements: magnesium, B vitamins. Vitamin D (from sunlight)
The right dose of phenylpiracetam, caffeine, and Huperzine can be just as effective as low dose adderall in my experience. Although the side effect profile is completely different: less hyperfocus, little impact on appetite, much more irritability.
However I have to say that lifestyle is BY FAR the most effective treatment (even more than adderall, especially long term) and it always bothers me when people ask for advice for supplements and drugs only.
Sleep 8-10 hours per night, eat a good breakfast, don’t use nicotine, exercise every day or almost every day, get some sun. Not only do these help by themselves but they also make medication like phenylpiracetam and adderall (adderall in particular needs a lot of protein to work best) more effective as well.
Also I highly recommend taking a >1mo total break from cannabis if you are a frequent user. I find that as my usage gradually increases so do my ADHD symptoms, until I quit and suddenly have much more energy and motivation in the next few weeks as my body flushes it all out.
Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD
#14None. I’ve tried quite a bit. Amphetamines/Methamphetamine is the only thing that works well for me. And daily exercise + lots of sleep.
Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD
#15Consider fact checking, I might be wrong, but here are some correlations:
Neurotransmitters:
- Dopamine (movement, working memory) ~ Tyrosine ~ Protein
- Noradrenaline (alertness) ~ Tyrosine ~ Protein ~ Cold Showers
- Serotonin (mood stabilization) ~ Tryptophan ~ Protein
- Acetylcholine (memory and learning) ~ Choline
- Glutamate (neuronal "on switch") ~ Protein
- GABA (a neuronal "off switch") ~ Dopamine/Noradrenaline Downregulation ~ Lithium Orotate ~ Anxiety
Inside your cells
- Adenosine ~ GABA Release ~ Caffeine (blocks it)
- Adenosine-Di/Tri-Phosphate ~ ADP + phosphate ATP + Energy ~ Creatine (brain cells are cells too)
- DHA/EPA ~ "machine oil for your brain" ~ https://presse.inserm.fr/en/lipids-serving-the-brain/14416/
So with these, you can look up how medications like LDX (dopamine, noradrenaline) and MPH (dopamine) work and start your research from there with these simplistic pointers/correlations in mind.
The human body has way too many variables f(x1, ..., xn) --> ? ? ? yi ? ? ?
You can only see some output (i.e., yi), but you likely cannot see all outputs (i.e., all y's).
Keep in mind: those correlations stem from a layman's simplistic point of view.
Experts (i.e., medical doctors, biologists) can interpret the correlations better (and also might see more outputs/y's).
I therefore, suggest: Gabor Mate (ADHD ~ trauma ~ modern society), Robert Sapolsky (noradrenaline ~ anxiety ~ amygdala).
Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD
#16Prescriptions free drugs/“supplements” that are just drugs: phenylpiracetam and most other racetams. Huperzine A. Caffeine. Ephedrine. Supplements: magnesium, B vitamins. Vitamin D (from sunlight) The right dose of phenylpiracetam, caffeine, and Huperzine can be just as effective as low dose adderall in my experience. Although the side effect profile is completely different: less hyperfocus, little impact on appetite…
> Sleep 8-10 hours per night, eat a good breakfast, don’t use nicotine, exercise every day or almost every day, get some sun. Not only do these help by themselves but they also make medication like phenylpiracetam and adderall (adderall in particular needs a lot of protein to work best) more effective as well.
That makes sense. Since such amphetamines increase the release of dopamine and noradrenaline. And for those two, you need l-dopa and for l-dopa you need tyrosine and for tyrosine, you need protein. So you need to increase your protein. But I don't know by how much, though ... I guess you need to find out by trial and error ...
Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD
#17Prescriptions free drugs/“supplements” that are just drugs: phenylpiracetam and most other racetams. Huperzine A. Caffeine. Ephedrine. Supplements: magnesium, B vitamins. Vitamin D (from sunlight) The right dose of phenylpiracetam, caffeine, and Huperzine can be just as effective as low dose adderall in my experience. Although the side effect profile is completely different: less hyperfocus, little impact on appetite…
> Sleep 8-10 hours per night, eat a good breakfast, don’t use nicotine, exercise every day or almost every day, get some sun. Not only do these help by themselves but they also make medication like phenylpiracetam and adderall (adderall in particular needs a lot of protein to work best) more effective as well. That makes sense. Since such amphetamines increase the release of dopamine and noradrenaline. And for those…
Tyrosine by itself doesn’t help me nearly as much as complete proteins. I don’t think it’s just neurotransmitters even - amphetamines are kind of hard on your body, and since they suppress your appetite you need to consciously try to get enough.
Also phenylpiracetam is not an amphetamine. I think for any medication it’s just important to remember it’s not a silver bullet, it’s something you take on top of what you should be doing t already, not as a replacement for basic needs like sleep and food
Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD
#18Prescriptions free drugs/“supplements” that are just drugs: phenylpiracetam and most other racetams. Huperzine A. Caffeine. Ephedrine. Supplements: magnesium, B vitamins. Vitamin D (from sunlight) The right dose of phenylpiracetam, caffeine, and Huperzine can be just as effective as low dose adderall in my experience. Although the side effect profile is completely different: less hyperfocus, little impact on appetite…
> Sleep 8-10 hours per night, eat a good breakfast, don’t use nicotine, exercise every day or almost every day, get some sun. Not only do these help by themselves but they also make medication like phenylpiracetam and adderall (adderall in particular needs a lot of protein to work best) more effective as well. That makes sense. Since such amphetamines increase the release of dopamine and noradrenaline. And for those…
As I understand it, the amphetamines increase, not the release but, the utilisation of dopa / nora / seratonin.
One thing to watch out for with them is their effect on your anxiety levels, these are all related systems and things can get away on you fast.
Again, these substances are aids not cures. If diagnosed, you need to get to work on your lifestyle and habits, these are what make the real difference; neglect this at your own peril.
It's a tough trot, but better than the alternative.
Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD
#19Taking notes of these
Re: Ask HN: Supplements and vitamins that help with ADHD
#20This thread is so helpful!