Parents who do NOT medicate

[Van3939]

Any parents with feedback on helping children manage ADHD symptoms without medicating? If so what are you doing? What are you doing to help improve school performance?

[gracemom3]

Hello Van3939,

Here are a few things I’ve tried without medication. Omega 3 fish oil. I tried a liquid form from health food store, no fishy taste, kids love it and it comes in fruity flavors (Barleans). There is a high potency omega 3 fish oil, Valerium, you have to get a script from doctor but it’s supposed to have better absorbtion.

Higher amounts of protein with every meal & little to no sugar. Best of luck to you.

[Van3939 in reply to gracemom3]

Did that seem to make any difference

[gracemom3 in reply to Van3939]

I absolutely loved the prescription omega 3 but it’s v expensive. With fish oil you can buy at the store (Barleans), I noticed a calming effect. Seemed like my kids responded well to both.

[Pennywink]

I recommend checking out the book Smart but Scattered by Peg Dawson. Making adjustments at home based on this book has helped.

Early & consistent bedtime is critical for us.

At the moment, we haven’t seen any major improvement from dietary changes, except that caffeine can help in a short term pinch (as it is an OTC stimulant.)

[Lisamarie123]

Hi,

We are trying neurofeedback therapy. My son goes twice a week. He will have 40 treatments total. It helped a lot at home with his behavior. He’s still having trouble focusing in school. We are trying acupuncture next week and the acupuncturist also recommended hemp oil. It’s supposed to work wonders for adhd. I just picked that up so we will see how it works.

[Van3939 in reply to Lisamarie123]

Hemp oil?

[Lisamarie123 in reply to Van3939]

Google CBD or hemp oil for ADHD. Also, Hempworx is the brand she sells

[Van3939 in reply to Lisamarie123]

What is cost for nuerofeedback? And it’s out of pocket correct?

[Lisamarie123 in reply to Van3939]

Yes, it’s out of pocket but it can actually correct the brain and fix it. We pay on a payment plan. I think the 40 treatment plan with brain mappings every 10 sessions was around $2000. If you go with it make sure they do the brain mappings too. That will tell them which parts they need to work on. Some places don’t do the mappings. We pay a monthly amount of $200. There is also something called craniosacral therapy which is usually done at a physical therapy office. My brother is a PT and suggested that to us as well.

[Van3939 in reply to Lisamarie123]

Are you seeing improvement with the treatment?

[Lisamarie123 in reply to Van3939]

Yes, we started in July. We saw great improvements over the summer. No more tantrums, acting better, listening better, sitting for dinner time. These were all great improvements for us. He’s still having difficulty in school with focus but we still have 6 more treatments left. We also do not Medicate. We tried it last school year but the side effects were horrible for us.

[Rh2herrera in reply to Lisamarie123]

We do CranioSacral Therapy for my 13 year old son. Has been amazing! We cut back to every 3-4 months for the last year since he was doing so well. Now, I think he needs to go back to every month. 7th grade has been tough for him. Grades dropping, missing assignments, angry issues 🤦🏽‍♀️ I just don’t recognize my son the last 3 months. Looking forward to his visit in March.

[Mmagusin]

Without medication, you’ll need to manage him as if he’s three years younger than his current age. You’ll also need to be hyper vigilant with parenting compared to most. So, more structure, reminders, reward/punishment consistency, balanced diet (proteins!!), 10-12 hours of sleep, lots of physical activity, and most important is showing calm confidence, love, and positivity. How you react to behaviors can be like a treatment.

[Van3939 in reply to Mmagusin]

I would think ADHD is like any chronic illness... the severity and treatment is based on individual... I feel some people can manage with alt methods while others need medication and constant intervention from providers

[Nla1 in reply to Van3939]

Definitely not a chronic Illness... 80 HD people are extremely intelligent and super loving funny and eccentric. What they cannot control is their impulses but they love hard, they play hard etc - 100% for all. It is absolutely manageable without medication, it is just a lot more work for the parents, the school and the community.

[Van3939 in reply to Nla1]

Thank you for that feed back

[Onthemove1971 in reply to Nla1]

I am not sure I agree with you that they can control it without some type of medication(natural or chemical). It is a brain condition and I do not believe they can. When our son's medication has wore off and he is talking and talking, he has no idea they is not normal. He is just telling us a story very intently. It is not until we tell him to finish up the story that he gets to the end quickly. This is just one example where he is not aware of his behavior.

[Nla1 in reply to Onthemove1971]

I think that every person with ADHD is different.... but there is no way I would call ADHD a chronic illness. My 6yr old can be compulsive obsessive and belligerent, but I work hard at building his tools for self regulation and try to initiate conversations about social norms and we practice what to say and not to say/what is appropriate and what is inappropriate, etc... he still struggles with this, but I can see him connecting the dots and getting better at controlling his impulses. At school when he is feel very distracted he actually pulls out a chair, away from the kids and sits down watching the lesson from there. He is learning himself. I feel proud of that small example of self awareness.. Everyone is different - my husband and I are just doing what we intuitively feel is best for him, just as you are with your own child.

[Van3939 in reply to Nla1]

The definition of chronic illness is anything lasting longer than 3 months and can not be cured. That’s exactly what ADHD is. Symptoms and intensity of symptoms vary and treatment methods vary.

[Nla1 in reply to Van3939]

Have you researched Neurofeedback & brain mapping for children with adhd.

It’s worth a shot.

We are looking into it.

All the best to you.

[Brownstoner in reply to Van3939]

Agreed. It actually is defined as a chronic illness!

[ScatteredMommy in reply to Nla1]

Why is calling it a chronic illness at odds with recognizing they can also be highly intelligent, funny, and loving? If I told you my cousin had epilepsy and called it a chronic illness would you take that to mean she was unintelligent, dull, and mean? There are various types and levels of epilepsy, some require surgery, some are managed with medication, some are mild and infrequent and don’t require intervention — but they are still all chronic illnesses. Technically I believe ADHD is a disorder rather than a chronic illness, but it is something that for most people requires a lifetime of management.

[Van3939 in reply to ScatteredMommy]

Actually calling it a disorder puts an even more negative connotation to the diagnosis.... adhd has nothing to do with intelligence

[ScatteredMommy in reply to Van3939]

I agree. Illness and disorder say nothing about intelligence. I like to say my brain is wired differently. That comes with pluses and minuses. I don’t want to be normal (boring), but I do want to be able to choose which thoughts to act upon — which is a lot easier on medication. Even knowing that I give my son the choice on non-school time whether to take medication. He consistently chooses medication because he likes himself better that way.

[JoyousExpectation]

Read the book finally focused by dr. Greenblatt. He is a doctor in boston. He is not against meds. He even talks about meds in the book but also talks about other things to do in addition. Like start a magnesium supplement. It really helped my daughter.

[Van3939 in reply to JoyousExpectation]

Thanks I downloaded it and will read this weekwnd

[Van3939 in reply to JoyousExpectation]

How long after starting mag did you see results?

[JoyousExpectation in reply to Van3939]

Hi. It was several weeks after starting that I noticed her tics were gone and her teacher said she was more alert in class. When I stopped magnesium because we ran out and i did not get to a store her tics came back. Started mag again and the tic is gone again.

[Rh2herrera in reply to JoyousExpectation]

Hi, which brand of magnesium do you use/buy?

[Jc101]

I am also a mom who does not Medicate. Not because I’m against it but because as of right now I believe we can manage without it . My son is 7 and recently diagnosed adhd inattentive. This year he is doing academically well, has a lot of friends but honestly gets bored easily in class, gets distracted easily. The hardest part with his diagnosis for me is his anger/frustration issues at home . I am trying different techniques now knowing that a lot of his behaviors are unintentional . I hear people really say supplements of fish oil , vitamin b and also magnesium really help . Could anyone tell me what supplements I should get for him if you have any experience in it?

[Aj01 in reply to Jc101]

Hi!

My husband and I also do not believe in medication for our 11 year son.

Our son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in kindergarten. He would throw chairs in the classroom, it was very hard for him sit still in his chair for a good five seconds, he would throw school supplies at the students in the classroom. And sitting on the bus while going to school was impossible! It was a true nightmare for us.

We didn't have a clue as to what we should do. So we talk with his doctors about what would be the best option to help him to control his behavior. As you guess it, medication!

This did not sit well with us. So I did some research and changed his diet, tried different health food supplements and came across something that really worked well for our son. It is called Valerian Super Calm, liquid form.

It is a herbal dietary supplement for kids.

We gave this to our son for about two weeks and started to see improvements in his behavior and it slowed down the amount of times he would want to get out of chair doing a classroom setting. The bad behaviors become less intense.

We noticed when we missed giving him his daily dose, he went back to his same behavior. We rather give him something healthy on a daily basis, with no side effects than giving him meds.

Just remember, what works for one child may not work for another. However, we prayed for guidance and work with his doctors, teachers, and try to provide what is best for our son.

Hope this helps!

[MaudQ]

Following. We have a dual diagnosis of ADHD and anxiety and have been counseled to medicate for the anxiety but not the ADHD yet. We have accommodations at school and routines and modifications at home. Agree about the additional vigilance and treating your kid as if they were a few years younger. Also using melatonin at bedtime which is a miracle - getting enough sleep is everything. Smarty Pants vitamins with omega 3s. Interested to learn more about what others are doing ...