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GABA for ADD Related Depression and Anxiety

As you know, I don’t really write about different ADD medications, or ADHD treatments, on here without either some solid research I can reference, or if I have experienced myself. That being said, I got this information directly from my new doctor, so I thought I would pass it along and then follow up.

GABA ADHD Motivation

I think this article about GABA for ADD related motivation issues would benefit from some backstory.

I’m in my 40s. I had hernia surgery a few years ago, but other than that, I haven’t seen a doctor in 10+ years. I’m not one of those stubborn guys who won’t go to a doctor, I’ve just literally never been sick enough to see one–with the exception of the hernia thing. That being said, I am in my 40s now, and that is the age where things can start silently killing you if you don’t have regular checkups with a doctor. The health insurance I have offers this service where you get kind of a discount that works especially well with a high-deductible insurance plan and an HSA. For someone who hardly ever sees a doctor, this is perfect. To join, you pick a doctor online, and then you go in for a full physical, and from then on, you manage your own healthcare online, even scheduling appointments without having to call anyone!

That’s how I ended up with a new doctor here in Denver.

During the interview part of the exam, I was asked questions as part of a depression screen. I don’t know if this is new or not (it’s been a decade since I did this last), but it was a first for me. Of course, as someone who has been diagnosed as having depression, anxiety and attention deficit disorder, the questions were pretty familiar. By the end, the doctor was worried, so I gave her the run down on the old noodle.

I have the apathy kind of depression. It is fairly frequent, lasts a few days at time, to continuously. I do not feel sad or worthless, and I never have thoughts of hurting myself. If anything, I feel like I deserve more than I get, and I could have it too if my brain would just get out of my way and let me go work hard on all the things that I know could be great. Finally, I mentioned how my biggest problem is being able to start something, whether it is spontaneously, or if it was something I planned and committed to.

I told her that I had done some therapy, and that over the years I had tried numerous prescriptions including Adderall and Vyvanse, but that in the end, they didn’t really seem to make much of a difference in a way that mattered to me. That being said, I have been taking St. Johns Wort, and while it isn’t a booster in any way, I do feel as if it keeps me from hitting the no-motivation dumps as often. (Don’t mistake that from actually giving me energy and motivation, just that it keeps me from feeling like keeping my eyes open is too much effort.)

GABA Doctor Recommended for ADD and Motivation (and Depression)

Right about there is where your average health care professional bails out and figures at least I can keep going, so why bother with the extra effort.

This time, however, the doctor gave me some recommendations.

One was 5-HTP. I’ve tried this before, but not probably regularly enough to get the effect. Just like St. Johns Wort, it can take a while for the effect of 5-HTP to build up in your body and brain enough to actually help improve your serotonin levels. As an added bonus, it is supposed to help you sleep better, and we all know good sleep with ADD can be hard to come by, especially if you are taking ADHD medications that can be stimulating long after the effectiveness wears off.

I’ll keep you posted on the 5-HTP.

But, what I really wanted to focus on is called GABA. I have never heard of this before, and according to the bottle, this isn’t really up my alley. However, the doctor suggested it, particularly as something that might help with motivation

So, let’s jump in.

GABA and ADHD

So, GABA is short for gamma-Aminobutyric acid, which is a form of y-Aminobutric acid. Technically, that makes it an amino acid, but not in the way that people mean amino acid when they talk about nutrition and stuff, so forget about that.

GABA acts as an inhibitor in the brain. At first, this doesn’t really sound promising. In general, a lot of the research is about how GABA helps with anxiety. It is also supposed to help mood (although if you are less anxious, then your mood is probably better), and with PMS, if you might want some help with that as a side benefit.

The way it may work for ADD and motivation is this:

For me, motivation is a difficulty in getting started. It isn’t that I don’t WANT to do something, I just can’t get going. It is hard to explain because it isn’t that I really want to get started but something stops me, so much as when I sit down, I just start doing something else, and I don’t care that I’m doing something else, so much so that I can’t even make myself try to force myself to do something. Basically, I’m playing Candy Crush and fine with it, so that’s that. Trying to snap out of it causes me worry and anxiety mostly out of fear that I can’t and even if I do, I won’t like it.

How do you motivate when you can’t even care enough to try and motivate?

That is where the GABA comes in.

What if, I was feeling a little better (mood) and I had a little less resistance to getting started, then maybe, just maybe, I could find a way to get over the getting started hump before the resistance kicked.

Far fetched?

Maybe, but I’m willing to drop a 10-spot to find out.

As usual, with supplements like these the research is small and inconclusive, but if there is the potential for it to help with both ADD and anxiety and maybe help me be the more productive person I’ve always tried to be, them I’ll give it a shot.

Update: It’s only been 5 days, but so far, I’ve noticed no difference between taking St. Johns Wort on its own after adding in 5-HTP and GABA. I’ll finish the bottles, but so far, this isn’t fluttering my raincoat.

Vyvanse Side Effects in Plain English

Written by ADDer 49 Comments

As you know, I started taking Vyvanse a few days ago instead of my usual Adderall (generic) prescription for ADD/ADHD.

As an adult with ADD, I like to know exactly what I am putting in my body. I don’t just take the recommendation of a doctor or therapist who may, or may not, have the same beliefs and concerns as I do regarding things like medication and their affects on my body. Therefore, I have been reading up on Vyvanse, including all of the government sanctioned warnings, and the company’s legal disclaimers and comments.

Fortunately, complex analysis and reading detailed technical documents is what I do for a living, so I am able to wade through this mumbo-jumbo. Unfortunately, not everyone is able or willing to do this. To help out parents of kids with ADD, and adults who have ADHD themselves, I have put together a non-scientific, non-technical jargon filled, summary of what the various parts of medical information sheets and side effect warnings typically mean.

You can also check out my review of how Vyvanse works for adult ADD here.

Understanding Prescription Information and Medical Jargon

See your Medication Guide or talk to your doctor or pharmacist about any warnings or drug interaction precautions.

Vyvanse Side Effect Summary – Understandable Version

The information presented here is NOT medical advice.

This summary is intended to be used in conjunction with a doctor’s advice. Discuss all information with your doctor prior to making any changes in your medications or care.

Vyvanse is derived from some of the same components as Adderall. As such, many of Vyvanse’s side-effects are similar to those of Adderall.

The most common side effects are dry mouth, trouble sleeping, decreased appetite and nausea.

For some people Vyvanse causes weight loss, although like Adderall weight loss, Vyvanse weight loss isn’t really caused by the drug; it is caused by the decreased appetite side effect.

Vyvanse can make it so you don’t feel hungry, and therefore do not eat as often, or as much as you would normally. Not eating so much is what makes you lose weight, not taking Vyvanse. In other words, if you eat just as much as you normally would while taking Vyvanse, you will not lose weight.

The other common side effects listed on the medical information sheet are dizziness, irritability, and upper belly pain. These side effects are probably actually telling you something else, rather than being straight side effects.

Belly pain is probably a symptom that your stomach doesn’t handle medication well. Chances are you are also one of the unlucky people whose stomach is upset by aspirin or Tylenol. If that is the case, your only choice is to put up with it, or try something else.

For many people, the upset stomach comes from too much acid. You can try taking your medication with more water than usual, or perhaps with some milk, or with food, unless your doctor or pharmacist says otherwise.

Don’t take your ADD-ADHD meds with orange juice. OJ speeds up the absorption of some medications including Vyvanse and Adderall.

Maybe You Don’t Have ADD ADHD

As always, consult with your doctor or other practitioner before making any decisions.

If your Vyvanse (or Adderall, or Ritalin) prescription makes you dizzy, lightheaded, buzzy, jumpy, agitated, or skittish, then perhaps your dosage is too high. Talk with your doctor, psychiatrist, or therapist about trying a lower dose.

If you are already taking a very lose dose, or even the minimum possible dose, there is another possibility you should consider. Maybe you don’t have ADD after all. Here is how to tell if you don’t have ADD ADHD.

Winter Blahs and ADD ADHD

Written by ADDer Leave a Comment

Many people with ADD and ADHD have concurrent symptoms with other issues. That’s no surprise. If ADD is a non-traditional brain chemistry, then chances are good that there are other non-traditional issues going on as well.

For me, the transition to Fall is always problematic. There is a real disorder called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD (nice) which causes depression-like symptoms or lack of motivation and lethargy in sufferers. It is caused by lack of daylight, more or less, which can be exacerbated when you work in an office with no windows and end up being one of those people that goes to work in the dark and leaves work in the dark too.

The official treatment is to get more light exposure. If you can get out for a walk at lunch or whatever, that can help. Of course, 30 minutes of sunlight isn’t necessarily enough for some people. They make special lightbulbs or boxes of light that are supposed to help as well. The idea is to essentially get your brain enough of the right light to keep it going in the right way.

For myself, I’ve stumbled upon a bit of a cocktail that seems to help me.

I take St. Johns Wort, which I take anyway as a way to help lift the edge off my inattentive / mild depression. Add to that some fish oil and a multivitamin and things seem to stay a little more stable. I take two fish oil capsules at a time, twice a day. They say it takes time for the Omega-3 and DHA stuff to build up in your brain, so you kind of have to keep taking it, not just pop it when you are feeling down.

As for the multivitamin, it can’t hurt, and you should probably be taking one anyway.

Try it out and see if it helps you.

ADD More Energy Less Tired

Written by ADDer Leave a Comment

People with ADD often take medical stimulants or other prescription medications to help control their ADHD symptoms. Ironically, adults with ADD often complain of being tired or having low energy. While the various ADD medications can alleviate some of these symptoms, thanks to their stimulating effect, many times the boost can be short lived. Furthermore, for those ADDers who are currently not taking any medication or looking for alternative, natural ADD treatments, the stimulant solution offers little help.

As regular readers of this ADD tips blog know, I’m not one to really go in for pseudo-science or even limited empirical evidence. On the other hand, when I find something that helps me, I like to pass it along, just in case it would help others as well. I’ve stumbled upon something that helps with my energy in the morning and throughout the day that I wanted to share. Keep in mind that this is something that works on my ADHD and may or may not work on yours, although there is no down side if it doesn’t.

More Energy from Nutrition

When it comes to attention deficit disorder, or any other medical condition, the one almost universal constant is that better diet and nutrition, and regular exercise is helpful. While not a cure, exercise and diet make almost anything better, from diabetes, to cancer symptoms, to yes, ADD/ADHD, better nutrition and healthful exercise are always beneficial.

There is a trick to better nutrition, however, Like most folks, when I think of eating better I think about all of the things I should STOP eating. However, real nutrition comes from not just reducing the amount of junk food you eat, but also from increasing the amount of healthy things you eat. It turns out that eating more healthy stuff is actually harder for me than cutting out things. That’s because I actively dislike many healthy foods.

Stop eating nachos? Well… OK, if I must.

Eat this bowl of spinach? Eww, yuck.

Recently, however, I stumbled upon a wonderful little trick that lets me not only eat better nutrition, but do it quickly and painlessly, first thing in the morning when my nutrition needs the biggest boost.

There is a book out there, actually two books, about increasing health by reducing inflammation in the digestive track. One is called Clean, and the other is Clean Diet, I believe. (I’ll do a quick write up about them in a subsequent post.) These books greatly overreach in my opinion. However, my wife wanted to try out some of the concepts, and being a supportive husband, who frankly could stand to be in better shape, I went along.

One of the main things you do with this diet plan is to make nutritious shakes. The basic shake consists of nutrient rich leafy greens like spinach, kale, chard, and so on, some coconut or almond milk, combined with protein powder, some coconut oil (for taste and fat), and some fruit like bananas, apples or berries, along with a bit of ground flax seed.If you’re doing the math, you can see some pretty nice nutrition in this combination. You can also see that to actually eat this every day would not be fun. Eating it for breakfast would be even worse. But, by blending it into a shake, you can chug it down with your morning coffee.

Here is where it gets interesting. When I was doing this diet plan I never really thought much about it. However, when I stopped I noticed a sharp drop in my energy levels in the morning. These low energy levels are the reason I pound coffee like a camel gearing up for two weeks walking across the desert. (Camels drink a lot, right?) However, the energy is never really all the way there even if my mind is racing a bit. I always blamed my ADHD. After all, if it takes a boatload of Adderall to affect this brain, how much is coffee really going to help?

Check out my review of Credit Karma here.

As it turn out, I might just need a little more in the nutrition department. I tried just the shake, and blew off everything else from the diet and the energy returned. It’s gotten so I can actually feel the difference. I find that the secret ingredient is kale (specifically baby kale). While the shakes made with spinach and other greens are good, the ones with kale seem to be particularly effective. Experiment with your own combinations and see what works for you.

Healthy ADD Energy Shake Tips

Use plenty of liquid. The difference between a juicer and a blender is pulp. Unfortunately, when making these kinds of shakes, the pulp is all the good stuff. That means this drink will not be smooth or pulp free. I said it was easy, not that it was yummy. I don’t like these shakes per se, but for just a few minutes of effort, the result it worth it. The more liquid you use, the thinner, and more drinkable your shakes will be.
If you really don’t like the pulp, don’t use apples. Apples seem to resist blending the most of any fruit.
If you don’t like the taste, add bananas. Bananas flavor is apparently pretty powerful. Throw a banana in your shake and most of the taste will be banana.
Chug – this isn’t for pleasure. The taste isn’t phenomenal and the thickness isn’t fun either. But, if you chug your shake, you can be done with it in just a few seconds and go back to drinking your morning coffee.
You’ll need a decent blender. — The gold standard in blenders is the Vitamix. However, at around $400, that’s the same price as a new TV. While a different blender will be louder and maybe not as perfect, it will do just fine as long as it isn’t some $40 Target blender. I shelled out for a Ninja blender which means that there is something in my kitchen named Ninja, and it does a nice enough job whacking all of this nutrition together.

Try out the shake idea with your favorite recipes and let me know what you find works (or doesn’t) for you.