Supplements for ADHD

[SecretAgentIEP]

Please share the supplement products you have used for your ADHD-diagnosed child and any promising results (or not) by type (e.g., did it improve mood, hyperactivity, impulsivity, irritability, aggression, etc.)? Thanks!

[panthercity]

i recently purchased inositol (in powered form. dosage is only 1/4 teaspoon, tasteless and super fine). i’ve read good things about it but can’t attest to whether it’s helps or not yet.

[Ztephanie in reply to panthercity]

What's the function of inositol?

[panthercity in reply to Ztephanie]

there’s a good article on in on healthline.com by Makayla Meixner MS, RDN. helps w neurotransmitters.

this is her summary: “Inositol is a type of sugar that helps provide structure to your cells. It also affects the hormone insulin and the function of chemical messengers in your brain.”

[Hidden]

We were given some handouts by the consultant paediatric psychiatrist and it was advised to give children essential omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids in quite a large dose. I continue giving this to my son at dose EPA 558mg and DHA 174mg but I think you can go even higher (I misplaced those handouts from the doctor). Omega 3 is good for kids anyway, because show me kids who consume enough oily fish, well mine don’t!It also mentioned in these handouts that it’s good to give a good quality multivitamin and multi minerals so I give him this daily.I also give my son a capsule with organic (bio) ginger because I noticed that fatty acids in quite a high dose may cause nausea plus his prescription medication for ADHD also causes nausea and ginger really helps him. I discussed ginger with paediatric gastroenterologist and he said it won’t harm but he can’t comment if it is effective, however if I think it is and if my child happily takes it and thinks that it helps, then why not. My son hasn’t complained of nausea since we started ginger. Ginger is used in many cultures and it’s safe even for pregnant ladies.

I would like to say I used to give other ‘natural’ stuff to my son- for example l- theanine (exctract from green tea) but this really didn’t work and on top of this my son developed mild anaemia (low iron) because tannings in tea (black or green) impact on iron absorption. So now I am really cautious with the ‘natural’ and ‘herbal’ stuff for my children.

I also make sure that my kids get enough choline per day (but I use organic eggs from salmonella vaccinated hens). I read that natural choline is best as it absorbs better.

I didn’t know about choline so pretty much until my son was 2, I was so worried about salmonella that I wasn’t giving him eggs… Then I read that choline is essential for gene expression and proper development of child’s brain…

Quite frankly only since we started him on a prescription medication for ADHD we can see that his symptoms are milder and he can concentrate better.

All other stuff really doesn’t t work. I wish I agreed to give my son prescription medication for ADHD when he was 6, we have wasted 2 years…

[MorningDanceTrece in reply to Hidden]

I take Omega-3 with only EPA in it. I've done a ton of research and unless somebody eats the healthiest diet on the planet they don't need to supplement with omega-6 because it's in our food and we get more than enough.

The reason I say "unless somebody eats the healthiest diet on the planet" is because super healthy food does not contain the refined oils that are the major source of omega-6.

My research says that it's important to get a 7 to 1 to a 10 to 1 ratio of EPA to DHA throughout the day from foods or supplements for people with emotional/psychological / mood challenges.

I found an EPA supplement that is especially formulated to be highly absorbable.

I take it every hours with food that contains fat otherwise it won't get absorbed.

I did notice a significant decrease in irritability.

I'm hoping eventually the depression will get better as well.

Medications and supplements need to be taken 3 hours apart or they interfere with the absorption and efficacy of each other.

I eat foods regularly that contain omega-3 so I don't have to worry about getting DHA such as nuts and seeds and flaxseed.

[FrankenMummy]

Before I decided on prescription medication, we tried "focus factor for kids", some sort of supplement boasting improvement. After about a week I decided that rather than give him some unknown supplement, I would rather give him tried and trialed medication from the doctor. Although I didn't notice much improvement on the supplement, the rebound ADHD symptoms were UNREAL. I literally couldn't talk to my son for more than one minute for about 2 days because his focus was gone, and the impulsivity and hyperactivity was like I gave him 20 cups of coffee. With intuniv from the Dr, a marked improvement was seen in one week, and he's still doing better 2 months later. He takes fish oil and daily multivitamins, but that's just for the picky eater in him. We did cut out artificial food dyes, the biggest being red 40, and holy cow what a difference that made! The aggression was gone, impulsivity decreased and better focus just without food coloring, and that was at 3 years old, my kiddo is now 6. Sometimes looking at the diet helps quite a bit.

[Farran]

Hardy nutritionals

[MyWanderfulBoy]

We had a pediatric neuropsychologist recommend omega 3 supplements high in epa and dha as well as a homeopathic supplement for focus and anxiety called Brillia. They make it for both adults and children. You can read about it on their site and ask whoever treats your child about it too. Our son is not yet 6 so we went that route for now, but plan to medicate when he’s 6 as nothing has helped his focus/attention.. however we did notice his anxiety improved with taking Brillia.. he also stopped picking at his fingers and lips. It could just be down to our parenting style changing once we got his diagnosis or it could be the Brillia or it could be both.. who knows? But we are continuing to use it until we see how 1st grade starts out in the fall and we look at trialing medication to help him.

[Aspen797]

A report was published last month based on a randomized clinical control trial involving micronutrients and their effect emotional disregulation and ADHD. It sounds promising: jaacap.org/article/S0890-85...

It was based on Hardy nutritionals. We haven’t tried them, but I know other parents on here have.

[BVBV]

Barlean’s Omega Swirl, Bacopa Monnieri, ChildCalm by Zahler, Focused Mind Jr. by Creekside