Another ADD Question - Vitiamin Deficiency = ADD? Supporting a Friend?

My son was diagnosed with ADHD very young. They wanted to medicate him but I wouldn't let them. I was sure he had food allergies and that was the cause. This was a long time ago. I took him to a homeopathic doctor who did allergy testing and gave me remedies and supplements. It all helped a lot! The thing that really turned things around for me was cutting out gluten. My son was allergic to gluten and that caused most of his symptoms. But my doctor didn't test for that back 16 years ago. But that helped even more than all the remedies and supplements, although those things were definately better than nothing. I never did the medication. There are so many alternatives out there. It depends on what's causing the problem. I'm sure there is a lot of reasons behind this problem. Especially if the medication isn't helping. She should see a natural path or homeopathic doctor or chiropractor that does acupuncture. It really does help because they go the root of the problem where as regular doctors tend to treat the symptoms with medication. It might also help for her to keep a journal about what her son eats, when she cleans and what cleaning products she uses, when he rides in a car etc. and what his symptoms are. She can even jot things on a calendar and maybe she'll see a pattern to see what is causing the symptoms. Some vitamins aren't good to give extra. I'm assuming she knows this especially if she's doing her research. But I gave extra vitamins and supplements because my son was deficient and caused some of the symptoms. I did have everyone criticize me for doing my own research and going to a homeopath and not just putting him on meds. But it worked. My son is now getting ready to graduate from HS early and start college. You're a good friend to check into this for her. I wish you all the best!

I have never had to run the series but I believe there are four types of meds two are stimulant, one I know little about and the fourth is Stratera.

Both stimulant types work on all my kids except one, he is on Stratera which I don't think does squat but he is doing okay so we will leave it be.

ADD is not an environmental disorder it is genetic. If diets work you don't have ADD.

Why doesn't she at least play around with this during the summer when it doesn't impact his school and his friends so much?

Please do not discourage her from stopping the medicine. Have her take him to an allergist or food specialist. Food plays a large part in how we react to thing. My son was asked to be put on meds by his school in grade school. I refused and instead changed his diet. We used the Feingold recipe also. We also discovered part of his behavior was he was bored. He tested out at genius range. Once he learns something he does not want to repeat it. We finally homeschooled him to allow him to learn as fast as he wanted.

He will be 29 Saturday and expecting his second daughter Saturday. He will never hold a 9-5 job but loves being special project manager in sound, lighting and video at Liberty University. He also DJ's on Saturday for Weddings.

He and his lovely wife watch what they eat and no longer have any problems.

The treatment can be expensive. My son's meds are about 60 a month (just one med) and the psych appt is 50, then there is behavioral counseling, and it takes time to find a good doctor and sometimes time to find good meds. Trying one and giving up isn't really the answer. Some people do have ADHD type symptoms that are in reality food allergies. Vitamin deficiencies....no. ADHD is a neurological condition that is real and very treatable, but that doesn't mean that getting to that place where it is well controlled is easy or cheap. There are several different drug choices, most are stimulants but some are not, but have their own issues, and every person responds differently.

I would suggest she look into educating herself more and ask around for recommendations of good doctors and therapists. Go to a doc who really knows kids and really knows meds, not a pediatrician, not an adult psychiatrist. Yes, they can write the scripts but imho they don't know enough to really effectively manage meds esp when something doesn't work or needs adjusting. The best source of info and most support I found after my son was diagnosed was CHADD, Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder. Great info on their website, and usually there is a local chapter of people you can go to that hold great informational and support meetings. http://www.chadd.org They also offer parent training.

It is a wild ride, and not an easy one. And most people don't want to hear about it but your friend needs a shoulder. Coming to terms with having a child with some special needs is very emotionally difficult.

This is a very contenscious issue. All 3 of my boys have ADHD to a varying degree and I absolutely REFUSE to medicate them. We monitor their diet like hawks and they get nothing that is not all natural or organic.

Doctors are very little help on the ADHD front. Most were not trained in it in med school to a good degree. You need to see a psychologist or psychiatrist for proper diagnosis and treatment. Pediatricians DO NOT have the proper training to treat other than pharmaceuticals.

There are so many other things you can do for your children than have them pop a pill. Behavior modification, diet modification, etc. The real issue is, you friend can't just give her son more vitamins. Some vitamins are harmful in large doses. What she can do is give him more ALA omega 3 oil. That is a specific nutrient that is known to help with ADHD symptoms and, it is also heart healthy. It is another website of the Feingold organization that Stacy mentioned. LOTS of good information!!!

Have your friend go to the website ADHDdiet.com for lots of good, scientifically backed information on the connection to diet and behavior. It has saved our family! It is another website of the Feingold organization that Stacy mentioned. LOTS of good information!!! We are a Feingold family and I highly recommend it!

Until you have a kid with these challenges it's pretty hard to understand what it is to be frustrated with doctors who are bent on going strictly with the pharmaceutical route to solve things. Plain and simple, pharmaceuticals don't cure, they just help "some" people manage their disorder so they can accomplish day to day tasks. And that is the ideal. For most, they still have the problem and others the drugs don't work at all. ADD and ADHD is usually a symptom of a larger issue like a sensory processing disorder or Asperger's/Autism.

Here are some resources she may be interested in if she hasn't explored them already. Some are affordable, others expensive and not covered by insurance. But she may find the investment worth it, if she's not having luck with traditional approaches:

www.diannecraft.org (her books and particularly her dvd titled "The Biology of Behavior" is phenomenal and very helpful. The entire site is a wealth of information and help. I highly recommend she buy all of Dianne's books, it's worth the money.

www.brainbalancecenters.com

www.learningrx.com

www.headsupnow.com

www.sizzlebop.com

http://www.autismshop.com/store/help.php?section=about

My mom is a nurse and my sister was severe ADHD growing up. She has since outgorwn a lot of it. She was not medicated until highschool. While in elementary school my mom found this diet. I don't remember what doctor developed it but it was basically no artificial colors or flavors, and it also eliminated some fruits like apples and grapes. These have natural sugars called salicilates that can trigger ADD/ADHD episodes. Sounds to me like the school isn't doing enough to help her son. There is no reason he should be held back twice and possibly a third time?? that's nuts. Most schools have programs in place to help kids with learning disabilities and issues like ADD/ADHD. Since he was diagnosed the school should be doing more to help him stay at his grade level. I would suggest that your friend contact the school counselor, they should have stepped in already but I find more often than not parents have to ask for their involvement.

I would also suggest she find a support group for parents, I'm sure there is one out there even if it's just an online bulletin board or group like this one. Next she must speak with the pediatrician or child psychiatrist about how to manage the ADD without meds. If the doctor just wants to push meds, find another doctor. There are a lot of meds and a lot of things that can be done. If the pediatrician is not much help then she should find a child psychiatrist. Psychiatrists are MD's that can help with medication management but should also be able to help avoid meds. If her medical insurance doesn't have a behavioral health ryder (most do) then she should search for low cost programs in her area.

I think if she is able to connect with other parents of ADD kids she may feel better. www.babycenter.com probably has a bulletin board for this, they have a lot of great info!

Both of my kids have been on vitamins since they were old enough to chew and they are ADD and ADHD so I don't think "lack" of vits has anything to do with it. My son, who is ADHD had to have 3 diff meds before we found one that "sort of" works. My med doc said to take him to a child psych since they "specialize" in this and can regulate his meds. I've had to wait 3 months to get an appointment and its tomorrow. So this is NOT something she should be trying to do on her own. If she has insurance, have her get a referral and make an appt for a child psych and they should be able to diagnose him correctly and get him on the right meds. Good luck.

Back when my son was diagnosed there were only a couple of meds out there for ADD/ADHD. Now there are quite a few out there, the thing is each person reacts to medications different.

The thing about vit deficiency is she needs to be very careful with it, there are water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins, the water soluble ones if you take too much it is fine your kidneys filter it out, if it is the fat soluble ones and there is too much in your system they can build up to toxic levels and cause even more damage.

The first thing - that another poster mentioned - is to rule out if it really is ADD. If it is, then meds will be needed. But food allergies can definitely mimic the symptoms. She needs to look at what she's currently giving him that may be causing the ADD, not what he might be lacking. Meds are not always the answer, and can often cause more harm than good. Don't assume that they're the right thing for her child.

Vitamins are a tricky game and I would wholeheartedly advise her NOT to go that route unless her son is under the care of a pediatrician. Too much of one vitamin or supplement can be harmful.

My advice would to try diet first. My son was diagnosed as ADD last year. We started the Feingold diet (which eliminates all artificial colors, flavors and preservatives). She can find the information at feingold.org, or they have a Facebook page. Within 3 months his psychiatrist said he no longer fit the clinical definition of ADD and that was that. He still had some impulse and hyperactivity issues so we went further and eliminated gluten, soy and dairy. Those issues are now gone as well. We have tested those foods back into his diet now and then and he immediately goes berzerk.
Some kids are just super sensitive to chemicals in the environment.

Having taken psychotropic meds before, you have to give at least 6 weeks before one would see any change/improvement. Not knowing whether this is the case, she may be jumping the gun. also, like Jo W. mentioned, ADD is not a environmental disorder so you cannot "treat" it as such. I would encourage her to look into other medication options. I would also have her speak with a child psychiatrist, not just a family doc if she isn't already. Family practice docs don't 'specialize' in these sorts of things, merely write the script based ontheir best guess and the parents reporting. A Psychiatrist is trained specifically to identify and find the best course of treatment for their patient.

Anytime someone tells you something is wrong with your child and he/she is not perfect, it is the most devastating thing in the world. Even though I suspected it, when the docs said, "your son is ADHD" I was very upset. My husband and I did not want to put him on the narcotic drugs. Neither of us liked the side effects associated with them. I also knew that a diet change was not something our family could do. So I went to our local health food store (Peak Nutrition) and checked in to herbal remedies for ADHD. I settled on Attend by VAXA. It's a homeopathic med. There is also Memorin and Extress that work with the Attend.

My son has been on this medication for 4 years now. It is not an absolute cure-all, he can still have off days. He still has his personality and is not a zombie. He still has his appetite and is not stunted with growth as can be a side effect with the narcotic meds.

i was medicated for ADD for years. i still dont know that if my child has it too, if i would put them on meds.

i am sure they are developing new pills all the time. (but remember, the newer the pill, the less they know about long term effects) but what i took (adderall) was a stimulant. it kept my heart rate constantly high. i had no appetite, and difficulty maintaining weight, and sleeping. extended use lead to the need for additional meds (antipsychotics, and the like - my meds ran about $200/month) to counteract the increased anxiety, and side effects.

but i must say, the difference was dramatic!
it reminded me of when i first got my eye glasses as a child. - before, i could look up at the top of the trees, and could make an educated guess that the fuzzy green at the tops were leaves. but when i got my glasses, i could SEE that they were leaves. this brought confidence.
the adderall made be feel like i wasnt guessing all the time.

but after years on the medication, i knew that it was NOT a permanent solution. i think i could actually feel it hurting my body, as if i were doing street drugs.
they are very addictive, and it took me two years to get off of it - with the help of a homeopath.
I Highly recommend this route vs trying to educate and medicate on her own.
She was devoted, and affordable, as many are, because they feel a personal commitment to their alternative medicine.

her remedies, i have to say, helped more with the depression that comes with the ADD (never "living to potential" or the struggle with how others view your behavior can take a toll)
i wish i could say that i now longer feel the ADD in my everyday life. but that is not true. it is still there, and some days, i really miss my old medication. but i still feel like i did the right thing, for my body.

there are other ways of dealing with ADD. sometimes diet and exercise help. also, a ADD coach can help one to create external structure in ones life to make everyday things easier. there are skills that can be taught.

maybe instead of pushing her in a direction she is not comfortable with (and rightly so), you could help her research the one she is!

my bottom line.... meds are a LAST resort, not the "go to" fix.