Unmedicated ADD Advice
This will be the first post of it’s kind here on CF. I recently recieved an email from someone seeking advice on how to cope with having ADD and being completely unmedicated, a task which is fairly difficult. The email I received read as follows:
“Hello, Im a fourty year old man that has been diognosed with A.D.D.. I have been on Aderall for four years. Prior to that I was an alcoholic and drug addict. I have tried just about every med available in the last few months trying to get out of the zombie stage. I decided to stop all meds two weeks ago. I have not felt this good in a long time. I am concerned becase I feel myself not being content with what I have and I worry about the old me returning. Do you know of anything that might take the edge off and yet not make me a zombie? I am trying excercise and diet but I feel myself getting board… Thanks Cory”
I totally understand. It was a rough transition for me to kick the meds, but it was well worth it. You’re right, you feel great in comparison to all those drugs slowing you down. You are right though,it is easy to get bored and distracted without any chemicals to keep your brain on a leash. I do have a few suggestions though:
- Coffee/Tea. I can’t drink either because the caffeine makes me pass out. However, I know plenty of people who have ADD and survive just fine on two cups of coffee a day (one at breakfast and one at lunch). You do have to watch out for the crash afterwards though, it’s just something to keep in mind.
- Chocolate, also contains caffeine. If I find that I need to focus, I’ll often snag a piece of chocolate. The sugar and caffeine helps to get my brain moving in the right direction again.
- Meditation. It’s boring as… well… just sitting there for long periods of time. However, the discipline garnered from training your mind to shut up and be quiet is priceless. I use both meditation and self hypnosis techniques to get myself to sleep every night. As I’m sure you know, many who suffer from ADD also find it hard to sleep because their minds just won’t stop thinking.
- Martial arts. Working out and eating right is great, but you don’t train your mind much with just that. Keeping your brain engaged and forcing some discipline on yourself with martial arts can be extremely helpful. Even something like Tae Bow (which is just the kung fu / kick boxing workout taken from the martial art) can be extremely beneficial.
- Stay away from additive/preservatives. There is some scientific evidence and a wealth of anecdotal evidence to support the claim that ADD is caused by these artificial chemicals in our food. Although I’m not entirely sure if I believe this, it isn’t a bad idea to at least keep in mind that these artificial additives/preservatives and colorings are probably not good for you. I’m not saying “go all natural”. But rather that you try not to eat/drink overly fake/processed food. Here’s a link to some of these findings:
http://www.chem-tox.com/pregnancy/artificial.htm
Well, that about sums it up. I hope that was helpful. Keep in mind, I’m not a doctor and the consumption of caffeine and chocolate may be contraindicated for other conditions (such as hypertension, high blood pressure, and diabetes). Not to mention the dangers of martial arts. I’m not giving medical advice, just sharing what works for me. (heh, just covering my butt).
Type to you later,
~Nathaniel Summers
P.S. Thank you Cory, for allowing me to post this here as well. I sincerely hope that this dialog was helpful to both you and any others with similar situations who happen to stumble upon this post.
As an inviatation to my readers, if you have any comments, and especially if you have any more suggestions for managing ADD without medication, please, by all means, leave a comment below.