15 replies to this topic

[justinb]

I have had severe A.D.D. all my life. When I was younger I had quite a few dé·jà vu experiances. I still do, just no where near as much as I did before. My focus is absolutely horrible, of course, and my memory is thus is in constant chaos. I have horrendous memory, it is absolutely worthless. Some times I can spell foriegn words that I might have heard once or twice (extremely rare) and other times I can't even spell the word 'spell'; this happends fairly often. Although I can usually spell "spell." [lol] I will you an example of what I am like with a drug (amphatemine) called Adderall. Bare in minds the effects were QUITE fleeting. The day I first took it was absolutely amazing. I memorized about 15 novel Spanish words; their meaning, spelling, part of speech, conjugation and pronunciation... in about two to three minutes (perhaps even less, I am not sure). How do I know? I was pressed for time, because I had to take the test in about 5 minutes... I only made one error. I wrote an 'e' that looked like an 'o.' Before I had trouble staying focused in class and every once in awhile blacked out for 3 or 4 minutes (probably longer [huh] ) It was the class, I hardly ever blacked out in any other class... although I spaced out all the time. (Duh) Of course, I had a very hard time memorizing words. When I had math class I could literally solve a problem just by looking at it. And I don't mean looking at a problem at going through the steps consciously, I mean as soon as I looked at it I had the anwser. This didn't happen on all of the problems of course, however quite a few were solved this way. Before, of course, it took me awhile. I blame by innate ADD for this. [lol] That gets back to my point. Even when I had Adderall, which I don't now because it doesn't work that well at all, ADD was definitely still there. What is the most annoying, depressing and downright infuriating and time wasting thing I do is constantly double talking myself, even if I am right... which is a decent amount of the time.

So, I hope that background story will help whoever here knows about focus, memory, energy, anti-depressants, etc., to tell me about supplements I can (and should) try out. I don't want to be running around like a chicked with it's head cut off by taking amphatemines, that only helps treat my ADD so much... and the effect will always wear-off sooner or later.

ADD (ADHD) Fact Sheet


The best way to describe ADD.....

it's like trying to build a house of cards in a dust storm.

[LifeMirage]

Hello Justinb

A multifaceted approach is best.

Diet: Watch your refine sugar intake and insure you're getting enough omega 3s (fish) and omega 9's (olive).

Therapies: Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

Nootropics (Try only 1 at a time): Pyritinol 200-1,200 mg daily, Modafinil 100-200 mg (or its cheaper European version if you don't have insurance Adrafinil* 300-1,200 mg), Piracetam 5.25 Grams, and Centrophenoxine 500-1,000 mg.

Nutrients: I highly recommend a multivitamin/mineral, theanine 200-500 mg, and glycine 1-5G.

Testing: An offical IQ test is very important for revealing areas of weakness in your cognitive abilites and strategies to strengthen them. It also may show you strengths you did not even know you had.


*Note: Adrafinil can cause an increase in liver enzymes if taken daily witin 2-3 months.

[scottl]

There were also some very interesting abstracts posted over at avant on zinc and ADD.

[johnmk]

I have heard that ZMA (zinc methionine aspartate (sp?)), a popular body-building supplement, can cause sedation . . . evidently, it's commonly supplemented prior to bed. Could one of the mechanisms of action be that zinc is a bit sedating, and this is what's "benefitting" those with ADHD? Or is that only a function of ZMA.

[justinb]

Thank you for your suggestions.

What is the best way to take Omega 3 and Omega 9? I plan on eating fish and olives regularly but I still want to take capsules. Should I order them online or go to a store? Which brand should I get, etc.

You say to try only one Nootropic at a time; how long should I try one for?

The problem is, what type of IQ test would give me the most accurate measurement of my abilities? Should I take a culture fair IQ test like the Cattell or Raven? Or should I take the Stanford Binet? Perhaps both. That would be interesting if I took a test now and the same one 12 months to 18 months after I start a healthy diet and appropriate supplementation.

[justinb]

I belive most cost effective way to supplement omega 3 is to order fish oil from puritansale.com . Go for their product no: 6335 or 3832. As for omega 9 i don't think you should supplement it if you will use some olive oil in your diet.

Thanks for your post.

[DJS]

Hey Justin, I also have ADD. I'd have to say that I agree with you that most amphatemine based treatments become something of a downward spiral. I've personally been on Strattera for over a year with "moderately" satisfying results (sometimes I do not realize its working until I forget to take it for a day). Out of everything I tried Omega 3 helped me out the most. I have noticed a real difference taking it (I'm currently on a zone/ Omega 3 diet -- which requires pharma grade fish oil) and would recommend it to anyone with ADD. I'm curious now to try out the Omega 9 that life mirage recommended...I'll have to look in the stores for that.

Ooh, one more thing. Exercise! I've noticed that my focus goes up considerably when I exercise on a daily basis.

Take care,

Don

[justinb]

Hey Justin, I also have ADD.  I'd have to say that I agree with you that most amphatemine based treatments become something of a downward spiral.  I've personally been on Strattera for over a year with "moderately" satisfying results (sometimes I do not realize its working until I forget to take it for a day).  Out of everything I tried Omega 3 helped me out the most.  I have noticed a real difference taking it (I'm currently on a zone/ Omega 3 diet -- which requires pharma grade fish oil) and would recommend it to anyone with ADD.  I'm curious now to try out the Omega 9 that life mirage recommended...I'll have to look in the stores for that.

Ooh, one more thing. Exercise!  I've noticed that my focus goes up considerably when I exercise on a daily basis.

Take care,

Don

I exercise 3 times a week (I should do a lot more). But I left weights instead of doing cardiovascular workouts which are supposed to help cognitive function in general.

Thanks for your post.

[mnosal]

Despite the common misconception, weightlifting with moderate-to-high intensity has fantastic cardiovascular benefits as well as longer duration of effect. Metabolism will remain elevated long after the weightlifting is done, whereas the effects of doing just cardio cease pretty much as soon as the workout does.

I prefer a 75% : 25% ratio, I'll usually do 45mins of intense full body work every 2 days. Mostly compound movements: Deadlifts, Military Press, Bench Press & Squats. Followed by 15mins on the Recumbant Bike as a cool down.

I'll eat some Chicken & Brown rice, jump in the shower then hit the books for an hr or so before evening classes. The excersise helps tremendously when sitting thru 4hrs of lecture/lab 4 nights per week.

[johnmk]

Not that we're interested in anything aside from immortality I know, but for those who are interested in other goals (gaining muscle, for example) , it's not "optimal" to do intense long-duration cardio on the same day you are weight lifting. Moreover, evidently, your body adapts to one goal really well, or the other, depending on what you're doing over time. It can't adapt to both very well, only marginally. Consult someone like Lyle McDonald for more information, or just peruse avant.

If you are going to do cardio and weight lifting in and around the same time (day/hour, whatever), then I can theorize it might be best to do cardio last (so that your cardio doesn't deplete your glycogen stores, if it would even do that).

Edited by johnmk, 06 June 2005 - 05:46 AM.

[scottl]

If you are going to do cardio and weight lifting in and around the same time (day/hour, whatever), then I can theorize it might be best to do cardio last (so that your cardio doesn't deplete your glycogen stores, if it would even do that).

Your theorizing agrees with the general concensus. Of course if you can do cardio after squatting....LOL

[enemy]

Let us not confuse lower intensity "fat-burn" cardio and higher intensity "glycogen-burn" cardio.

Not that it means anything important, but I can attest to there being a tangible difference between the two.

[johnmk]

Is 3 miles per hour at 3 degrees incline -- low intensity?

[exigentsky]

I think that's certainly a "Yes".

[brooklynjuice]

Is 3 miles per hour at 3 degrees incline -- low intensity?

instensity is variable per person

HeartRate measures intensity