Help with strong adhd, insomnia, low energy overall

[HealingTheBody]

Hi guys

I have been studying my condition for a long time, mainly in this forum and research papers so that I can find a way to have a normal/better life.
Since I was a kid I struggle with ADHD, general fatigue (cant run for more than 300 m for example), insomnia and dandruff. I have relatives with similar conditions, like bipolar disease, CFS, fibromyalgia (may be related to fatigue) and insomnia.
I am skinny (29M), struggle gaining muscle even with high T levels (above 1000 ng), also Homozygous for MTHFR C667T.

The only food that seens to make me feel good is Liver and energetics, but not that good as a normal person...
My ADHD gets better when on ritalin or Lithium.
I have read almost every thread on this forum about CFS, adhd, insomnia and other but I keep clueless.
Thanks in advance for any help
*English isnt my first language

 

[redsun]

Hi guys

I have been studying my condition for a long time, mainly in this forum and research papers so that I can find a way to have a normal/better life.
Since I was a kid I struggle with ADHD, general fatigue (cant run for more than 300 m for example), insomnia and dandruff. I have relatives with similar conditions, like bipolar disease, CFS, fibromyalgia (may be related to fatigue) and insomnia.
I am skinny (29M), struggle gaining muscle even with high T levels (above 1000 ng), also Homozygous for MTHFR C667T.

The only food that seens to make me feel good is Liver and energetics, but not that good as a normal person...
My ADHD gets better when on ritalin or Lithium.
I have read almost every thread on this forum about CFS, adhd, insomnia and other but I keep clueless.
Thanks in advance for any help
*English isnt my first language

What foods do you usually eat?

 

[HealingTheBody]

Hi @redsun , my diet is composed mainly of beans, potatoes, red meat, chickens, liver (100g every other day), orange juice with acerolas (although i think i dont feel good with orange juice), snacks and hamburgues often. i use coconut oil as main source of fat, sometimes i eat some PUFA too. I quit rice for a moment because of arsenic, there is a study that suggests people with MTHFR C677T like me have trouble with arsenic, so i give it a shot, but i havent seen any improvement by quitting rice..
I tried supplementing B1 (thiamin), taurin, B3, potassium iodide, ALCAR (strong insomnia this one), NAC, vitamin E and a couple other supplements, none of them gave me much improvement

 

[redsun]

Hi @redsun , my diet is composed mainly of beans, potatoes, red meat, chickens, liver (100g every other day), orange juice with acerolas (although i think i dont feel good with orange juice), snacks and hamburgues often. i use coconut oil as main source of fat, sometimes i eat some PUFA too. I quit rice for a moment because of arsenic, there is a study that suggests people with MTHFR C677T like me have trouble with arsenic, so i give it a shot, but i havent seen any improvement by quitting rice..
I tried supplementing B1 (thiamin), taurin, B3, potassium iodide, ALCAR (strong insomnia this one), NAC, vitamin E and a couple other supplements, none of them gave me much improvement

Rice is not really going to cause arsenic issues. Liver is a very good source of nutrients but the problem is its insanely high in copper and vitamin A. Very high copper intake can lead to insomnia as it strongly enhances noradrenaline synthesis, a major neurotransmitter involved in keeping you awake.

The excessive amounts of vitamin A can also cause problems with neurotransmitters, mainly glutamate (too much can lead to low glutamate which can cause many problems). Glutamate is very vital for all mental processes including focus and increasing the release of other excitatory neurotransmitters involved in focus, attention span, and cognitive function such as dopamine and acetylcholine.

I would not really eat fat from nutrient devoid sources such as coconut oil. It doesnt really make sense to. It is better to eat naturally occuring fats in foods which tend to also provide some nutrition as well. Eating a few eggs a day for fat as well as other important nutrients that are in egg yolks is much healthier than consuming oils. Eggs are also a good source of choline which is the precursor to acetylcholine in the nervous system. Acetylcholine works with dopamine to promote focused attention and reduces distractibility by increasing the signal to noise ratio. In other words it helps block out stimuli from your environment that is not relevant to whatever task you are accomplishing. Which makes it easier for you to stay on task and harder to get distracted. I assume that is what you are talking about when you say you have ADHD, its hard to focus and you get distracted easily?

If you eat potatoes often and in large quantities you need to worry about solanine building up in the body which can really mess with cognitive function and is also be damaging to mitochondria. I would only eat potatoes 2-3x a week at most and not a large amount either when you do. Sometimes this also contributes to insomnia.

Your diet does not have any bioavailable calcium sources since you did not mention eating any dairy. I assume it gives you digestive problems but regardless lack of calcium especially for long periods of time can mess with your cognition as calcium is involved in neurotransmitter release and chronically low calcium intake can also contribute to sleep disorders through its effects on parathyroid hormone (raises PTH). Cheese is usually the most tolerated form of dairy so I would strongly consider getting it into your diet. It may be a good idea to get a test for PTH levels as well. If your PTH levels as well as blood calcium levels are elevated (hypercalcemia) it could explain a lot of issues.

Very high preformed retinol intake (which you would get from frequent liver consumption) can also contribute to hypercalcemia on its own. I am curious to know how long you have been eating 100g of liver every other day. High vitamin A intake accelerates calcium loss from bone.

 

[HealingTheBody]

@redsun thanks for the high level answer. I quit dairy 3 months ago because I felt a bit of anxiety when taking it. In fact there is a lack of Calcium im my diet. For the next week I gonna include egg yolks and cheese in my diet and reduce potatoes. I will try check for PTH and Calcium levels as well. I gonna be carefully with liver too. Let me tell you one thing, two years ago I had like 5-10 grey hairs in my beard, I think half of them turned black again after eating Liver like that, because of copper i think, but today i dont see more turning black again.
My vitamin D is very high (above 80) I think it may help with Calcium?

 

[Jonk]

Rice is not really going to cause arsenic issues. Liver is a very good source of nutrients but the problem is its insanely high in copper and vitamin A. Very high copper intake can lead to insomnia as it strongly enhances noradrenaline synthesis, a major neurotransmitter involved in keeping you awake.

The excessive amounts of vitamin A can also cause problems with neurotransmitters, mainly glutamate (too much can lead to low glutamate which can cause many problems). Glutamate is very vital for all mental processes including focus and increasing the release of other excitatory neurotransmitters involved in focus, attention span, and cognitive function such as dopamine and acetylcholine.

I would not really eat fat from nutrient devoid sources such as coconut oil. It doesnt really make sense to. It is better to eat naturally occuring fats in foods which tend to also provide some nutrition as well. Eating a few eggs a day for fat as well as other important nutrients that are in egg yolks is much healthier than consuming oils. Eggs are also a good source of choline which is the precursor to acetylcholine in the nervous system. Acetylcholine works with dopamine to promote focused attention and reduces distractibility by increasing the signal to noise ratio. In other words it helps block out stimuli from your environment that is not relevant to whatever task you are accomplishing. Which makes it easier for you to stay on task and harder to get distracted. I assume that is what you are talking about when you say you have ADHD, its hard to focus and you get distracted easily?

If you eat potatoes often and in large quantities you need to worry about solanine building up in the body which can really mess with cognitive function and is also be damaging to mitochondria. I would only eat potatoes 2-3x a week at most and not a large amount either when you do. Sometimes this also contributes to insomnia.

Your diet does not have any bioavailable calcium sources since you did not mention eating any dairy. I assume it gives you digestive problems but regardless lack of calcium especially for long periods of time can mess with your cognition as calcium is involved in neurotransmitter release and chronically low calcium intake can also contribute to sleep disorders through its effects on parathyroid hormone (raises PTH). Cheese is usually the most tolerated form of dairy so I would strongly consider getting it into your diet. It may be a good idea to get a test for PTH levels as well. If your PTH levels as well as blood calcium levels are elevated (hypercalcemia) it could explain a lot of issues.

Very high preformed retinol intake (which you would get from frequent liver consumption) can also contribute to hypercalcemia on its own. I am curious to know how long you have been eating 100g of liver every other day. High vitamin A intake accelerates calcium loss from bone.

I've also been struggling with insomnia related to back/hip and thigh pain. Connected it to my indigestion and what feels like lack of peristaltic movement. Always felt better from eating liver, but never connected it to choline. Saw you recommending eating more eggs in another thread and decided to give it a try, and it really feels like it may be the missing piece. Just a few days in but sleep and especially sleep quality (less horrendous nightmares) has improved more than anything I've tried before, without cleaning out my intestines which ultimately backfires after a couple of days. I did try to drink milk again which seems still to be a no for me, but even with half bad digestion I can still sleep and almost immediately my chronic pain is considerably better. Mind you this has been ongoing for several years. I think I'm three days in so maybe to early to tell, but anyway thank you for the advice you have given although it wasn't directed to me. Only thing I've changed is added 6 egg yolks to my breakfast. Sorry for hijacking the thread.

 

[redsun]

@redsun thanks for the high level answer. I quit dairy 3 months ago because I felt a bit of anxiety when taking it. In fact there is a lack of Calcium im my diet. For the next week I gonna include egg yolks and cheese in my diet and reduce potatoes. I will try check for PTH and Calcium levels as well. I gonna be carefully with liver too. Let me tell you one thing, two years ago I had like 5-10 grey hairs in my beard, I think half of them turned black again after eating Liver like that, because of copper i think, but today i dont see more turning black again.
My vitamin D is very high (above 80) I think it may help with Calcium?

You may have needed some copper initially but the way you are eating liver now is way too much copper and vitamin A long term. I would not eat more than 1-2 oz a week. Your diet also lacks iodine sources but the egg yolks and cheese will provide more iodine. Lack of iodine will also contribute to many problems as well. Even if you did trial potassium iodide in the past, the body needs iodine every day otherwise your stores get depleted.

I've also been struggling with insomnia related to back/hip and thigh pain. Connected it to my indigestion and what feels like lack of peristaltic movement. Always felt better from eating liver, but never connected it to choline. Saw you recommending eating more eggs in another thread and decided to give it a try, and it really feels like it may be the missing piece. Just a few days in but sleep and especially sleep quality (less horrendous nightmares) has improved more than anything I've tried before, without cleaning out my intestines which ultimately backfires after a couple of days. I did try to drink milk again which seems still to be a no for me, but even with half bad digestion I can still sleep and almost immediately my chronic pain is considerably better. Mind you this has been ongoing for several years. I think I'm three days in so maybe to early to tell, but anyway thank you for the advice you have given although it wasn't directed to me. Only thing I've changed is added 6 egg yolks to my breakfast. Sorry for hijacking the thread.

Glad my advice helped you. Nightmares are mainly about excessive adrenaline, acetylcholine is very needed to control catecholamine levels as well as being vital for REM sleep. It can also help with reducing pain and inflammation as well and is needed for peristalsis. Another thing if you are prone to nightmares is to make sure you eat a good sized meal before bed with plenty of carbs as depleted glycogen can trigger these nightmares due to spikes in adrenaline as your body tries to maintain blood sugar.

Improvements can also be because you are getting more iodine as in the diet most people's source of iodine is either dairy products or eggs. There is no other common food people eat that has much if any iodine. So if you were not consuming either and not eating seafood almost daily you probably have poor iodine status as well. Cheese is usually better tolerated than milk. So if you can do cheese as well as fermented dairy like yogurt or kefir those also work and tend to be more digestible. So worth a try if you haven't already.

 

[HealingTheBody]

@Jonk @redsun thanks! I gonna add potassium iodide in my next changes I said before, I am supposed to give some feedback in the next days, I think there will be improvements.

 

[Spartan300]

@Jonk How do you prepare/consume your 6 egg yolks with breakfast?

 

[laleto12]

Hi

Rice is not really going to cause arsenic issues. Liver is a very good source of nutrients but the problem is its insanely high in copper and vitamin A. Very high copper intake can lead to insomnia as it strongly enhances noradrenaline synthesis, a major neurotransmitter involved in keeping you awake.

The excessive amounts of vitamin A can also cause problems with neurotransmitters, mainly glutamate (too much can lead to low glutamate which can cause many problems). Glutamate is very vital for all mental processes including focus and increasing the release of other excitatory neurotransmitters involved in focus, attention span, and cognitive function such as dopamine and acetylcholine.

I would not really eat fat from nutrient devoid sources such as coconut oil. It doesnt really make sense to. It is better to eat naturally occuring fats in foods which tend to also provide some nutrition as well. Eating a few eggs a day for fat as well as other important nutrients that are in egg yolks is much healthier than consuming oils. Eggs are also a good source of choline which is the precursor to acetylcholine in the nervous system. Acetylcholine works with dopamine to promote focused attention and reduces distractibility by increasing the signal to noise ratio. In other words it helps block out stimuli from your environment that is not relevant to whatever task you are accomplishing. Which makes it easier for you to stay on task and harder to get distracted. I assume that is what you are talking about when you say you have ADHD, its hard to focus and you get distracted easily?

If you eat potatoes often and in large quantities you need to worry about solanine building up in the body which can really mess with cognitive function and is also be damaging to mitochondria. I would only eat potatoes 2-3x a week at most and not a large amount either when you do. Sometimes this also contributes to insomnia.

Your diet does not have any bioavailable calcium sources since you did not mention eating any dairy. I assume it gives you digestive problems but regardless lack of calcium especially for long periods of time can mess with your cognition as calcium is involved in neurotransmitter release and chronically low calcium intake can also contribute to sleep disorders through its effects on parathyroid hormone (raises PTH). Cheese is usually the most tolerated form of dairy so I would strongly consider getting it into your diet. It may be a good idea to get a test for PTH levels as well. If your PTH levels as well as blood calcium levels are elevated (hypercalcemia) it could explain a lot of issues.

Very high preformed retinol intake (which you would get from frequent liver consumption) can also contribute to hypercalcemia on its own. I am curious to know how long you have been eating 100g of liver every other day. High vitamin A intake accelerates calcium loss from bone

Do you think Retinol blood serum test is a good way to measure if we have too much vitamin A or not?

 

[Blaze]

Rice is not really going to cause arsenic issues. Liver is a very good source of nutrients but the problem is its insanely high in copper and vitamin A. Very high copper intake can lead to insomnia as it strongly enhances noradrenaline synthesis, a major neurotransmitter involved in keeping you awake.

The excessive amounts of vitamin A can also cause problems with neurotransmitters, mainly glutamate (too much can lead to low glutamate which can cause many problems). Glutamate is very vital for all mental processes including focus and increasing the release of other excitatory neurotransmitters involved in focus, attention span, and cognitive function such as dopamine and acetylcholine.

I would not really eat fat from nutrient devoid sources such as coconut oil. It doesnt really make sense to. It is better to eat naturally occuring fats in foods which tend to also provide some nutrition as well. Eating a few eggs a day for fat as well as other important nutrients that are in egg yolks is much healthier than consuming oils. Eggs are also a good source of choline which is the precursor to acetylcholine in the nervous system. Acetylcholine works with dopamine to promote focused attention and reduces distractibility by increasing the signal to noise ratio. In other words it helps block out stimuli from your environment that is not relevant to whatever task you are accomplishing. Which makes it easier for you to stay on task and harder to get distracted. I assume that is what you are talking about when you say you have ADHD, its hard to focus and you get distracted easily?

If you eat potatoes often and in large quantities you need to worry about solanine building up in the body which can really mess with cognitive function and is also be damaging to mitochondria. I would only eat potatoes 2-3x a week at most and not a large amount either when you do. Sometimes this also contributes to insomnia.

Your diet does not have any bioavailable calcium sources since you did not mention eating any dairy. I assume it gives you digestive problems but regardless lack of calcium especially for long periods of time can mess with your cognition as calcium is involved in neurotransmitter release and chronically low calcium intake can also contribute to sleep disorders through its effects on parathyroid hormone (raises PTH). Cheese is usually the most tolerated form of dairy so I would strongly consider getting it into your diet. It may be a good idea to get a test for PTH levels as well. If your PTH levels as well as blood calcium levels are elevated (hypercalcemia) it could explain a lot of issues.

Very high preformed retinol intake (which you would get from frequent liver consumption) can also contribute to hypercalcemia on its own. I am curious to know how long you have been eating 100g of liver every other day. High vitamin A intake accelerates calcium loss from bone.

Very detailed answer-------- great reply. As to the potatoes , I would add that most of the solanine collects just under the potato skin, peel away the skin before you cook the potato and solanine should not be an issue at all as long as the flesh of the potato does not have a green tinge.

Again, great reply.

 

[Jonk]

Improvements can also be because you are getting more iodine as in the diet most people's source of iodine is either dairy products or eggs.

Good to know. Thanks.

@Jonk How do you prepare/consume your 6 egg yolks with breakfast?

I separate the yolks and whites in my hands, discard the whites and put the yolks in a glass and drink haha. Not too bad when the egg white is gone to be honest

 

[redsun]

@Jonk @redsun thanks! I gonna add potassium iodide in my next changes I said before, I am supposed to give some feedback in the next days, I think there will be improvements.

I dont know if you use lugols or similar for your iodine supplement but you should be supplementing iodine in the micrograms not milligrams. 200 mcg at most really. Let us know how things go.

Hi

Do you think Retinol blood serum test is a good way to measure if we have too much vitamin A or not?

Yes and its also common to have hypercalcemia as well but not always.

Very detailed answer-------- great reply. As to the potatoes , I would add that most of the solanine collects just under the potato skin, peel away the skin before you cook the potato and solanine should not be an issue at all as long as the flesh of the potato does not have a green tinge.

Again, great reply.

Yes but even then some are very sensitive to solanine so still it depends on the person. So everyone needs to gauge their tolerance. Some people eat a lot of potatoes seemingly with little issue.

 

[Androsclerosis]

Hi guys

I have been studying my condition for a long time, mainly in this forum and research papers so that I can find a way to have a normal/better life.
Since I was a kid I struggle with ADHD, general fatigue (cant run for more than 300 m for example), insomnia and dandruff. I have relatives with similar conditions, like bipolar disease, CFS, fibromyalgia (may be related to fatigue) and insomnia.
I am skinny (29M), struggle gaining muscle even with high T levels (above 1000 ng), also Homozygous for MTHFR C667T.

The only food that seens to make me feel good is Liver and energetics, but not that good as a normal person...
My ADHD gets better when on ritalin or Lithium.
I have read almost every thread on this forum about CFS, adhd, insomnia and other but I keep clueless.
Thanks in advance for any help
*English isnt my first language

You can have a good physique, strenght and high T levels and still experiencing ADHD.
I've been fighting also ADHD/dissociation for a long time due to trauma and if I follow all the next steps my symptoms disappear completely.
At least 450g of carbs mostly from sugar, combined with very low long chain fatty acids like butter, 1-2g of aspirin and 1g of niacinamide to increase glucose oxidation efficiency. This stacks always worked, but it's not always easy to follow.
Also as redsun says, protein intake is also important, at least 70g from animal sources.

 

[Jonk]

At least 450g of carbs mostly from sugar

What's your food sources for the carbs?

 

[HealingTheBody]

@Androsclerosis Nice! What can I use instead of 2g Aspirin to improve glucose oxidation? Regards 1g of niacinamide I think it’s ok for me

 

[youngsinatra]

I‘d suspect that you might already have a mild form of vitamin A excess.

Your preformed vitamin A intake per week is ~100‘000 IUs from liver alone. So an average of 15‘000 IUs per day. Daily intakes above 3000 IU already worsen bone health and increase bone resorption. Intakes below the UL (10’000 IU) have been shown to significantly worsen BMD.

I‘d stop the liver completely. Redsun‘s advice is solid stuff!

 

[Androsclerosis]

@Androsclerosis Nice! What can I use instead of 2g Aspirin to improve glucose oxidation? Regards 1g of niacinamide I think it’s ok for me

I don't know any other drug that can be comparable to aspirin. It has so many benefits.. for example when you wake up and feel your head heavy and slow brain,in that moment aspirin treats it. Why exactly you can't take it?

 

[Androsclerosis]

What's your food sources for the carbs?

It's not tasty, neither disgusting... jam. But it becomes boring. When I eat 2 jars I feel also an increased ego (decreases depersonalization) and I can act like myself, and I think most of the glucose doesn't arrive to the brain due to high pufa in the brain tissue from too much stress in the past, that's why I need lots of carbs to feel normal.

 

[Jonk]

It's not tasty, neither disgusting... jam. But it becomes boring. When I eat 2 jars I feel also an increased ego (decreases depersonalization) and I can act like myself, and I think most of the glucose doesn't arrive to the brain due to high pufa in the brain tissue from too much stress in the past, that's why I need lots of carbs to feel normal.

Okay yeah I feel you, I get my main sources of carbs from orange juice and white sugar. I also eat a rutabaga everyday with my meats so it feels like a real meal, but they are themselves poor in calories.