Help! Natural Treatments for ADD

da_bears10089

It sounds odd but my old boss used to give his son a latte every morning before school and the caffiene had a reverse reaction to the ADD and he was able to sit in school without getting in trouble constantly.

adry20

I second what was suggested above. Seek a Naturopath and heal him with diet. I have heard of parents having great success using the GAPS diet. You can find the book on amazon. Good luck!

fabandfit4life

Hi, my son is ADHD and autistic. This summer we went 100% gluten free with him and he was able to get off 3 medicines, including Intuniv, a long-acting ADHD medicine. We also have him take iron, fish oil and L-Tyrosine supplements, all of which have helped him. I keep finding new supplements which seem to be supported with research, but always ask his doctor if he recommends any. If I had to choose only two, I'd say the gluten free and L-Tyrosine are the two most important in his daily regimen. Good luck to you!

Hi,
Were do you get L-Tyrosine supplements and how do you administer.

AliandTrev

My son has ADHD as well. I tried eliminating foods, supplements, chiropractic you name it I tried it before breaking down and going the medication route. For my son the stimulant medications (i.e. Ritalin) only made him more hyper and hallucinate. He did very well on a non stimulant medication for 2 years and then it stopped being effective, upping the dose made him moody/angry so we decided to stop the medication all together and see how life was without it again. For the past 1 1/2 he has been medication free, that's not to say that we haven't had some struggles but with encouragement and a great teacher he has learned to handle not being able to focus.

I just wanted to say, one you are not alone in the frustrations that go with this and secondly if after trying all the natural ways you find out that your child does need the medication there is nothing wrong with that. You know your kid best and what will help him.

porkchop_13

:yawn:

tikafly

One thing I have not seen mentioned above is to stay away from food coloring.

I treated my daughter with diet until it no longer became enough to curb her symptoms (age 8). She began to struggle too much in school. Her self-esteem and our parent/child relationship greatly suffered during this time.

She has tried two different medications since then, and the side effects have not been bad. The medications used today have come a long way as far as side effects are concerned. It can take a few tries to find the right medication. Not that I think all kids with ADHD should be medicated, but they can really help if all else fails.

I am still nervous about the medication that my daughter takes, but it is the right thing for her at this time. It is hard to accept that medication is needed when my child isn't "sick", but the results are so worth it to have my daughter "back". She is able to achieve so many things that only brought frustration to her prior to being medicated. Medication isn't an easy fix, there are still symptoms-they just aren't as severe or debilitating. Meds are just a tool to help the person struggling with ADHD to cope better with their challenges. My daughter went from getting D's and F's to straight A's in accelerated classes in third grade, and she plays on the competitive soccer team. She excels in anything she does now. It's all amazing to watch. Medication has been empowering for her.

Additionally, her doctor recommends she not take her medication during school breaks or weekends if we do not have anything going on as it helps with the long-term effectiveness of the dosage. This break from medication also helps them learn to cope with their symptoms.

I don't mean to sound like I'm pushing medication on you by any means. I fully support any alternatives to medication and understand that each family knows their situation best in order to make those judgement calls. I just wanted to relate that I understand being nervous about medication and side effects; and I wanted to share how I was somewhat able to overcome my concerns when medication became necessary.

Best wishes to you.

tikafly

:yawn:

I'm with you on this one Porkchop_13. Why is this even posted on this site? I joined MFP b/c I was told it was all about fitness and nutrition. I dont care what kind of problems ur kid has.

Because there are no adults on this site that suffer from ADHD that treat themselves nutritionally? :huh:

If it doesn't interest you, don't open it.

baotzu

Back in the day there was this ancient remedy for ADD. It's called "smack the sh1t out of them". Typically, this results in children who listen, focus on what you say, and, in general, act less like feral animals.

porkchop_13

Back in the day there was this ancient remedy for ADD. It's called "smack the sh1t out of them". Typically, this results in children who listen, focus on what you say, and, in general, act less like feral animals.

Nice one baotzu! When i was growing up (in the 80's) nobody had ADD or ADHD or peanut allergies and all that crap - what a joke. And to tikafly, i can open and reply to any post i want here, its a free site

abberbabber

:yawn:

I'm with you on this one Porkchop_13. Why is this even posted on this site? I joined MFP b/c I was told it was all about fitness and nutrition. I dont care what kind of problems ur kid has.

And she's very specifically asking about DIETARY and NUTRITIONAL changes that could possibly help with ADD/ADHD. Not every post is going to be something that interests you, or is pertinent to your life. And, I know this may sound crazy, but you are allowed to just not read a thread that doesn't interest you.

abberbabber

Back in the day there was this ancient remedy for ADD. It's called "smack the sh1t out of them". Typically, this results in children who listen, focus on what you say, and, in general, act less like feral animals.

Nice one baotzu! When i was growing up (in the 80's) nobody had ADD or ADHD or peanut allergies and all that crap - what a joke. And to tikafly, i can open and reply to any post i want here, its a free site

Just because you *can* do something doesn't mean you *should*. I know it's the internet, but damn, some manners would be nice.

Chibea

As an adult who suffered with this long before anyone knew what it was, I encourage you to consider the medications. Dealing with the symptoms of ADHD/ADD in educational settings is devastating. I just - at age 54- was able to finish college recently while on medication and using an ADHD coach.
40 years ago there was a much greater acceptance of students who weren't great academically, since everyone was not pushed so hard to go to college. These days the pressure is intense. Floundering through school while your peers are zooming along seemingly without struggling is frustrating and can lead to depression.
I have a 17 year old who suffered through many years while I tried to find a 'natural' solution. He is now taking Vyvanse, as am I, and the difference is remarkable.
I will definitely keep trying to add natural products and methods, because they can't do any harm. And if they work for you, I totally support your choice and am glad for you. I just want to save children from suffering too long in our crazy intense educational system.
The medication has also helped me to focus and be consistent with my weight loss efforts!:happy:

MichaelWWoods

I am adult with ADHD and I have come to use "medicine" only in mornings and a very, very low dose. This is the balance I take to help my brain get going in the morning when it needs a kickstart, and I only do this on days when I don't exercise in AM (too many days I am afraid).

I don't have any real advice for anyone though I do really support your initiative to avoid the medicine.

porkchop_13

Back in the day there was this ancient remedy for ADD. It's called "smack the sh1t out of them". Typically, this results in children who listen, focus on what you say, and, in general, act less like feral animals.

Nice one baotzu! When i was growing up (in the 80's) nobody had ADD or ADHD or peanut allergies and all that crap - what a joke. And to tikafly, i can open and reply to any post i want here, its a free site

Just because you *can* do something doesn't mean you *should*. I know it's the internet, but damn, some manners would be nice.

Yesterday i read something like this....sometimes you have to put on your big girl pants before coming to the forums. Stop being so sensitive and move on

mlb929

One of my son's classmates parents put him on a gluten free diet and removed all food dye's from his diet. It made a world of difference in the child. There is actually a lot of research and many websites available on gluten free as an option. It's something you may want to consider.

abberbabber

Back in the day there was this ancient remedy for ADD. It's called "smack the sh1t out of them". Typically, this results in children who listen, focus on what you say, and, in general, act less like feral animals.

Nice one baotzu! When i was growing up (in the 80's) nobody had ADD or ADHD or peanut allergies and all that crap - what a joke. And to tikafly, i can open and reply to any post i want here, its a free site

Just because you *can* do something doesn't mean you *should*. I know it's the internet, but damn, some manners would be nice.

Yesterday i read something like this....sometimes you have to put on your big girl pants before coming to the forums. Stop being so sensitive and move on

So.....you can come into a thread and be rude....but other people can't call you out on it? Oh, the irony and hypocrisy :laugh:

abberbabber

One of my son's classmates parents put him on a gluten free diet and removed all food dye's from his diet. It made a world of difference in the child. There is actually a lot of research and many websites available on gluten free as an option. It's something you may want to consider.

I've been doing some poking around the interwebs, and gluten-free seems to be a pretty widespread idea when it comes to ADD/ADHD and some learning disabilities.

jw17695

I attended a health festival in January and several of the speakers, one being a doctor, recommend switching them to a plant based diet.

petstorekitty

a few years back my doc diagnosed me with ADD but wouldn't give me regular Rx drugs for abuse concerns.

I used a supplement called True Focus, made by Now Foods.
I found it really helpful. Along with other stuff but for natural supplements, that's a suggestion.

I was in my 20's though, not a kid.

It's important to look at the whole life of a person diagnosed to find and adjust issues. meds are important but not everything.

PamelaGatorMom

Back in the day there was this ancient remedy for ADD. It's called "smack the sh1t out of them". Typically, this results in children who listen, focus on what you say, and, in general, act less like feral animals.

Nice one baotzu! When i was growing up (in the 80's) nobody had ADD or ADHD or peanut allergies and all that crap - what a joke. And to tikafly, i can open and reply to any post i want here, its a free site

Just because you *can* do something doesn't mean you *should*. I know it's the internet, but damn, some manners would be nice.

Yesterday i read something like this....sometimes you have to put on your big girl pants before coming to the forums. Stop being so sensitive and move on

So.....you can come into a thread and be rude....but other people can't call you out on it? Oh, the irony and hypocrisy :laugh:

WIN!!!