this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2025
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ADHD

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I’d like to know what anyone is using that they really think is helping them that isn’t taking traditional prescription medication for ADHD. Please make sure whatever it is can be found “over the counter” or readily available commercially. Please keep it to simple items that are easily found separately - i.e. a B vitamin of B6, 12 and vitamin C along with Magnesium glycinate or something. If you notice it helping in a specific area, please say what it is.

I have to throw in a couple caveats, just to make sure we can get a decent picture of what is actually helping, so…

  • Please nothing illicit or illegal.

  • Please no blends or other proprietary herbal combinations. If a blend helps you, great…but we don’t know what is in the blend that is helping, and someone may not have access to that product where they live.

  • Please be specific, like making sure to differentiate between magnesium glycinate and magnesium L-threonate.

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Edit: “votes” so far:

1 - Creatine monohydrate - short term memory

2 - Lion’s mane (a fungus) - brain fog

2 - Omega 3, 6, and 9 - brain fog

1 - exercise. Not really a supplement, but it’s a great idea for overall health.

1 - keto diet - brain fog

2 - N-Acetyl-cystein (NAC) - anxiety/hyperactivity

2 - magnesium glycinate - ?

1 - Magnesium carbonate

Stimulants:

2 - Coffee

1 - caffeine (via energy drink)

1 - Guarana

1 - Green tea (caffeine and L-Theanine)

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[–] UniversalBasicJustice 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (8 children)

NAC - N-acetyl-cysteine. Psychiatrist recommended it for weaning myself off a THC dependency, but after reading a few PubMed-available research papers I found data supporting further research into its effects on ADHD.

Additionally, I kept researching in an attempt to improve brain fog and sleep issues I suspect are from long COVID. I found studies indicating NAC combined with guanfacine may help those symptoms.

I've found better results from 600mg NAC (standard daily dose is 1200mg) taken three times a day, and started 1mg guanfacine twice a day recently with plans to increase to 2mg twice a day in a week or two.

I would love to share the NIH papers with anyone interested. Educating yourself about your condition and its particular manifestation will get you far with an invested care team. I'm headed to bed bit will reply to any and every person interested in the research tomorrow morning.

The message I sent to my psych two days after she recommended NAC contained inline citations referring to the papers I had linked at the bottom. That due diligence communicated my dedication not only to my own care, but also to my dedication and respect for knowledge.

Don't take random supplements recommended to you on the internet. Discuss their use with a doctor or, barring that, ground your decisions in science.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Doesn't seem to be that much evidence, but I'm in the mood for a new supplement obsession - on it!

[–] UniversalBasicJustice 3 points 2 weeks ago

I looked back through my NIH history and you're right about the sparse evidence for ADHD, actually. Looks like my interest in NAC, in addition to weaning off THC, came from the bipolar and autism angle, its ability to act a a lead chelator, as well as some tentative dots I connected between its glutamatergic effects and some reading into a mutation of the MC1R gene as passed down to me by my red-head mother.

Likely also conflated my more recent readings into the guanfacine+NAC combo for my brain fog and sleep issues and misremembered my findings from the initial research. Good catch, and an excellent example of 'don't listen to the internet dude.'

Here are some starting points

NAC https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8211525 - NAC review

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763415001190

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35316513/

NAC+Guanfacine https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10960163

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