What Brain Chemicals/Neurotransmitters Do People With ADHD Lack, And What Problems Does That Bring?

[Eclecticentric77]

This post is mainly for people who might not be as aware of ADHD neurochemistry issues. Below is an excerpt from an ADHD book I published last month.

amazon.com/Outlier-Outliers...

People with ADHD lack multiple neurotransmitters, and the ones I mention below I believe are of the most crucial importance. When you have a low level of a neurotransmitter, it basically gives you major difficulty in the areas that it would otherwise be helping you out in. Stimulant medications primarily work with Dopamine and Norepinephrine, which takes care of those neurotransmitters, but what about those other important ones? Thankfully supplements, besides helping fight off bad side effects from stimulant medication, can also help with synthesis of these neurotransmitters we lack.

Dopamine : A neurotransmitter in the brain that affects your levels of concentration, motivation, pleasure senses, and sense of pain.

Norepinephrine : A neurotransmitter and stress hormone that deals with attentiveness, emotions, impulse control, planning ahead, sleep, and interpreting actions of others.

Serotonin : A neurotransmitter that deals with mood regulation, sleep, nervousness, empathy, appetite, digestion, and sexual urges.

Acetylcholine : A neurotransmitter that deals with muscle contraction, pain responses, mood regulation, REM sleep, and coordination.

GABA : A neurotransmitter that deals with anxiety, sleep, and how relaxed or tense the body feels.

theres a link on my profile page of a google doc I made of every supplement I take. It mentions what grocery stores and online stores (Amazon has all of these supplements a lot cheaper than markets like Sprouts and Whole Foods) sell these supplements, and some information about each of the supplements and how they help out people with ADHD, in case you're interested. Supplements have greatly helped me out, and have also done wonders for some families and individuals I've worked with.

[Freem]

Hi, do any of the adhd-medications have any effect on serotonin and GABA? Could anti-depressants be useful for effect on those? Or is the only option to use supplements?

[marigold22]

I'm on this ADHD forum as my 40 year old son is in the process of being checked out for it, though it's taking forever. I've been a member of the Thyroid forum here for many years as I discovered that I have a dodgy thyroid gene. I've been researching ADHD and have found a few medical papers which point to a possibility of a MTHFR mutated gene. I know I have that mutated gene, along with a thyroid mutated gene and there's a distinct possibility my son has inherited the mutated MTHFR gene from me. The mutated MTHFR mutated gene causes the Methylation process to be damaged. The two links explain it in detail.

additudemag.com/mthfr-adhd-...

psychologytoday.com/gb/blog...

In my own case, just by taking Methylated multi B vitamins daily, (I use Igennus), vastly improved my mental health.

[marigold22 in reply to marigold22]

I would also suggest that anyone suffering with ADHD symptoms, tries to get a Full Thyroid blood test. I have read that ADHD and low thyroid (hypothyroidism) symptoms cross over. I'm sure my son has low thyroid levels inherited from me, but refuses point blank to get a test. So frustrating! Every cell of our body needs thyroid hormone to work properly. If you do manage to get a thyroid blood test, you need to ask the receptionist (preferably not the doctor) for a full print out of your results. Doctors are unable, it seems, to interpret thyroid blood results. Your result may say that you are "on the cusp" of the range, the doctor will say "all ok", or "you're in range". But, for example, the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) needs to be 1 or under, to feel well. The range of that blood test goes something like 0.05 to 10; if you're, say, 5, then you won't feel well but you are within range.