This detail is THE ORDER & Time in which you take your supplements. If you've read some of my posts on the importance of supplements, know my story, and know a bit of the trial and error of selecting the proper supplement for you, then you can skip these small 4 paragraphs below and go to the list at the bottom.
For those of you who don't know, I was diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD in my mid 20s and got treatment in the form of a low dose 10mg stimulant medication in combination with helpful supplements to fight off neurotransmitter depletion and negative side effects. I thankfully got my BA in Psychology and am now in grad school to get my Masters Degree as an MFT Psychologist. This is greatly in part due to the help of combining my low dose stimulant medication with supplements.
After taking stimulant medication for around 6 months or more, the neurotransmitters the stimulant medication helps out with (Dopamine, Serotonin, Norepinephrine) will start to deplete, which is why negative side effects start popping up, like irritability, apathy, and feeling like the medication is no longer working. This is why I highly recommend supplements to take with the medication, to combat negative side effects, help eliminate the irritable/emotional come down once the medication wears off, and help the medication work to its best potential.
I have studied ADHD for a few years now, and have gone through trial and error finding the best supplements that go well with my body. This is highly important. Once you find a supplement that goes well with your intended purpose, sometimes the dose might be too high or too low, adjust accordingly, you'd be surprised how many times I thought a supplement did not go well with me or did too little, only to later try a higher or lower dosage and achieve good results. You know your body best. If you start getting rashes, itchiness, irritable, sad, or something very out of the usual, then perhaps that supplement is not for you.
And finally here is my daily medication and supplement routine that has achieved the best results thus far for me. We are all different, and some of these might not work for you (and thankfully there are alternative supplement options) but it is something I'd like to share, because it might help you out. If you click on my picture, it will take you to my profile where I have a few links where I have a list of every supplement I take and why. It is only a google word-doc I made of information, nothing is being sold. Also I have a video series I made for people with Inattentive ADHD the issues we face from Elementary school through adulthood (this will give some detailed insight into the life and mind of someone with Inattentive ADHD), that link is also on my profile. This might seem like a lot of work or difficult to remember, but I assure you it is possible. Write this down in your phone notes/notepad and put alarms to help you remember when you need to take something. I've been doing this schedule now for 3 years and thankfully have had little difficulty.
Supplement/Medication Schedule
Wake Up
1. Take Tyrosine to get me motivated, focused, and out of bed. After ingesting Tyrosine I give myself only 1hr until I eat. If an hour has passed and I have not eaten yet, get a snack and take another tyrosine. The reason for this is the bioavailability of Tyrosine is strong with that first hour timeframe which greatly helps the medication. I understand some people go to work early and some only take their medication until after lunch. For this I would recommend to take Tyrosine once when you wake up, and to take something that will give you energy for the meantime hours before you take your medication. What I do for this is take a drink called "Organic Amazon Energy by: SAMBAZON" Jungle Love (not from Morris Day and the Time though). This drink has a very healthy mixture of ingredients that will greatly wake you up, help you focus, and elevate your mood and is a great alternative to coffee. This is due to the ingredients of Yerba Mate and Guarana. Anytime I need to go a while without my medication I drink that. Only place I've seen it is at Whole Foods. Do not take it with your medication or too close to your medication, it will lower the effect of your medication due to the citrus level.
2. Right before I eat, I take Tryptophan. I take it before I eat because it gives the supplement time to do its work and helps with Serotonin synthesis. If I take Tryptophan right before I take my medication, it actually brings down my mood, that is why I do it before I eat.
3. Take my multivitamin with antioxidants DURING my meal. Due to the issue people with ADHD have with lipids (fats) that is a good time to take the multivitamin due to the good fats included in the meal you're eating (assuming you eat healthy, if not, START, it goes great with the medication).
4. After I'm done eating, I take a smaller organic multivitamin that includes other B vitamins not found in my other multivitamin mentioned in #3, and not there is no reason to be concerned about the amount of vitamins included when combining these. I made sure to check the RDA (required daily amount) of all the vitamins involved, and none of them are surpassing when combined.
5. Right after taking the organic multivitamin in #4, I take what I like to call "The Brady Bunch" of supplements. This includes: 1. flaxseed oil, 2. Magnesium Chelated, 3. CoQ10, 4. Coconut oil, 5. PS100. I take these all at once, then WAIT EXACTLY 6 MINUTES, and then take my 10mg stimulant medication. The reason I wait 6 minutes is because after experimenting with different waiting periods, I feel the bioavailability in terms of synergy with those supplements is most active at 5 minutes.
6. 20 Minutes after taking everything in #5. I take R-Alpha Lipoic Acid (which I call Alice in connection with my brady bunch reference above) because the medication has not fully kicked in and it helps ease the medication in while fighting off the oxidation the medication brings fourth.
7. After an hour or 2 after taking the medication I make sure to eat a healthy snack of some sort. Stimulant medication makes sugar levels drop and having something to eat helps. I eat a kind bar, the dark chocolate peanut butter one is my fav. After eating that kind bar I take my 1000mcg supplement of vitamin B-12. The multivitamins provide a different form of B12 that is not as bioactive (cobalamin), and the one I take is the most bioactive form (methyl-cobalamin). During the consumption of all this, I usually make myself Match Green Tea, because it is the strongest antioxidant tea out there, and it increases Serotonin. So think of all that as your tea and crumpets
8. After finishing all that, I drink a very large amount of water. If that is uncomfortable for you, I recommend to drink water, say 15oz, about every hour perhaps.
9. My medication lasts about 6hrs. So at around the 5hr mark, I will yet again take Tyrosine, and the whole process of STEPS 1-9 starts, only difference is, I take ALPHA GPC INSTEAD of R-Alpha Lipoic Acid. Only reason I do this is because I go to the gym at night and feel Alpha GPC helps great for working out even though both supplements work with Acetylcholine which people with ADHD lack. Also I DO NOT TAKE the individual B12 supplement again, it gets me melancholy.
10. So now lets say it is around 11 or so and I'm getting ready for bed. I'll take Tyrosine an hour before my medication wears off, Melatonin 15 minutes later, and lastly Tryptophan 15 minutes after the melatonin. By the 15 minute mark before my medication wears off I am in a very relaxed state and can easily fall asleep. I do not need to watch something before I go to bed, and the slow onset sleep that inattentive subtypes of ADHD have is cut in half, and I have a very good deep sleep. I have an app that monitors my sleep and because of recording the sounds of my movement, breathing, snoring; it is able to wake me up in my lightest stage of sleep with a 15-25min window from the time you set the alarm. That has been amazingly helpful, because being awakened during deep sleep is one of the most anger inducing things for some people with ADHD, stuff of that nature would affect me all day.
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Eclecticentric77
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Thank you for writing all this. I’m a 37 year old female 5feet 3inches tall weighing 145 and last week weighed 151 my height weight ever. The doctor put me on 0.5mg of risperidone last month and I gained about 15lbs. My eating at bedtime is out of control. I liked that riseridone help my bedtime and sleep but I don’t like the weight gain. I also take adderall not the XR the other one. I haven’t taking any supplements in a year and just bought a multi vitamin called alive women’s energy. I’m writing to you because I’m very interested in doing your vitamin intake process. I will check out your page when i get a chance. But i most say I’m a bit overwhelmed how to do what you wrote to do. If its not too much trouble for you i would greatly appreciate it if you simplified it for me by lets say writhing like a shopping list of exactly what i need to go buy. I think then from there maybe i can print out your post and follow you instructions. Please help me.
Hi Wendy, glad you're considering giving my supplement regimine a try. Having grown up around many people with ADHD I know how a lot of the time the details, especially with instruction, can really help out. Once you get to my profile, you'll see that there is a link available of every supplement I take which includes, how much it costs, and where you can purchase it at (Amazon.com, Whole Foods, Sprouts Market, Trader Joe's). It took me quite a while to make that list, but it's worth it because others benefit from it. Next what I would do is take my 10 step process (copy and paste it) into a word doc or some form of notes and delete all the unnecessary information like some of the health benefits etc. That way you will have a very straight forward list and schedule for your supplement intake (less words to look at is usually more helpful for me). Hope this helps
Hello, After reading your post and profile I’m planing on using the L- tyrosine, Tryptophan, and lipoid acid for my son. He is 6 years old and currently on Focalin XR in the morning around 7.30amand Intuniv at night about 7pm. Can you please advice me when it would be best to take those 3 supplements so it would benefit him the most? It is bit confusing for me to figure it out.
Hi there, meal time is quite important when taking supplements as well making sure to drink water and stay hydrated
1. I recommend to take Tyrosine 20-30min before taking Focalin, just to help the Dopamine and Norepinephrine back up to equilibrium from the previous day. I would also make sure he has a snack or breakfast 30min after taking Tyrosine; nausea or stomach aches could occur otherwise.
2. If he has breakfast, I recommend he take Tryptophan during the meal. The main point I'm trying to make is for him to have BOTH Tyrosine and Tryptophan BEFORE he takes his morning medication. This should greatly help out with the issues you mentioned.
3. For Alpha Lipoic Acid, the most ideal time would be to take it before the medication fully goes into effect, since it's XR this could vary since it's about a 12hr cycle and comes in doses. Considering he'll be taking his med around 7:30am or so, I would recommend to have him take Alpha Lipoic Acid perhaps around 9am around recess time, to take with a water bottle and a small snack to eliminate the chance of slight stomach discomfort that sometimes can happen. These can be packed for him, and just make sure to stress the importance to him of having to take this, and always follow up with him
4. His medication will probably be wearing off around 6:30ish. I would have him repeat steps 1-3 around that time (substituting Dinner for lunch, and Intuniv with Focalin). Make sure he takes Tyrosine about an hour before his medication wears off, if this is not done, this is when irritability can get really bad.
5. At this point I would recommend taking Alpha Lipoic Acid about 45min after taking the Intuniv, or not at all since Intuniv is not a stimulate and primarily works with glutamate. Alpha Lipoic Acid has a rather calming effect though due to the Acetylcholine increase, so see how it goes and use it a second time if you think it is necessary. From the description you gave me though I'd recommend taking it again.
This list is just a recommendation, hope all goes well
Excellent post! Great explaination of how supplements negate the adverse effects of medications. I recognize some of the supplements, and when I get some time I'll share a few others and would very much like to get your feedback.
Thank you kindly for this list. Greatly appreciated. One request: I don't believe you listed the serving size for the supplements on your document. For example, the serving size for Source Naturals L-Tryptophan is 3 capsules. Should we take 3 or just 1? I just want to be sure I'm following your regiment correctly. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
You're welcome. That's a good question/observation. Anytime I mention in the description above that I take a specific supplement, I always take just one at a time. The company Source Naturals says to take 3 of its L-Tryptophan supplements before bed. I felt that was a bit overkill for me, so I instead just chose to take one before bed instead of 3. I also take it 2x during the day, never together though. Your results may vary, since all our body chemistry is different. Adjust accordingly.
This is beyond helpful. Thank you so much. I have a 6 yr old whose afternoon/evenings are full of anger and tears. I have always felt like his meds have always helped,but just not enough. He takes 10mg adderall in the mornings . By the afternoon it’s so hard. Im going to try these suggestions. Thanks again.
L-tryptophan. hi again. I’ve been doing some reading on L-tryptophan and the side affects that are listed are pretty intense. Have you heard of any cases of people having a negative response to it? Or any with yourself personally? I’m nervous now to give it to my 7 yr old. Thanks!
Since our bodies all have unique characteristics and respond differently to different substances, the results will vary among some. I have personally never felt or experienced any negative side effect with L- Tryptophan, nor have I come across someone who reacted really negatively to it. Our brain makes Tryptophan since it's a precursor to Serotonin. Unfortunately either due to fast reuptake or an issue with one or more of the transporter genes (or both), people with Adhd have lower levels of Serotonin. Helping the brain make more of a neurotransmitter it lacks because of a condition or disorder, is quite helpful, and usually involces few to no side effects. You won't boost Serotonin high enough to get Serotonin Syndrome by merely taking L-Tryptophan if that is a concern. Serotonin Syndrome occurs usually if someone takes a substance that profoundly boosts Sertonin continously, like the party drug MDMA for example. Serotonin based supplements/meds I have read some really negative things about are 5HTP, Sam-E, and SSRI's.
You can also give the supplement L-Theanine a try. L-Theanine is a natural chemical in green tea that sooths, calms, and also boosts Serotonin. It has a smaller dosage of 100mg in comparison to L-Tryptophan's 500mg.
Hello. Thank you so much for the excellent post! Was very helpful.
I just had a quick question and was hoping you could help as you know these supplements so well.
My son (6 years) is combined adhd. Had Genesight test done which revealed he has genetic predisposition to high COMT activity. Therefore increase breakdown of dopamine in frontal cortex. It specifically says he will do well with dopaminergic stimulants or COMT inhibitors. Was wondering if there were any supplements that specifically help increase dopamine?
Hi there, you're very welcome and thanks for the kind words. The supplement N-Acetyl Tyrosine is great for increasing Dopamine, along with Norepinephrine, which are the same neurotransmitters that a majority of stimulant medications work with. I take it 3x a day. It's the supplement that gets me out of bed and ready to go. There are multiple forms of Tyrosine, but I would recommend N-Acetyl Tyrosine the most, since it is the most bioactive. Hope this helps.
No prob. Unfortunately no, from what I have seen and researched thus far, supplements are usually going to be neurotransmitter precursors to a specific neurotransmitter.
Hello! Thank you for this post, so informative and helpful!
I do have 1 question-
I am a 37 year old female, I take 35 mgs of adderall IR 2x daily which has almost no affect on me anymore.... really looking forward to trying this regimen. But I also take 150 mgs of Wellbutrin XL daily, are all these supplements ok to take with Wellbutrin?
Hi there, my apologies on the late reply. Wellbutrin works by inhibiting the reuptake of Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and Serotonin, and Stimulant medication works by inhibiting the reuptake of Dopamine and Norepinephrine. Because of this the brain will have more of these neurotransmitters present, and you do not want to overdue it.
The neurotransmitter Acetylcholine still needs to be addressed (R-Alpha Lipoic Acid is a great supplement for that and it greatly compliments stimulant medication because of its powerful antioxidant qualities). The other supplements should not give much of an issue with your regimen, but I would check with your healthcare provider just to be safe, since we all have different biology.
Hi there. Where are all the links for these supplements? I have been taking Adderall for years off and on now. But now that I am out of college and working about 14 hours a day 5 times a week I notice that my IR release of 20mg a day 2 X a day is not cutting it anymore. Sometimes I’ve taken up to 80 MG at some point but it truly is not effective as it use to be. I don’t eat as often as I use to or as healthy. I am very healthy and active but I am low in b12 vitamins D and folic acid. I’d love to get some feed back from you as I do aloooot of research and I myself have tried a lot of supplements. I’ve looked at your page but I can’t find it.
Hi there, sorry to hear about the difficulties, 14hr days sound pretty intense. If you click on my pic it will take you to my profile where in the bio section you'll see the links. Underneath the profile banner you'll see the words "Read More" highlighted in blue, if you click that it will further expand the bio section and you should be able to see the links after it's expanded. I also have a link to a video on supplements in case you're interested. Hope this helps
Hi, I am 26yo female. I am currently taking Adderall XR 15mg. I was wondering how I should take other supplements to counter the negative effects of the "come down". I've recently been getting bad "come downs". I do not want to subdue to taking benzos, because I already feel as though my body's been getting dependent on the Adderall to function. My mood is always sad/depressed and I have the worst anxiety now, worse than before. I used to take serotonin supplements but stopped when the bottle was done; I did see some minor improvement with my overall mood. I've been researching more organic ways to lessen my depression. a lot of people said taking Gaba, L-Theanine, 5HPT, Mg, and CDP Choline helps with the focusing,improves memory and overall mood.
I ended up just getting all of the supplements mentioned above. I was hoping if you can help me organize my routine. I really need help and idk what to do. I'm a medical student and I feel like the stress of school and life is weighing really heavy on me...and I have no motivation. I used to love studying and learning new things...now to read two pages is like a task. Im hoping these supplements can replace the adderall, because I feel like it's messing up my mental health..not that it was all that great before.
Hi there. For the comedown "medication crash", I would recommend to take the supplement N-Acetyl Tyrosine. Stimulant medication helps the brain with Dopamine and Norepinephrine and after the medication starts to wear off, you're going to have lower levels of both of those neurotransmitters which causes irritability and or sadness for some. N-Acetyl Tyrosine helps the brain with the same neurotransmitters (dopamine and Norepinephrine), so if you were to take N-Acetyl Tyrosine 30min to an hour before your stimulant medication wears off, the crash should be eliminated/diminished.
First off I want to say thank you for your dedication to studying all of this and lending such a helping hand. This article has helped to open my eyes and given me hope for managing my mood. I'm an Army vet and the military can be severely daunting and sometimes brutal when dealing with preexisting anxiety and an attention deficit disorder. I've done a good amount of research prior to stumbling upon this article of yours and am myself even attending school for psychology. What I'd like to know is if you have tried taking the time release capsules and how they affected you compared to what you take now. I've taken both, but being right out of the Army and taking the non time release tablets, they gave me severe anxiety. Right now I have the 20 mg capsules but split it in two throughout the day. The XR still gives me anxiety but it's more manageable. The problem is that it comes in waves rather than having a smooth realease, though the fluctuation seems to give me anxiety as well. Any tips or comments? Also, what do you think about the DNA swabs they can do now that suit your medication to your genetics? Thanks!
Hi there, no prob, and thank you for your service and kind words. People who have ADHD have issues with lower levels of Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Serotonin, and Acetylcholine just to name a few. Stimulant medication works with the neurotransmitters Dopamine and Norepinephrine. Dopamine and Serotonin are known as the brain's reward system, if you continuously raise one and NOT the other, you're going to have lower levels of the one you aren't raising (Serotonin in this case). Lower levels of Serotonin can cause problems with anxiety and mood. I would recommend to take a supplement to help with your Serotonin levels, the supplement L-Theanine is a good supplement for Serotonin help (L-Theanine is the calming agent found in green tea). I prefer to take L-Tryptophan for Serotonin help when I take stimulant medication. L-Tryptophan is a precursor to Serotonin, although it is not recommended for those who take a higher dosage of stimulant medication. I have only heard a few things, I would need to research it a bit more.
I read your info and was amazed and grateful for how well it was explained and i actually purchased 2 supplements to try after reading it. I have some questions I’m hoping you can take a min to answer for me. So, I’ll all you that I’m on Vyvanse 70mg and Dexedrine 10mg once in the afternoon as a booster. For 12 years i was misdiagnosed and was treated for depression. I took numerous antidepressants and some would work half the time but quit shortly after, leaving me depleted and discouraged. The most recent was Viibryd and i was on that one for 3 years at the max dosage. My psychiatrist tapered me off of that one 1 month ago and put me on the Vyvanse/Dexedrine combo 3 months ago. I’ve recently felt so bad within the last week. Symptoms are: feeling sad, down, sluggish,very withdrawn, zero motivation. I can feel the Vyvanse when it kicks in and it helps tremendously with keep the “scattered thoughts” away but then 4 hours later I’m down again. I take the Dexedrine and it calms me and just kind of chills me out but I’m able to have that boost to finish my “mommy” things before bedtime. I’m wondering since i to have inattentive adhd that all this is from my serotonin levels being deficient. I ordered L-tryptophan and N-acetyl-tyrosine from the jarrow manufacture website. Assuming it works for me should i add acetylcholine or is that in the Nalt that i bought? I don’t have any crying spells or self harm thoughts and I’m generally a very happy and humorous person but i don’t feel that way lately. Started the added supplements today and have felt no different. What are your thoughts on this? Also, should I take the tryptophan in the morning before the Vyvanse? Is there anything wrong with taking tryptophan since my medicine is 70mg? Is there anything else I could add to this? I really didn’t like the side effects from the antidepressants and really don’t want to revert back to another one. I don’t truly feel i have depression i think my issue is the deficiencies. I apologize for this Long message but really hoping for guidance on this.
Hi there, thanks for the kind words. I recommend to take N-Acetyl Tyrosine and then to take L-Tryptophan 10minutes later right before a major meal. After studying neurochemistry and particularly my own neurochemistry, I have realized that with having Inattentive ADHD, anytime my Serotonin levels surpass my Dopamine levels, I start feeling very sad. If you feel L-Tryptophan is too much for you dosage wise, you can always give the supplement L-Theanine (calming agent in green tea) a try (great supplement that I also take daily). The supplement R-Alpha Lipoic Acid (RALA) was a gigantic game changer for me and improved my mood greatly. RALA works with the neurotransmitter Acetlycholine. Acetlycholine works with Mood Regulation , pain receptors, muscle contractions, REM sleep, and coordination (frequent lack of sleep or deep sleep will cause down feelings for many with inattentive type ADHD). RALA does not interfere with NALT because RALA works with Acetlycholine, and NALT works with Dopamine and Norepinephrine. It's also going to help with the oxidation of your medication. To this regimen I would also recommend to add B-12 Methylcobalamin form 1000mcg to help with energy and mood as well, and the supplement PS100 if you have issues memory/sluggish thought fluidity. And finally I would recommend a collagen supplement that carries all 3 types of collagen (the company left coast has a good one). Recently I've been discovering that more and more people with ADHD have issues with gut health, and taking a collagen supplment is really helpful for that, my productivty has also greatly increased do to faster cognitive fluidity and my body and joints feeling less in pain and more relaxed. Hope this helps.
Would too much of the L-tryptophan cause me to feel tired? I’ve taken the above as you recommended today but instead of the L-Theanine i took the tryptophan. I did buy some L-theanine. Should I try that tomorrow instead? Otherwise I feel pretty good.
It can for some people. If a supplement works well with you, it's recommended that you give that supplement a try for a few days. If after a few days you feel L-Tryptophan is not working well for you, then I'd recommend to try L-Theanine instead.
Hello thank you so much for the post It seriously makes me understand about my adhd medication Especially I’m a foreign in this country there are not many information about adhd where I come from. Im currently taking Adderall and citalopram, are they okay to take it with supplements you listed? I tried to research through research but it was no luck😭 again thank you so much for your help I’m so much appreciated!!!!
Hi there, glad to hear the information is helpful to you. Since you are taking Citalopram (an SSRI, helps with Serotonin) I would say that a majority of the supplements should not give much of an issue. I still recommend you speak with your healthcare profesional/psychiatrist to be on the safe side. The only supplement I do NOT recommend to take while on Citalopram is L-Tryptophan, since Citalopram is already helping with Serotonin. An ideal supplement to take when Citalpram is wearing off or when you need a Serotonin boost in this instance would be the supplement L-Theanine (helps with Serotonin, lower dosages available than L-Tryptophan, and it's the calming agent in green tea).
Thank you so much! I’m going to try that this week
How much doses would u recommend?
I’m a female 5’6, 95lb
I know I’m pretty thin but I have no eating problem even I’m on Adderall I’m always hungry lol n sometimes I’m suffering from pmdd would you recommend ant supplement to add on the list? Again I’m so so much appreciated it❤️
You're very welcome. When starting out with Supplements you're going to want to start with lower doses, and then increase dosage only if necessary. If you click my pic, it will take you to my profile where in my bio section you'll see a link to a supplements google doc I made that includea info/dosages of the supplements I take, just incase you're interested.
I am interested in the use of supplements to improve ADHD symptoms. I would like to know if you can share any scientific research that addresses the efficacy of specific supplements. Links to sources would be greatly appreciated. I'm also interested in research that supports testing to determine elevated or decreased levels of the trace elements found in the various supplements. Thanks for your time.
Hi there, the websites ncbi.com and nootropicsexpert.com. are great places to start. They contain lots of information in regards to the bioactive/physiological aspects of supplements and ADHD.
I am a nurse and sometimes don’t get a break for many hours and these days I’m not sure what shift I will work. I would love to try your regimen as my adderall often makes me feel blue and I don’t want to add a prescription antidepressant if these other supplements can help me.
I can not take L-tyrosine because I take synthroid for hypothyroidism but I have bought L-tryptophan and the other vitamins and supplements you recommend. I’m looking for a simpler way to them.
I wake and take synthroid with sip of water. After half an hour, could I take the L-tryptophan then quick smoothie with other supplements and then adderall on my way to work? Then maybe the ALA when I get to parking lot?
Also, I want to thank you for all the work you put this website. I’m so grateful to have found it! I’ve watched your you tube and plan to get your book very soon. Thank you again so very much!
Hi there. Thank you for the kind words, and I'm glad to hear the content is of some help.
A suggestion if you're looking for a simpler way, would be to seek out companies who make supplements/powders that are mixed (where you get multiple supplements in one). The ratio of supplements vary though.
If you're going to be taking L-Tryptophan, I would recommend having a meal a few minutes afterward, since it can be a bit heavy for some people on an empty stomach. The other supplements I would recommend to take after having a meal.
Hello! Thank you so much for your detailed post re: supplement schedule. I have been researching supplements to see if I can find something to help increase my memory/recall, motivation, concentration, improve vocabulary (words come easily), improve sleep and eliminate brain fog.
I was diagnosed with ADHD inattentive/hyperactive type as an adult, and since then have been on various medications. Some worked well for the short term, others came with side effects that outweighed any benefits of the medication. I am now taking Adderall XR 30mg. As with previous medications, it worked well in the beginning but I have been noticing for a while it no longer works as well, almost to the point where I wonder why am I even taking it. I am not sure if this is relevant, but I also have year round allergies (if I do not take allergy medication everyday I am a complete mess - sneezing, runny and stuffy nose, watery eyes, headache, and brain fog - currently I am taking reactine liquid gel caps. I have met with an allergist and was tested multiple times, but each test came back negative for allergies. I did not take any allergy medication for at least a month while completing the testing. The allergy doctor was surprised all my test came back negative because he saw how progressively worse my symptoms became at each appointment. I also have an intolerance to dairy and gluten. I have been very strict with my diet over the past year (no dariy/gluten) but still struggle with bloating.
My doctor has been very supportive throughout my 'medication journey', but unfortunately ADHD is not in their area of expertise. Which I respect them even more for being upfront about this (The doctor who diagnosed me retired years ago, and I have not been able to find someone who is not only knowledgeable re: adult ADHD, but also someone who takes my concerns/questions into account when discussing tx plans).
Since reading your post I have purchased the following supplements; N-Acetyl Tyrosine (350mg); L-Tryptophan (500mg) and PS 100 (100mg) - all from Jarrow Formulas.
If I understood your post re: supplement schedule correctly, you are not taking your medication until approximately an hour (maybe 1 1/2-2 hours) after you wake up in the morning, and after eating breakfast. I try my best to wake up at 7:30am every morning (this does not always happen because I struggle with falling/staying asleep). I have also found eating later in the morning (11am/11:30am) works better for me than eating shortly after I've woken up. I try to take my medication as early as possible, when I've taken it after 8:30am I always find it's harder to fall asleep at night (although I have no problem taking afternoon naps - so strange lol), and take reactine 1 hr before/or after my medication.
Recently I was prescribed Trazodone 50mg. I do not take this everyday and this is not something I want to use long term. Also it is not always effective, I took 1 tablet around 9pm last night and was wide awake until after 1am (little bit frustrating LOL). I have also started meditating daily again, and have been doing CBT for insomnia.
If you have any suggestions re: when to take, Adderall (XR 30mg), N-Acetyl Tyrosine, L-Tryptophan, and PS 100 it would be greatly appreciated.
On a brighter note, since reading your post, I have been eating a snack 2 hours after taking my medication (as well as taking a B-12 supplement) and have found this has been SUPER helpful. I no longer feel sleepy late mornings! I have you to thank for that.
Hi there, thank you for your kind words, and I'm glad to hear the info was of some help. In regards to supplements, I recommend to speak with your Doctor/Healthcare Provider, since our body/brain neurochemistry is different. In regards to allergies and bloating, a good amount of the research I've seen in regards to ADHD has to with bad gut health. The gut is said to be like a 2nd brain. I myself used to have lots of issues with bloating, allergies, and sometimes breathing. Due to issues with the gut, we also have issues with the methylation process, which gives rise to brain fog and a whole list of issues. Once I started focusing on improving my gut health, these issues started diminishing dramatically. I have a video on my ADHD youtube channel "Wilhelm The Esoteric" entitled "ADHD Food and Nutrition" that goes in depth into how to assist this process in case you're interested, and also have a video in which I describe my current supplement schedule, how I've updated it, and when I take each supplement, video is titled "ADHD Supplements and Nootropics". Hope this helps.
Hello thank you for getting back to me, and for directing me to your YouTube channel. I am definitely going to check that out!
I understand why you can’t advise me on how to take the supplements. Unfortunately, I have already asked my doctor and they were also not able to give me any advice. Hopefully I can get a refund. The 3 bottles cost me well over $200, which very high for my budget....just thought I’d give it a try after reading how well supplements have worked for you.
I look forward to watching your YouTube channel! Thank you for posting your experience, it gives me hope that things will improve 😄
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