ADD/ADHD Natural Treatments?

Another resource for natural holistic options to presecriptions might be for products from a company called Symmetry. I would recommend calling Beth Schupanitz (super nice, very knowledgable and a mommy to CJ) at ###-###-#### and she can tell you which product or products might be helpful and worth considering and you can research them further on their website or their literature. The website is www.healthwellnesslongevity.com.
Also, I saw the post from Nichi Hirsch and I can state she is a great resource for holistic alternatives for kids and families.
There's a lot of different options and you may need to go through a few or combine a few to get to results that work for you and your child.
Good luck.

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I belong to another post forum and here is a response to one of the very knowledgable and trusted members there to a similar question:

"Saw Chunky's post on ADHD ADD and Ritalin. Will add my experience with my son, for the hope that it will help someone else avoid the same trap.

"My son was always hyper. When it interfered with his schooling, we had the "best"pediatrician in town. He put him on Ritalin and Melloril.

"A few months later I noticed psychotic behavior in things he would draw.
We took a trip to Las Vegas to visit my sister. She had given him some
candy. When we were at Bakersfield on the return trip after he had eaten in, he started acting like a wildman. Yelling and screaming, complaining I was making the car shake (bumpy road), etc. That made me realize the SUGAR was the cause of his behavior. The Dr had him psychiatrically evaluated.,they said he should be institutionalized. I refused to buy it. Went to the Library (no internet then), got out the Physicians Desk Reference
and read. A well known side effect of Ritalin and Melloril is to
CAUSE psychosis. I also noticed he was being vastly overdosed. The PDR had a case history that parallelled my son's behavior.

"Went to the Dr.'s office. Told him I believed my son was being overdosed, and tht the psychosis was caused by the medication and asked him to go into his office and read the Physician's Desk Reference.

"He did so, and when he came back he said "you are right, but I don't think we should cease all at once." I said I agree, so we phased him off of it,slowly over 2 weeks. We also cut out all sugar in his diet. The funny thing is, he said he felt better, and then became very conscious of watching his
diet.

"He would still get hyper, but found out that physical exercise like running would take care of it. We sent him to a school in the woods in CA at Hyampom for 2 years. He did very well there, they would send him out to
run when he got hyper. He was no longer on drugs.

"He graduated from High School in Modesto with bettefr than average grades, and joined the Marines (Something that really ovefwhelmed me, because he had to get Washington to give him a waiver for a loose knee, which he handled himself at 18.) He served two years in the Pacific, and thank God was never in combat. They made him into a cook. When he
got out he went into printing for 10 years."

Now my experinces: I hope this helps you as it did me. My 5 year old just started kindergarten this year and the teachers have been pushing me to ge thim tested. My mom was pushed to have me put on some drug when I was little for ADHD. She refused and so have I. I have found that my son is bored. He learns differently than the majority of kids, meaning he is very hands on and doesn't do well with just sitting. He is not hyper, but busy. And he is not naughty, but bored and then "gets into things". My experience with him is that I make sure to challenge him with activities at home and make sure he has plenty of time to "burn off" extra energy wit outside play, etc.

I hope this helps you. You can contact me if you want to chat about it more! :o)
M.

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Hi L... Have you heard of Melaleuca?? It is an awesome company that has better safer products for your home and A vitamin you can try that might help your son. I have a live web cast available for you to see on your computer, If your interested?? Let me know by emailing me with your Full name, Phone number and email address. Once you get the toxins out of your house and replace with safer, non toxic products, you will see the difference in your son Guaranteed!!
Thanks W.
____@____.com ###-###-####

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DO NOT DO THE ADDERAL!!! my son was diagnosed with ADHD through school and psyciatrist... he was put on adderal first and went straight from a completely potty trained, no accidents even at night at age 3 to peeing his pants and bed everyday and night. Basically as if we never potty trained him. Embarrassing since he's 6 now. He's getting better and more calmer now that I have him on Concerta, but I am looking into other ways to help him instead. I am just going to wait until out of school for summer before taking him off the Concerta.

Good Luck,
H.

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Hi L. B,
I'm a L. B too. My 8.5 year old son has never officially been tested for AD/HD but he fits the bill. I started him on an antioxidant called Pyconogenol. Also available at GNC. It is derived from the Meritime pine tree and has been around for over 30 years. Do a Google and there is a lot of information about it. It does help and there aren't any negative side effects. My son is more calm and seems easier going.
By the way, does your son still wet the bed? How is school going? Best of luck, L. B

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First I would suggest chiropractic-check the ICPA4kids website for a chiropractor who specializes in children.
You could also use homeopathy, many use it and are successful under the supervision of a homeopath and the other option is naturopathy. Dr. Amy Johnson-Grass of Health Foundations: ###-###-#### is a great resource.
Nichi Hirsch
MyHealthyBeginning.com

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L.-

I don't know much about natural treatments, but I used to be a special ed teacher, and I commend you for your efforts. I just want to applaud you for looking for ways other than medication to help your child. It can be overwhelming when doctors and even teachers are trying to persuade you to put your child on meds. Meds are not the right choice for all children (in my opinion, most children). Good luck with your search for natural methods. In the mean time, try limiting his TV time and watching his sugar/caffeine intake. It's worked wonders for some children I've known.

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There is so much out there that you can try for your son and I greatly respect you for looking into additional options! However, retail vitamins may not be the best choice - they often contain preservatives or coatings that are challenging to digest. You might want to talk to a naturapathic physician who specialized in children (try Woodwinds Natural care center or MN Association of Naturapthic Physicians). An ND or a Licensed Nutritionist may also help with finding dietary balance, supplements, or identifying allergies. Also, you might want to look into parenting coaching (try Adler Graduate School Resource Page) to see if there is any behavior modication techniques you can learn, mind-body therapies, cranial sacral or energy therapies. There is so much out there the hardest part is looking through the research and information. The National Institute for Health has an office of complementary and alternative medicine that has some research online (as well as resources) and then of course research articles on PubMed CAM. Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Woodwinds Hospital, and the U of M Center for Spiritualiy and Healing have some amazing providers (I have studied with some)- each with their own gift. Plus, find support for yourself through this process. There is also some amazing research done in biofeedback at Hennepin County Medical Center for ADHD. I wish you the best - I have seen so many children benefit from alternative health care choices. Please support yourself throughout the process - we cannot be there for others unless we are first there for ourselves. Unfortunately, many doctor are unaware of available treatments, but some are turning around. There are refferal websites - holisticphyicians.org and holistic physicians.info that specializing in board certified holistic physicians. Take Care.

- N.