Anyone With ADHD? What Does Peat Think Of Ritalin/adderall/stimulants In General?

[Giraffe]

post 95888 Also if im really excited about something, I can't get kind of the opposite of detention deficit disorder. Then I get in some kind of hyper focus. But this is also not ideal imo. My focus on the other aspects of life become even worse. Like doing the dishes, planning my day, etc.

Kasper, this hyperfocus mode you describe reminds me a bit of Asperger's syndrome. When you are in that state do you experience other things that are tpyical for Asperger's?

 

[Kasper]

Not really sure, I'm not an asperger expert. I think I'm socially more capable if I'm not in a hyperfocus.

I think one difference is that the hyperfocus, doesn't stay very long. I think 2 months is kind of the max. It is not like I'm obsessed with this for the rest of my life (which is maybe more asperger like, at least I saw some documentary about an asperger being obsessed with busses all his life).

It is more like, for example, I made this game in a hyperfocus: http://euclidthegame.com/ of a couple of weeks. Then I find something else, and I don't think about this game anymore for a year.

I think there is some "sickness" in this hyperfocus definitely. I think part of it is, that I'm too "exhausted" to do other stuff, let other stuff get in. And being driven by the immense progress I make in this one area, I stay in it, instead of being sane, and take some rest for a couple of days. I think it can take up to a week or more to feel normal again after a hyper focus. It feels like my brain is recovering from major damage.

Luckily, I've been out of hyperfocus for some time. I feel much more stable. Sometimes I get seduced to go into the hyperfocus, because of the excitement and the quick progress I can make then in some area, but the costs are too high. And I can also make progress if I just do a little bit every day, just have to be a bit more patient and plan it bit more.

 

[Giraffe]

post 102446
It is more like, for example, I made this game in a hyperfocus: http://euclidthegame.com/ of a couple of weeks.

It seems you are a man with many talents.

Damn, level 15 is tricky.

 

[Parsifal]

I've been struggling with ADHD (now ADD since Peating because I'm way more calmer, I even had OTC before and was always jittery) but that is really hard to concentrate (as much as before) on anything and I have a very big anhedonia and lack of will and motivation for anything and I'm like that since I'm a child (with some autistic symptoms as well).

Peating improved some symptoms (like hyperactivity, anxiety, etc) but I'm still having a lot of difficulties to concentrate in class or even have the motivation to socialize and care about others and I almost don't feel any emotions (and no orgasms). The only thing that worked so perfectly and improved my life was cannabis (gave me lot of motivation and I was able to concentrate a lot more despite the bad memory I had while smoking) but now I can't smoke it anymore because it makes me really really cold and spasmophilic/tetanic.

No caffeine, NDT or vitamin B seems to help these issues. I've ordered some Theanine and am waiting for it hoping that it will help. I'm wondering if gelatin can cause this as well and casein? I'm doing everything to lower serotonin like the raw carrot salad, no starch, lot of sugar, cascara, no PUFA, red ligh, etc since 2 month but there is no real improvement.

Today I've tried to eat some dark chocolate 80% (30g) and was surprised to feel some emotions (I have not felt any since I was smoking weed) and to be more concentrated, that was magical, I felt like the life started to be a bit colorful again... And a lot of my muscular/joint stifness and lack of coordination improved a lot as well and my breathing, I have less tension in the diaphragm area...
Now I'm almost sure that my problem is very very low dopamine and would like to know how to stimulate it's secretion without harming my body. I know that Peat is seeing most "stimulating" hormones and neurotransmitters as toxic so (and it seems that dopamin is then broken down into adrenalin)... I've had a lot of cravings for weed since I've stopped it 3 years ago and lately tobacco these last days so I guess I really want their dopamine. I live in France so can't get most OTC medicine that are in the US...

I'm affraid to develop some neurological issues like Parkinson's disease later because of very low dopamine. My neuromuscular system is very weak and damaged.

 

[Jsaute21]

Dr. Peat said caffeine works just as well as methamphetamines. My pharmacist even said the same.

It doesn't. Not close.

 

[Mufasa]

It doesn't. Not close.

I think that's because caffeine isn't estrogenic.

 

[mjrm]

Correlation between ADHD and sleep disorders: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/opini ... .html?_r=0

Dr Russell Barkley about how to treat ADHD:

So... I'm currently using pure organic cacao, coffee and coconut oil plus the RP guidelines and I can concentrate now, I can read more than 30 minutes...

I'm gonna buy coca leaves, what do you think of them? I think RP said that they're highly helpful and anti-inflammatory, I think they'll help with my ADHD and gut problems.

What do you think of medication? I loved ritalin till stopped working, and in my country there's no adderall. So yeah I'm off that, only side effects now, I read that it could've had stunted my growth.

I was on adderall for about 7 years and I've only been off for about 1.5 years. My advice to people now would be to never go on these drugs. It's not because I was addicted or that it is addictive...but like an earlier poster said-- it really takes you away from the management aspect of your life and eventually destroys relationships. You know how people talk about being "hangry"? Basically...angry and hungry--its a physical state...well being on adderall is kind of like that...except you are trying to protect your dopamine...and you want to always be engaged. This is good when you are trying to get something that you want to get done done...but it's awful in just about every other area of your life.

Recently, I had bloodwork done and in my dissatisfaction with my Dr's analysis of my bloodtest results, I started looking stuff up. I stumbled across a reference that had amphetamines in a table as a substance that elevates TSH. Even being off Adderall for 1.5 years my TSH is continuing to go up. I think as a whole we are all unsure about what these stimulant drugs do to your overall physiology.

 

[mjrm]

Dr. Peat said caffeine works just as well as methamphetamines. My pharmacist even said the same.

I think that depends on what you mean as "as well". Do both up your concentration? yes. but in very different ways...its like a different strain of weed and getting high...amphs are super potent. caffiene is very mellow in comparison...even if you are taking it in pill form. I also think that in high doses caffiene starts to work less well for this purpose.

 

[mjrm]

Add is bushit. It's a way to discount people who are different. Im on disability for ADD. I had a very traumatic childhood, and there's a seperation fromthe self tbat occurs with trauma;it can be remedied with inner family systems work. The physical aspect, I believe, is simply low energy. I took pills and smoked a lot of weed, but since my thyrojd status has improved, and my stress hormones lessened, any "add symltoms" have gone away. There's no end to the bull**** people will concieve and promulgate to keep people in a slave mentality. Adderall stolled working for me, too. I wanted to makea throne of adderall tablets and ascend jt when I was younger, get a tribal armband of dextroamlhetamine. It was all vapid lies. "Whk's really running your life", by oete gerlach really helped me. He hasa free site, sfhelp.org.

the real question mark here is....you can get disability for ADD? Please tell me you do not live in the US.

 

[Philomath]

I think that depends on what you mean as "as well". Do both up your concentration? yes. but in very different ways...its like a different strain of weed and getting high...amphs are super potent. caffiene is very mellow in comparison...even if you are taking it in pill form. I also think that in high doses caffiene starts to work less well for this purpose.

As part of an mail exchange with Dr. Peat regarding caffeine for ADHD, this is what he said, "There have been tests that showed it's as effective as methylphenidate for improving focus, and the effects are similar for everyone."

I'm sure it could be a really good substitute if they made it in a time release capsule...but I don't see that happening.

 

[goodandevil]

the real question mark here is....you can get disability for ADD? Please tell me you do not live in the US.

Oh no i live in the U.S. ... what were we talking about again??

 

[energyandstruct]

Ray has mentioned methylphenidate being beneficial. It has slightly different mechanism than amphetamine and he thinks it is somewhat like thyroid. Personally I don’t think stims are as terrible as ppl make them put to be. Methylphenidate is neuroprotective.

 

[energyandstruct]

I wouldn’t overthink it, adhd is most likely real even if it’s caused by environmental effects, stims work, Ritalin safer than adderall, caffeine or thyroid good too. Many people base stuff on third hand hearsay they think is from peat. Use critical thinking. He is pro -boosting dopamine

 

[Frankdee20]

Methylphenidate has no serotonin effects unlike the amphetamines.

 

[Frankdee20]

Problem is addiction and adaptations and downregulation of D2 right ? Who can forget poop out, when medicine simply stops working.

 

[Frankdee20]

Zinc is also a dopamine reuptake inhibitor.

Selegine also protects dopamine via MAO B inhibition (and conversion to methamphetamine).

Bupropion is a mild DRI

Catuaba Bark is a mild DRI

 

[thomas00]

Ray has mentioned methylphenidate being beneficial. It has slightly different mechanism than amphetamine and he thinks it is somewhat like thyroid. Personally I don’t think stims are as terrible as ppl make them put to be. Methylphenidate is neuroprotective.

I agree, at least about methylphenidate. I'm yet to see any evidence of anything particularly bad about that drug. Where I live doctors are utterly neurotic about prescribing it and the medical profession treat it like they are giving people crystal meth.

It's regulated as if it was enriched uranium yet SSRIs with black box warnings about suicide are handed out like candy.....

 

[redsun]

It's regulated as if it was enriched uranium yet SSRIs with black box warnings about suicide are handed out like candy.....

Well according to this website methylphenidate is in many ways similar to cocaine, and having a friend who was prescribed that, I can attest to its strong effect on behavior and what not:

The Good Drug Guide : new mood-brighteners and antidepressants

 

[thomas00]

It's not clear why the author of that website thinks it's like cocaine. He/she doesn't say.

But methyphenidate is not serotenergic like cocaine is.

I've used both before and can't say there was much similar in their effects.

 

[energyandstruct]

Cocaine also has sodium channel blocking properties (which aren’t necessarily bad in of themselves—as ray likes lidocaine and benzocaine), But combined with the stimulant effects , those local anesthetic effects are really prone to cause arrhythmias. It also causes coronary vasospasms a lot, is possibly cardiotoxic in the sense that it may cause death of heart tissue on contact, etc etc. it’s a bad comparison to methylphenidate , shares some effects but is far more cardiotoxic