Any Advice For My Specific Situation?

[smores]

28, female.

•Lifelong ADHD and anxiety (both diagnosed)
•Definitely somewhere on the autism spectrum

•Have had depression on and off since my teen years

•Recently figured out that I have a gluten sensitivity that affects my emotions/mental health

I currently take:
-Vyvanse 40mg
-Buspar 60mg
-a ton of vitamins
-omega 3s


For a couple months recently I was taking a ton of 5-HTP cause at first it felt like a total miracle, but then I added caffeine pills, and then was struggling worse with anger issues so I stopped the caffeine altogether and now only take 100mg or 200mg of the 5-HTP per day.

I've been taking Ashwagandha for sleep for several months. Didn't realize it could increase cortisol, I had read that it lowers cortisol.. so now I take a lot less than I was taking before.

I'm vegan (for the animals), Jan/Feb will be my 1 year veganniversary so my lifelong issues have been there since way before that. But it may be relevant to supplements I may need to be taking.

I get stressed out so easily.
Anger issues.
Lack of patience.

In recent months my sex drive has been completely nonexistent. I don't know why. It's never been literally nonexistent like this before.

In recent months I've also lost 1/3 of my total body weight (on purpose) and I've heard this can affect hormones etc but not sure which ones or in what ways.

I'm not on any birth control. When I was pregnant with a boy it felt like I was taking a magic pill that made ALL my issues go away. All of them. When I was pregnant with a girl my issues felt a little worse than usual. I don't know if taking a low-dose progesterone-only birth control would make me feel like the boy pregnancy or girl pregnancy or if it would help my current issues or make them worse.

In the past (like from 5 to 4 years ago) I was addicted to opiates so I'm sure that affected my brain chemicals/receptors. This is very much in the past but I had to mention it.

I have so many questions about everything.

I'm pretty sure the anger and stress issues are due to the ADHD/autism and my doctor won't increase my Vyvanse.

The 5-HTP and Ashwagandha, should I be avoiding them even in small doses? Or are they helping in small doses?

Are there amino acids that I'm lacking?

Is the complete loss of any sex drive due to the weight loss? Or due to depression? Or something else? I've been way more depressed before but this asexualness has never ever happened before.

I never feel settled, I never feel "right". When my Vyvanse wears off I struggle with emotional eating.

Sometimes I can control my anger and yet at other times it goes 0-100 so fast.

I have no idea if my "good days" and "bad days" are due to female hormones or the gluten sensitivity or a deficiency or anything else. It feels so random.

Edit: Oh and when I was a kid I was diagnosed with Adrenal Hyperplasia which may affect cortisol levels, right?

Edit 2: When I take benadryl or melatonin they keep me awake and don't let me fall asleep, thought it might be worth mentioning.

Please feel free to ask questions about any of this if it'll help provide some advice!

 

[Mito]

I currently take:
-Vyvanse 40mg
-Buspar 60mg
-a ton of vitamins
-omega 3s


For a couple months recently I was taking a ton of 5-HTP cause at first it felt like a total miracle, but then I added caffeine pills, and then was struggling worse with anger issues so I stopped the caffeine altogether and now only take 100mg or 200mg of the 5-HTP per day.

Peat is not a fan of increasing serotonin because it interferes with cellular respiration. 5-HTP is the immediate precursor of serotonin. Here is one the articles he wrote about serotonin Serotonin: Effects in disease, aging and inflammation.

Peat is also not a fan of any polyunsaturated fats including omega 3. Omega 3’s can have short term anti-inflammation effects by slowing the conversion of omega 6’s into the inflammatory mediators like the prostaglandins. A better approach might be to minimize the amount of polyunsaturated fats in the diet as much as practical. Here are a couple articles Peat wrote on this subject Fats, functions and malfunctions. and Unsaturated fatty acids: Nutritionally essential, or toxic?.

 

[gaze]

Ray Peat Diet, Food Choices, And General Guidelines

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i would read through this. there's a lot of nuance, but ultimately you are going to have to stop being vegan to fully heal, there is really no other way, unless you are insanely meticulous, which will just make it harder in your ADHD. you are pretty clearly protein deficient, but You don't even really have to eat meat, but milk, cheese, possibly eggs, oysters, are important. milk and cheese especially, for your adhd, are crucial. 2000 mg calcium at the very least, vitamin D 4-6000 IU per day, 80-100 grams of protein animal protein, salting your foods are good places to start