dmariet116 wrote: »

Such an interesting thread. I have always felt overwhelmed by to do lists like if I don't know where to start...I just don't. Nothing gets done and I avoid it until I HAVE to do it. I can't focus on a movie unless I am in a theater and nothing else is distracting me. My day to day feels like someone is channel surfing non stop, and I just really want to get my hand on the remote and stop it...
I have never been diagnosed with anything but depression. Unfortunately AD's didn't work at all. Just made me sleepy and sick.

Zenwenner wrote: »

baconslave wrote: »

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

BABetter1 wrote: »

Aserrano79 thank you for giving me a little insight. You have no idea how much that means to me. He constantly interrupts people, and I didn't know why. And, I do think a stimulant med would probably be more effective for him, but DH disagrees and is dead set against it (I am a "Step" so I don't have final say here). So, I'm just doing as much as I can with the diet to try to help him.

Zenwenner, I know a lot of people with ADHD are actually calmed by large doses of sugar and caffeine. However, this child is one of the exceptions. He is very sensitive to sugar, in the wrong way. It sends him bouncing off the walls, and he loses any shred of impulse control he had left. He got in trouble so much at school last year. We tried working with the school to allow him to eat in the cafeteria (he was sneaking and eating there anyway, even if we packed his lunch and fed him breakfast at home). They were supposed to withhold sugar, no desserts with his meals. After a couple of his worst incidents, a common thread appeared. They were still allowing him to have orange juice or oranges with meals. That is when we had to start packing his lunch for him. But, he still struggled with learning even though his behavior got a little better. That was before I learned about carbs, which he was still eating a ton of. Last night I baked sugar free, low carb cinnamon rolls so the kids could have a nice breakfast for the first day of school this morning. And, I packed his lunch - a wrap (low carb), some grape tomatoes, cucumber slices, ranch dressing (full fat), cheese, and 45 grams of blueberries with sugar free whipped cream for dessert. Fingers crossed. Hopefully, he will have a good day.

MCT oil can provide a short term boost of ketones for brain energy even in people that don't eat low carb. So, it could give your step son the mental clarity of Keto. It only last for a couple hours after each dose though. So if there were a way to get another dose in at school so it could benefit the whole school day.
Adding Gingko and ginseng could help too. They are both shown to improve memory and clarify as well
MCT doesn't become solid like coconut oil but it has the higher concentration of short chain fatty acids that you would want for ADHD treatment. I add it to coffee but it can be added to cold drinks too. Maybe he could have it as a shot in a bit of flavored water or something... ???
The best price for a high dose caprylic acid oil that I've found so far is the brand MiCkeyT 8 on Amazon.

I wish your husband would consider meds for your son. I don't like the way I feel on days that I don't take them. I feel "normal" when I take them.
Using MCT oil and other supplements has helped slot, but I've taken meds for years so I figure it will take a while to get off of them if I can at all. I may just always need a small dose of stimulant...
I've always used coffee to help too.
My doctor even told me that giving coffee to my daughter with ADHD, in the morning wouldn't hurt. She would never eat or even drink anything in the morning though. But, I guess the fact that she basically fasted til lunch probably helped a bit.
Her last year of school she used Gingko and MCT oil instead of meds.
She had been taking both Adderall XR and Straterra and still didn't feel like it helped. But the MCT oil and Gingko seemed to.

I have the same issue on meds. I'm not a step but he's fairly adamant anyway. And I feel him. I don't want my kid on meds, but if he really really needs it? My oldest son is 12. We homeschool so it isn't the hugest issue, but he has such a hard time. We had hoped he would grow out of some of it, but he's the poster-child for ADHD, and worse than I am (I'm ADD) and I take ginko biloba, and it helps but oh LORD I can tell when it wears off, and I'm a space case sometimes. So I feel his pain. He gets stuck in his head, paces while he's thinking. In public. To the point that he makes other people nervous. I may need to push the issue when he gets older if it keeps up. (An older gentleman talked to him in the grocery line...it took him way too long to get out of his own thoughts to respond. Kinda freaked the guy out a little.) His school work suffers, as he gets distracted while doing it and you can tell in the poor quality of the work. ARGH! Until DH changes his mind, I'll pass him my ginko and maybe look into the MCTs.

This sounds like my son. The doc says he has ADHD - Inattentive - meaning that he is often off in his own head somewhere and just not there when you speak to him. Sometimes I have to get right in his face or snap my fingers to draw his attention before I speak, or he has no clue what I've said. He'll be aware that I'm speaking, but have no idea what I said. It is very frustrating for his teachers. They think he's a "space cadet". I have had him in after school homework club to try and stay on top of what he misses during the day, because he seems to focus better in the smaller group setting. It has helped somewhat. The doc also told me that giving him a stress ball to squeeze when I need him to focus, or some crunchy snack like raw broccoli or carrots, will help keep his attention centred. This does work! When we do homework together now, if he wanders off in his head I bring out the broccoli for him to munch on, and he is way better at staying on task.

baconslave wrote: »

Zenwenner wrote: »

baconslave wrote: »

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

BABetter1 wrote: »

Aserrano79 thank you for giving me a little insight. You have no idea how much that means to me. He constantly interrupts people, and I didn't know why. And, I do think a stimulant med would probably be more effective for him, but DH disagrees and is dead set against it (I am a "Step" so I don't have final say here). So, I'm just doing as much as I can with the diet to try to help him.

Zenwenner, I know a lot of people with ADHD are actually calmed by large doses of sugar and caffeine. However, this child is one of the exceptions. He is very sensitive to sugar, in the wrong way. It sends him bouncing off the walls, and he loses any shred of impulse control he had left. He got in trouble so much at school last year. We tried working with the school to allow him to eat in the cafeteria (he was sneaking and eating there anyway, even if we packed his lunch and fed him breakfast at home). They were supposed to withhold sugar, no desserts with his meals. After a couple of his worst incidents, a common thread appeared. They were still allowing him to have orange juice or oranges with meals. That is when we had to start packing his lunch for him. But, he still struggled with learning even though his behavior got a little better. That was before I learned about carbs, which he was still eating a ton of. Last night I baked sugar free, low carb cinnamon rolls so the kids could have a nice breakfast for the first day of school this morning. And, I packed his lunch - a wrap (low carb), some grape tomatoes, cucumber slices, ranch dressing (full fat), cheese, and 45 grams of blueberries with sugar free whipped cream for dessert. Fingers crossed. Hopefully, he will have a good day.

MCT oil can provide a short term boost of ketones for brain energy even in people that don't eat low carb. So, it could give your step son the mental clarity of Keto. It only last for a couple hours after each dose though. So if there were a way to get another dose in at school so it could benefit the whole school day.
Adding Gingko and ginseng could help too. They are both shown to improve memory and clarify as well
MCT doesn't become solid like coconut oil but it has the higher concentration of short chain fatty acids that you would want for ADHD treatment. I add it to coffee but it can be added to cold drinks too. Maybe he could have it as a shot in a bit of flavored water or something... ???
The best price for a high dose caprylic acid oil that I've found so far is the brand MiCkeyT 8 on Amazon.

I wish your husband would consider meds for your son. I don't like the way I feel on days that I don't take them. I feel "normal" when I take them.
Using MCT oil and other supplements has helped slot, but I've taken meds for years so I figure it will take a while to get off of them if I can at all. I may just always need a small dose of stimulant...
I've always used coffee to help too.
My doctor even told me that giving coffee to my daughter with ADHD, in the morning wouldn't hurt. She would never eat or even drink anything in the morning though. But, I guess the fact that she basically fasted til lunch probably helped a bit.
Her last year of school she used Gingko and MCT oil instead of meds.
She had been taking both Adderall XR and Straterra and still didn't feel like it helped. But the MCT oil and Gingko seemed to.

I have the same issue on meds. I'm not a step but he's fairly adamant anyway. And I feel him. I don't want my kid on meds, but if he really really needs it? My oldest son is 12. We homeschool so it isn't the hugest issue, but he has such a hard time. We had hoped he would grow out of some of it, but he's the poster-child for ADHD, and worse than I am (I'm ADD) and I take ginko biloba, and it helps but oh LORD I can tell when it wears off, and I'm a space case sometimes. So I feel his pain. He gets stuck in his head, paces while he's thinking. In public. To the point that he makes other people nervous. I may need to push the issue when he gets older if it keeps up. (An older gentleman talked to him in the grocery line...it took him way too long to get out of his own thoughts to respond. Kinda freaked the guy out a little.) His school work suffers, as he gets distracted while doing it and you can tell in the poor quality of the work. ARGH! Until DH changes his mind, I'll pass him my ginko and maybe look into the MCTs.

This sounds like my son. The doc says he has ADHD - Inattentive - meaning that he is often off in his own head somewhere and just not there when you speak to him. Sometimes I have to get right in his face or snap my fingers to draw his attention before I speak, or he has no clue what I've said. He'll be aware that I'm speaking, but have no idea what I said. It is very frustrating for his teachers. They think he's a "space cadet". I have had him in after school homework club to try and stay on top of what he misses during the day, because he seems to focus better in the smaller group setting. It has helped somewhat. The doc also told me that giving him a stress ball to squeeze when I need him to focus, or some crunchy snack like raw broccoli or carrots, will help keep his attention centred. This does work! When we do homework together now, if he wanders off in his head I bring out the broccoli for him to munch on, and he is way better at staying on task.

Sounds just like mine. Thanks for the ideas. I'm having him pull out the stress ball. Another problem is that he hears the other kids and just HAS TO come see what's going on. I'm ADD myself. I have some inattentive, as in if I'm reading or thinking, do not talk to me for a sec so I can pull myself out of that mode and hear. And I cope really well most of the time. But when there is too much input sometimes I just have to close my eyes and cover my ears, or have to take DH in a more quiet room so I can focus on what he is saying. I had all 4 kids in a very busy grocery store with me yesterday. They were being rowdy turds and in-fighting. I just had to tell them to can it, close my eyes and ears, and breathe for a few seconds. And sometimes when traffic is hell-mageddon, I make them turn off the radio and shush so I can focus. I really need to take a second dose of the ginko in the afternoon...I never remember though #ADDprobs

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

Don't know if anyone else has favorites.