I was diagnosed about 6 months ago with Attention Deficit Disorder and am 23 years old. I have been taking Adderall for about 4 months at 30mg per day. I find the Adderall helps my energy level a great deal but does little else. I am wondering if any nootropics might aid the Adderall in the areas of concentration, memory, and focus. I have always had some tics and they seem worse with Adderall. Any help in this area would be very useful also. If there are Nootropics that might help, then the dose and time of day for taking would also help. Also any antioxidants that would be especially important while using Adderall and nootropics.

Thanks for your help.
ADDGirl

While this is not a direct answer to your request and I encourage those that have been giving the wonderful advice found on our site to please do so, I would add that perhaps you review the articles that I have referenced in this post as well.

We are coming to a new understanding about the complexity of many learning disorders and in addition to treating them with a variety of new methods there's one issue that is also becoming more apparent that it is also diet related.

It would be nice if saying that simplified matters but it doesn't. But as we come to understand the complex genetic relationships, it is possible to better tailor our diet to meet the demands of these different metabolisms and augment our diets with appropriate types and amounts of substances to include nootropes.

Recent studies have linked essential fish oils with a variety of mental disorders including severe depression and schizophrenia, as well as other crucial aspects like prevention of cancer.

The reason may be that we evolved as a species far more dependent on fish as our source of nutrient proteins and complex fats than we have come to expect in the period of land based domestic meat sources that have all been developed in the relatively recent post glacial period. Our genes may be demanding some substances from essential fish oils that we are ignoring and we are risking the loss of from environmental degradation of the oceans. (a separate but related issue)

I suggest googling ADD and reviewing a number of different approaches to its treatment in children and adults; a number of which that have shown marked success have focused on diet, both what people should consume and what they shouldn't. This also is a question of how much they should consume and whether specific activities involving exercise of both mind and body work in a way to combine (potentiate) effects for the positive and/or the negative ones. What is clear from a cursory review is that the more we are learning at the moment about these disorders, more questions are being raised than immediately answered.

Lazarus, Thank you for the information. I will review the links. I have started taking fish oil capsules and trying to eat more fish. I am sure this is a long term solution. In doing a Google there is so much information you would almost think everything is a cause and anything that each website sells is a solution. The reputable sites seem to have a few studies with mixed results and no real solutions. I will keep experimenting. Thanks again for the information.

A friend of mine in Southern California, Ben, has ADHD and intends to "correct" it using EEG and self-training.

http://www.livejournal.com/community/add_a...adhd/61653.html

I also have ADHD and currently take a medium dose of Ritalin (60 mg per day). I also take mega-multivitamins and 2000 mg fish oil capsules every day. Since starting the fish oil I have felt that my moods have improved.

I like the way the Ritalin helps me concentrate. However, sometimes I worry that it is going to stress my heart...I don't have a particularly rapid heartbeat, nor do I have any prediagnosed heart problems. However, since it is a stimulant I hope that it does not in any way interfere with my immortalist ambitions. I have been taking the ritalin for about 8 years now and have had no side effects, so perhaps I have nothing to worry about. I just wonder if there is any long term data on healthy people who take Ritalin over a period of many years.

I'm hoping that someday in the future there will be some kind of cool mental enhancement device that can fix ADHD permanently. THAT would be really nice!

-azalyn

Hi addgirl, my partner has adhd and has derived great benefit from deanol a dmae preperation,
it aids her focus, and apparently stabilises brain waves. According to Patrick Holfords (nutricianist) book natural highs it was shown to be more effective than ritalin, but I dont know what evidence there is supporting his claims.
Deanol can be found cheaply online and in our experience is worth a go.

Ticktok, Deanol sounds interesting. Do you have an internet source that you are happy with. In doing a search it becomes confusing because deanol is offered as super deanol, pure deanol, deanol/dmae and so on. Some of the brands claim only theirs works. Good ol' marketing, lol. I would interested in trying the brand that worked for your partner. Does DMAE work about the same? It sounds like for best results it should be taken on an empty stomach early in the day. Is this her routine? What dose works well for her? Sorry about so many questions.
Thanks very much for your help.

This post has been edited by addgirl: Sep 17 2003, 07:23 PM

Anyone else have any updates on this?

One of the best treatments my patients have noticed is Pyritinol from 200-1,000 mg daily.

I have now been taking DMAE for about 4 weeks and it does actually seem to be doing something. I'm kind of surprised, because though nootropics sound very interesting, I am skeptical by nature and did not expect to necessarily "feel" different...but I do!

I am taking the DMAE in conjunction with grape seed extract, fish oil, my daily multivitamin (which includes COQ10, choline, and bioflavonoids in addition to the usual stuff like Vitamin C and niacin), and Ritalin (60 mg per day). I find that the DMAE seems to have a synergistic action with the Ritalin; that is, I concentrate much better with both that with one or the other.

The first interesting thing I noticed about DMAE was that it suddenly seemed easier to put my thoughts into words. I never had any trouble writing or communicating verbally, but now it seems that writing is practically effortless. Maybe it's coincidence or the placebo effect, but I thought I should note it.

I haven't had any troublesome side effects, or any side effects at all, for that matter.

-azalynn

I havn't tried it yet, but it seems to me that Deprenyl would have a positive impact on ADD/ADHD - given ADD's link to low dopamine levels, and Deprenyl's Mao-B inhibition effects - since Mao-B metabolizes Dopamine. I'm not fully sure but its quite likely I have add - going in for tests thursday.

A Piracetam study was just done with ADHD, see posting Piracetam-The Original Nootropic.

Deanol (DMAE) was originally used in "minimal brain dysfunctions", the precursor term for ADD/ADHD. Dosage was around 300-600mg day, if I remember.

If you can find the study please post it.

Thank you

Just noticed it doesn't look like anyone has brought up ALCAR on this thread


Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2002 Jul;67(1):33-8. Related Articles, Links


Efficacy of carnitine in the treatment of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Van Oudheusden LJ, Scholte HR.

Department of Pediatrics, Westfries Gasthuis, Hoorn, The Netherlands. oudheusden@wxs.nl

To determine safety and the efficacy of carnitine treatment in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The ADHD behavior was observed by parents completing the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and by teachers completing the Conners teacher-rating score, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled double-crossover trial. In 13/24 boys receiving carnitine, home behavior improved as assessed with the CBCL total score (P < 0.02). In 13/24 boys, school behavior improved as assessed with the Conners teacher-rating score (P < 0.05). Before treatment, the CBCL total and sub-scores were significantly different from those of normal Dutch boys (P < 0.0001). Responders showed a significant improvement of the CBCL total scores compared to baseline (P < 0.0001). In the majority of boys no side effects were seen. At baseline and after carnitine treatment, responders showed higher levels of plasma-free carnitine (P < 0.03) and acetylcarnitine (P < 0.05). Compared to baseline, the carnitine treatment caused in the responsive patients a decrease of 20-65% (8-48 points) as assessed by the CBCL total problem rating scale. Treatment with carnitine significantly decreased the attention problems and aggressive behavior in boys with ADHD.

There is nothing special occuring with any of the medicaments used in ADD/ADHD since the drugs cause the same response in adults. Stimulants improve concentration and focus in nearly everyone that use them. I am not impressed with the research that deals with ADD/ADHD, as I am not quite convinced that it has an organic basis, or is not related to parenting.

Binaural entrainment techniques have been anecdotaly effective. Holosync (www.centerpointe.com) and Insight or Focus(www.awakenedminds.com) are products which are popular. There are other companies around, as well. I think Awakened Minds might have done some studies, check their web site.

ADD/ADHD is controversial, and at this point we are not be able to attribute it to mechanism(s) that are malfunctioning in the brain. I think it's a more of a affliction that was created by the medical community to classify those who have lower than average attention spans and/or hyperactive tendencies.

Yeah, such is the case with most psychiatric illnesses. However, they can still serve as general classifications for people with related problems or issues that they want to solve, such as inability to concentrate. The problem is when there is a stigma attached because it is an "illness."

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