Hacker News Reader

Comment by JohnBooty | Hacker News Reader

I'm on Adderall, which is very similar to Ritalin - they're both stimulants. I have tried Ritalin in the past and it worked decently; I went with Adderall because it was cheaper.

  > I'm one of those people who rather meditates and 
  > works out regularly than to take any drugs - I 
  > don't like to mess with my brain

I wasn't diagnosed until my 30s. Like you, I didn't like the thought of messing with my brain but eventually got fed up.

Meditation, exercise, diet, getting lots of sleep... these help me more than Adderall. BUT, the Adderall does help too. So I think you are a very good candidate. It sounds like you are thinking of the big picture and not just relying on Ritalin to be a "magic pill."

Probably the best thing about trying Ritalin/Adderall is that you can always stop them if they're not helping you. Just reduce your dose slowly over the course of 3-4 days.

Good luck!!

View on HN

Moderate to heavy sessions of running and swimming (minimum 40 minutes for me) really help with focusing but that doesn't last very long. Maybe an hour or so? That's still much longer than when trying to ride the caffeine waves, exercise also doesn't come with the risk of "wiping out" my focus (getting unproductively hyper-active) because of borderline coffee-abuse (not good for the stomach either...).

So regular exercise and meditation? Check. Discipline with my diet? Check. Proper sleep hygiene? Check. Still fed up? Check.

Thanks for your always-uplifting comments, they are very much appreciated.

That's interesting to hear. I don't really get a stretch of "focus time" after exercise. It's cool that you do!

Exercise feels like it helps my ADHD in indirect (but important) ways.

Exercise boosts my energy level, and reduces my stress level in general a bit. I also sleep much better at night if I get exercise during the day. The sleep, of course, helps with everything else as well.

I salute you for having discipline with your diet! That's the hardest for me!

Yes, the exercise-sleep connection is important for me as well. I mustn't exercise in the evening though because it gets me in that "thrill" mode where I'm wide awake (it feels like the only time actually when I feel awake..) morning or noon sessions work best for me. I'm self-employed so that is one of the benefits of having an unstructured work day, which apart from that I guess is dangerous for someone having ADHD like myself...

I've been on a vegetarian diet for about 10 years and it helps me with attaining more of an "inner calm" / reducing my constant inner agitation but that wasn't the reason why I picked it up originally - it's just a very welcome side effect for me. I could definitely improve on the health side especially when I get the blues, like I've been having for the last couple of months - I tend to binge excessively on sweets (which for me is worse than being on too much coffee in terms of ADHD symptoms) and processed junk food. I feel really great on low GI foods, so usually I eat lots of beans, fruits and vegetables. I also try to take my vitamin b12 supplements as well as my ground flax seeds regularly (omega 3) and have some organic eggs or cheese now and then. I've been on half-year long, strictly vegan diets twice over the years but ran into health issues (iron, vitamin b12 deficiencies -> anemic) each time probably because my discipline and knowledge were limited then.

I feel there is so much chance involved with picking up the right habits - e.g. if it weren't for Vibram's Five Fingers (I know they are not as healthy as they were advertised but I simply love the feeling of running "barefoot") and all the quantified self apps on smartphones I probably wouldn't be running today. It's all the little things that keep me motivated.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com