Fiance Has ADHD

[Luann]

Hey guys,
my fiance has ADHD. To get to the point, he has adult ADHD with some amount of reduced empathy and a side of his personality that's not always easy to work with. These can be some pretty big issues in our relationship.
Assuming that nutrition can help with some of his burden, should he be taking...

B6
caffeine
vitamin E
progesterone

?? other supplements?

Please, anyone with experience with this condition or knowledge about it. We could really use your help.

 

[x-ray peat]

Does he spend a lot of time on the computer or watching tv? I think the constant changing images of TV as well as attempts to continually multi task have given people the attention spans of children. (no offense).
meditation may help as well as turning off the tv

 

[tyler]

Does he take ADHD meds? I found reduced empathy to be the most prominent side effect of taking them. I know how difficult it can be trying to navigate a relationship when one person has a personality like that... I was not easy to deal with.
If he is, trying to wean off those might be a good move. I was getting bi weekly b-complex injections which I found extremely helpful when I was in a hypo state and trying to come off adderall.
Lisuride also improves ADHD symptoms quite a bit for me. Without any negatives. I don't take this regularly however so I'm not sure about long term side effects.

 

[Luann]

Yes he watches a lot of tv. A LOT. in fact, he has some kind of stimulus seeking behavior, he likes to speed when driving, he's not motivated to do things unless they're exciting, and lets dishes / housework pile up. It's very frustrating watching himself booby-trap himself.
Tyler he is not taking anything. Actually, we took a methylphenidate, one of the brand names, together about a week ago, but it didn't seem to affect either of us except a brief good mood? :)
So you think lisuride or B vitamins can help him come back to planet earth a little bit :) Sorry to hear that you had to go through that.

 

[DaveFoster]

Try coffee, thiamine, l-theanine, pregnenolone, DHEA, and things that lower cortisol (niacinamide,) emodin (cascara sagrada), and carrot salad. Plenty of sex will probably keep his dopamine levels up as well.

 

[DrJ]

I would suggest experimenting with high dose glycine to eliminate serotonin. The gut and the mind are closely connected and glycine helps calm the gut, which can help the mind work well. I take 2x 5g glycine a day and it helps me remain calm and focused, and definitely makes me much more social and less prone to avoiding social interaction. I've taken up to 60g glycine and the only ill effect is the bowels moving faster, but other than being inconvenient, it actually seems to be a net positive on mood. Doses of 100g/day have been used to treat schizophrenia so I think it's pretty safe. When I've taken 60g glycine I feel extremely calm, focused, 'balanced', and highly social for about 3 days after. It also helps keep my temps and heart rate up in the right levels. He could just start out with 2-3g, 2x a day and move up from there if you don't want to go full tilt. I also give glycine to my dog with his meals and it has helped his health problems IMMENSELY. Gelatin is about 30% glycine by weight, so you can also use that as a source and get beneficial aminos like proline with the glycine. (So for example 9g gelatin would provide almost 3g glycine.)

 

[Luann]

Thank you tyler, dave, xraypeat, dr j.
dave he isn't much of a supplements guy but he drinks coffee sometimes. not much because he says it causes him to crash during his night shift at work. he loves carrots!! *notes to self*
that's very cool drj, that you have had such a good experience from glycine. (2g a day makes my hair less oily TMI :P ) glycine it will be, then. doesn't it cost a lot to take that much per day? We would have less hardship trying to get pure glycine than gelatin into him - just because of the amount of gelatin that would be needed.

The last thing is, his ADHD may have some roots in the loss of a parent at an early age. Did Peat not say something about food's effect to allow people to "more forward" out of bad pasts and such (and of course the problem with a bad diet would be that it holds someone back?)

 

[DaveFoster]

Thank you tyler, dave, xraypeat, dr j.
dave he isn't much of a supplements guy but he drinks coffee sometimes. not much because he says it causes him to crash during his night shift at work. he loves carrots!! *notes to self*
that's very cool drj, that you have had such a good experience from glycine. (2g a day makes my hair less oily TMI :p ) glycine it will be, then. doesn't it cost a lot to take that much per day? We would have less hardship trying to get pure glycine than gelatin into him - just because of the amount of gelatin that would be needed.

The last thing is, his ADHD may have some roots in the loss of a parent at an early age. Did Peat not say something about food's effect to allow people to "more forward" out of bad pasts and such (and of course the problem with a bad diet would be that it holds someone back?)

Mega-dosing glycine is probably a bad idea. Caffeine pills is probably safer. 300 mg after breakfast and 200 mg every 6 hours could help. I have ADHD, and this helps me. Niacinamide synergizes with caffeine, and aspirin leads to clearer thinking and less mood swings.

@goodandevil mentioned how his ADD symptoms went away after improving thyroid function. If you think of serotonin as excitatory, then lowering it and raising dopamine should lower impulsivity.

 

[Luann]

He does like caffeine drinks, and is taking a B supplement now. He has an aspirin sensitivity and gets a rash.
Thyroid is probably part of it. It's gonna be hard to get him not to eat PUFAs but he gets protein and calcium through milk, and magnesium and vitamin E pills restore glucose metabolism, which ADHD people are impaired in - so we might start those.

 

[Catecholamine]

reduced empathy

Fellow ADHD-er here. Just want to throw it out there that this isn't a symptom of ADHD, so if you're looking for something to deal with the reduced empathy, it won't necessarily help with the ADHD.

While those conditions can certainly exist together, ADHD people on the whole are often more empathetic than neurotypicals. For what it's worth, I've been described as "the polar opposite of a psychopath."

 

[Regina]

Fellow ADHD-er here. Just want to throw it out there that this isn't a symptom of ADHD, so if you're looking for something to deal with the reduced empathy, it won't necessarily help with the ADHD.

While those conditions can certainly exist together, ADHD people on the whole are often more empathetic than neurotypicals. For what it's worth, I've been described as "the polar opposite of a psychopath."

I was kinda thinking along the same lines as you.

 

[tara]

that's very cool drj, that you have had such a good experience from glycine. (2g a day makes my hair less oily TMI :p ) glycine it will be, then. doesn't it cost a lot to take that much per day? We would have less hardship trying to get pure glycine than gelatin into him - just because of the amount of gelatin that would be needed.

Gelatine counts towards protein needs, so eg 20 g gelatine or glycine might mean needing 100 g less meat etc, so budget-wise it might not be all cost.

I know this is not a marriage advice site, and not to suggest that there is nothing to be gained from good nutrition, but since you've referred to it I'll stick my 2c in.
I would think twice before marrying someone who can't act empathetic on a regular basis. Assuming a happy life with him is an important part of what you are intending to get into it for, I'd say don't unless or until he can get that issue solved in a way you can be happy with. Not sure if you are saying you are having a lot of issues already, but if so, then maybe it's time to reconsider that plan?

If he wants to make it work for you, he might be able to learn some guidelines that help him behave in a caring way even when it doesn't always come instinctively for him? Might even be that developing good habits in this area might lead to him feeling more empathetic too?

I don't know how much of the issue is one of behaviour - things that can be addressed by learning, practicing, developing habits, finding ways to deal with associated emotions, etc, but I'll guess that's at least part of it. It takes energy to do all those things, so supporting it with good nutrition etc makes sense too.

If he's addicted to TV, consider seeing if he'll agree to removing the TV, or reaching some mutual agreement about how much? Find more fun stuff that you can both enjoy doing together instead? If TV is that displacing energy-supportive sunlight, redressng that balance might improve his mood and motivation too?

 

[Luann]

Thanks guys, very helpful advice.
I'm not sure reduced empathy was the right way to describe him. He's a very sweet guy and one of my favorite parts of being with him is that we always talk so nice to each other and are civil, that's just like a constant for us. He's a little...on his own planet sometimes.
He gets very little sun some days because of his over night shift, he has to sleep during the day. He's mentioned that we should take time off from the tv - we both use it, when we hang out, and I think if he eats more, sometimes he doesn't eat enough, he'll have the energy to focus on other stuff besides movies / shows : )

 

[Motif]

Hey guys,
my fiance has ADHD. To get to the point, he has adult ADHD with some amount of reduced empathy and a side of his personality that's not always easy to work with. These can be some pretty big issues in our relationship.
Assuming that nutrition can help with some of his burden, should he be taking...

B6
caffeine
vitamin E
progesterone

?? other supplements?

Please, anyone with experience with this condition or knowledge about it. We could really use your help.

How did this continue? You found something that helped ?

 

[Luann]

We broke up that fall, 2.5 years ago, it was a very unsustainable situation. Thanks for checking back.

 

[berk]

i don't nothing about ADHD but this amount of reduced empathy has EVERYONE thats got tired.
This fatigue is hard te recover from if people dont have a normal sleep pattern.
Can takes months to recover from it (not a couple hours or days)
With other words, night shift job is properly biggest culprit and cause lot of stress hormones in overdrive.

 

[achillea]

Lipothiamine

 

[milkbasedvegan]

ADHD is a medical condition usually medicated with Ritalin which is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor. Dopamine and adrenaline likely close to zero.

what else tends to help those extremely dysfunctional people? VERY Frequent if not quasi constant feeding of some sort of salty food high in b6 and tyrosine. Sugar might work, small bits, same thing. Home made beef jerky’s come to mind. Testosterone and thyroid must be looked at.

 

[achillea]

Thiamine deficiency.(see above).....B complex, magnesium. make sure natural potassium in diet