Now He Takes Vitamins Instead.
The following is not an advertisement. It is my real-life experience. Just like all these other blog posts. But there are links herein, if you have ADHD and want to try this. It sure beats the heck out of taking stimulants.
After Dylan started taking L-Tyrosine, as recommended in books by ADHD expert Dr. Daniel Amen, I noticed a real difference. It didn’t “cure” him by any stretch, but some of the craziness stopped.
There is less shrieking at the dinner table. Dylan doesn’t spin as often when he walks. The incessant tapping isn’t completely gone, but he sometimes seems able to focus without tapping. (Sometimes.)
He is still quite brilliant, but less … bouncy.
Recommended dosage is 1 to 3 capsules daily. Dylan takes one per day, and we all agree that it’s sufficient. The bottle calls L-Tyrosine “neurotransmitter support” that you should take as a “dietary supplement.”
“L-Tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid that plays an important role in the production of neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine. In addition, because L-Tyrosine is necessary for the synthesis of thyroid hormone and epinephrine (adrenaline), L-Tyrosine supports healthy glandular function and stress response.”
In other words, it helps your brain produce dopamine and adrenaline.
My guess – from watching both Dylan and my husband (who has ADHD but has never been diagnosed) – is that they were born lacking in the ability to produce sufficient quantities of either dopamine or adrenaline, or both.
That’s why they spend so much time obsessed with fast-moving vehicles. But I digress.
L-Tyrosine gives Dylan just enough help that he is now able to do anything he wants without having to move, bounce, kick, tap, sing, hum or spin to stimulate his brain.
And best of all: he is on absolutely no other medication and there are, therefore, no side effects whatsoever!
Two things: Dylan needs to eat plenty of protein for the Tyrosine to be effective. And he produces less (but not significantly less) melatonin now – which means he wakes up (then goes right back to sleep) sometimes.
It’s a wonder to me that the pediatricians, the psychiatrists, the neurologists and even the school staff don’t seem to have any idea that this exists. We went through prescription after prescription of pills and more pills, all with horrific side effects. He couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, got too wired, became lethargic, got moody and irritable – and finally almost suicidal – before we finally stopped trying those “recommended” medications.
We’d gone through years of fighting the “controlled substance” law and desperately searching for a pharmacy that carried the right medication. We spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on pills.
L-Tyrosine costs about $10 for four months worth of “neurotransmitter support.”
So now Dylan takes vitamins instead.
They help. No side effects. And he’s able to function – finally – in a way that helps him to succeed.