Anger and ADHD

[Penn66]

My 15 yr old son has intense anger melt downs caused by sensory over load and feeling over whelmed.

He is taking a low dose of concerta. Would a higher dose enable him to handle stress more efficiently?? I’m so exhausted at times!!

[Grandma01]

I just want to give a thought to the many parents. I have no thoughts one way or another about teenagers, but do you encourage sports or after school activities of his or her interest.? Something separate from school and gets them out the house a couple days a week. I truly believe in in/outdoor recreation or therapeutic recreation.

My grandson really enjoys swimming so he's taking th. swimming at the local recr. center that lasts about half hour and then i let him swim freely about an hour afterward. He also takes karate 2 -3 days a week. He enjoys both. I believe he is a well balanced child, with no anger issues or depresdion issues. He's just a very hyper little boy trying to grow up as normal as possible.

If not sports then trips to the local library or museums. Try ut if it doesnt chabfe anything then youve list nithing.

Try weighted products, he maybe to big for a vest but look for products. It has made a difference for my grandson.

[Eclecticentric77]

Hi there, I have the Inattentive subtype of ADHD, and was not diagnosed until my mid 20s. I suspect your son might have the Inattentive subtype as well, because anger and frequently feeling overwhelmed are very common chacteristics of that subtype. I was a angry and bitter person all throughout middle school through my early undergrad college years, and if I had not slept enough of eaten/eaten enough, I would be really irritable and intense. I enjoyed the company of my few close friends, but liked being alone a bit more frequently. Thankfully I now take a mixture of a low dose stimulant with supplements, and it has changed my life for the better. I am currently in grad school to become an MFT psychologist. I have studied ADHD and it's medication for a few years now.

What I would recommend would be to add a few supplements in combination with the medication to help fight off stimulant medication negative side effects. After continous stimulant use, neurotransmitters get depleted, particularly Dopamine, Norepinephrine (both are involved with stimulant medication) and consequently Serotonin because of it's relationship with Dopamine goes down as well. This is where unfortunately major problems start, like feeling like the medication has stopped working, irritability, raised heart/blood pressure. For these I would recommend.

1. N-Acetyl Tyrosine: to help with Dopamine and Norepinephrine depletion. If taken about an hour before the medication wears off, ot greatly helps eliminate the crash and irritability once the med wears off

2. L-TRYPTOPHAN: this helps with Serotonin, which deals with uplifting the mood and lowering anxiety.

3. For safety reasons I would reccomend R-Alpha lipoic acid because of its powerful antioxidant potential, stimulant meds create a lot of oxidation in the body that can cause problems. CoQ10 for the heart/blood pressure, and a good multivitamin.

4. Lastly, give him his space, support him, speak with him and be genuine. As a fellow inattentive adhd type, I felt so alienated and different from everybody else, my mother's support really helped me. Also, I would highly recommend for him to get involved in an activity he likes. For me that was music, I play 15 instruments and played in various bands in my teen years (unfortunately most kids want to be Dj's nowadays, yuck).

On my page I have a list of all the supplements I mentioned, and everything I take and why, it's a link with just info, nothing is being sold. Also if you're interested, I made a series of videos of the struggles Inattentive Adhd subtype of people go through from elementary school to adulthood, it might give some insight and new perspective. Link on my profile. Hope this helps

[Penn66 in reply to Eclecticentric77]

How do I go to your blog? Or videos?

[Eclecticentric77 in reply to Penn66]

If you click my picture it will take you to my profile, once on my profile the links will appear in my bio

[Penn66 in reply to Eclecticentric77]

Wow! That was such an eye opener! My eyes fill with tears when I try to put myself in my son’s shoes.

Thanks for sharing your struggle which can help other kids like my son!

[Eclecticentric77 in reply to Penn66]

It's a struggle, but with the right help it gets much better. You're welcome, my best regards to you and your son

[Hidden in reply to Eclecticentric77]

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[Eclecticentric77 in reply to Hidden]

You're welcome, hope you found some info helpful.

[CKariya in reply to Eclecticentric77]

Hi.. I follow your profile and very thankful for your advice!! Any benefit of Vayarin that you know about? Thank you

[Eclecticentric77 in reply to CKariya]

Hi there, you're welcome, glad it's helpful.

Another parent on here ironically asked me about Vayarin about a month ago. I have never tried it personally but from studying it can tell you that it is based off the theory that people with ADHD have a deficiency in lipids (fats) in the body because of issues of transfer. Interestingly enough Vayarin is known as a "medical food" and is not a stimulant, which is commonly what's prescribed to people with ADHD.

Vayarin contains phosphatidylserine (PS100), EPA, and DHA. All three of those are greatly beneficial to people with ADHD. I take an individual supplement for PS100 and another that contains both EPA and DHA. In case you're interested, if you click on my picture it will take you to my profile page where I have links to supplements I take and why I take them. Nothing is being sold, it's simply a google word doc I put together to help people out. Overall I'd say give Vayarin a try. It would be a good addition to a stimulant medication and also beneficial on its own.

[CKariya in reply to Eclecticentric77]

Thank you very much for your reply. I did go through your profile and it was very helpful. Thank you.

I did have a question about the tyrosine. I bought tyrosine but the brand was pure encapsulation. Do you know anything about this brand? Also what dose of tryptophan and tyrosine good for a 6 year old? Thank you so much.

[Eclecticentric77 in reply to CKariya]

You're very welcome, glad it was helpful. I've never tried any supplements from that company. I just checked their specs, and they seem legit, they claime to be free of artificial ingredients/sweetners. Unfortunately I believe the company only seems to have L-Tyrosine which is not as bioactive as N-Acetyl Tyrosine.

People with ADHD have a huge issue with Dopamine and Norepinephrine (also known as the catecholamines) as you probably know, so the standard 350mg of Tyrosine I believe should be fine. Serotonin deficiency varies across the 3 ADHD subtypes. People who are of the Hyperactive Subtype and Combined subtype both have a higher deficiency of Serotonin and need it more. It's rare that I see Tryptophan with a lower dose than 500mg. If you feel that is too high what you could do instead is, assuming that boosting Serotonin is the goal, is to take L-Theanine instead. Theanine is the natural calming agent found in green tea, that also boosts Serotonin and is 100mg as opposed to 500mg of L-TRYPTOPHAN. I would recommend L-Tryptophan only if the 6 year old is really hyperactive and fidgety and has lots of trouble sitting and staying still. Esentially if they're of the Hyperactive subtype or if they are of the Combined subtype with the larger extent of characteristics leaning towards the hyperactive side.

[CKariya in reply to Eclecticentric77]

Thank you so much. This is very helpful. Yes my son is combined type adhd with mostly impulse control issues. So I think tryptophan would be better than tyrosine alone. Also any supplements that help with anger control? It is such a big issue with him. Thank you very much

[Eclecticentric77 in reply to CKariya]

No prob. Yes I agree that both of them together would be more helpful. The Tryptophan should really help with you son's mood/anger, since Serotonin deals with mood.

I take a supplement called R-Alpha Lipoic acid 100mg, from the company Jarrow Formulas (My favorite company for like 90% of my supplements). Anyway, this supplement is one of the strongest antioxidants options out there, and it helps the brain with another neurotransmitter we lack, which is called Acetylcholine, which deficient levels cause mood changes, coordination issues, muscle aches, learning disabilities, memory problems etc. Out of all the supplements I take, this one really helps me keep my mood even.

[CKariya in reply to Eclecticentric77]

Thank you very much. I will order both of those and hopefully will help! Thank you so much for helping so many others!!

[Eclecticentric77 in reply to CKariya]

Glad to be of some help, hope all goes well

[CKariya in reply to CKariya]

Sorry last question. I remember you saying the timing or order of taking these supplements is important. My son is taking Focalin XR in the morning and Intuniv at 7pm at night. I was wondering when best to take these supplements tyrosine, tryptophan and lipoid acid. Please let me know when you are free

[Elijah1]

Sensory overload is a symptom. Does he have anxiety, mood disorder, or problems with self regulation/impulse control? Addressing the reason should improve the behavior rather than automatically increasing the Concerta dose.

[123boys]

I understand your exhaustion. My 7 year old son has anger along with ADHD. This past weekend at a neighbors party, he got angry with another kid and kicked and spit at another kid. 😞. I am scared that he will never be able to control his anger and that he will suffer an unhappy life.

I hope we can all find solutions to help our children.

[Penn66 in reply to 123boys]

Yes! I hear you!

[anirush]

My 13 year old grandson never had problems with anger until he got into middle school and his Focalin stopped working. We tried Concerta but the anger got so much worse. He is now on intuniv and Wellbutrin and is back to the smiling happy kid I once remembered

[Penn66 in reply to anirush]

Did you say intuniv? Is that a stimulant?

[Want2BHappy3]

You should speak to his doctor about increasing his dosage? Sometimes it needs to be adjusted to fit his needs good luck with that.