Anyone With ADHD? What Does Peat Think Of Ritalin/adderall/stimulants In General?

[knives]

Correlation between ADHD and sleep disorders: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/opini ... .html?_r=0

Dr Russell Barkley about how to treat ADHD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tpB-B8BXk0

So... I'm currently using pure organic cacao, coffee and coconut oil plus the RP guidelines and I can concentrate now, I can read more than 30 minutes...

I'm gonna buy coca leaves, what do you think of them? I think RP said that they're highly helpful and anti-inflammatory, I think they'll help with my ADHD and gut problems.

What do you think of medication? I loved ritalin till stopped working, and in my country there's no adderall. So yeah I'm off that, only side effects now, I read that it could've had stunted my growth.

 

[pboy]

I'm not sure what Peat thinks...I can only speak from experience. First of all, up until recently, like the past 5 years, there was almost no studies done on Adderall/Ritalin...I think they came out in what, the 80's? or begin common use, so there was no long term studies. Also, the exact mechanism of how they work wasn't/ isn't even known, so Peat would probably be going on speculation. There are empirical 'studies' or rather just surveys and stuff linking them to many side effects, such as dependence and lack of functionality without them...but that's most likely just because the people never actually learned how to take care of themselves and stuff like most people do over the years. I have a friend who's taken them on and off since he was in like 5th grade and he has a unique personality...like very driven, but in that hyper OCD way, and is like really fiendish just in general, but he is a pretty skillful guy in the things he is interested in. Ive taken Adderall from him and other people on occasion so I know how it is, and basically what I felt. Its incredibly powerful stuff, like on par with meth (ive never taken meth but it seems like it), except its clean. No matter what state I was in, like if I was on 3 horus of sleep, hungover as fck, hungry, whatever, it would bring me into a clear energized state of being although probably a bit hyper erratic unless I ate. It makes you ***t a lot, sometimes kills the appetite and other times (usually when it wears off) ravenously hungry. I remember the first time I took it, I had a morning routine of eating these sausage biscuits or whatever for breakfast and it literally tasted like chalky dog food, like zero salivation or appetite...my friend warned me, but that effect wore off after a few more times taking it. I could stay up all night, drink like twice as much as I normally could, and be functional, although one time I like blanked out in such a state...not blacked out or anything just had like a blip of consciousness, which id never had, and I knew my drinking limit which I somehow had way surpassed, so it scared the ***t out of me and basically I wouldn't ever take them for partying ever again after that. For studying, it was semi useful but like...it only worked the first time I took it, then if I tried to use it again the next day it wouldn't work and id get the opposite like anxious inability to concentrate. Ive always been really thin and back then I was trying to gain muscle and id weigh myself, after taking an Adderall I lost like 2-3 pounds in one day unintentionally and looked noticeably more sunk, which kinda worried me too. I knew a buncha girls who would take it in college for that purpose alone. Its basically powerful stuff, that I have no clue how with a straight face can be 'prescribed' to kids. Its like a joke I always make with my friend now, and he's fully aware of like what it is. He barely takes it anymore and even in school he was smart enough, intuited enough, to realize something was like unstable about it and would often go months without taking it. (He was prescribed 2 a day, nearly the highest strength...which is absolutely absurd...one alone would get me sped up for 6-8 hours straight into the night with drinking, like for a kid to take that is beyond ludicrous). Basically, if I had to guess, it prevents the breakdown of adrenaline and dopamine, while simultaneously stimulating them. So you do feel quite positive and outgoing and like in god mode the first times you take it or after a break...another thing I noticed with people I knew who took them is they had like excessive ego's, almost a hint ruthless, and its probably from taking it their whole lives and feeling that way, unjustifiably (usually dopeamine has to be earned, with Adderall, it comes free, but can really eff up your personality and make you a sociopath, actually). Because your adrenaline and dopamine are so high, you don't have an appetite and don't even notice cortisol when its triggered, although I was smart enough to notice shakiness of my hands, meaning cortisol, and eat, but most people aren't that aware...so you pretty much just are in full on mode...before cortisol hits its actually pretty stable but once cortisol hits its a jittery anxious unstable stimulation and you cant really concentrate...so you get like in a state where you are bouncing off the walls and nothing is satisfying, then you try to eat and it doesn't taste good or seem to wanna be eaten cause the adrenaline. Sugary drinks are like the only thing that can make it through an adrenalized state. At first the high dopamine promoted incredibly faast peristalsis, one of the firs ttimes I took it I laughed and was like how is that even possible? cause I ***t 3-4 times in the span of a few hours even tho I had hardly eaten anything in the last many hours, but once you start getting emaciated and running on cortisol it actually is constipative cause theres like not enough abundance of energy to create mucus or promote the peristalsis.

Basically its a disaster and a trap, it can be really good at first but quiclly puts you into a downward spiral because its extremely addictive and all the normal things you have to do to take care of yourself get overlooked, yet in the background they are still necessary, so you mess up your body, and can mess up your social life in a way...at first or on occasional occasions it can be useful and fun but its imperative to take at least like a week off between uses...on a side note, once you get weakened by it you get like impotent also and lose the ability to produce heat...basically things that would happen if you were starving. I cant remember everything or theres just too much to say, but you get the gist of it. Taken on rare occasions, probably not harmful, if in a deep depression it can awaken a person, if you need to pull an all nighter or study hard, or its like a celebratory occasion, it can be a great tool, but its also a highly addictive trap that throws off all your normal signaling so you have to bare that all in mind and be mindful as you use it basically

raw cacao has a lot of similarities in terms of the feeling, its a lil safer in some ways, but also has some worse effects in other ways. Note the above, great tool for when you need it or to snap out of a depression, really bad to use regularly or long term


the only way to actually get a level of focus and all that in life is to manage your life very well...basically stay on top of nutrition, get good sleep, and be regular of bowel habits...and then you have to be at least somewhat interested or inspired by what you're doing...that's the only real healthy recipe

 

[narouz]

Might've missed if you covered this, pboy,
but just wanted to add that,
from what I know from friends of mine who oversee health providers
(insurance business managers),
Adderall and Ritalin (and there are some others now)...
if you are a person who is really ADHD
it will, supposedly, make you just feel calm and able to focus--
not like a normal (non-ADHD) person taking it.
When a non-ADHD person takes, say, ritalin, it feels like pboy describes, like speed.
I took some like 30 years ago,
and that is how it felt to me--speed.

I have a friend who has anxiety type difficulties.
We always thought he was probably ADHD or that other AD__ thing.
He took some ritalin a while back to see what would happen
and he felt really speeded out.
So...diagnosis by treatment...we figure he probably is not really ADHD.

 

[knives]

..before cortisol hits its actually pretty stable but once cortisol hits its a jittery anxious unstable stimulation and you cant really concentrate...so you get like in a state where you are bouncing off the walls and nothing is satisfying, then you try to eat and it doesn't taste good or seem to wanna be eaten cause the adrenaline. Sugary drinks are like the only thing that can make it through an adrenalized state. At first the high dopamine promoted incredibly faast peristalsis, one of the firs ttimes I took it I laughed and was like how is that even possible? cause I s*** 3-4 times in the span of a few hours even tho I had hardly eaten anything in the last many hours, but once you start getting emaciated and running on cortisol it actually is constipative cause theres like not enough abundance of energy to create mucus or promote the peristalsis.

That explains my actual constipation, I'm off ritalin.

raw cacao has a lot of similarities in terms of the feeling, its a lil safer in some ways, but also has some worse effects in other ways. Note the above, great tool for when you need it or to snap out of a depression, really bad to use regularly or long term

And why is that? The latin american tribes have been using it for 2.600 years, it's like coffee or even more safe. There are plenty of studies about the long term safety of cacao/chocolate.

the only way to actually get a level of focus and all that in life is to manage your life very well...basically stay on top of nutrition, get good sleep, and be regular of bowel habits...and then you have to be at least somewhat interested or inspired by what you're doing...that's the only real healthy recipe

That's the problem with ADHD people! we lack motivation, we cannot manipulate ourselves like normal people do, and we cannot see the consequences of our actions.

So.. yeah. The main problem is the release of adrenaline and cortisol while on stimulants... that's so sad, anyway ADHD **** people more than the medication so I guess... its the least of the evils.

I agree it's a trap, but for people without ADHD. I wish I could get adderall. Let's hope those coca leaves mimic a little bit the stuff.

I remember the first month on ritalin... oh.. it was heaven.

 

[knives]

Might've missed if you covered this, pboy,
but just wanted to add that,
from what I know from friends of mine who oversee health providers
(insurance business managers),
Adderall and Ritalin (and there are some others now)...
if you are a person who is really ADHD
it will, supposedly, make you just feel calm and able to focus--
not like a normal (non-ADHD) person taking it.
When a non-ADHD person takes, say, ritalin, it feels like pboy describes, like speed.
I took some like 30 years ago,
and that is how it felt to me--speed.

I have a friend who has anxiety type difficulties.
We always thought he was probably ADHD or that other AD__ thing.
He took some ritalin a while back to see what would happen
and he felt really speeded out.
So...diagnosis by treatment...we figure he probably is not really ADHD.

Yeah I guess I should use the ritalin here and there, I mean with ADHD you cannot control emotions, concentrate on useless information (uni in a nutshell)...

 

[narouz]

Yeah I guess I should use the ritalin here and there, I mean with ADHD you cannot control emotions, concentrate on useless information (uni in a nutshell)...

If I were you, knives
I would not proceed under an assumption that you are ADHD.
If the cacao makes you feel good,
keep us updated!

pboy has some experience with cacao I think.

 

[knives]

Yeah I guess I should use the ritalin here and there, I mean with ADHD you cannot control emotions, concentrate on useless information (uni in a nutshell)...

If I were you, knives
I would not proceed under an assumption that you are ADHD.
If the cacao makes you feel good,
keep us updated!

pboy has some experience with cacao I think.

Hi narouz, I was formerly diagnosed at 6. But my parents decided not to medicate me (I'm grateful), I think medication should start after 18 years of age, that way you wont have stunted growth.

Exercise and mindfulness meditation increases brain area sizes of the areas of the brain ADHD people have problems with.

I will keep you all updated, thanks for everything.

 

[pboy]

well its the raw cacao that's more of a super stimulant similar in some ways to Adderall but different too. I think it can be a huge herbal tool, similar to like a cannabis or LSD in the sense it can break you out of certain patterns and open up to knew ones...but at the same time, its pretty astringent on the gut and can have similar problems as other stimulants...like eventually you tank and feel like hell and stuff, and can cause constipation even within a few days...though its not that bad actually.

Most cacao is eaten roasted and stuff which is quite a different substance in effect, its more of just a typical gentle heart stimulant, in the way coffee is to the mind and doesn't really have any life altering aspects to it...a small hint at most...its probably a lil more easy on the gut also

 

[knives]

well its the raw cacao that's more of a super stimulant similar in some ways to Adderall but different too. I think it can be a huge herbal tool, similar to like a cannabis or LSD in the sense it can break you out of certain patterns and open up to knew ones...but at the same time, its pretty astringent on the gut and can have similar problems as other stimulants...like eventually you tank and feel like hell and stuff, and can cause constipation even within a few days...though its not that bad actually.

Yeah it acts directly on the gut

Most cacao is eaten roasted and stuff which is quite a different substance in effect, its more of just a typical gentle heart stimulant, in the way coffee is to the mind and doesn't really have any life altering aspects to it...a small hint at most...its probably a lil more easy on the gut also

Yes, it's much better to eat the fermented cacao/roasted than the seeds, you should try some cacao/cocoa powder, it makes me really happy.

 

[goodandevil]

Add is bushit. It's a way to discount people who are different. Im on disability for ADD. I had a very traumatic childhood, and there's a seperation fromthe self tbat occurs with trauma;it can be remedied with inner family systems work. The physical aspect, I believe, is simply low energy. I took pills and smoked a lot of weed, but since my thyrojd status has improved, and my stress hormones lessened, any "add symltoms" have gone away. There's no end to the bull**** people will concieve and promulgate to keep people in a slave mentality. Adderall stolled working for me, too. I wanted to makea throne of adderall tablets and ascend jt when I was younger, get a tribal armband of dextroamlhetamine. It was all vapid lies. "Whk's really running your life", by oete gerlach really helped me. He hasa free site, sfhelp.org.

 

[knives]

Add is bushit. It's a way to discount people who are different. Im on disability for ADD. I had a very traumatic childhood, and there's a seperation fromthe self tbat occurs with trauma;it can be remedied with inner family systems work. The physical aspect, I believe, is simply low energy. I took pills and smoked a lot of weed, but since my thyrojd status has improved, and my stress hormones lessened, any "add symltoms" have gone away.

Ok, maybe you didn't have ADD in the first place.

There's no end to the bull**** people will concieve and promulgate to keep people in a slave mentality. Adderall stolled working for me, too. I wanted to makea throne of adderall tablets and ascend jt when I was younger, get a tribal armband of dextroamlhetamine. It was all vapid lies.

I agree on the slave mentality, go 12 years to school, then a giant debt in college then a life of 9 - 5. But, that doesn't mean that ADHD doesn't exist, there are people that can't do the things they enjoy, they have real problems, and this really damages our live.

"Whk's really running your life", by oete gerlach really helped me. He hasa free site, sfhelp.org.

I'll check it, thanks.

 

[goodandevil]

Excellent- I hope that info helps! I do believe inner famiky systems tberapy would help, along with thyroid. Best of luck to you.

 

[halken]

ADHD comes from maternal attunement disruption.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqRec-K4qY4

 

[Giraffe]

There's no end to the bull**** people will concieve and promulgate to keep people in a slave mentality. Adderall stolled working for me, too. I wanted to makea throne of adderall tablets and ascend jt when I was younger, get a tribal armband of dextroamlhetamine. It was all vapid lies.

I agree on the slave mentality, go 12 years to school, then a giant debt in college then a life of 9 - 5. But, that doesn't mean that ADHD doesn't exist, there are people that can't do the things they enjoy, they have real problems, and this really damages our live.

ADHD is a tryad of symptoms, and the cause of this "disease" is not understood.
Have a look at Pina's story. viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7262

The guy in the video you linked forgot to mention the side effects of drugs used to treat ADHD... insomnia, restlessness, depression, emotional imbalances, skin issues, irritability, abdominal pain, diarrhea...

 

[knives]

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/95677/
ADHD is a tryad of symptoms, and the cause of this "disease" is not understood.
Have a look at Pina's story. viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7262

The guy in the video you linked forgot to mention the side effects of drugs used to treat ADHD... insomnia, restlessness, depression, emotional imbalances, skin issues, irritability, abdominal pain, diarrhea...

Hi giraffe, It is similar to mine, her story,I can concentrate a little bit now.

Yes, he forgot, he is also paid by pharmaceutical companies.

In general "true" ADHD untreated destroys the life of anyone, diet helps, but it's like Berkley said, "medication are a prosthetic". So it's about cost benefit. I'm thinking about guanfacine.

 

[tara]

I don't know what Peat thinks specifically about ADD and ADHD diagnoses. I'm pretty sceptical about their usefulness and I am appalled by how widespread these diagnoses are and how often they are used as an excuse to sell drugs that mess with young brains.

But I'd be pluggin for attending to general energy metabolism via nutrition etc first - food and maybe some micronutrient supps for a while, then consider thyroid etc. And sunshine, movement, good play and social interaction, etc. Maybe there'll still be symptoms to consider after that, maybe not.

The brain uses a large proportion (20-25%?) of our energy. If there is insufficient energy to run everything properly, not everything will run properly. This seems like step one for lots of issues.

 

[tara]

Knives, I like your signature quote. :)

 

[Kasper]

I've been diagnosed with add.
For me, exercise seems to help best to be honest.
This may not be a very popular opinion here, but exercise really helps me.

Also if im really excited about something, I can't get kind of the opposite of detention deficit disorder. Then I get in some kind of hyper focus. But this is also not ideal imo. My focus on the other aspects of life become even worse. Like doing the dishes, planning my day, etc.

 

[knives]

Knives, I like your signature quote. :)

That quote... always reminds me of myself.

https://raypeatforum.com/forums/posts/95888/ I've been diagnosed with add.
For me, exercise seems to help best to be honest.
This may not be a very popular opinion here, but exercise really helps me.

Also if im really excited about something, I can't get kind of the opposite of detention deficit disorder. Then I get in some kind of hyper focus. But this is also not ideal imo. My focus on the other aspects of life become even worse. Like doing the dishes, planning my day, etc.

Exercise is one of the best tools for ADHD, and about hyperfocus, Berkley says that is just another malfunction of our brain, I suggest you to watch his lectures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1IEv9CA2vA

 

[Philomath]

Dr. Peat said caffeine works just as well as methamphetamines. My pharmacist even said the same.