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ADD Medication for Adults


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I was diagnosed with ADD when I was younger and was on medicine for a while. My inability to focus and get things done is increasing. I will start folding clothes go in another room to put up clothes and start on another project leaving the rest of the clothes folded on my bed. It is hard to focus for my children school work without jumping around. I have four children 8, 7, 4, and 11 months. I have been taking Omega 3s but it has improved much. I want something that has been on the market for a while with minimum side effects. What medications should I talk with my Dr. about? Thanks so much!

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I am on raw cacao. I haven't been able to handle pharmaceuticals. Raw cacao REALLY helps. I notice a huge difference in what I can get accomplished.

 

http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/healthyfoods.html click on cacao beans.

 

They increase dopamine and serotonin, giving your body what it needs for these essential hormones. :) Not to mention it is a powerful antioxidant which also helps ADD. And we know a stimulant and who knows what else. ;)

 

http://www.navitasnaturals.com/products/cacao/cacao-powder.html

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I am on raw cacao. I haven't been able to handle pharmaceuticals. Raw cacao REALLY helps. I notice a huge difference in what I can get accomplished.

 

http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/healthyfoods.html click on cacao beans.

 

They increase dopamine and serotonin, giving your body what it needs for these essential hormones. :) Not to mention it is a powerful antioxidant which also helps ADD. And we know a stimulant and who knows what else. ;)

 

http://www.navitasnaturals.com/products/cacao/cacao-powder.html

 

I have heard coffee helps, too. I have a sensitive stomach and coffee gives me a killer stomachache. Espresso at night and chocolate anytime are fine, though. Have you had any side effects from the cacao beans? Would regular cocoa powder (I buy Ghiradelli) work? Or is the one you linked preferable for some reason? How much do you take? Thanks!

Edited by mommymilkies
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I am about to try Vyvanse but it does raise my blood pressure and leads to headaches. I tried some of my son's pills to see what it was like. Despite those side effects, I really enjoyed it. I have been self medicated with LOADS of caffeine and other stimulants for awhile now. I just decided to get on some real treatment.

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I am on raw cacao. I haven't been able to handle pharmaceuticals. Raw cacao REALLY helps. I notice a huge difference in what I can get accomplished.

 

http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/healthyfoods.html click on cacao beans.

 

They increase dopamine and serotonin, giving your body what it needs for these essential hormones. :) Not to mention it is a powerful antioxidant which also helps ADD. And we know a stimulant and who knows what else. ;)

 

http://www.navitasnaturals.com/products/cacao/cacao-powder.html

 

I'm curious about this- how do you use it? How much do you have a day? I am suspecting I might have ADD, it is getting worse, I thought for a while it was because I am anemic...my mind is "scattered". I probably was self medicating with gheridelli 60% bittersweet cocoa chips (and caffeine) but had to quit because of the calories.

:bigear:

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I'm on Concerta and don't seem to have side-effects. I was on Ritalin before this but I felt anxious and restless.

 

To be honest, the only way to know how a medication will affect you is to try it. I hate that. I also have bipolar 2 and am going through a medication change. I researched a lot so I could go into my appt. with some knowledge to ask intelligent questions. I was overwhelmed because the list of side-effects for every single medicine is just long and scary.

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I tried Strattera and it turned me into a zombie. I hated it and my husband hated it even more. :p I've been unmedicated my entire life. My parents were told horror stories about Ritilin (which was just about all that was available when I was a kid) so they refused to medicate me. Sometimes I still want to try treating it, but we'll see...

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A friend of mine who was diagnosed as an adult was on Ritalin, Adderall, and Vyvanse. Adderall works best for her.

 

It sounds odd that I would know her ADD history, but because me talking to her about ds' ADHD, she realized that she probably had ADD and discussed it with her doctor.

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I'm curious about this- how do you use it? How much do you have a day? I am suspecting I might have ADD, it is getting worse, I thought for a while it was because I am anemic...my mind is "scattered". I probably was self medicating with gheridelli 60% bittersweet cocoa chips (and caffeine) but had to quit because of the calories.

:bigear:

 

Hey, I could have written this. I eat those chocolate chips every day when I get stressed. I am also very scatterbrained, zone out infront of the computer, and have a difficult time getting projects done or doing the things I ought to do. I can't seem to prioritize my time well and im overwhelmed in my mind.

I was researchind ADD b/c my dh has it, but im realizing I have it too. I have all the symptoms he doesn't have.:glare:

i've got to figure this out.

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I have heard coffee helps, too. I have a sensitive stomach and coffee gives me a killer stomachache. Espresso at night and chocolate anytime are fine, though. Have you had any side effects from the cacao beans? Would regular cocoa powder (I buy Ghiradelli) work? Or is the one you linked preferable for some reason? How much do you take? Thanks!
cocoa powder is fermented and roasted, losing many of the benefits. You should use cacao which is raw.

 

I'm curious about this- how do you use it? How much do you have a day? I am suspecting I might have ADD, it is getting worse, I thought for a while it was because I am anemic...my mind is "scattered". I probably was self medicating with gheridelli 60% bittersweet cocoa chips (and caffeine) but had to quit because of the calories.

:bigear:

You can mix it in with a smoothie or warm milk to make drinks. You can also just put a spoonful in your mouth and swallow it down. I find that you have to use more at first to restore your body's depletions. I was on 3T. a day at first. I went down to 1 1/2 t. per day for a while. Now I am on 2 t. per day. It seems to work best for me if I take one in the morning and one late afternoon. When I was first on it and needed to reduce my dose it caused sleeplessness but now I can drink it right before bed and it helps me sleep. kinda wierd... but I am really in tune to my body and what it needs.

 

You can go to a naturopath to find out how much to take. Electrodermal scans and muscle testing have proven to work for me.

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I was diagnosed as an adult and did not have ADD when I was growing up. Ritalin helped me for about a year. Then I got tired of the ups and downs of the meds and weaned off.

 

I researched a ton and found that amino acid deficiencies can cause ADD. So I started trying to get myself balanced out and noticed an improvement in a fairly short time. Now I use coffee to self medicate and can function quite well. Before taking amino acids, coffee was not enough to help me. I needed meds.

 

The amino acid info escapes me...it has been years since I researched it.

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I take regular release Adderall and I am very happy with it. It has the lowest half life of any of the ADD meds. If you take it in the morning it wears of by dinner time so that you can eat and then sleep. I haven't noticed any side effects at all. It works immediately so you can take it only on the days that you need it. And with you dr. permission it allows you to tweak the dosage a little to find your sweet spot. I only take it when I really need to pay attention and get something done or when I am heading into a slump. I have one dd that takes it during the school year and it has really made a difference for her.

Edited by KidsHappen
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Why did concerts make it hard to exercise?

 

It caused overheating and sweating for me. I would pour sweat just walking to my car for example. About 10 steps into a jog I would be bright red and sweating like crazy. Also, it seemed to have no effect on my ADHD symptoms.

 

Loving the Adderall XR though. Causes my already mildly high blood pressure to be a bit higher, and I have had a small bit of weight loss due to eating less (which is good, because I tend to eat out of boredom anyway and need to lose weight)

 

More info on my Concerta experience here: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=352820

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