Replied by Art from California on 12/03/2025
Hi Addison,
Supplements in general have only modest or less benefit, for people with ADHD and the studies tend to confirm this, but I think three supplements that are worth your girlfriend discussing with her doctor for long term use are vitamin D at a dose that will bring her 25 OH d level into the upper half of the reference range at whatever dose it takes to get there, which will require initial testing by her doctor to find what dose that is for her.
The second supplement worth considering is elemental magnesium in a bioavailable form such as Magnesium Glycinate taken at a dose that will deliver the RDA for magnesium for women which is 310 mg since your girlfriend is 18. To get 310 mg of elemental magnesium from the magnesium glycinate form will generally require 3 capsules per day from many brands of magnesium glycinate. Here is an example of a typical brand of magnesium glycinate that delivers 1000 mg of magnesium glycinate at 100 mg of elemental magnesium which would require 3 capsules per day to get close to the RDA and then get the remainder of magnesium from the foods she eats. Based on that dosing, this would be an 80 day supply :
https://www.amazon.com/Now-Foods-Magnesium-Glycinate-Tablets/dp/B0CB984SHQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=19CZJK189GG1G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.noMPpwfYcmq5Z0FBY5mRMmlpy3cN69jVDKyM64qaHCjA_LovByBkAJ3gZ2Hrdd5MBgbwndD7evJb_79WPdYHzpKtC8nFIjIM0Kmnh9WvmYQgR9aYjhJU8RlIlxbe52sVnc36U4UAlswX9K780vfk6dwREj9LnDIqWuoi33WFoO3x6wBszzdSsm72KMhOpT1wv3xHjGQVg1rn4WtBXGlGFig0yyWcQLeEmJKhNB8EqSPDzfggWBJqtOC644aKTvHGN94lLwWQ7AOi0jF_GSK9e_u8xGDRwj_J7po1K1uTxl8.OorWzqTvKdDrdE-xOkbqeCDzrElJx2YKlPc4jWlzDJo&dib_tag=se&keywords=NOW+magnesium+glycinate&qid=1764801093&sprefix=now+magnesium+glycinate,aps,183&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1&smid=A2059LRCRSWSW
The last supplement she can discuss with her doctor is Melatonin taken once in the later afternoon/early evening each day. Some people do not tolerate oral melatonin well, so she will probably want to start low around 3 mg and slowly increase her dose over time. Some people have no problem taking oral melatonin and can increase their dose fairly quickly.
So the three supplements are :
1. Vitamin D
2. Magnesium Glycinate
3. Melatonin
These three supplements have synergy with one another and their combined effects can work against the negative effects associated with ADHD. As an example, and you can confirm these with her doctor, ADHD has circadian rhythm disorder as a known issue and melatonin can help toward realigning the circadian rhythm. ADHD is noted for vitamin D deficiency and vitamin D at the right dose can resolve that deficiency while melatonin can increase vitamin D receptor (VDR) activity.
As another example, it is known that inflammation and elevated oxidative stress levels can increase ADHD severity and these three supplements offer potent anti inflammatory activity as well as potent anti oxidative stress activity.
People with ADHD typically have lower magnesium levels than healthy controls and magnesium taken at the RDA can help normalize magnesium levels.
People with ADHD have increased cortical excitotoxicity and these three supplements through various direct and indirect activities can synergistically help to calm this cortical excitotoxicity.
These three supplements have many other effects that can work against ADHD than what I mentioned above, but are highly likely to be agreeable with her doctor given their well established safety profiles. Also, people are often low on vitamin D and magnesium. She will have to get her doctor's approval and supervision in order for her to use these supplements as adjunctive treatment for ADHD for her safety as well as to insure that they will be compatible with all of her other medications that her doctor may prescribe now and later. These three may potentially allow her to reduce her dose of her current medication allowing her to take the medication for a longer period of time without experiencing any potential side effects.
Please keep us updated on her progress!
Art
