Should I get semax I’m 18 and riddled with adhd

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u/trusty20 2d ago

Some wisdom friend, no pill will fix this. It's possible ADHD meds will help but I found them to be both a help and a problem sometimes and a lot of ADHD is also psychological / burnout / crappy school environment etc. Not saying ADHD isn't a medical thing but just saying there are some things called ADHD that are maybe not medical ADHD, and also some parts of medical ADHD that are external too.

The best thing that worked for me was going all in on health. It's boring but it's the most real, the most profound thing anyone can do. Exercise, nutrition (proper macros, zinc 10 - 20 mg once every 2 days, vitamin d 4000 IU per day, take a b complex a few times a week, more cooked leafy greens and fiber sources, more consisting drinking water throughout the day), and sleep (7 hours minimum aim for 8, use audiobooks on a little speaker, cozy sleep environment, etc), are the trifecta, most people are far from perfect at these and if you improve them all it is a godlike feeling!

200 mg caffeine per day + taurine + theanine is a nice regimen that you will definitely feel, it's virtually completely safe compared to sketchy RCs etc.

Also get a full blood test, it should test iron status, thyroid panel (tsh / free t3), B12, pre-diabetic status, etc. Ask the doctor for a full spectrum test set for things that could cause severe focus and fatigue problems, if you're on a budget without insurance just tell them that, ask them what they would do on a budget. Many are surprisingly cheap tests, and you get direct insight into what's going on in your body without guessing.

Exercise directly affects the brain, not even just a little bit, but immensely. Do not underestimate it. You hear things about dopamine, google "exercise dopamine" it does all sorts of good things to dopamine circuits. You don't have to be a pro athlete, just daily, medium exercise is a big step up from driving and sitting. Doing a few bouts of harder exercise like swimming or bicycling are even better, the more you put in, the more intense of an effect on the body beyond just the muscles occurs.

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u/bram222 1d ago

Yeah and delete instagram/YouTube shorts, short content fuck your brain. And wake up around similar times, order in your day helps

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u/Bermnerfs 1d ago

Seriously, social media can have a profound impact on mental health. I ditched Facebook two years ago, and didn't notice how negatively it was affecting me until I finally stopped. The algorithm was quite literally exacerbating my anxiety and depression symptoms, likely due to elevated cortisol I am guessing.

It also had a very negative impact on my view of humanity as a whole. I was less present with my family because I was too busy "arguing with fools" on Facebook all the time.

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u/trusty20 20h ago

Even if not quitting, just redirecting doom scrolling behavior to something like a set of youtube channels you know are great background watches is a huge help. Here are some of my favourites with tons of long form content you can slap on in the background:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF30Pxn4RfU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doDMa50cLB4

https://www.youtube.com/@ACEDTVL

https://www.youtube.com/@fromscratch.withbob

https://www.youtube.com/@campingwithsteve

https://www.youtube.com/@MoonlightCottageASMR

https://www.youtube.com/@torscabinetofcuriosities

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u/No-Emergency-6282 1d ago edited 1d ago

Trifecta, I like that. I refer to them as the pillars of health because it always boils down to those three, have one out of whack and it knocks out or negatively affects all the others. Food, Exercise, Sleep.

I like what u said about ADHD. Some people call it “ADHD type 3” 😂 where things like social media cause shorter attention spans. Like you say, I think it exacerbates it and just not good for anyone but especially where someone has ADHD.

Getting a Garmin/Fitbit really helped me. I know if my heart-rate is around 130 that’s all I need. I can lightly jog for a bit or walk up slight hill and don’t have to go crazy or join the gym. I’m still not consistent though…

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u/dgs0206 2d ago

wow a genuinely good comment on this sub i’m shocked. this is the answer that helped me aswell

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u/magestick1 2d ago

no, go buy sketchy, unproven chemicals made in a basement and inject them in your butt /s

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u/logrhythmic 1d ago

"no pill will fix this"

Actually pills do work for some people. He should be talking to a psychiatrist not randos online

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u/trusty20 21h ago edited 21h ago

There is no such thing as a pill that completely fixes your life. Even if you do have like DRD4 or something like that, if you have the full blown ADHD syndrome, a huge part of it are negative behaviors, some of them understandable coping mechanisms, some of them just that, negative behaviors.

A pill can change the underlying issue that caused the syndrome but completely reversing the lifetime of coping mechanisms and bad habits takes psychological work.

I did make it pretty clear in the intro I was not anti-pill, just anti "there is a magic pill that you just have to take and your life gets back on track", even if the med works, you have to put the work and training in to really snap out of the disorder, otherwise you just turn into a machine highly efficient at playing MOBAs for 8 hours etc.

I'm going to put it this way - I have ADHD, I spent 10 years trying toooons of supplements and meds, so much money, and I made virtually all of my success beating the disorder in my late 20s and made huge progress in my life starting from that point, slow for the first few years, but finally a lift off if a bit late. No pills / supplements. It really ended up being entirely psychological, despite it feeling so intensely physical, for me at least. There are so many differences out there that I respect for others meds might play a stronger role and that's a great thing, any tool that works and isn't causing you harm is a good thing. Just saying it really felt like I needed something like that but it turned out I just needed to figure out the mental knot and get down to fundamentals / baby steps (small plans, not huge ambitious plans) practicing once I did

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u/logrhythmic 13h ago

You aren't everyone. There are people who can be treated almost perfectly with medication.

Btw, you use the word "I" and "me" over ten times in your response.

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u/vocabularianrx2 1d ago

Interested in what you mean by full spectrum test or what else that entails. Also why only 10 to 20mg of zinc every other day? What's the basis for that?

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u/trusty20 21h ago edited 21h ago

There are so many things you can test for it really depends on how much money you want to spend. Your doctor could give a conservative list if you said "can you give me a broad spectrum blood test to look for various issues that could cause lack of focus and easy fatigue", it should touch on various blood cell counts, thyroid, blood sugar (fasting at least, glucose challenge ideally), b vitamin, d vitamin, iron status, C-Reactive Protein for potentially unknown inflammation if you have medical signs beyond just low energy. There are a lot more but these hit some of the most common causes. Also it's worth seriously looking at your diet to see if you literally are in a deficit without realizing, for example even a sedentary male that sits and drives, no exercise, needs 55 grams of protein per day. Some days lower is fine, but overall it needs to be that. Said male also needs around 2000 to 2200 calories a day just to sit around. A lot of people do not hit these, or they just hit the calorie count with carbs but protein is low. Micro nutrients are even harder to get consistently, it's a bit exaggerated how common micro nutrient deficiencies are in the developed world, but they are a thing still. Low zinc in particular is thought to be involved in some cases of depression, but like my stance on ADHD meds I would not expect this to translate to "ok taking zinc might cure depression" because that would just be the start, once depression has set in, like ADHD there are a lot of negative thought patterns and habits involved that linger after "the fire" is put out and need to be treated by therapy over time.

Zinc is similar to iron in that it's difficult for the body to excrete and causes a lot of harm in it's free form in your gut / systemic absorption - the body secretes carrier proteins like it does for iron, and if it can't secrete enough the excess ions become free floating and reactive. Iron is the absolute worst for this in that it's powerfully oxidizing and tends to aggregate in places you don't want it in your blood vessels etc. Zinc is less reactive and way more easily flushed out once you stop taking high amounts, but the toxicity can be slow building and subtle, a lot of people don't make the connection right away and maintain the high levels for long enough to potentially cause some harm.

If you are taking blood tests every 1 - 3 months, then daily zinc is probably fine. But if you're doing it blind, it's one of those supplements you should be cautious with (iron, Vitamin A & E, selenium, 5-HTP, supplements with exotic immune or hormonal modulating effects like mushroom or high potency extract herbal supplements for even innocent things like green tea) outside of maybe a short term burst like 1 - 2 weeks of daily dosing leading up to peak sick season where you are etc. For long term usage once every other day at a dose similar to high diet intake (i.e certain seafood diets), seems like a good precaution likely to yield benefits over time still.

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u/Difficult_Soil_9295 2d ago

nah you're not a pussy for being cautious, that's just having a brain that works. semax is real and people do use it for focus issues but it's not some magic bullet. the adhd brain is a different beast entirely and random peptides from the internet won't fix your dopamine wiring overnight

what's your sleep and diet looking like. at 18 i was running on monster energy and regret and it made everything ten times worse. if you're already fried then adding more experimental stuff might just muddy the waters

maybe try the boring stuff first for a couple weeks and see if anything shifts. if you do go the semax route start tiny and track everything

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u/faykenghey 1d ago

Semax helps mental clarity and mood, more than strict focus. If you have trouble with motivation regarding monotonous, boring tasks that you don’t want to do but society requires it, you probably got “adhd” Hit up a pysc or a doc and get the meds. Nootropics are add ons.

If you really got the adhd, nothing else really gonna work. Ive been at this for a while and if I knew about the meds in college I would be way better off. Its a real thing despite what people say. Im also super into physical activities, hobbies, fitness etc. But when Im not on the meds all that plummets and im back to impulsive bad decision making. It helps with life in general not just boring work/school stuff.

Semax helps when you become “tolerant” to the meds. Other nootropics basically the same thing. The meds are always gonna be the base of my stack. Try to avoid amphetamines and use the phenidates and afinils. They are less detrimental to your overall health. Addy was great for me at one point but when the gnarly side effects hit, you will understand what I mean. These might not “feel” as good as addy but they work and your body wont pay for it as bad later on.

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u/Bermnerfs 1d ago

I have always felt like amphetamine (Adderall) and lisdexfetamine (Vyvanse) are both "cleaner" than the phenidates (Ritalin) because they work primarily on dopamine/norepinephrine where phenidates like Ritalin also have serotonin involvement.

I know a lot of people find amphetamines to be more intense and a bit harsher, but I find that is only until you get used to them. I also find it's much easier to take days off of amph's with minimal issues, where stopping Ritalin for a few days would throw me into mild bouts of anhedonia/depression and would cause sleep issues.

The afanils never did much for me unless I was off of ADHD meds for a while, likely due to cross tolerance. I did get good results from Modafinil, Armodafinil, and FL-Modafinil as far as wakefulness and positive mood go, but not much focus or motivation to complete mundane tasks. I never felt any sort of effect from Adrafinil/FL-Adrafinil regardless of which vendor it came from.

Everyone's brain and body is unique, so my experience is likely different from yours. I just figured I would add another perspective.

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u/faykenghey 1d ago

Definitely interesting seeing other perspectives. I did really like the serotonin part of amphs. It is definitely a big missing element with MPH. But I am opposite you in that if I take amph multiple days, the days I don’t take it, completely worthless, depressed, moody. That and the body load for me from amphs was really bad. All over muscle pain. I thought I was just “getting old” but I stopped amphs and all the issues subsided. Regular modafinil also did that to me. Armoda does not however.

Honestly I agree MPH alone really isn’t great but I stack it with noots and supplements so I get more out of it. Truthfully I wish I didn’t need any of this shit but I get so mentally flustered without it. Its like there’s too much noise in my mind or something.

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u/snyh2infinity000 1d ago

I also feel, at least in the past it's been a while since Ive taken either, that methylphenidate(Ritalin) is more physically stimulating compare to mental stimulation when compared to Adderall (which theoretically should have more physical side effects due to the l-amphetamine). Although when it comes to serotonin neither has much affinity at all but Adderall/amphetamine has more activity than Ritalin. Ritalin is a reuptake inhibitor and at therapeutic doses doesn't really show measueable raises in serotonin levels, but amphetamine(Adderall) causes direct release through vmat2 and probably through taar1 (trace amine associated receptor I think) as well

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u/childishjokes 2d ago

I played this game for years. Get on real meds then make the adjustments.

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u/tydnld 2d ago

I agree that if you get the right meds at a young age you can build good habits that have a lasting effect as you get older and lead to better decisions later on

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u/Dull_Donut863 1d ago

Question ❓ What are the "real" meds?

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u/Friendly-Place2497 1d ago

The ones a doctor prescribes you for adhd

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u/logrhythmic 13h ago

Underrated comment

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u/starlitdreamscapes 1d ago

I found the Semax/Selank combo to work best and for me at least there were real, noticeable benefits and improvements. Stimulant medication is always an option but has its own drawbacks, but I use Adrafinil 200mg, Phenylpiracetam 100mg and two sprays of the Selank/Semax spray and honestly I feel more productive & cognitively enhanced than when I ever would take my ADHD prescription

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u/SameIntroduction7943 1d ago

I absolutely love Semax . It increases BDNF , more oxygen for your brain and so on . I will take it my whole life because it prevents from Alzeheimer. And it makes you completely smarter . The perfect embodyment of the limitless pill

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u/Troy0C 2d ago

I thought I had "adhd" because I wanted to sleep 24 hours a day and not study.. turns out I have hypersomnia, i take modafinil now.

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u/TelephoneCharacter59 1d ago edited 1d ago

is it Idiopathic Hypersomnia or Narcolepsy? Quite rare among adolescent..

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u/Troy0C 1d ago

Not narcolepsy. Hypersomnia, I was sleeping about 14 hours on average when I could, and on my lab study my REM sleep was < 3%.

I was told my your sleep quality is so shit, so you have "hypersomnia" I dont know if thats true or not, but modafinil seems to be a decent bandaid lol

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u/TelephoneCharacter59 1d ago

My sister-in-law can't take Modafinil as it interferes with birth control pill, so she was given Dexedrine by the Hypersomnia doctor.

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u/ihavegrayfronds 2d ago

also, beware of looksmaxxing rabbit holes.

that sort of thing is not worth it at all

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u/SPOOKESVILLE 2d ago

Get diagnosed and get prescription meds. Nothing will help as much as that.

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u/PissInMyShityAsshole 2d ago

The old adhd plague

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u/tofukink 2d ago

dude see a psych… why are people thinking semax is first in line when adderall is a clear option

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u/stones4Eva 2d ago

I didn't like Semax - I felt it was probably killing off my brain cells.... I have adhd too.

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u/ihavegrayfronds 2d ago

semax … ugh i’d rather use Vyvanse

Adderall

coffee

yeah i say don’t

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u/illumin8dmind 1d ago

You shouldn't confuse healthy sleep, exercise and diet for things you can substitute with a noot. I have ADHD - my advice, fix the things you can on your own. Get medical help and therapy for ADHD - once you've mastered those - you can start tweaking with noots. Noots won't do the heavy lifting for you and it won't sort out the other things.

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u/PatchyRain 1d ago

Semax did nothing for me except give me an itchy scalp (which may or may not be a symptom of hair loss). Waste of money.

Discussion Should I get semax I’m 18 and riddled with adhd

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