Caffeine as ADHD Medication | ADHD Information

As an adult with ADHD (Inattentive), I find I am able to focus more easily when I have had two or three cups of coffee. I have experimented very little with "official" ADHD medication; at the moment I am on my 4th day of 25mg Strattera, and still drinking coffee to offset tiredness caused by this drug.

Caffeine is well-used, well-known, and quite safe... could it be an alternative for those who are bothered by side-effects, or for those who've tried other meds without success?

If you've tried both self-medicating with caffeine and using officially recognized ADHD drugs, which would you say works better? Can you do both, without them interacting badly? (I saw no warning on the Strattera medicine sheet, so I'm not worried about that, but it's non-stimulant... caffeine+Ritalin could be too much stimulant?)
Callista39174.1361805556It is unclear whether the "paradoxical" effect of stimulants is really so
paradoxical. True that small doses of stimulants in people with ADHD
causes them to slow down and focus, but EVERYONE benefits from small
doses of stimulants. It's just that in ADHD people their day-to-day
struggles are extreme enough that any side-effects of daily stimulant use
are outweighed by the benefits.

Then again, the 20-30% of people who don't respond well to stimulant
medication are overrepresented by ADHD Primarily Inattentive (as
opposed to combined. primarily hyperactive doesn't really exist outside
of diagnosis of toddlers when there's no real way to assess attention yet).
It has been suggested by several researchers that ADHD-I is actually not
the same as ADHD-C and represents problems in other areas of the brain
that cause many of the same behaviors. That's the problem with the
DSM, it diagnoses based on behavior and not cause. If it's true that these
20-30% are mostly ADHD-I, who're actually people suffering from
different neurological problems with many similar effects (Auditory
Processing Disorders, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Dyslexia, Working
Memory deficits, etc) then it's possible that stimulants really are affecting
ADHD people in different ways.

Of course, ADHD-C has lots of mimicking disorders too. And since we
don't actually know what stimulants do, it's also possible that they just
work on so many areas of the brain that they can catch a wide net of
disorders.

Just some food for thought

Yep, I self medicate 2.  However not keen on large amounts of coffee - that can raise blood pressure and cause a racing heart.  Also it goes through u quite quickly.  I use something called Nicogel - a smoking cessetion product which u use like handcream - and trust me u only need a little at a time.  The effect is much gentler, more rounded, and longer lasting.  Other things u cd use?  Coca cola, chocolate - I've been trying 2 find a sugar free chocolate, and tonic water hs quinine in it?  I do this on work days bcause it helps me focus and stay in work of sorts - without I am completely unemployable.

I wd happily try proper medication if this were ever offered 2 me however my GP, when I asked, said that they were not liscensed 2 prescribe - yeah, right!

lol

Rmpnt, Adderall and Ritalin are NOT methamphetamines. Addral Is dexamphetamine, and Ritalin is methylphenidate, two entirely different drugs. Just and FYI.

Well, I recently gained some insight into this issue in my psychology class. See, ADD/ADHD medication are mostly simulants, especially Adderall and Ritalin being methamphetamines. When someone who doesn't have ADD takes ADD medication it speeds them up, similar to if they just had used cocaine, cocaine being an amphetamine, or any other stimulant for that matter. For people who actually have ADD this medication works in an opposite effect, it calms them down rather than speeding them up.

But that doesnt mean that only ADD medications work this way, all subtances, specifically stimulants in this case, slow or calm people with ADD. And as you all know, coffee is the most readily available stimulant. However it usually isnt strong enough of a stimulant to really have a large impact, hence Adderall, Ritalin and others. Thats why i never got into drinking coffee, it never woke me up. Haha, never realized that until now.Yeah, if I drink a lot of coffee, I don't do any on weekends so that my body doesn't get used to it. Having to drink six cups or something just to wake up would be really annoying. And expensive.
I agree with ShawnB that meds are better than self-medicating.  That said, I give my 14yo son coffee in the morning to help him focus during his first two classes before the Daytrana kicks in.  His morning classes are Gym and Band and I'm more worried about his focus in the academic subjects and the coffee seems to do what he needs.  It was his idea because he loves coffee.  Go figure!  I think it smells wonderful but tastes awful.   

The body can adjust to caffeine, requirin more and more to get the same effects. The peripheral effects of caffeine (heart palpitaions, increased bp, jitters and headache) are more common on high amounts of caffeine (or withdrawal from it) than they are with ADHD meds.

I use caffeine for mild ADHD symptoms, that are present mostly with prolonged stress. I do not use it on weekends (or just drink a little tea) to keep from needing increased amounts. I also monitor blood pressure when using caffeine. If I needed it all the time, I would talk to the doc about meds.

It doesn't say to not have Caffeine while taking Strattera, and it didn't bother me when I was at the lowest dose. But now on 80mg if I drink coffee, tea, or Diet Dew it makes me have insomnia and restless leg syndrome at night. You may also want to watch the  intake as you ramp up because there were times I had a high pulse rate while drinking caffeine and being on Strattera.

Now, as for your question.. before being on meds I did do better when I drank a lot of caffeine, or when I've taken Sudafed for my sinus problems (I didn't take it when I didn't need it) The old Sudafed with Pseudophedrine in it is the only one that works for my decongestion. However... I can not take Sudafed while taking Strattera. It does have that on the Drug interaction list.

Strattera is better then the self medicating though.
Docs that prescibe stims have to have a DEA license in addition to the medical license, so though it is unlikely, your doc may really not be licensed to prescribe stims.[QUOTE=edbson]

Rmpnt, Adderall and Ritalin are NOT methamphetamines. Addral Is dexamphetamine, and Ritalin is methylphenidate, two entirely different drugs. Just and FYI.

[/QUOTE]

thanks,  i meant to say amphetamines. dunno why i said metha. and yes ritalin is a methylphenidate, though closly related to amphetamines. and Adderall contains both dextroamphetmines and amphetamines, so they are not entirely different drugs, but different. all still stimulants thoughRmpnt_Intllect39177.639537037