Ok, so before I go and get Adderall prescribed to me right away, I figured it would be smart to post on here first, so I'll know what I am about to get myself into. Part of me feels a bit confident taking a stimulant drug to combat my ADD, but a part of me is somewhat hesitant. In a way, I have had sort of a "preview" of what using an amphetamine-drug would feel like, given the fact that I had used a supplement before (E3Live) that contained PEA, which they coined "the molecule of love," and gave me incredible focus that I could not believe... but then soon faded away. But now since I've been blessed to have found & be a part of Imminst, I was able to look up and learn how PEA is a very, very short-lived version of amphetamine (anyone know how to extend it's half-life by the way? I don't). So IF I do feel the same while on Adderall, or another amphetamine-drug I may soon be taking (although I'm aiming towards Adderall right now), it may be the answer I'm looking for... but I know the drug's addicting, I know it may build tolerance, and who knows, it just may not work, which is why part of me is on the hesitant-side about taking it. But if it DOES happen to work for me, what is it's half-life usually? when does a tolerance build up? And if so, is there a way to keep a tolerance building, say by, not using it everyday? I know they aren't the best kind of drugs to be taking, but I know for a fact that I need something designed to improve my attention, given that I've worked-out and exercised my heart out during certain semesters in college, and still felt like I needed additional focus in school (at the time I wasn't one who would consider taking these type of meds, given that I didn't want to have to rely on that sort of thing at the time, but I'm beginning to wonder if my brain had indeed been begging for it).
But being one who has experimented with a lot of supplements, some to try and put my attention problems to an end, to my surprise the only two that have ever done justice for me were the E3Live (for about a day, lol) and to my surprise & accidentally (since I couldn't find any pure maca supplements at the time) a maca supplement blended with horny goat weed, or the other way around I guess (this one in particular). I actually was AMAZED how well this worked for me, though the feeling only lasted for about a month, but my memory was better, mood lifted, libido... yeah, that definitely was improved. But I know by now that it definitely was the HGW, not the maca, which induced this well-being, focused feeling, since I don't receive this sense of focus just by taking maca alone. But I am actually very, very curious now as to how HGW actually effects the brain, what it's mechanism of actions are. Hopefully I can achieve this sense of well-being and focus with a stimulant. By the way, I am doing my hardest to try and seek out the best treatment for my ADD, in Dr. Amen's book "Healing ADD," I have realized that I fall under the Inattentive & Overfocused ADD-Types, Inattentive being the type best treated with stimulants, while Overfocused is best treated with SSRI's, which I never had really much success with by the way. But Effexor (an SNRI) is one of the drugs to combat the overfocused type, has anyone heard of it being used to treat ADD? But before I get into anything like that, my heart... or I guess my brain, is saying to go with a stimulant first to see how that works out. Sorry if I made this type of post a little too lengthy, it just felt right to elaborate a little to get my situation out on paper.
I had a tendency to look for a one pill solution as well but how about another approach.
Say you are functioning at 60% of your potential normally (very subjective), why not try to sort out any other issues first aside from 'pure ADD'. There's any number of things that can mimic and contribute to ADD symptoms: see for example
http://www.incredibl.../mimic-adhd.htm. Getting a sleep study done, getting the best quality (most reliable) blood testing done for various nutrients, hormones, and heavy metals, and screening for diseases (like Lyme disease) should be an essential part of everyone's approach here IMHO.
So after spending a few years (and $1000s of dollars no doubt) on getting everything checked, you might find one or two things or even more that exarcebate your symptoms. After taking care of them [say getting your levels of nutrients at optimal levels (even Iron/Ferritin levels for example need to not be too LOW or your attention span/energy levels might suffer), getting a sleep device to improve any sleep disordered breathing problem - this is common in ADD, getting your Thyroid hormones at optimal levels, etc] you may be functioning at 70% of your potential. Wouldn't it be better to be in a position where you aren't completely reliant on one pill or a combination of pills and can function fine (70% is okay right!) without them (but to slay the ADD dragon on a daily basis you would probably still need medication...).
It's important not to rely on one 'crutch' IMHO - at least some tolerance develops sooner or later to most things, and it isn't easy to keep a steady rate of a drug in your system to effectively manage your symptoms 24 hours a day. Not to mention the fact that you could be going after issues (for example mild Sleep Apnea or low hormone levels) that may be left untreated causing health problems later down the track. Indeed later on in life many people develop such health problems possibly after having them for years (they might have gone unnoticed or were 'subclinical'). Wouldn't it be a good idea to learn about the 'health position' of your own body so that later on, while your non-ADD friends are relying on busy doctors to treat their ailments, you are fully informed/experienced about your own body's situation and managing it effectively (hopefully utilising the best doctors you can afford)?
I am developing some interest in the use of low-dose, continous delivery nicotine patches for the treatment of ADD, at a dose of 3.5 - 7mg daily. There is a saying in research circles, "nicotine is a good drug with a bad delivery system". It has shown efficacy for ADHD in several studies and performed as well as ritalin in a comparison study.
FunkOdyssey,
how have you found the Anti-lyme disease medications you have been taking have helped with your ADD symptoms (if at all). I am thinking here of the Antibiotics especially you were trying - have you noticed improvements in any ADD symptoms (or any other symptoms for that matter)?
FunkyOddesy - Nicotine is extremely effective, but it has bad side effects of vasoconstriction and at higher doses, nausea, manickiness, and irritability. When I was using it for 3-4 months (along with wellbutrin and occasional adderall) it was enough to completely halt my ADD 24 hours a day.
I didn't try
Nicotine for a continuous period of months like bgwithadd, but I didn't find using anything from 5-21 mg
Nicotine patches 'extremely effective' for curbing my ADD symptoms. Certainly not as effective for me as Dextroamphetamine. However
Nicotine patches definitely help and considering that they are available OTC and not a controlled substance (unlike the neurostimulant medications for ADD), they are well worth trying as an add-on for ADD. I wonder would Memantine help with tolerance issues to the effects of
Nicotine patches (a lot of people get some tolerance to the effects of
Nicotine patches when used regularly)?