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Whole30 and Adult ADHD


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I'm closing in on finishing my first W30 (Day 28) and while I've overall been pleased with my results and the new habits that I've developed, I'm finding that I'm really having a hard time concentrating and the ADHD symptoms that I've had under control with medications for a few years now just don't seem to be working as fully as before.

 

I was diagnosed several years ago (as an adult) with moderate ADHD. My doctor suggested that I had been "self-medicating" for years by consuming large quantities of sugar and caffeine - I was one of those kids who could drink 5 sodas and not even blink while my peers were bouncing off the ceiling, which should have been the first clue, perhaps. I cut down on my sugar and caffeine consumption after going on low-dose stimulant meds, and have been doing well.

 

Now, however, since cutting sugar much more drastically and limiting my caffeine consumption to 1 to 2 coffees per day (before the Whole30 I was consuming about 5 caffeinated beverages per day, coffee and diet soda) on Whole30, I am having such a hard time concentrating. I am very loathe to increase dosage of my prescription stimulant meds, but my productivity and ability to focus has been pretty shot over the past few weeks, which is incredibly frustrating because I otherwise feel quite good physically other than having some digestive issues and food aversion my first week. My mood is very good, too. I'm just really scattered and the motivational "kick in the butt" I normally get from my meds seems to be very weak.

 

Anyone have similar experiences or advice?

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I'd say a trip back to your doctor is in order... with no background in what you describe, it sounds like you cut out sufficient stimulants (coffee/sugar) that your meds are now too weak. If there are two options, one to increase your meds and one to start eating piles of sugar and caffeine again, then it would be up to you to weight the side effects of each course of action and decide which one suits your values and lifestyle better.

It can be hard to believe that the way we change our eating habits can go so far as to change things like ADHD, but you know that to be true when you cut out a lot of that stuff before your Whole30 so it stands to reason that cutting more out means that there's a gap between what you ate and what the meds can do at the dosage they're at.

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