I am hoping to get some advice about supplements. We have been using supplements for my 7 year old son with ADHD for about a year. He was doing great for awhile. It was amazing. Over the past couple of months, though, it is like he isn’t even on supplements- tantrums, not listening, interrupting constantly, forgetting things, problems in school. Has anyone else had this issue? Should we increase the dosage?
It is so discouraging to go backwards?
Which supplements are you on and what brand? It makes a difference because the supplement industry is not regulated and you have to be careful what you buy.
It also could be he needs something else in conjunction with it...Like if he is on omega 3, you may need something to heal his gut. A lot of kids with learning issues have an imbalance in their gut so he may need something that addresses that.
He is on Calm Multi which has Omega3 DHA and EPA , magnesium, calcium and amino acids. He also takes probiotics for his gut.
Hi can you please tell me which brands you use? Probiotic too? Glad it helped before. Would like to try same.
Sure! The Calm is from Natural Vitality. I am not going to lie - he hates taking it. It is liquid and we put it in orange juice. It doesn’t taste good though. The probiotics are Smarty Pants. Somehow the good bacteria in the stomach is linked to the brain. Good luck. Hope it helps. It worked great for us for a while!
Thank you
Hi! Does your son takes any prescribed medication for his ADHD too?
No, not yet. We were trying to avoid doing that if possible.
My son is on the Nemechek protocol which a lot of people are having success with. Dr. N is very particular about the omega 3 he prescribes. Most are not pure. He recommends only Nordic Natural and Now brands. Also, he is against probiotics and only prescribes inulin as a prebiotic. There is some controversy on probiotics so you may want to consider not giving it to your son. He's also against all multi vitamins. Of course there are different thoughts on this. But Dr. Nemechek is having success healing kids with autism, ADHD and other issues. But of course not one protocol will work for all kids. There is a FB page where you can get all the info you need if you're interested.
I will check it out! Thank you!
If you increase please make sure a dr supervises to make sure you are giving an acceptable amount. We are also using a number of suplements and go for blood work to monitor where my son’s levels are.
Good point. I need to find a new doctor. Mine just wanted him to go on medication and not even try supplements! Thank you for replying.
What supplements do you use?
In the morning he takes B12 and zinc. In the evening he takes fish oil, magnesium, iron, and vitamin D.
Hi which brands do you use of those supplements? Does your regular psychiatrist advice a little these? Our psychiatrist only advises about omega. Others she doesn’t believe in😞
For the fish oil the psychiatrist recommended Nordic naturals. I get the minis with the highest dose since 1000 to 2000 IUs are recommended but my son can’t take the larger pills. The ones he takes have D3. The psychiatrist did not recommend brands for the other pills, just dosages. I did the B12 in methylcobalamine form. The magnesium is magnesium glycinate as recommended. He takes a lower dose iron pill. And the zinc is pretty low too. I just select them on amazon so I get them quickly. Some of the oils can be pretty pricey.
Hi did the psychiatrist recommend high doses for B12, magnesium and zinc?
15mg for zinc, 500 micrograms B12, 65 mg iron, 300 mg magnesium glycinate, 1000 IU of D3
Thanks so much. And you just buy any brand from amazon right?
I bought Jarrow for B12, Carlson for zinc, ultimate omega 2x mini soft gels Nordic naturals for fish oil D3,pure magnesium but make sure you get the glycinate, and the iron I grabbed at Walgreens because they had the right dose.
How much zinc ? And what brand please
Carlson for zinc 15 mg
We don’t use separate supplements anymore. We now use broad spectrum micronutrients from Hardy Nutritionals under the direction of a psychiatrist.
I have had amazing success with my 9 year old with ADHD, his symptoms have almost completely disappeared and he no longer suffers from insomnia, hyperactivity, impulsivity. Consider testing children with ADHD for kryptopyrroles, very common with ADHD, my son was elevated and it just meant I have to give him higher doses of Zinc and B6. He also tested positive for the MTHFR gene mutation which again can be common in ADHD, it means the body and brain isn't able to use regular folic acid and he needs to be given a methylated form of folic acid methylfolate instead. All 3 of these nutrients are essential for neurotransmitter formation, especially dopamine.
I also give him magnesium, omega 3 from Nordic Naturals, probiotics.
Read a book by Dr James Greenblatt called Finally Focused, its very good, he has had lots of success treating ADHD with nutrients but he does recommend testing and the ones I mentioned are some of them. Also doctors who do this nutrient therapy for ADHD can be found on the Clinical Resources page of the Walsh Research Institute website.
Good luck,
Emma
Thank you so much. That is very helpful! I was just thinking how am I going to find a doctor that will do all those tests. I will definitely check out that website. Thank you again!
Which magnesium brand do you give?
And what B vitamin brand? Thabks for help.
I use mega foods B complex
Once you’ve read up about the tests and decided which ones you want to do I can point you in the right direction. There are Drs who practice this protocol listed on the clinical resource page on the Walsh institute website. Im a nutritionist so was able to order them myself. Highly recommend reading Dr Greenblatts book. Also read The Walsh Insitute website.
My son is able to swallow vitamins now so I give him capsules.
Thank you so much! That is very helpful!
Anyone here uses Vayarin instead of fish oil?
What is Vayarin?
Vayarin is prescription strength fish oil and it has phosphatidylserine which I guess is the carrier molecule of omega to the brain. Now you don’t need a prescription for it and can prefer it online. But I haven’t seen much difference. Some people see big difference
Thank you!
Had my grandson on Vayarin for a couple of years when it was prescription. Never saw much of a difference whether he was on or off.
Hi there, I have Inattentive ADHD, and take a combination of a small dose stimulant medication with supplements. People with ADHD lack multiple neurotransmitters, and the ones I mention below I believe are of the most crucial importance. When you have a low level of a neurotransmitter, it basically gives you major difficulty in the areas that it would otherwise be helping you out in. Stimulant medications primarily work with Dopamine and Norepinephrine, which takes care of those neurotransmitters, but what about those other important ones? Supplements, besides helping fight off bad side effects from stimulant medication, can also help with synthesis of these neurotransmitters we lack.
A strategy plan when it comes to supplements and ADHD, should include aiming to help the brain with the specific neurotransmitters that give us the most trouble. The following neurotransmitters should be addressed.
Dopamine : A neurotransmitter in the brain that affects your levels of concentration, motivation, pleasure senses, and sense of pain.
Norepinephrine : A neurotransmitter and stress hormone that deals with attentiveness, emotions, impulse control, planning ahead, sleep, and interpreting actions of others.
Serotonin : A neurotransmitter that deals with mood regulation, sleep, nervousness, empathy, appetite, digestion, and sexual urges.
Acetylcholine : A neurotransmitter that deals with muscle contraction, pain responses, mood regulation, REM sleep, and coordination.
theres a link on my profile page of a google doc I made of every supplement I take. It mentions what grocery stores and online stores (Amazon has all of these supplements a lot cheaper than markets like Sprouts and Whole Foods) sell these supplements, and some information about each of the supplements and how they help out people with ADHD, in case you're interested. Supplements have greatly helped me out, and have also done wonders for some families and individuals I've worked with. I'm finishing up grad school and will be going on to obtain my PhD. as a Clinical Psychologist (supplements, along with my medication have been a tremendous help). I've studied neurochemistry and supplement intake for about 4 years now, and made this google doc specifically for people who want to find the info in one easy place, since there is a lot of information out there and it can be quite overwhelming. Hope this helps.
Thank you so much! How can I get access to your Google docs page?
No prob.
If you click my pic it will take you to my profile, and in the bio section you'll see the link to the google doc.
Awesome! Thank you!
Hi there
My daughter is 9 years old. She has ADHD combined type with anxiety and high functioning autism. Could you recommend some supplements that would be good for her. She is on focalin, clonodine and zoloft
Right now I have her taking magnesium , zinc, probiotic, multivitamin and flaxseed oil
Thank you
Not sure how this would work for us.. so you mean your child has video games everyday?
Not ours, we only have them on Friday if the week has not F's.
Also does your grout only get clean when he lies? Our son helps to clean his bathroom often.
The other thing is that the lies for bn ot just with us, but even when he is chatting with his buddies about a situation...instead of oi ne thing he will lie and make it much more "grand", I don't think I could punish over that.
Anyway, that's for the advice.
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