Hello,
I am a parent of a teen who has ADHD, mainly the inattentive type. He is 15 now, and we thus far have not medicated. I am so scarred of the meds side effects, dependence and tolerance... Any parent was successful in treating ADHD without meds? How did you do it?
I feel the same way. My son is 12 and we’ve never medicated. He was primarily the inattentive type and now is the combined type. There’s not much we’ve done besides behavioral therapy/counseling. We try to keep him busy with sports and hobbies he’s interested in. Some days are tougher then others but so far not so bad to warrant a trip to the dr for meds. He also has an IEP so he gets a lot of help on school , which is less stress on him when it comes to academics. So basically we’re taking it as it comes. At the moment this is working.
We are using broad spectrum micronutrients. I highly recommend people research them. You may also want to look at the supplement L-theanine as it is supposed to provide a calming focus. Both of these were recommended to us by a psychiatrist, but neither are medications. Wishing you the best!
Hello. My ds is 9 and inattentive. We tried everything over two years and nothing worked. Then we tried meds and his world and mine changed! (In a good way). We haven’t had any side effects
We were told by a few different professionals that the adhd kids who need medication but are not given medication are likely to self medicate in time with marijuana, other things. My son’s whole world changed for the better on medication. We took a parent child conduct class at AIDuPont that was fantastic, too.
My 7 year old is not on medication anymore, took him off in April. Some days are harder than others, but is doing great in school, and has a 504. He attends a STEAM academy, which is very hands on! He takes the following supplements ( Magnesium, Fish Oil), and I’ve changed his diet, limiting sugars, refined carbs. He also has weekly in school therapy, plays soccer and we spend a lot of time outdoors. So far is manageable. In the near future if needed, we will give medication a try again.
Hi! We have a 10 year old, and the road sure has been bumpy. The only time we have put him on meds was only a few months (tried both stimulants and non stimulants) because the school he attended at the time pressured us to put him on meds. I cried a lot because personally it does not align with my values.
He is now thriving because we have found the right teacher for him and he goes to neurofeedback and therapy. He does take Chinese herbal medicine (that’s what I’ve used growing up). My husband and I take parenting lessons, this has been a game changer.
Good luck!
Hi, my son is also ADD inattentive and turning 15 yrs. old next month. I tried to give him stimulants (2 different kinds) twice in the past but the side effects were terrible (high BP, anger, psychosis...) He is very sensitive to meds. I am scared to give him any more meds at this time. He is not medicated so he struggles in school. He has a 504 plan and it needs to be updated. I am considering hiring a tutor for him soon. He is also in therapy/couseling twice a week. I had to make sure he spends time outdoors and doing what he is interested in. Although meds did not work for my son, I heard others are successful so why not try it.
My son is a bit younger (8), and we have been using naturopathic approaches. He sees a chiropractor once a week for gentle, small adjustments. He take a fish oil, antioxidant supplement (NingXia Red), Vitamin C, and Vitamin D daily. We use essential oils all day long topically and aromatically. I also apply a CBD isolate to his spine twice a day. Our next step is adding micronutrients (Hardy Nutritionals and True Hope have been recommended).
Whatever you decide, it will be the right choice for your family.
We chose to wean my son off of high dose of Focalin the summer before 9th grade. He had been on meds for ADD (non HD) since he was in elementary school. It broke my heart to medicate because he was so different on meds. He was the perfect child on meds. Obedient, quiet, good grades etc. but he also had weird side affects. As the dosage went higher and higher over the years to the max for Focalin I decided that was enough, I was willing to try a no;stimulant “vitamin” and do a step down off of meds in combo with Vayarin with help of pediatrician . Omg it was the best thing that ever happened to us! I could kiss his doc for recommendation! He thrived off of meds! His wonderful personality came back. He thanked me over and over for not medicating him anymore. It makes me cry because I feel terrible about it even though it was necessary. He says he hated taking them it made him feel weird. Anyway, Vayarin went out of business but I did research and found vitamins that I give him comparable to Vayarin. He takes Omega -3 phospholipids by Nordic naturals and an 1 pill of ps100 by jarrow. He also takes a multivitamin. Not sure if he grew out of it or if the vitamins really work but I don’t care...I just know he is thriving without meds. I do understand every child is different also, we were just blesssed.
Our 10 yr old son has a mild case of inattentive ADHD. He was thrilled with the help he received from L-Theanine. He is also taking a broad spectrum micronutrient and a magnesium supplement. None of these are meds. I know exactly what you mean about the side effects of meds. We are currently riding that roller coaster with our 7 yr old son. He is also taking all the above mentioned, which definitely helped to a certain degree, but still needs more to be able to manage school.
Mom afraid of new meds
ADHD Meds & Psychosis
Support group for parents of teens with ADHD
Anyone out there who can share success or positive stories? 
Any questions for a 16 yr old with ADHD?
