Fantastic results with inattentive ADD! | ADHD Information
Hello everyone...
I have some very positive news about some things I've done that I would like to share with everyone.
I have struggled with ADD for many years (now 32) like most of the other adults here so I won't bore you with the detail of how it affects me. (there's a post with my specific details under imodan from a month or so if you are interested)
Quickly I want to share what I have done in the last month because it really has made such a drastic difference to my concentration that it's unbelievable.
Basically after being on Concerta for a couple of years I had what I would call relative success with it. But I found I didn't get the success I was after. So I thought I would do everything else in my power in a non drug way to see if it would improve the situation. The info below is based on the recommendation by Dr Daniel G Amen for the inattentive subtype of ADD. I made a commitment of 3 months to myself to try all the non-drug advice as best I could. The below is what I am doing.
Excercise - I have been jogging 3x a week for about 40mins at time. I just work in the healthy zone, not trying to run a marathon. When I run I visualise my frontal lobes being drenched in synaptic juice!
I have cut my coffee intake to 1 cup a day.
I have cut my sugar way way down (goes with coffee)
I always have breakfast. I don't like to have breakfast first thing but I have forced myself. I try to keep a lower carb and higher protein breakfast.
I take my concerta 30mg x 1 a day
I take one L-tyrosine a day with breakfast (amino acid supplement)
I drink at least 1.5 litres of water a day and when I want a hot drink, I make it tea.
And that's basically it. I can't over emphasise what an incredible difference this has made to my concentration. I have NEVER felt so focused in my entire life. I can measure my concentration in hours not minutes. I can read a document without having to re-read. I find extraneous noises don't distract me and the people at work have really really noticed. I also don't feel physically anxious like I used to either. I believe that over the years in the attempt to concentrate coffee became the tool I used to help concentrate and I think it was doing me more harm than good.
If I were to isolate the most important things I think it's the coffee, water, breakfast, and running (in that order) but I would be very interested to see if others have the same success.
Best wishes
Steve
imodan,
3 Cheers at least on your Hard work on you and thank you for sharing this with us here. I am a 54 year old male who has struggled for years and so it is always good to hear a positive outcome. I will be very interested to hear how you get on.
Ryan
Well Done!!!
That's some real determination!!
I wish I could get myself motivated enough to get into a routine like that but it's great to hear that it really can work!!
The only other suggestion that I have covers comments for both Deborah and Pretty_Lost.
1. Pretty_lost. I'm not really that determined! Long term projects are still difficult. But I 'get around' them in this way. I always set the goal for a week. If after a week I don't like it, I give myself permission to give up without beating myself up. But I figure I can do anything for a week. After the first week, I make the goal one more week. After a month I make it another month etc. Keeping the focus short is the only way I seem to be able to do this. I have found introducing things into my limited schedule one piece at a time the only way. I don't think you get motivated to do it all at once. Do one thing this week and limit it to that. Once you meet your goal (on a weekly basis) you will start to gain more self confidence to do more.
2. Deborah...I'm glad to hear that exercise works out for you too. I know what you mean about crisis coming up, and then I realised that I ALWAYS have crisis coming up!! On those days I do small things like take the long way around at work, or go up one extra flight of stairs each time I walk the stairs to my floor, or park the car at the back of the car park or in the overflow car park. They are small things, and probably have limited value physiologically, but mentally they keep the 'idea' of exercise in the foreground and makes me feel better that I am making the best of bad situation.
As an interesting aside, I was listening to radio 4 the other day and they mentioned that there are currently about 40 drugs going through the FDA process in the US that target memory enhancement etc. To be honest I feel lucky being afflicted with such a common malady.