Recent research has suggested that some adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, self-medicate their ADD symptoms. In one study in particular, researchers showed that adults with ADHD smoke not just to get the “high” (clinically referred to as “for affect”) provided for nicotine, but also for its potential effects upon adult ADHD symptoms. Other studies have examined the ideas that people with ADHD self-medicate with caffeine or sugar, as well as other foods, medicinal herbs, supplements. All indicate that there is at least some truth to the idea that certain natural occurring stimulants or food products can tame certain ADD inattention difficulties to some extent. (Whew! How is that for qualifying a statement? Some truth, that certain thing, might help, somewhat.)
For medical researchers looking into ADHD, the primary motivation for conducting such studies is two-fold. One, it eliminates variables in other research studies. For example, if adults with ADD, or teens with ADHD, can be shown to be populations that have a biological reason that makes quitting smoking harder, then such groups can be excluded from research studies about the effectiveness of quit smoking techniques.
Just imagine if it turned out that ever major smoking cessation experiment over the last decade could trace its success or failure largely to the number of people with attention deficit disorder conditions who took part in the study. That would be a very big deal. It also suggests that additional treatment options for ADHD smokers might be necessary to successfully quit smoking.
The second purpose of doing ADHD research like this is that it gives additional clues to the biological effects of ADHD on the brain, as well as additional factors to consider when doing research into the cause of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in teens, adults, and to a lesser extent (for smoking studies, anyway) children with ADD. If the mechanism by which tobacco and nicotine affect the brain’s neurological pathways is well understood, and it can be shown that to some extent that the curative affect some ADDers feel from nicotine on their inattention symptoms is similar, then their is the possibility that ADHD functions by affecting the brain in a related manner.
See why real research is peer-reviewed research.
Self-Medicating ADHD Without Prescription Medication Drugs
What information about dealing with ADHD can those of us with ADD take from such research studied. While far from being the kind of research that conclusive conclusions about attention deficit disorders can be drawn, it does suggest some possible techniques for improving concentration in people with ADHD. One ADHD trick would be to conduct self-experiments to see how certain natural stimulants affect your ADHD symptoms. Excluding smoking, which is dangerous, unhealthy, and very addictive, experimenting with the affects caffeine, sugar, tuarine (or whatever that is in Red Bull) and the link can be very useful for ADDers looking for new ways to deal with their own ADHD symptoms.
For example, if a teenager with ADHD were to find out that caffeine early in the morning improves their concentration for three or four hours, then the best ADHD tip for concentrating better on an early morning geometry test would be to drink some coffee before leaving the house, or on the way to school. However, it is important to know exactly how the caffeine affects you, how much causes an improvement, as well as how much is too much. Also, teens with ADD in school would need to know how long it takes for it to “hit them”. Drinking a bunch of Cokes right before an important history test, when it turns out that it takes 45 minutes for the caffeine and sugar to really kick in, isn’t going to help much.
Please ignore this quick test ADHD Tools Advice
These ADHD tips and tricks are not for replacing your current ADD therapy regime. The idea is to have an arsenal of ADHD tools in your pocket that you can pull out for certain situations. Not just tests, but important meetings, during a critical sales call, self-medication of your ADHD symptoms for a little extra control might just be the difference between further frustration, and additional success. You might even find there are times when you would prefer to treat ADHD naturally by skipping your normal medication and using a stand-in in order to maximize certain personality traits or a specific kind of focus.
Chuck says
Diagnosed with ADHD at age 57 I have had an ADHD daughter (12) who I treated successfully after running out her amphetamine some years back. She’d been on them for a decade and her psychiatrist wanted her on Ritlan.
On amphetamines it took great effort to get her to eat enough to keep her weight on the lower bound of ‘normal’ as she was never hungry (even with hunger pain.) On caffeine she at least ate normally and her behavior was manageable.
He psychiatrist wanted to change to Ritlan becasue “Nobody has studied caffeine, it “‘might not be safe.”
I self-medicated for decades with sugar/caffeine/nicotine/marijuana. I stopped smoking after a heart attack and lost my ability to focus. I also stopped most of the sugar/caffeine due to diabetes.
My most successful work years were spent smoking 2 packs a day and drinking 12 cans of soda pop as well as 8-12oz of chocolate per day and 1/4 ounce of marijuana per month.
The first drug they put me on for ADD was bupropion which greatly increased my depression–to the point that I no longer cared even about my cats, within eight months I was unable to walk and hallucinating too.
I am now investigating the use of nicotine as a treatment but there is a dearth of data, though nicotine shows positive effects for both depression and ADD in a few studies.
Since caffeine and nicotine are cheaply and widely available, there is little profit to be made proving that either is an effective medication–thus in our profit-driven Big Pharm society is is unlikely that either will be studied seriously.
Big Pharm benefits greatly from government-funded research (yes, those vaunted high research costs are usually paid for by the government, not the industry.) Because of the close links between financing for research and the companies, studies are seldom proposed of cheaply available substances, and if one is by chance found to be effective it will soon have a patented analog from Big Pharm at many times the cost.
Jethro says
Reading (an actual book, not on a computer or e-reader) is a good way to self-medicate my ADD. It gives me something to focus on, and it gives me a feeling of accomplishment. I think cardiovascular exercise helps a lot too.
Patrick says
I am a 28 year old adult living with ADD.
4 Years ago, I discovered coffee as a means to help me concentrate and focus.
It helps me in social situations and at the workplace.
Perhaps I’m lucky that caffeine helps me with my particular ADD.
ADDer says
Self-medicating with caffeine, and often sugar, works for lots of ADDers. The catch is that it doesn’t often last long enough, and its hard to avoid harming your sleep if you keep using it into the night. But, if it works for you, then go with it.
Stew says
Interesting article. It is important to point out that taurine is in no way a stimulant – it is an amino acid which helps prevent dehydration which is the reason it is an ingredient in Red Bull. Caffeine is the only stimulant in Red Bull and its stimulating effect is no different to that of coffee.
Drew says
This article is very true. I have ADHD and i now take vyvance because i am old enough to go to the doctor on my own as I am 18. Before now i had no way of treating it so i tried St. Johns Wort which is for depression, but it also helped my ADHD. It is not as effective as my prescribed medication but if you are looking for a natural way to help treat ADHD thats a very good route to go.