New to ADD, without the H

[rosemarygrace]

Hi everyone, I'm new here as we're just about to get the formal diagnosis of ADD for my 8 year old daughter. I've been poking around, and everything seems to be tailored to ADHD, which she doesn't have, she has ADD, she's not hyperactive at all. I'd love any thoughts, links, treatments that have worked, and just stories of those with just ADD. I want to help her, but most of what I'm reading is to deal with the hyperactivity/defiance piece, and she is actually quite calm, sweet, and cooperative, she just has executive function issues (think remote in the fridge getting a glass of milk type stuff, all day every day). She really wants to put her shoes in her shoe bin, but can't resist the doll on the table as she walks by. Thanks in advance!

[Hidden]

They don't call it add anymore it is ADHD inattentive type. My son has the combined type which means he has ADHD inattentive, ADHD impulsivity, and ADHD hyperactive

His medicine does help. I wish I could give more advice

[Eclecticentric77]

Hi there, I have Inattentive ADHD as well and was not diagnosed until my mid 20s. Inattentive ADHD used to be known as just ADD without the H a few years back. I am not hyperactive at all and can sit still and gaze and get lost in my thoughts easily. I had no idea there were different subtypes of ADHD growing up since the media does not really give a spotlight to Inattentive ADHD, and the Hyperactive subtype is usually the one most people know. I always knew there was something extremely different about me growing up. I went through absolute hell when I went through puberty at 12 and my reward system (dopamine and serotonin) dropped, along with multiple other neurotransmitters. I was an extremely moody, irritable, melancholy, anxious, emotional person. Music was my one and only escape, I learned to play many instruments and played tons of concerts with 6 different bands. I was almost only happy when I played music, and thank God I had that. My teachers always told me and my parents that I was one of the smartest kids in their class but that I was lazy and did not apply myself (little did I know that lack of motivation and Inattentive ADHD go hand in hand), you have to REALLY LOVE something, to do it in the first place with this subtype. Anyway I thankfully got up to 2 years done in college undiagnosed with no help from medication or supplements. I did the semesters all in my pace, 2 or 3 (sometimes 4) classes a semester because that was all I could handle. After discovering Inattentive ADHD in my own studies in college, I was blown away from how I fit practically every symptom of Inattentive ADHD, because for years I did not think I had ADHD, due to me not being Hyperactive at all, quite the opposite. So I researched medication options and the different types of ADHD for 6 months before I finally went and got myself diagnosed. Started taking a small dose of stimulant medication (10mg Adderall 2x a day) taken with an extremely helpful mix of supplements to fight off all negative side effects and help the medication work to its full potential, and it was a NIGHT AND DAY difference. I finally felt as if someone turned the ON switch on in my brain, and finally understood why people looked forward to getting up the next day, how people did multiple things during the day, how people actually continued with projects and a plethora of other things. Long story short, I continued on to university and graduated and received my Bachelor's degree in Psychology and have been studying ADHD now for the past 4 years and will be doing my dissertation on Inattentive ADHD. I am currently in grad school to become an MFT Psychologist in order to help people with this very condition, who like me, have struggled for years. I am also working on a film to shed more light on this condition and subtype, theres a huge amount of untouched research that I hope to bring to the table in the years to come. If your daughter is not taking medication, do her a favor and get her the help she needs. I had no one to help me as a little boy, I felt inferior, like I lived in a world where I did not belong, and school was quite difficult for me. No child deserves to go through that. There are multiple stimulant medication choices, and you can start at a low dosage, I take 10mg of Adderall and that is my therapeutic dose, anything more I feel would be too much, some people need more, others less.

Most psychiatrist do not mention anything about supplements, which is something I really hope to help change in the future, because supplements by themselves, and with medication, are extremely helpful and beneficial. Lots of people with ADHD get great help from their stimulant medication but sadly the side effects force a lot of people to stop, and unfortunately lots of people don't know that supplements can help fight off a lot of the common side effects from taking stimulant medication. Also after using stimulant medication continuously for a few months or so, the medication will start losing its effects. The reason for this is because of the depletion of specific neurotransmitters (Dopamine and Norepinephrine), and in consequence of boosting Dopamine frequently, Serotonin will go down as well. Supplements help eliminate those negative side effects and help out with depletion so the medication can keep working to its full potential. These supplements are safe for kids to take, and some of these supplement companies even make these supplements with kids in mind, and make them in gummy and chewable form.

I take a variety of supplements now, but here are the one's I started out with that are of essential importance in my opinion.

1. COQ10: this supplement is to keep your heart safe, and not cause a rise in your heart rate, which is common with stimulant medication.

2. Magnesium Chelated: This supplement is great for digestion and helps the body in digesting and absorbing the medication. Chelated form is the most bioactive form of Magnesium.

3. Flaxseed oil or an organic fish oil: I take a flaxseed oil supplement because of the benefits of EPA and DHA, which from research I have done is great for people with ADHD and goes great with stimulant medication as well.

4. A good multivitamin with Antioxidants

5. A newer one for me that I would recommend is R-Alpha Lipoic Acid (RALA). Stimulant medication produces oxidation in the body, which is not good for you, so the body needs a strong source of antioxidants. RALA is known as one of the strongest antioxidants out there and makes my medication feel smoother and fresh. It also helps the brain utilize the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine, which is one of the multiple neurotransmitters we lack. Because of this, my moods do not drift dramatically, and I feel more at ease. I also drink matcha green tea for its immense antioxidant and Serotonin (from the high theanine levels) boosting properties.

6. Some people feel really sad or irritable once the medication wears off. For this I would recommend the supplement N-Acetyl Tyrosine. This supplement works by helping the brain bring back up the levels of the neurotransmitters Dopamine and Norepinephrine, which are temporarily low after stimulant medication wears off, since most stimulant medications work primarily with those two neurotransmitters.

7. This supplement I recommend to take after a few months of starting medication. It's called L-Tryptophan. It is in my opinion the best supplement to take to help the brain with Serotonin due to it being the direct precursor to Serotonin, unlike 5HTP and others mentioned.

theres a link on my profile page of a book I published on Inattentive ADHD where I share my story, and a long list of tactics to overcome the major issues of ADHD. I also have a link on there of a youtube video series, where I discuss the issues people with Inattentive ADHD face through the lifespan, from elementary school to adulthood. There is also a link to a google doc I made of every supplement I take along with the ones I mentioned. It mentions what grocery stores and online stores (mostly Amazon) sell these supplements, and information about each of the supplements and how they help out people with ADHD, just in case you're interested, hope this helps.