I highly recommend you take supplements with your medication.
At 25 I thankfully found out I had ADHD, then researched/hyperfocused for about 6 months and then got myself evaluated and diagnosed. I started taking my medication and came up with a nootropic stack of necessary and crucial supplements to take with my medication. The reason the medication does not work to its full potential for a large amount of people, and why it creates a myriad of negative side effects or stops working like it used to, is because your neurotransmitters get depleted after continuous stimulant use. Not to mention the high amount of oxidation that is not fought off. Different supplements help bring back up those depleted neurotransmitters (Dopamine, Serotonin, and Norepinephrine) (differences among those vary depending on the stimulant med) and also help your body and brain fight and heal itself from continuous stimulant use. Unfortunately supplements are rarely if ever recommended to people taking ADHD medication. This is something I hope to change. The combo of medication/supplements I take has thankfully changed my life for the better, and I have graduated with a BA in Psychology, and am now entering grad school to become an MFT Psychologist and hope to help out tons of others out there struggling, like I was.
Here is everything I take, what it does, and why I take it
You have no idea how happy I am to see this post. I will have to re-read and re-comment tomorrow, when I’m not so sleepy. Thank you for sharing this at the exact moment you did.
Is the first item on the list “n-acetyl tyrosine” that’s in the photo or “n-acetyl L-tyrosine” that’s in the description under the photo of n-acetyl tyrosine?
I take the N-Acetyl Tyrosine by Jarrow Formulas (the red one with 350mg)
As far as I know the only difference in forms of Tyrosine are L-Tyrosine which is less bioactively available and less water soluable, and the N-Acetyl form which is more bioactive and water soluable (that's the one I reccomend). The inclusion of the letter "L" is just for namesake to my understanding
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I haven’t begun my medication yet, but have been using many of these supplements. I’m glad to know that I’ll be ahead of the game when I do start meds. I have a hard time believing that stimulants will be appropriate for me based on my body's reaction to them in the past. I see my psychiatrist soon to see how I scored on the quotient test and if meds are the way to go. I can’t say enough good things about Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
No prob, that's great to hear. I'm glad it was of some help. The dosage of stimulant can be very crucial to how one's body reacts. I take 10mg of a stimulant, and it feels just right since it's my body's therapeutic dose, anything more would feel a bit too much. Yet everyone's body chemistry is different and some require a higher dosage. If your psychiatrist decides on meds keep in mind you can always ask to lower or raise the dosage. These are things you more than likely know, but I wanted to mention it just in case. Hope everything turns out well for you in your meeting with your psychiatrist.
With most of the supplements I take it's an everyday thing as opposed to building up in your system. Meaning that once the supplements ware off I go back to my usual ADHD self. The only exception is the supplement R-Alpha-Lipoic Acid that I started taking 3 weeks ago. It's great to have with stimulant medication due to it having some of the highest antioxidant oxidation fighting properties, it makes the medication feel fresh and new as well because of this. That is the only supplement I can say goes with what you mentioned about building up in your system, since I feel its positive lingering effects the day afterward.
In terms of feeling a change after ingestion:
I can feel Tyrosine in about 10min, my assumption is that it's due to my dopamine and norepinephrine being low.
Tryptophan takes me about 45min to feel its effects
B-12 I feel instantly
Melatonin kicks in around 20min
For the rest of the supplements I can't say since I take them all at once.
Not to my knowledge. The supplements I include in my stack are specific neurotransmitter agonists, endogonen(things made by the body that lessen with age), a neuromodulater, multivitamin, and a specific vitamin. They all have their individual and specific purpose.
One of the main cautions I would give if you're considering making your own stack, is to not intake a supplement that strongly mimicks that of another one, like taking Tryptophan with SAM-e, since they both work on Serotonin, and this can lead to issues like Serotonin Syndrome.
I know this is an old post but am so, so happy to have stumbled upon it-- thank you for sharing! I'm at the point where I feel like I'm running into a wall and the effectiveness of my medication is disappearing almost overnight. Very much looking forward to trying a few of these.
So I just started vyvance. I am 37 year old female. I do have l-theanine and l-tyrosine. Should I add those as a regimen? I do take a daily multivitamin and D3-k2 supplement
Hi there, for a good amount of people when they start taking stimulant medication, they'll start experiencing irritability and will notice the medication losing its effectiveness within the first few months. Some people also have difficulty once the medication wears off due to the lower levels of certain neurotransmitters. If you feel like you're having difficulty with some of these symptoms, speak with your doctor/healthcare provider, and give the supplements a try if possible.
Wow, I am just coming across this old post as well... but i want to add my 2 cents because after reading the list of supplements a lightbulb just came on possibly answering a long standing question Ive had.
About 4yrs ago I began working out in the gym and lifting weights... I was going twice a day and lifting on weekends. I had ADHD and bipolar and actually was in the best place physically and mentally i have been in a long time. I got sick and had to pause my workouts and for some reason could not figure out how to get back to the pace I was at before.
After reading your list I realized that as part of my workout regimen I was taking supplements which included BCAAs and magnesium, etc.....OMG the same things that you have on your list!! Is this the reason why I have not been able to get my head straight since then? Med changes and everything? Nothing has worked right? Was the effect that profound? Ugh... Im kicking myself. LoL now time to experiment!!
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