There is a prescription drug that has some interesting off-label benefits that are not generally known and which benefits ADHD sufferers. It is an older drug which is long out of patent and is almost falling into disuse. It is Hydergine and is prescribed for senility in the elderly but, do not be misled by this officially recognised use as it has other fascinating benefits that have not been fully recognised nor appreciated. There is a paradox with pharmaceuticals where adverse side-effects are reported but seldom, if ever, their other beneficial effects.

Hydergine is not a narcotic, nor is it addictive, nor toxic, and possibly not contra-indicated. It is a benign substance with few side-effects which are rare, harmless and mild. It has the following benefits: preserves the brain; controls apnoea; helps to relieve migraines (but it is not a pain-killer); is believed to increase intelligence; clears foggy brains and brings into effect clearer thought processes; may help in slowing the aging process. Of more interest to those on this thread, it also controls ADHD symptoms at 4.5mgs every 5 hours (dosage can be tweaked). Your MD/GP is not aware of this; only mavericks like myself with an avocational interest in pharmacology. Side effects of this drug, when they do occur, are mild and usually consist of light-headedness (short-lived) and an awareness of dreaming, but those effects soon disperse with continuing use. Hydergine is also cheap to purchase.

Some countries are more civilised than many of our Westernised ones where drugs can be purchased without a prescription; how delightful and how adult! Long-term usage is not harmful as I have been taking the drug (self-medication) for 11 years and at 75 I am as bright as a 'warrant officer's brass button', fit, with no ailments nor aches nor pains nor being sonorific, and I continue to believe that I have a future.

Bon voyage to those of you who have the courage to try Hydergine's benefits as I did and also observed its remarkable effect on a destructive ADHD youngster in normalizing his behaviour.

Thanks for the information Omaar. I think I will look into this, especially for my father who does not like taking drugs at all...I have ADD and I think he does too...this might be the answer for him.

You mentioned that you are "as bright as a warrant officer's brass button"...were you a warrant officer? My father was CW4 when he retired.

If I can qualify a little about what I said. As I understand it, ADD and ADHD are different. ADD appears to have a broad range of vague symptoms which are not always readily recognizable while ADHD is evident. Hydergine appears to be effective in controlling the symptoms of ADHD but may be less recognizable in ADD cases.

When discussing my wife's symptoms I omitted to say that often, when trying to have a discussion with her, her attention seems to be elsewhere, but whether this is due to ADD or simply disinterest it is difficult to determine. She has been taking Hydergine for over 4 years which has reduced the frequency and severity of migraines which she has been plagued with from as far back in her life as she can recall. In the past 3 years she has made friendships and retained them (interestingly her friends acrete around her) where previously, prior to our meeting, she was a lonely woman with a bruised self-imaged. Whether the changes are due to applied TLC or the benefit of Hydergine is not easily determinable but when she first took the drug, her comment was, "For the first time in my life I feel normal"! How she knew she was normal baffles me!

It has been my own personal experience that once I started medication (Adderall this last Friday) I felt normal for the first time in my life. I could focus, I felt calm and the anxiety was gone. I have always envied people who were organized and could stay focused because I couldn't, so I guess in essense, that is what I consider "normal". Maybe your wife feels the same way.