So back in February the bad input house reached an all time high when I had to take my son to a crisis center after an incident at school. Unfortunately, they didn’t do anything to help because he had calmed down and they sent us on our way with a referral to services which weren’t covered by our insurance. My son’s psychiatrist recommended putting him on Prozac in addition to Focalin and Guanfacine. We couldn’t do it. My son is 7, and we just couldn’t. She then said we could try broad spectrum micronutrients and told us there were two companies to pick from. She didn’t recommend one over the other. True Hope offers one caller Empowerplus. Hardy Nutritionals offers one called Daily Essential Nutrients.
We went with the Hardy Nutritionals and started them in February. The dr started him on one capsule twice daily then increased to two capsules twice daily. I didn’t tel the school and had him taking them at home. The teacher commented one day that something was different with him. By the time the psychiatrist increased my son to two pills three times per day light came on and the door opened and he was different. Not perfect, but for the last six weeks he had not had aggressive outbursts, he is off the Guanfacine, and his 2.5 mg dose of Focalin IR is also gone. On the weekends I don’t have him take the Focalin.
If I won the lottery I would gladly buy this stuff for every kid experiencing issues, but that is not the case. Instead, I’m trying to spread the word in hopes everyone would at least look into this and consider it. My good wishes to everyone to keep the faith and keep up the fight!!!
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Cjkchamp
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Wow! That is amazing! So happy to hear that they worked for your son. How slowly did your Psychiatrist increase the micronutrients and when/how did the Psychiatrist start to decrease meds?
Dr. Started him on one capsule two times a day for about two weeks. Then he was increased to two capsules twice per day for a month. I think the next increase didn’t happen for a month because she went on vacation. Then she increased to two capsules three times per day. That is the half dose mark with Hardy Nutritionals. We took him off the Guanfacine right before he started because it was really sedating and not helping with the outbursts. Then he got super hyper!!! At the beginning I felt like I just saw a little more calmness with the micronutrients. His personality was able to shine through. She took him off the mid-day dose of Focalin when we started the two capsules three times per day. Since he is on 5mg XR the next step down is 2.5 mg IR. We see her this week. He is also now on three capsules three times per day. A full dose with Hardy is four capsules three times per day. I don’t know what the dosage is with True Hope.
Cjkchamp- it is so wonderful that you are sharing your experiences with us. So many parent never get to a psychiatrist for their child. Once you do and find the right combo. It is amazing! I want this for each child that "suffers", sucess.
I know what you mean about not perfect, but to be given the power to focus and not be impulsive is amazing! We are so lucky that we can provide that for them.
How big are the capsules? Can you pull them apart and put them in something like applesauce or pudding? My son can swallow pills but he hates taking medication. I don't blame him since he's been on 10 different Rx in the last year and a half. As a side note, good call on the prozac. We did try it and my son (7 now, 6 at the time) became really depressed.
The capsules are pretty good size, but you can also buy it in powder form. Check out the site! They trial packets and the loose powder in a container. I don’t know what the dosing would be. The people at the 800 number are really great to talk to. My son gets fed up with the pills. I explained to him that his body is different and he can’t absorb vitamins the way other people do. He and I take our pills together in the morning and evening. I’m on the optimal balance they sell geared for women. We have made it a family thing! I so hope you consider trying them and wish you the best.
I am going to ask a dumb question...are broad spectrum micro nutrients intended to take the place of the stimulant that helps with focus and impulsivity? Have sleep issues improved (assuming he had a problem sleeping)? I'm not able to follow this forum as much as I'd like so this is new to me. Thank you for sharing!
In many cases they can take the place of medication or allow the dosage of medication to be decreased. My son has been decreased so far. I highly recommend watching the Tedtalk and reading the study. A lot of good information. My son does have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. He is doing much better. Please feel free to ask any questions!!!!
I'm hesitant to start the micro nutrients for my son, because I feel like it's a little scary to manage on my own. Our psychiatrist is unfamiliar and not unsupportive, however can't recommend them. I did speak with a representative from Hardy Nutritionals, which was helpful but also a lot of information. I'm most concerned with taking the nutrients at the same time as his meds (guanfacine, Strattera, Lexapro). As I understand it, the meds can be greatly affected by the nutrients. Ideally he would stop the meds if micronutrients were helping. How did you manage stopping your child's prescriptions?
With my son we did not see a difference starting the micronutrients. It was when he reached a half dose mark that an overnight change happened. So what we were told to watch for is an increase in the side effects from the medication. My son’s side effect was not eating, so that’s what I looked for. But his eating was fine...it was his sleep. He started waking up at night. Not staying awake, but just waking up and coming in our room to stay with us. That’s when the dr decreased his meds. First he was taken off his noon booster dose. Then reduced from the 5mg XR to a 2.5 IR. Then we took him off everything when summer hit.
A close friend has now taken the True Hope version. She has come off her antidepressant. Her son who suffers from anxiety and ADHD is also doing well on them.
I’m not a dr, just a parent. Change is scary, especially after what we have been through or are going through. The beginning dose is small, but I would really like to see you with a psychiatrist who is willing to monitor the meds while possibly decreasing or eliminating medications. Was Hardy able to provide names of doctors in your area? Please keep thinking about trying them. We are courageous people!
I can´t thank you enough for sharing this information about the micronutrients!!! My daughter, 7, has ADHD, but stimulants - while helping with her attention - made her mood and behavior even worse and we had to come to the school all the time when she started 1st grade last year. So we took her off. No meds for us it seemed, since we had tried different ones in different dosage (Intunive, Aderrall, Ritalin), all with the same result in terms of behavior. But of course her attention and behavior problems were still there without meds and our life with her continued to be hell - or always on the edge anyway. After reading your post I started her on DEN and after three weeks she was at 3 x 3 and that´s when all of a sudden it kicked in. She now is her true sunny self again, in much better mood, more responsive to requests and it seems her attention issues also got slightly better so far. This is a miracle!!! I am so glad I tried! At the same time I am kind of mad - how come our pediatrician and two psychiatrists did not seem to know about this???!!! One of the child psychiatrists - who is a clinical professor at Stanford btw, was even unable to diagnose ADHD and just told us to "just talk quietly with her" and "buy her a big stuffed animal" and blamed us for yelling at our daughter when we came to this doctor to seek help. Needled to say that this was not helpful at all. I think everybody should know about the micronutrients - so again - Thank you so much for sharing!!! And I can only encourage people to try.
I am thrilled beyond words that you have found some peace, success, and hope. I love hearing stories of people trying micronutrients. I also am saddened that so many professionals do not put more stock in them. Our own pediatrician is not a believer...I think she is great, but I have to disagree with her. I am grateful the psychiatrist made the recommendation. I wish you continued success and to pay it forward by telling someone else in need about micronutrients. Maybe we can change the lives of children and families one at a time.
Yes, very happy. Been on them since February 2019 and shown improvement since March. Highly recommend families investigate broad spectrum micronutrients whether they choose DEN or True Hope.
We've been using broad spectrum multinutrients (True Hope EMP) for about 6 months with our 6yo daughter and she is having great success. In this time we have noticed a decrease in defiance - she doesnt argue about every little thing, the ability to do things the first time she is asked, increased emotional control, less meltdowns and less intense episodes, better sleep, and greater ability to verbalize how she's feeling or what she needs in the moment which I feel has decreased her tantrums. I've noticed an increase in her ability to actually sit down to an activity for longer than the 2-3mins she typically lasts. She is only in grade 1 but the school has not reported more than once this school year issues with attention so I count that a success too! She does have alot of anxiety as well and I can only speak to slight improvements I've seen but nothing that stands out as significant.
I am so happy that your family has found success with broad spectrum micronutrients. I feel like as time has gone on we continue to see improvements with the micronutrients. You may also want to investigate the supplement L-theanine which promotes relaxation and focus. It is one our psychiatrist is fond of.
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