Traumatic Brain Injury and toxic exposure led to misdiagnoses of ADD

[eaw49]

My daughter was diagnosed years ago with ADD. What a struggle it’s been. Just recently, at the age of 29, she went to the Aymen Clinic. Did all the testing which included technical testing, brain scans and blood work. They discovered that she actually had a TBI and toxic exposure. I wish a whole picture was taken years ago. The time, money and self esteem that could of been saved. Please, if you can, get the entire picture. I wonder how many people are often misdiagnosed?

[Onthemove1971]

Thanks for sharing your daughter's story.

Just curious how the treatment changed?

Did her symptoms change after knowing it was not ADHD?

[eaw49 in reply to Onthemove1971]

Hi! They are definitely changing her treatments. They gave her three pages of things to do for the TBI like having her do cognitive exercise. She is in the very early stages of treatment and in process of running more tests. Trying to figure out what caused or is causing the toxicity. It has been really empowering for her to finally know what’s going on.

[anymusic]

Thanks for sharing! Must be good to finally fully understand the reason! Do you know if it could be caused already during pregnancy or birth?

[eaw49 in reply to anymusic]

Hi, I’m 99% certain the TBI was caused by a car accident she was in. As far as the toxic exposure, we aren’t exactly sure. Hopefully more testing will shed light on that.

[anymusic]

Sorry to hear about the accident.

When you got the add diagnosis, what was your feeling? Did you understand and accept it, did it seem correct?

[eaw49]

When we got her ADD diagnosis we were relieved. At least we had something to work with. But the relief wore off. Everything was a constant struggle for her. Her self esteem really took a dive. She felt frustrated, dumb and could not hold a job. It’s definitely been a journey.

[WilburRiley]

Do you recommend the Amen Clinic? Are they anti-medication if it is deemed necessary? My six-year-old son has been diagnosed with ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, anxiety and depression/ mood disorder and he has constant aggression and violent outbursts. Poor guy is really suffering. We’ve been trying different medications for 1.5 years and nothing has changed. If anything, things have gotten worse. I feel like we need to make a change in our care team or get a second opinion or just do something else because what we are doing (ABA therapy, psychiatry, OT, therapy for parenting strategies) is clearly not working. Sorry to ramble on your post. Just curious if you felt they were reliable and don’t shun medication because I feel it is necessary. I believe there is a place for functional medicine and supplements, etc… I’m just not convinced that that will be the total fix on its own. Do my questions make any sense?Thank you in advance!

Mac

[eaw49 in reply to WilburRiley]

Hi Mac, You are dealing with a lot. I completely understand wanting to figure things out for your son. I have often felt like I was throwing rocks in the dark, hoping we hit something that works for our daughter.

As far as I know the Amen Clinic takes more of a holistic approach. If medication is the best answer for your kid then that’s what they recommend. Same with supplements or cognitive exercise etc.

What I like about them is that they literally look at pretty much everything like blood work, brain scans, comprehensive testing, and history. They don’t just depend on a couple cognitive tests.

That being said, she is in the very early phase of treatment so I can’t tell you if their program works for her yet. But knowing what’s actually going on makes us hopeful that she can finally get the help she needs.

Dr. Amen has some interesting YouTube videos. I recommend checking them out.

I wish you and your family the very best. If you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. Please don’t hesitate to ask.

[Harry73]

Please can you share more details Aymen Clinic . I have an 18yrs old daughter going through the same Journey.

[eaw49]

Hi,

I just realized I spelled the clinics name wrong in my original post. It’s actually Amen Clinic.

The best way for me to describe the Amen Clinic is that that they take an incredibly holistic picture and from there come up with a diagnosis and game plan to help you or loved one to overcome or manage your issues.

I stumbled across Dr. Amen years ago when I was researching solutions for my daughter and didn’t realize that he had clinics until fairly recently.

He has several posts on YouTube. Because my daughter is in the very early stages of treatment and they are still running tests, I can’t say yet if she is going to have success with them. However, I can say that she has never had such a comprehensive work up. That by itself has been really reassuring and make us feel hopeful that she will finally get the help she needs. I wish your family the very best. Here is the video I talked about.

youtu.be/esPRsT-lmw8(Not working as expected?)

[Poppy234]

ADHD is highly hereditary. 75% or so. I guess if it’s not in the family then it could be something else. In our family there are at least three of the older generation we now realise have it. It’s common for parents to realise things about themselves when their children are diagnosed. I do wonder about misdiagnosis and I think it’s good advice to get this scan done that you had.