Posted by LeadingZero on September 2, 2004, at 20:04:22
In reply to Re: how is adderall coming along » LeadingZero, posted by katalina on September 2, 2004, at 9:20:54
> I'm impressed that you're giving natural sources a shot. If you don't mind sharing, are you doing anything specific, like eating a high protien diet, taking any supplements which you find helpful, etc.? I think about going that route every now and then, but then would rather surf the net for information on the newest wonder drug that will be a sure cure to my ailments (irritable, impatient, anhedonic and angry to name a few).
Okay… you asked for it. There are sure going to be compatability problems due to our different backgrounds and the subtle differences in aftertaste of our otherwise like-flavored brains. Also, there are definitely people on this board who need medications to function. I may ultimately find that I'm one of them.
First off, I didn’t actually expect to treat my ADD with natural sources, but rather be better off than when drugged and stressed into subhumanity. I’m fortunate enough to be in a field manned by the psychiatric disorder hall of fame— software/electrical engineering. I guess to make smart people nature dabbles on the lunatic fringe, because all of my four bosses so far have had various problems worse than I, but three of the four were oblivious or in vehement, angry denial of it. Erratic behaviour is manly here.
Mostly, I was hoping to return to what got me through school, working to pay my way, with a kid. I honestly don’t know what that is. Perhaps it was what many ADD people seem to have, that is the ability to rise to any occasion given enough stress, stimulation, and pent up anger accumulated from the repeated social humiliation of failure. Also my wife kicking my butt.
So, to actually answer your question: At the times in my life that I was most productive and happy, and what I’m going to try again, it seems that was:
1. walking/running a lot
2. busy doing something that was important to me
3. not doing a lot of TV or computer recreation (these would cause me to lose sleep, and also have been shown to temporarily raise dopamine levels. I think I was getting rebound without taking any drug. I would also get migranes )
4. this is cheesy, but: singing/vocalizing a lot and/or laughing a lot. I don’t know, it keeps me happy. It also gives me nice regular breathing. I stop when other people are around, just so I don’t get a rep.Some other new things that I’ve been dabbling in that seemed to help even when I was on meds, that I plan to keep:
1. Seeing a good psychologist / marriage counselor. Good is the operative word, and it takes while to find one. A bad one is worse than none. Get referrals from smart people, and try out a few.
2. Finding out what I’m intolerant to and eliminating it. Get this: I’m allergic to MSG, wheat, and corn. Especially corn. That’s pretty much every prepared food. No wonder I always hated food, was itchy, congested, constipated and farting. Now I’m not. It’s a big deal. I’m also am light sensitive. I got some Irlen filters (colored glasses), and now I can read better and don’t get migraines.
3. Power Yoga. Two sun salutation A’s would clear up my adderall-induced brainfry. I think it’s all the oxygen-rich blood that downward dog pushes into your lowered head. Also, after a full 1.5hr class, I fell almost normal.
4. Lots of sleep. I used to sleep ~6 hrs a night. Now I shoot for 9. I’m sharper and happier.
5. Finding humor whenever possible, even at the risk of being inappropriate. Having kids makes this easy, since they actually laugh at my jokes. ADHD people can often do humor really well, and are much less impressive when earnest.
6. Juvenon (www.juvenon.com). I’m not sure if this helps ADD, but it seems to make me more exuberant and helps me to sleep at night. I’ll let you sift through all the propaganda and decide for yourself. I started on it after hearing a lecture on rat studies at UC Berkley by Dr. Bruce Ames. There is actually some real science behind the crass commercialism.
7. Fish oil and a multivitamin. Again, I’m not sure how much it specifically treats ADD, but your brain really needs that stuff, and it’s cheap. There’s some science here too.
8. getting cheesy again, but: acting happy and excited when I’m not. It’s amusing, and I’ve found it actually makes me happy and excited, within sane boundaries. Also, smiling as hard as possible, manically, seems to do something brain-wise… uh, when I’m alone. It can also get the laughing going.> I have had brief periods of feeling happy in my life, but they are just that - brief and fleeting. As much as I would like to meditate, eat organic, practice yoga, etc. to keep my symptoms under control, it is just too much work (and expense). If it can be captured in a capsule and there's a hint of promise that it will cure me, and all I need to do is come up with the co-pay, then a lab monkey I will be.
Yeah, I’m thinking of starting up a minimal does of ritilin with all this, just to avoid embarrassment. Still, I think I’m ultimately more productive with screaming ADD-- I just make an ass of myself a lot.
>
> Seriously though, the Adderall thing stinks. Why can't I be one of those lucky people who don't develop tolerance???? If you don't mind my asking, what kind of dose were you taking?I was taking 20mg twice per day when it was the worst, but I was also really stressed and not taking care of my body. At the same time, I got politically raped at work and all my innovations and work availed me nothing. I’m slightly dysthymic, but with all this I became depressed. I started on Zoloft, and that helped in some ways, but sometimes I would become rather emotionally numb, which scared the hell out of my wife. I got off of that to. Later, I tried Straterra. I made me sleeply a lot and gave me kick ass dreams, which would be useful if I were a professional dreamer, but Motorola had the audacity to require me to show up to work and focus on something now and then, which it didn’t help me with at all. I gave it six months to work, then gave it up.
> I'm glad to hear you're feeling good med free - maybe that saying about being as happy as you make up your mind to be, has some merit to it.
It’s got its limits, but it’s definitely a factor. We’re irrational and chemical creatures. If we could just make our minds up to be happy, by God we would. I need help to sort it out correctly, that’s why the psychologist is so important. I’m also still seeing the psychiatrist, even if I can get by without drugs.
Good luck,
poster:LeadingZero
thread:382574
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040830/msgs/385800.html