One of my "executive function" problems is that I get overwhelmed when I think about things I need to do. I noticed that a sort of movie starts playing in my head of how to accomplish the task, i.e. the steps entailed, resources needed, etc.
What happens frequently is that my brain takes multiple discrete tasks and attempts to simulate each one's steps to completion simultaneously. I suddenly find myself at the front door paralyzed for five minutes, "Should I grab the trash since I'm going to go check the mail? I have to walk the dog, I can't carry all this trash while holding the dog. Where will I put the dog when I get the mail. Ok, put the leash on the dog, grab the trash... Crap, there's so much trash! Ok, just take the office trash out..."
ADHD medicine stopped working after a month. What has helped a lot is N-acetylcysteine. In fact, it's been several months and I'm comfortable saying that it has changed my life. The trainwreck thought loops give way to singular chains of focus.
Your comment on N-acetylcysteine is really left-field. Its not even listed as a use of that medication, whos primary purpose is to treat panadol overdose. Can you elaborate?
I hesitated to mention the specific supplement for that reason, but maybe it will help someone.
Apparently, the glutamate-glutamine system is implicated in psychiatric problems. Through my research I found that GABA deficiencies can cause ADHD symptoms. GABA is produced in the gut, I have stomach problems, so this seemed feasible. I learned that NAC increases glutathione and helps regulate glutamate. The effects people report point to an effect on this system.
N-acetylcysteine is very effective (for some people) against anxiety, addictions, amphetamine tolerance, acne, and also some things that don't begin with "a".
Amazon also stopped selling it this year because people thought it was a COVID cure.
Yeah. I've had several convos with my health store owner about this. She told me she's found herself stocking up a lot lately because of the increased popularity and COVID misinformation-motivated stocking changes on Amazon.
It has to do with the glutamine-glutamate system, glutathione, GABA and dopamine. There are various possible etiologies for ADHD, but I'm lucky this is one path I discovered that actually helped me. It also explains why Adderall and Wellbutrin didn't help me, as they affect dopamine and norepinephrine respectively.
I take at least 2g per day. Some NAC supplements have some selenium and molybdenum included, so in those cases it's important to be mindful of not taking too much of those trace minerals.
No, that's a smart question because MSG is so prevalent in our food. You'd have to ingest a lot of MSG to make an impact on glutamate levels, which would then affect GABA, which then affects ADHD symptoms.
I noticed a difference on day one. I'll note that I also take l-glutamine to further the effect on the system I'm targeting. You'd also want a molybdenum and selenium source because NAC uses them up.
The effect is not dramatic like a stimulant. It's more like it makes my attention stickier, and allows me to hook into long problems more easily. It doesn't "feel" like anything, just causes a noticeable change in what I find engaging. One weird effect it has had is I completely stopped craving alcohol, news and social media. I usually spend hours on Reddit when I don't have anything on my plate. I'm talking 40k+ karma, multiple posts/comments per day type of addiction. I see multi-day, multi-week gaps between comments on my account now, which is unheard of for me. I know it's a silly heuristic, but it's an example of the behavior change.
I've seen much smarter people than me on Reddit say that effects may take 2-3 days. The supplement itself is pretty cheap, and negative side effects are minimal to non-existent. I am seriously astonished that such a common and accessible supplement has had the impact it has had on me. I personally think the cost/benefit ratio is so good that warranted skepticism can be overcome with a self-experiment.
If it doesn't have an effect, then at least a person can check off the "glutamate-glutamine system" checkbox in their quest to address executive function problems.
I thought excess glutamine was associated with neuroticism, anxiety, depression, etc., and that there was a positive correlation between glutamine levels and depression [1]? Do you think in your case maybe you have naturally very low levels of glutamine, making supplementation helpful?
