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Recently found out I have adult ADD after years of accepting 'depression', 'anxiety' & 'brain fog; advice needed please?

methylphenidate ritalin alcar add adhd fog

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#1 pinnacle

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Posted 11 May 2016 - 06:17 AM


Long story short, I've been posting in and reading these forums for years and have experimented with far too many nootropics and stacks to name them all. I've never been too sure what 'it' is that I've been relentlessly trying to 'cure', I was but ready to give up, as whatever I was almost obsessively attempting to fix - was always just out of reach; and every time I thought I was on to something, it would usually backfire or poop out.

 

As many of you can probably relate, I've become adept at researching and often 'treating' myself, as my GP has tried literally anything and everything to help me (seriously, he's invested A LOT of time in me over the years, more so than most GP's would give) and yet I'm always left ultimately disappointed. Of course it's easy to accept that maybe I'm over thinking it and perhaps there's actually nothing wrong with me and everyone is like this, so I try my hardest to carry on with life undismayed, only to wind up losing another job, relationship, or opportunity to my forever-persistent disorderly and unpredictable nature. Inevitably, one can lose a lot of confidence, you begin to self-doubt and even fear trying to pursue anything worth pursuing because you know you might not make the cut. In my past I've attempted to mask this disappointment by turning to drugs, usually stimulants or opiates, as these make me feel better.

Usually it takes me an absurd amount of effort to accomplish what most people make look easy. My brain, I came to the conclusion, is just 'broken' from years of abuse and careless lifestyle. I actually used to believe I was highly intelligent, and still do to an extent, but put me in a demanding role with high expectation and pressure to make a deadline and I'll gloriously fail. My mind does anything to avoid the task at hand and I'll even give up and start researching something else to look as though I'm busy trying, until the time comes to give my result and I'm empty handed or I'll have an elaborate excuse (which sometimes works!). However, left to my own devises, I'm often surprised at what I can achieve, given I can take my time and go about it by my own methods.

 

So recently I booked in to see a reputable psychiatrist (with much reluctance, as I've had a bad experience with a psychiatrist in my early 20's). Lo and behold, all subjective evidence from our hour-long intensive chat, weighed greatly in favour of adult ADD (the not-so-hyperactive kind, but more so chronically distractible, daydreamy and generally lacking structure in all areas of my life). He doesn't rule out depression and anxiety, but he thinks those diagnoses were probably masking the underlying beast and in fact if anything, in his professional opinion I have very little depression left to speak of and only mild-moderate anxiety (which after all this time I've come to rationalise with quite well). This has given me a new sense of direction, and if anything, a 'name' to give this beast that was eluding me. I felt that I could finally get on with my life knowing what 'it' was that was 'wrong' with me and channel my focus on my strengths, seeing as I can better understand my own weakness.

 

----------------------------> ***If you can't be bothered reading, please skip straight to here*** <--------------------------------

I immediately started on methylphenidate SR 20mg in the morning and went up to 20mg in the morning and 20mg at noon. It's been almost a month and although initially I was mind-blown, the brief window of my 'incredible clarity and renewed enthusiasm for life' quickly diminished. Leaving me, as always, disappointed again. Which brings me to why I'm posting here.

 

So, I extend my predicament to you, the Longecity community. As in the past I've had great respect for the well-researched input and experience-backed wisdom that is shared among these forums. I hope someone with the knowledge or experience can help or point me in the right direction... Or straight up give me your point of view, I'll take in any suggestions and apply my own research and hopefully go back to the psychiatrist better equipped with what I need to ask.

 

What do I need to do, or change, in order to get back that clarity, focus, efficiency, motivation and ability to accomplish what I set my mind to?

I'm currently taking daily: magnesium, fish oil, zinc, B6 and vitamin D. Intermittently: NAC, agmatine, ALCAR, coQ10, tyrosine, methyl-folate and methyl-B12. Other things I have on hand which I no longer use: uridine, aniracetam, phenylpiracetam, noopept, phenibut, tianeptine, bupropion.

 

When I first started out with the methylphenidate, I had an immense sense of clarity as though I've had my head in the clouds all my life and all of sudden I had a glimpse of what it was like to be out of this haze. Needless to say I was overjoyed and wondered if I had finally found something that was going to work. I understand treatment with medication is not a magic bullet, but I felt like something switched that day. I had a repeat of this experience for a few days, on and off. So I tried to pin point if anything that I take could be improving the effect of the methylphenidate, to which I discovered the days where I started my morning with a dose of ALCAR ~1000mg on an empty stomach, before taking my meds, seemed to be synonymous with this incredible feeling of clarity. However, upon trying to find some consistency with this, I had very mixed results. Some days I was almost manic and borderline overstimulated and other days it seemed to no longer have an effect.

 

Now it seems that I'm getting very little, if anything, from the methylphenidate at 40mg/day. I've plummeted deep back into a fog and finding it extremely difficult to focus and get work done, which is basically my norm or baseline - if you will. But after my initial glowing experience, I'm truly hopeful there's more to life for me than this. I see my psychiatrist again next week and I want to know what I should do. I realise I can go up to 60mg/day but it seems like a lot so soon into treatment. Is there anything else I could ask for before giving up, or should I just stick it out with this for a few more months and hope it improves?



#2 gamesguru

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Posted 11 May 2016 - 02:09 PM

skim this

Attached Files



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#3 irony

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Posted 11 May 2016 - 03:25 PM

methylphenidate did nothing for my ADHD, but adderall did help somewhat.   Plus I found methylphenidate made me depressed whereas adderall was a mood brightener.

 

I've found supplements and racetams have done jack for my ADHD



#4 ron45

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Posted 11 May 2016 - 04:15 PM

It was a little like looking into a text mirror as I read your comments. I kept getting `ADD is only in kids you can't have that'. I don't care what they call it. I just want my musicanship and the rest of my creative life back. Went to two neurologists and a psychologist took the tests and that was it. You are not ADD. B. S.!! Say I.

 

I began w/deprenyl generic up to 10 twice a day. For several weeks it was zippidy Doo DAH babycakes! then the taper off. This is just brain chemistry, something like tennis elbow; all the feel good takes a toll even at small doses over time. I'm currently taking 10 of Dexamphetamine  once daily about 2 pm. It was one of my favorite recreational drugs in `65 or so. But it must have been a higher dose. I don't have much depression yet but anxiety over self image and loss of concentration while performing with my buddies. I named our band Dammaged Goods. All of us have similar issues. I'm the oldest at 71. I still haven't upped the dosage of the dex, tho my Dr. said two would be OK.  I went over 40 years drug free and mostly alcohol free also. Two 2 to 4 year bouts of watching it ramp up to three doubles in the evening. That was my arbitrary cut off point. My Dad was an alcholic then clean for 34  years till he died 15 years ago. I was able to quit eveything on my own. For reasons that the neurologist will explain.

 

I'm finding my self spreading the word on how CRITICAL it is for folks like us to get our gut biome in order. Please, at least give a listen to show #1033. at peoplespharmacy.com.  I have the pod cast but it's over 200 meg and I don't have a way to email it. The guest is a  US educated neurologist talking about all things heresy in recent neurology history. It's beginning to change. I first heard of it in 88 or 89 on the radio one day. Astounding things about an addage that, while it can't match Ayurvedia's Six thousand year plus use of the idea, still has a long history in most of the world. i.e. your gut biome is the foundation of robust health or death depending on the numbers of good guys we are supporting or killing with our lifestyle and diet. Highly processed carbs and excess coffee and alcohol all contribute to an imbalance in that population that can lead to depression and nearly everything else we die from OR zippidy doo dah all day long.

 

Find a way to get her show, buy it from the site if you must, but hear what she has to say. My wife and I had personal experience with ayruvedic treatments over a period of 5 days during a prolonged meditation residence coruse. I am the world's biggest skeptic and the entire time we were in treatment I was going, internally, this is new age bunk,. aroma therapy, stereo massage... well I sort of got that part, big goose to the  lymphatic system which the neurologist says is the garbage removal system. Once I got this worked out I was less skeptical.

 

Then they explained they were going to pour a steady stream of warm sesame oil... in which,  herbs prescribed by the Md/certified ayurvedic physician to support balance in my system were boiled nearly all night the day we got there.... on to my third eye for I have no idea how long because tho very well rested already I was gone in less than a minute. Other than that I didn't feel I was taking much home with me when we left until many hours of driving later I got out of the car to unlock our gate and realized I had walked normally to the gate. For several years my first few steps after any more than a half hour seated I sort of walked like Walter Brennan till the joint got re lubed.  That was in 1980 something. I'm beginning to notice some of that beginning again these days.

 

I have nothing to gain by telling you this except knowing I made a small deposit in the Karma bank. I hope you find more of the answers we both seek. So please PM me if you have any success with the info imparted on People's Pharmacy or anything else. I'm not particular about how I leave this sorry state behind.

 

Ron


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#5 YOLF

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Posted 11 May 2016 - 05:40 PM

Adult ADD is really suboptimal Testosterone levels or low Thyroid in most. Get those levels tested, or take 100mg of pregnenolone and fenugreek. You'll live longer and happier that way imo.



#6 gamesguru

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Posted 11 May 2016 - 09:36 PM

Even so, fenugreek is not even the best T booster.

We had a thread on this... squat exercise, high fat/low fibre diet, ginger, bulbine natalensis, boron and aspartic acid have the most supporting evidence.

#7 YOLF

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Posted 12 May 2016 - 02:23 AM

I don't think fenugreek actually raises it, it just prevents SHBG from lowering free T. Though ginger might do that also.



#8 pinnacle

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Posted 13 May 2016 - 03:07 AM

skim this

 

Wow, there's some truly fantastic info in there! I'll be going through this more thoroughly this weekend, thank you.  :)



#9 pinnacle

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Posted 13 May 2016 - 03:10 AM

Adult ADD is really suboptimal Testosterone levels or low Thyroid in most. Get those levels tested, or take 100mg of pregnenolone and fenugreek. You'll live longer and happier that way imo.

 

Interestingly, I had slightly low Thyroid hormone, although apparently not significant enough to worry about. Nevertheless I was upping my intake of iodine for awhile and I've occasionally been using Tyrosine. T was tested a few years ago and I think it was normal, maybe slightly on the low side, but still within normal range.



#10 YOLF

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Posted 13 May 2016 - 03:35 AM

 

Adult ADD is really suboptimal Testosterone levels or low Thyroid in most. Get those levels tested, or take 100mg of pregnenolone and fenugreek. You'll live longer and happier that way imo.

 

Interestingly, I had slightly low Thyroid hormone, although apparently not significant enough to worry about. Nevertheless I was upping my intake of iodine for awhile and I've occasionally been using Tyrosine. T was tested a few years ago and I think it was normal, maybe slightly on the low side, but still within normal range.

 

 

Anything lower than 800 can be problematic. They say 350-1150 is what "healthy" men have, but higher levels, above 800, mean longer lifespans and lower incidence of a host of other diseases and symptoms.



#11 YOLF

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Posted 13 May 2016 - 03:39 AM

Oh, and mid to low on that range will also increase the progression of sclerotic plaques, but if your T is low enough, basement low, then your risks are lower than the mid level, but still higher than the high level.



#12 Blackkzeus

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Posted 13 May 2016 - 02:30 PM

Yolf, what supplements would you recommend besides the ones you've already mentioned to increase thyroid function and testosterone levels?

Edited by Blackkzeus, 13 May 2016 - 02:31 PM.


#13 YOLF

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Posted 13 May 2016 - 05:15 PM

The better cissus extracts appear to work well.



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#14 us3yournam3

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 01:04 PM

What about going to clubs and f****** b****** :) ? My idea of how to solve ADD and Test problems is getting very well versed in this, and I have yet to o acquire some methylphenidate and soon I hope. OP, have you tried using it to go and be "radical" ?

On a side note, anybody here with experience with sex drive boosters as a therapy/on a daily basis (not really sure how that works) ?







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