Natural treatment for ADHD

[Luluisaac15]

Greetings All

Have any of you or do any of you treat your child's ADHD naturally, and find it successful? If so, how?

By the way, my son also has SPD, and is and extremely picky eater.

[spb1234]

There aren’t really any natural ways of treating ADD/ADHD. Go to your child’s physician and ask about medication. I get that going natural can have its benefits, however, when it comes to Attention Deficit there are no natural “fixes”, and when you deny your child medication that can help balance out their brain chemistry you are actually doing a lot more harm than you are good. Trust me, I am someone who has suffered from the effects of ADD each and every day since I was I the fourth grade to now being in college, and I have been medicated the entire time. It makes a very clear difference, for the good of course. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my meds.

[Luluisaac15 in reply to spb1234]

Thank you for your reply. My son does take medication. But I still struggle with that decision ( side effects, long term effects ), and I like to hear from others, and their experiences , not just with medication, but from those who’ve taken a holistic approach . A few people have recommended a psychiatrist as far as figuring out which medication works best, I will be looking into that next. Because the medication my son is currently taking, suppresses his appetite . Mind you he is already thin, and a picky eater.

[spb1234 in reply to Luluisaac15]

The only long term effects of taking ADD meds are good ones, ie being able to think straight other than that there are none. The reason for that is because our brains lack the chemicals that the meds provide for us so the only negative part about it is when we grow tolerances to certain medications. And I can understand with the appetite, I don’t eat or drink water as much as I should but when I do it’s usually because I told myself to. Your son just has to get into the habit of eating. A good way of doing that now as he is younger is to just give him little reminders to eat a snack every few hours, that’s what I’ve done for myself in the past. Anyway I wish you and your son the best of luck

[Adhdmama00 in reply to spb1234]

To say “the only long term side effects are good ones” simply is not true.

[Adhdmama00 in reply to Luluisaac15]

I’m in the same boat! My son takes medicine but I also work with a functional medicine Dr.

Really want a holistic approach. All of these meds (while they can be helpful) are NOT without unwanted and sometimes downright dangerous side effects.

[Luluisaac15 in reply to Adhdmama00]

I agree with you. We are no longer doing medication ( since June 2019). He was having more anger outbursts , and he had significant weight loss.

[Adhdmama00 in reply to Luluisaac15]

Can I ask if you’ve found something other than meds that is helping? My son has lost a lot of weight too

[Adhdmama00 in reply to Adhdmama00]

I did just listen to a really clear, informative podcast on ADHD meds this AM. Parenting ADHD with Penny Williams. Finding the right med is such a trial and error process - it’s challenging.

[Luluisaac15 in reply to Adhdmama00]

It really is. I follow Penny on Instagram, very informative. We tried three different medications, before I said no more.

So far we have been able to manage. He has a 504 plan at school, school based therapy. He also excels in sports. He loves soccer, and is actually playing for a club. We spend a lot of time outdoors, and doing things he loves. It’s not perfect, and he still has some difficulty with impulse control, emotional outbursts. I’m looking into parent coaching next. I feel that the way we respond can make a huge difference.

I’m very mindful of his diet as well, although he is a very picky eater.

I heard good things about micronutrients, and ordered some over the weekend (Hardy Nutritional).

[Adhdmama00 in reply to Luluisaac15]

Oh my goodness! Wish our boys could be friends! they sound SO much alike! Mine is 13, plays soccer (and hockey for fun), very slim, eats to live rather than other way around

Thx for chatting with me.

[spb1234 in reply to Adhdmama00]

The thing is, there aren’t any dangerous side effects to these medications. The only one to keep an eye on is loss of appetite. I’ve been taking medications since I was in fourth grade now (I’m now a second year college student) and I have had absolutely zero negative side effects. The only thing I struggle with is eating and drinking water but that’s doesn’t really even affect me that much. What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t throw medication out the window. It can seriously improve your child’s life more than you could ever imagine. It did for me and it very well could for your son.

[Luluisaac15 in reply to spb1234]

I hear you. However, he had a significant weight loss that affected his mood even more. He also plays sports, and he felt faint, and “weak” due to lack of nutrients .