I’m very new to this site. My son, now 23 was diagnosed with ADHD in the third grade. He successfully took Adderall XR for about 8 years (the last two of those years were a mess). He then was changed to Vyvanse 70 mg for the last 6 years. Although, there have always been struggles, the medication was really a godsend (at least until the dosage wore out it’s welcome and then was altered again.... too bad there’s not a app to figure that out! ). You know this is coming... the wheels have completely fallen off the bus. Without sharing every minute detail as to our “issues” suffice it to say, he’s barely able to function and take care of things of importance (school/himself/getting up on time/etc.... and there’s a lot). This said, he’s like a radar on all the things he wants to do. We’re in a mess... and he feels nothing is wrong. He’s almost at the finish line with College... one class/one internship left and he’s done nothing himself to attempt to secure these positions.
He will be going to an appointment for an evaluation next week, but my question is of course, after 6 years I know there are new meds out there. Have any of you been prescribed these and are they successful with minimal side effects? Any advice?
Thank you all for sharing your stories. In a world where every parent needs to share how “successful/talented/perfect” their kids are, I appreciate the support from all of you as parents and people with ADHD themselves. I wish I found this site sooner.
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Larkin29
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My son was on Vyvanse for years and finally pulled it after bizarre mood swings, severe weight loss and more. We switched to Evekeo, which I had never heard of. Went well for 2 months, then mood swings. I started giving him whole food magnesium powder in juice or water in the am and it's helped mitigate the side effects immensely--the magnesium helps prevent disruption in the neurotransmitter communication from the depletion of dopamine and serotonin stimulation meds cause/side effects.
Thank you for your reply. That’s really amazing!! Has this whole food magnesium worked as well as any medication he took before (when it was working?). I wonder if you can take this in conjunction with your medication and then wean off the medication. I am open to any more healthy alternatives to drugs if they can work.
Hello again... I just read through many of you posts/replies about magnesium- wow, really worth a go. It sounds like your son is still on meds and you have added these additional supplements? I’m always cautious about all the mixing of med/herbs/vitamins. I had started him on fish oil and a probiotic recently but I don’t see many posts on the probiotic.
I haven't used the magnesium powder before with medication, although I wish I had! I am also cautious about supplements with meds. He takes them separately, about 20 minutes before his medication. He takes the magnesium powder (1 teaspoon whole foods magnesium powder) in water or juice with his supplements. The magnesium takes the edge off anxiety and helps calm him; especially important when stimulation meds deplete serotonin and dopamine the "feel good" neurotransmitters. I now will never give him medication without magnesium. As soon as school is out for the summer, he will not be taking the stim med. However, I will continue to give him magnesium because for my son (due to his diet?), he appears to be at risk for deficiency. immh.org/article-source/201...
Thank you for providing this article. Very interesting. Although I love the Doctors my kids have, why do they never include supplements? I find most M.D.s really Pooh-Pooh that there are any benefits, only focusing on a solution with drugs, rather than prevention and/or alternatives. We have a family friend who just started medical school. When talking with her, it seems like her interest is in preventive care, which I love!
My son cannot stop meds in the summer, although when he was younger I did try a supplement during the summer break which did help a tiny amount.
I will purchase some magnesium powder and give this a try. It sounds like it take some time, but at this point we do have that, even though we’ve been through a very frustrating time.
You're welcome! Please note: magnesium is required for the activation of vitamin D (and deficiency raises a person's risk for anxiety, depression, migraines, and more). I give the magnesium together with Thorne liquid vitamin D3. Vitamin D is also critical for immune health (I take it myself, 2 drops). A blood panel will not reveal a magnesium deficiency because as only 1 percent is available in your blood and the rest stored in your bones and muscle. Vitamin D levels, by the way, can be detected in a blood test. And, there have been studies that show Vitamin D3 supplementation shows concrete, recorded benefits for those with ADHD with improved cognitive function, with inattention, impulsivity, and opposition!!! But don't just take my word for it, here's a government study on it ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/294...
Also, yes, many traditional doctors tend to prescribe medications they believe will suppress or improve those symptoms. A doctor who is trained in integrative and functional medicine tries to find out why that person is having particular issues before starting medications. I used to roll my eyes at this until I experienced it myself. Years ago, I was having asthma like symptoms and a doctor told me it was all in my head, it must be anxiety, "let's put you on this anti-anxiety medication." Instead, I went to a physician who was trained in functional medicine and after a series of tests, discovered I had food allergies and other autoimmune issues. No more respiratory problems after I eliminated the food allergies!
As for the magnesium and vitamin D3, my son did test low for vitamin D years ago but the magnesium wasn't on my radar, even though I had read over and over that magnesium is beneficial. I thought he was getting enough. Stim meds deplete it among other things like diet. And after reading 90% of those with ADHD are deficient in magnesium and don't know it, makes sense now. Yes, it is amazing to me that nutritional deficiencies and diet have such a huge impact on our health.
Wow.. thank you! This is all very confusing but also helpful at the same time. It’s like pulling teeth to remind my son to take his vitamins but I will work on impressing him with the reasons for it.
So the three I think I’d like to try are:
Magnesium glycinate (can you please remind me what your son takes)
Flaxseed (for the Omega 3)
and a B6 but now I’m considering D3 instead.
His usual multi-vitamin.
I don’t want to start with too many so that he doesn’t take them at all. And are there certain mg and times of day that you found helpful.
Not sure if I mentioned that my son takes a smaller dose of ADHD med now that he's taking a magnesium supplement. He was prescribed 10 mg Evekeo (used to take 40 mg Vyvanse) and since he said it was too much for him, I cut the pill in half since it's scored. Now, I give him a quarter of the pill! The magnesium is making him calm and the ADHD med is helping him to focus.
Flaxseed is great to add to a smoothie. Otherwise, here are some recommendations to consider.
A multi vitamin with methylated B vitamins (like Pure Encapsulations One)
Thorne Vitamin D3 liquid (two drops is what my son takes and you can't taste it)
Add a magnesium powder to the same water or juice you add the Vitamin D3 as they work together (I use Garden of Life Magnesium powder and add 1 teaspoon)
Fish oil (like ProEFA by Nordic Naturals). My son takes a fish oil capsule in the am and one in the pm
That should be pretty easy. My son's Vitamin D and Iron were checked years ago and they were both low. We corrected this before he started stims, otherwise, it just would have made his behavior worse.
Thank you! It does. I suppose my confusion is to still try and figure out what dosage my son should take. He does have to go in for a med check and I think it would be nice if they ordered a panel to see where he’s at on D and iron (or anything else they can show). He’s 23, 6’2” and about 145 lbs...lol, he was the shortest in his class up to graduation from high school!
His multi vitamin has about 800 IU of D (it says 200%) for Magnesium about 100 mg (25%). Both my kids and myself take Alive, I have felt great on it and his is for men.
Thanks so much again... trying to navigate all this is helpful but also overwhelming. I would love to get him into a healthier mode and a pattern for going forward.
Okay.. .total pest. I couldn’t figure out what type the magnesium is on Garden of life. I’ve read to avoid the oxide type, glycinate is better. I like the added probiotic in it.
We use Whole Food Magnesium powder by garden of life, sure there are others out there. It's the one working for my son. I have read that magnesium glycinate has a calming effect and that L-threonate magnesium is the best source, but I did not look further as to what brans would carry those sources. I'd make sure the multi-vitamin B vitamins are methylated Bs like methyl-folate, etc. Hope this helps.
I have found Vyvanse where's off so that is why I take dex.
I found ginko balboa is brilliant with Vyvanse. Even if you stop taking Vyvanse for a week, the ginko replaces it nicely. I don't recommend taking more than 70mg though. One day I took 180mg and by lunch, I could have jumped high enough to head butt the ceiling and at 3am the following day, was arguing with myself. So don't do that.
Because Adderall XR and Vyvanse are both amphetamines, they still interact with the same neurotransmitters in the brain. I myself need a psychostimulant to function so when the day comes that it's ineffective for me then I will go back to a ritalin product like concerta or something. I will always need something to help with my ADHD and aside from taking care of mind and body I know I will always need a medication.
I am on Ritalin and Concerta and just found out that adding Magnesium is reducing side affects and helping the effectiveness of the stimulants last longer. Magnesium and Valerian helps me get a good quaility sleep...
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). You know this is coming... the wheels have completely fallen off the bus. Without sharing every minute detail as to our “issues” suffice it to say, he’s barely able to function and take care of things of importance (school/himself/getting up on time/etc.... and there’s a lot). This said, he’s like a radar on all the things he wants to do. We’re in a mess... and he feels nothing is wrong. He’s almost at the finish line with College... one class/one internship left and he’s done nothing himself to attempt to secure these positions.
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