I have tried most of the non-addictive supplements and nootropics and none really work (including Selegiline, which is possibly but unlikely addictive). Though, you can increase brain function which will make you perform better even with the same 'amount' of ADHD. Though obviously that is not what you really want and nothing that really helps either. Those are the drugs I found have benefits:
- Piracetam (only in the sense of taking it long term, sometimes - it works a little bit immediately after a while)
- Aniracetam (works less immediately than piracetam imho)
- Selegiline (in short: it seems to greatly improve this 'entirely messed up, only can sleep and be depressive now' phenomenon I have in response to fighting too much against ADHD, but doesn't improve immediately focusing on a set task. Improves other things though, like visualizing things in my mind. Nothing overly dramatic though.)
- Vitamin C, magnesium ( placebo-alike )
- choline ( very very little benefit, but some )
- Ashwaganda (it sort of has side effects, but if you take it occasionally it seems to do something positive overall)
- l-tyrosine ( sometimes it helps, sometimes it only seems to unbalance things )
- phosphoric acid (3g/day max.), citric acid (some), apple cider vinegar (some)
- lucidril ( again it works somewhat, but not against ADHD ... )
- licking artificial sweetener all the time (=cyclamate+saccharin .. this is the only thing of all that directly works against ADHD .. though again not much and near placebo .. probably just because the taste is rewarding. It must be super-unhealthy. Regardless it works and maybe if you use stevia instead it won't mess you up as much. STILL better than excessively eating food/sugar.)
Oh also I found that all the memory-improving drugs only really increase long-term memory. As in the "not being senile" kind of memory.
Otherwise there is so much stuff that either is entirely ineffective or that actually worsens concentration for me (sometimes extremely). For example panax ginseng, serotonin precursors and green tea in significant amounts. Supplemented zink for example is more likely to unbalance things in your metabolism in an adverse manner than it is to improve anything. Still some say it helps and I guess whatever it does in either direction is not really much of anything - again.
I recommend you try a couple of things but personally I can tell you from experience that given all the time and money I spent within a few years, I would often have just been better off trying to find better music to listen to, or improving my social relationships or something. This is just how little this stuff can do for you if measured by time and effort required to fish around in the pool. Just personal experience.
All this nootropic and supplement stuff ... it is for most people like getting over the last 3-6% of inefficiencies in their mind/body when they are already functioning at the almost-best with whatever they have, given they don't have other 'less immediate' problems in life than ADHD (like autism, lyme disease or something). Now you come with ADHD and have this crass difference of working at like 25% all the time, but immediately 95-115% on stimulants ... you see how this all doesn't really compare if you can comprehend this gap because you have the disorder. Regardless, placebo works and 10 placebo work more than 1 placebo. Also if you put your hopes in something your situation isn't entirely hopeless. That is mostly why I still take a lot of this stuff.
Edited by Aolministrator, 11 November 2014 - 01:46 PM.
