Anyone try coffee for ADHD, for child.

[larryvon1012]

My son who is 7 has adhd, also very temperamental as well. Not any drugs now. But prelim diagnosis is adhd. Very disruptive in class. Was told my another parent thru their md, to give my son a strong cup of coffee in morning, and again in mid afternoon. Coffee works similarly to adderal/ritalin. Any experiences or thoughts?

[SleeplessinMaryland]

When I drink coffee I get sleepy. My doctor told me that this is common with ADHD - having a paradoxical reaction to a variety of things. This is why taking stimulants or amphetamines will calm hyperactivity and racing thoughts in someone with ADHD. I guess the coffee would help with the hyperactivity component but not the other symptoms. This is a guess on my part, but I never felt any other benefits from coffee.

[larryvon1012 in reply to SleeplessinMaryland]

is disruptive temperamental outbursts also a symptom of adhd in a child of 7, male child i.e?

[SleeplessinMaryland in reply to larryvon1012]

Possibly. It is my understanding that temperamental outbursts can be a symptom of a variety of disorders - mood disorders, behavioral disorders, developmental disorders, trauma, anxiety disorders, and all the specific disorders that fall under each of those disorders. The only one who can determine the exact answer is a professional because, without the education and expertise to determine the specific problem, it is impossible to know the answer.

[oz777 in reply to SleeplessinMaryland]

Thanks for that, I thought I was the only person that got sleepy when I drink coffee. Whenever I tell anyone (except my doctor) I get weird looks

[SleeplessinMaryland in reply to oz777]

Oh I understand the weird looks. If I want to sleep well I drink a couple cups of coffee. If I need to stay awake (which I had to do when we were taking care of my sick dad in shifts) I ask someone for a Xanax. Xanax will keep me up for two days.

[epetzer]

Work with the diagnosis and try out meds. But only prescribed by a specialist so he can be monitored and medication adjusted as needed. Problem with coffee (and I don’t know how you serve it) is that if you add sugar that may have a detrimental effect. Sugar for ADHD is not good, so if you can get him to a dietician, try and approach treatment with food and drink intake in mind.

[ADHD_Psychologist]

I have read the difference is that medications work to stimulate the prefrontal cortex, while coffee cannot do that.

[SleeplessinMaryland in reply to ADHD_Psychologist]

Thank you for that. It makes so much sense.

[78rpm]

Any experiences of thoughts?

My first thought is to ask why you are considering a stimulant such as coffee prior to looking into medication?

With medication it is possible to have stimulants that have proven themselves as being effective for a sizable number of people. That's no guarantee that a particular medication will be effective for your son. But it does increase the odds of your being able to find something sooner and having him go through less experimentation.

Plus with medication, dosages are able to be calibrated specifically for each patient. That is hard to do with something such as coffee.

Assuming that the caffeine in coffee is able to help - how does ensure the correct dosage? For example, the caffeine content of coffee can vary based on the variety of coffee beans and the level at which they are roasted. Trying to experiment to get all of the variables to correctly and consistently line up strikes me as being difficult.

If coffee does work and it is the caffeine content that makes it work - I would suggest that it is probably a better bet to use caffeine pills which would enable one to get a more precise and consistent dose.

Not only that - some of the medications are extended release and help even out the amount of stimulant in one's system throughout the day.

One problem with medicating with something such as coffee is that stimulant medications do not make one's ADHD go away. They merely minimize some of the symptoms so that the patient has less of an uphill battle managing his ADHD. But there will still be frustrations and challenges. And, with something such as coffee, there is a high likelihood the person's mind will be trained to reach for another cup of coffee every time he hits some sort of challenge or wall. That could, in turn, result in the person getting more than the optimal dosage which could actually make symptoms worse.

One of the reasons why ADHD people are so vulnerable to becoming addicts is their attempts to self-medicate, often without realizing that is what they are doing. Maybe they find something that they feel helps them. But, over time, they increasingly reach for it anytime they feel stressed - and that is how addiction can start without the person fully knowing what is going on. And I am not talking about illegal drugs - I am talking about things such as caffeine, cigarettes, sugar and overeating in general. Those who try to do so with illegal drugs are putting themselves in an extremely dangerous situation.

With medication, the dosage is controlled. And it is dispensed by a third party who, hopefully, is educated on both the medication and ADHD.

I realized I had ADHD a good many years ago. But I never made an effort to get a formal diagnosis until a year and a half ago. I had a very strong bias against medication and refused to even consider asking about it for myself.

Looking back, my bias was entirely based on utter ignorance on my part. I had heard someone I know describe dulling effects on his personality that he experienced when taking anti-anxiety medication and assumed ADHD medicine might have a similar effect on me. It never occurred to me to consider that ADHD medicine is something totally different than what this person was taking. It never occurred to me that perhaps the particular medication this person was taking was not a good fit for him or that perhaps the dosage needed to be adjusted.

I also had a bias against taking medication in general on grounds that medicines can have side effects that we don't always know the long-term consequences of. So I developed an attitude that medication is something to avoid unless it is absolutely necessary.

What never occurred to me was that, as a heavy tea drinker, I was ALREADY, taking a stimulant drug. What never occurred to me is that lots of ordinary foods we consume have certain side-effects. some of these side-effects are not immediately obvious but can cause nasty long-term consequences. Consume too much sugar, white flour or caffeine in a short amount of time and you soon will feel side-effects. Eating trans-fat laden fried foods every day will not result in immediately obvious side-effects - but it does put one at long-term risk of some pretty nasty consequences.

Finally, there are very definite risks to having unmanaged ADHD. Those risks range from the impact on the ability to achieve one's full potential to impacts that can actually be dangerous to one's self and even others.

Once I actually looked at the facts, I realized that the risks with medication were something that could be much more closely managed than the risks of either doing nothing or attempting to self-medicate. Before starting the medication I had cardiac testing done just to make sure that I was a good candidate given some of the side effects that can make it dangerous for people with certain conditions.

As for caffeine - looking back I see my heavy tea consumption was fueled, in part, by an attempt to self-medicate. Did it work? Maybe - or maybe not. I felt better when I drank it. But that could very much have been because it alleviated withdrawal symptoms of my not having it. Sucking one's thumb also makes some people with certain conditions feel better - but that doesn't mean that thumb sucking is an effective treatment. I do know that when my ADHD was at its worst I would drink more tea. And when I drink more than so much tea, I become extremely jittery and have a tendency to stutter when speaking that I normally don't have. When I have such symptoms, my ability to manage my ADHD becomes much more difficult.

So my suggestion, prior to doing anything, is become as educated as you can on the full scope of options available and any factors with your son's unique circumstances and biology that should be weighed in. Start with the option that you feel is less risky for his particular situation. Part of "less risky" includes how well an option has been researched in terms of its effectiveness and short-term/long-term side effects. It also includes how well it can be controlled and managed. That will enable you to keep a closer eye potential side-effects. It will also enable you to more quickly determine whether something is working and, if not, whether it is a matter of simply adjusting dosage or finding something different.

[amalmeanshope]

Caffeine doesn’t affect the brain the same as Adderall/Ritalin. These rx meds stimulate the brain to create more neurotransmitters which gets the brain the correct amount of dopamine.

[larryvon1012 in reply to amalmeanshope]

fighter pilots use adderall... long distance runners use adderall.. legal form of meth. When was the last time you had to have cardiac testing to start drinking coffee?

[amalmeanshope in reply to larryvon1012]

I’d say for those who have the neurological disorder ADHD, Adderall impacts the brain differently than those who do not have a neurological disorder. Neuro-typicals who abuse it are having a different experience than someone with ADHD.

You can definitely try giving your son coffee and see if it helps. It'll take about 2 hours to see the maximal effect of the caffeine on the central nervous system.

I’m sharing my opinion and experience as someone with ADHD.

Caffeine blocks the brain’s receptors for the neurotransmitter adenosine. Adenosine acts in several areas of the brain to produce behavioral sedation by inhibiting the release of other neurotransmitters. Caffeine’s stimulant action results from blocking the receptors for this inhibitory effect.

Amphetamine augments the activity of neurotransmitters by stimulating release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.

[Owlbird in reply to larryvon1012]

When was the last time you had to have cardiac testing to start taking methamphetamine?

Think. Hard.

[theycallnemo]

Weirdly enough, I can see why this would be a suggestion! I've heard a number of ADHDers report that coffee has the "opposite" effect on them than it does for other people. Personally, coffee tends to make me a bit sleepy, but everyone is different! I would say ask yur son what he thinks first- his input is important whatever you decide to do. If you decide to go for it, start small- maybe try giving him coffee on a Saturday morning and see how it goes. One cup may last him the whole day, or maybe it won't do anything. Basically test the waters the way you would with formal medication- start with a small dose in a place where you can see how it is working. Best of luck!

[Giggles0303]

Caffeine has a half-life of 6-10 hours in the body, meaning if you give your kid coffee in the afternoon, half of that caffeine will still be in his body 6 hours later. It has a bunch of negative side effects (especially if you use high dosages on a long term basis) it's also highly common for people to develop a dependence on caffeine.

Just because coffee is legal and commonly used doesn't mean it's safe (especially for kids). ADHD meds were developed specifically for the job, homemade energy drinks aren't an alternative to proper medical treatment.

I understand you can't get him meds yet, with the diagnosis still in progress and if you feel you really need to do something right away, start super small with the coffee, he's 7 years old, meaning he's about a third the body mass of an adult - for him 2 cups are the equivalent of 6 cups for an adult.

You would get worried if an Adult told you they drank 3 cups of strong coffee in the morning and another 3 in the afternoon?

[larryvon1012]

like i said, adderall is used by fighter pilots, or anyone who wants to stay focused for long periods of time,...

[larryvon1012]

" Before starting the medication I had cardiac testing done just to make sure that I was a good candidate given some of the side effects that can make it dangerous for people with certain conditions." that's exactly want they want to do with my 7 year old, test his heart to make sure he doesn't redline with adderall or ritalin. Now think... is this proper medication to use ? you know that it will damage the heart slowly but surely especially in a 7,8 10 year old over a period of time. Think!

[ace195011]

No, but my late mother who they think had ADHD before it was even talked about self medicated , 10+ cups of black coffee a day. I am not a Dr. but I think she also enjoyed coffee as I do.

Scott