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To Medicate or Not to Medicate
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
Apple Cider Vinegar
Melatonin
Fish Oil and Primrose Oil
Fish Oil and Primrose Oil
How does EPO fit in to this need? Thanks in advance.
★★★★★
★☆☆☆☆
WARNING!
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Caffeine
MSG Link to ADHD
Hard Red Winter Wheat is the best to grow wheatgrass from, but if it were me, I'd grow whatever I could get. Surely someone near you has got it, even if you go to an animal feed store, or maybe a bakery.
Barley is another grain which grows a highly nutritious grass which you can juice the same way.
The grass juices are very healthy, and Wheatgrass takes about 9-10 days to grow from seed to juicable harvest.
Wheat and Barley for grass-growing can also be ordered online. There is an excellent and informative website called "Sprout people" which should explain how to do this further.
Or you can google "how to grow wheatgrass"
I grow my Wheatgrass in cafeteria trays in the kitchen.
It's a great and easy thing to do, especially if you have an electric juicer to juice it.
Regards, Linda
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
There is a book which should do you a world of good, "Alcoholism and Nutrition", written by Dr. Roger Williams, MD. It is an old book, mine is a paperback. Dr. Williams had great success healing alcoholism using the tasteless, colorless amino acid named L-Glutamine, often added into food or juice, etc.
According to Dr. Williams, L-Glutamine stops the "craving" for alcohol, making it easier to quit drinking.
You might have to find it in a used bookstore, but if you will, I am sure it will be tremendously useful for you and your son.
Kind Regards,
Linda
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
The iodine does need companion nutrients with it. Go to the remedies section here and read up on iodine - the companion nutrients are listed.
Maybe once the ADHD and the schizophrenia have been healed you can look at the vegetables.
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/schizophrenia.html
Unfortunately, since you mentioned that your son consumes 1 large bottle of rum a day, I imagine any vitamins or diet would have limited impact. Is it possible for him to be admitted to a rehab facility? Once there, he will find others at rehab who are going through the same thing he is and he won't feel so alone. He may even find a buddy who can help him through life's up and downs when he gets out.
It must be very difficult for you - don't give up. Your son probably feels that the doctors let him down (sounds like they did) but I hope he is open to getting the professional help he so desperately needs. Take care, Bess
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
★★★★★
My mum and sister have ADHD, and so do a lot of my friends (I'm the only one who understands them and will be their friend). As far as I'm concerned, ADHD is simply a variation of normal. Nature makes a variety of people so that we can survive. When war, tsunami, earthquake or hurricane hits, who is out there first on the front line with fearless and boundless energy? Not me.... Them. We need them. Don't try and fix what ain't broke, just manage them, small doses helps!
Apple Cider Vinegar
I read recently that for kids with autism the parents first reach for magnesium and iodine to supplement the kids with.
Apple Cider Vinegar
My kids who are both ADHD take a few drops of Omega 3 and 6 Oils with Scotts Emulsion. The difference is amazing. And coffee does actually calm them down as well.
Dietary Changes
Dietary Changes
Here is a great ebook for you to read (only 80 pages). It is by a Japanese Doctor. Really eye opening. I wish every Doctor would read it.
http://www.adyaclarity.biz/uploads/5/5/1/2/5512066/mineral_deficency_e_book.pdf
Dietary Changes
I am so glad to have found this website. Both of my children are affected by a genetic syndrome called Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome. Basically, they lack an enzyme necessary to create enough cholesterol in the body (our body manufactures some cholesterol). They are mildly affected on the spectrum of this disorder. They were both originally mis-diagnosed as autistic.
Fast-forward 9 years! Some of my childrens' issues may be a result of this syndrome but I still think much of their problems can be helped. My son has ADHD bigtime. He can hardly concentrate. I have always told my husband and mother that I could tell "where he is at" just by looking at him. He seems foggy sometimes, very distracted and out of it. But he is NOT always like this. He has really great times of clarity too and is more focused and less hyper and has no volatile outbursts. WHen he is "in the fog" he is more hyper, unfocused, volatile and aggressive and so forth. He has been gluten free for 3 months now and it has helped with the over-all fatigue issue I was seeing this summer. He is also dairy free for the most part. As a little boy he had so many ear infections I lost count. He was on antibiotic after antibiotic. Through the years he also took Risperdal for aggression and we tried other ADD/ADHD meds which did not help. He always has bad side effects and I can't stand seeing my son not acting like himself. He is complicated but I really believe there is a more optimum level of health for him! I have to believe that!
Now for my daughter. She is much less affected by the syndrome and is in a private school and at grade level. She began having these throwing up episodes and had an upper GI. Later, through much prayer, I discovered she had a Salicylate Sensitivity. Now her diet is so limited and challenging and I am afraid she is not getting enough healthy foods to eat.
I am also gluten/dairy free now because of being diagnosed with Celiac disease. I have been dealing with overall fatigue for years and now more recently brain fogginess.
Honestly, between my son and I being dairy and gluten free, my daugters Salicylate issues and my husband not doing dairy or red meat~~~ mealtime is stressful and causes me anxiety.
TED, I need your help! Or anyone for that matter!
thank you very much!
MSG Link to ADHD
MSG Link to ADHD
Scientists know all about excitotoxins and how toxic they are for the brain. That will cause dementia for sure but they are not warning people about it. Google "Abstract Excitotoxins" to see all the studies that have been done.
The author of the book I read said that reporters attempting to write about Excitotoxins are fired or demoted. Why? People need to research for themselves.
MSG Link to ADHD
You are probably right about the poisons in foods and everywhere but then, why are they so keen on saving people in the third world? My husband says that they do it in order to make sure they will have enough slaves to mine mineral resources. Why are they seemingly always searching for cures for illnesses? Yesterday I read an article in a paper suggesting that if you take Paracetamol every day you will have a lot less chance of dementia and men will have a lot less chance of prostate cancer. Such an article is enough to have hundreds of thousands of people heading for the pharmacy with no regards of the side effects of constantly taking such a drug for the rest of your life (yes, because you are not going to stop if you know you will get dementia or prostate cancer?). Just imagine the profits.... Not only Big Pharma but also pharmacies and the governments through taxes on all of them and on us and moreover the treatment of all the illness that will come from the excessive taking of medication! One such article is the equivalent of a gold mine!
MSG Link to ADHD
Why are they adding poisons to our diet... I have my own theory. It's called eugenics and it is happening worldwide.
MSG Link to ADHD
MSG Link to ADHD
They are putting it in baby foods and even in baby formula. Apparenty there is even MSG in most vaccines!
Here is a list of the hidden names that MSG comes under.
MSG Link to ADHD
MSG Link to ADHD
I didn't realise how dangerous it was until recently and that it was linked to the above.
I went to buy some chocolate recently and discovered it contained MSG (under the name Flavors), also went to buy a "Gluten free" chocolate chip cookie... It also contained MSG (under another name)
MSG is also the reason people are becoming "addicted" to food, can't lose weight even if they lower their food intake, get headaches... There are so many diseases linked to the consumption of MSG. If it is in so many foods imagine the accumulative effect over one day.
There are some foods that can block the Glutamates from being harmful. Magnesium and Tumeric are two foods that will negate the harmful effects.
Remove Red Dye
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He was too young to go on meds so we were assigned an in-home therepist by Family Services. She talked to us at length about diet and how it effects kids. One thing she mentioned was Red dye #40. It was in EVERYTHING. From Kool-aid to jello, and even in some chocolate products. She convinced us to get rid of the dye to see if it made a difference.
It did. We got rid of everything with dye and taught our boy that he couldn't have it. While we still have some issue now and then, the effect of removing the dye was noticable in about 3 days. The temper lessened and he was easier to talk to and even quit getting into as much trouble at school. He is now 8 and we have introduced Red dye #40 a few times to make sure that the results were from taking the dye away. Each time we have given it to him, even in a small dose, and then removed it, it has been several days of horrible tantrums and anger and crying. Once it is out of his system again, he is back to normal.
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Thanks Debbie and Lisa for your feedback and updates. I am going to start with the supplements and I will decide which diet that would be more suitable for me to start. I look forward to hearing any more updates and improvements. I will also post updates.
Best wishes! G Clark
Feingold Diet
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
G Clarke, something else that I have been doing and it seems to be working for my son is Vitamin C. When I started he did have the croup and some asthma (and ended up 1 night in hospital). I started giving him the Vit C to clear his congestion (Dr had prescribed antibiotics and he had had 3 doses of Prednisone) and had read that Vitamin C detoxes the body of heavy metals and I though it may help him if that were a problem. I was juicing lemons and adding honey and vitamin C powder - put the mixture in a small container on top of a cup of hot water long enough for the honey to melt and mixed it all together. I then used the plastic syringe for medications to syringe that mixture into my son's mouth. (About 1/4 tspn Vit C - 4 or 5 times a day).
I did notice a marked improvement in his speech in a couple of weeks. He wouldn't sing except maybe one word at the end of each line in a song if that and he had to be coaxed for that one maybe two words. He is about to turn 4. He has the speech of about a 2 1/2 year old.
Anyway it is now about 4 weeks after I have been giving him the vitamin C. He has started singing songs without prompting from me. I was waiting in the Doctors office a couple of days ago (I wanted his blood tested to see if he was lacking in any nutrients) and my son was singing on the top of his voice the song of Twinkle Twinkle little Star. admittedly he missed quite a few words but he has gone from only singing one word when I sing with him to belting out a song in the Dr's office with no coaching from me (and to applause from onlookers). He is also wanting now to sing other songs and rhymes - never interested before.
I can't quite believe it is a coincidence that he has improved so quickly. I definitely think the Vitamin C has helped to detox his body.
Also I have been giving him Cilanto (corriander) chopped up in a yoghurt & garlic sauce mixed in his food. Cilantro also is know to get rid of heavy metals in the body. I also give him probiotics and digestive enzymes every day.
His speech is still not there but there is a lot of improvement. I am also going to try either of the GAPS/ and the BED diets. I need to get the books and study which one we may be doing. In the meantime keep adding to what I am doing. As I type this he is singing Twinkle Twinkle to himself so something is working.
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
I have been following your thread and wanted to mention some things that might help you both in your journey. Besides the GAP diet there is amazing info by Donna Gates and her Body Ecology diet. She has a whole group dedicated to turn autism and ADD around through her diet. I have heard her speak and she is amazing and dedicated to this mission. She has been at it for over 10 years. You might want to go to her site and read about it. There's lots of really good info there. She offers recipes and you can get her book The Body Ecology Diet which I use myself and have given it as gifts to friends. She also recommends fermented foods. You can watch her making them on youtube.
I know you both are referring to ADD but this info might be very pertinent to you. I know Debbie that you mentioned you were trying to get green coconuts. Is that to make fermented coconut water? Donna's products are made in Australia and I know she is the only one to offer unpasteurized fresh coconut water which is bottled. It is offered here in the US at health food stores in the frozen section so you might want to check into that. Her group she has for families incorporating her diet, BED is called BEDROK. It's a support group for helping implement fundamental diet changes to families. Anyway, I hope this info helps you.
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Here are some amazing stories of people who have had great results:
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Thank you!! Best wishes!
General Feedback
I'm not on it now anymore because I had side effects and I didn't want to increase my dose when the effects wore off -- so I'm hardly an evangelist for pharma drugs, and I agree they can be over-prescribed/falsely prescribed. But now, I know what my true "normal" is like. I know what to aim for. I've ended the cycle of shame and unmet expectations that's haunted me for all of my life. Currently I'm working the supplements, diet, sleep, exercise (3-5x aerobic exercise/week stimulates the same part of the brain the pharma drugs do) and it's working out fine for me. Also an AD/HD coach helps keep me on track (look for a therapist who works with AD/HD). All good, but don't let anyone judge you for cautiously, judiciously trying something to see if it works for you and your body. You've already spent your lifetime judging yourself and being frustrated on a daily basis.
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
General Feedback
If I were you, I will not poison myself with doctor's prescription.
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
General Feedback
General Feedback
General Feedback
Ok so I am 19 years old and was just diagnosed with ADHD. Now my mother is a special education teacher and so never had me tested because she thought that it would just negatively affect me, since I was a straight A honor role student. The real issues started now that I'm in college; I failed some of my classes and 3 of my teachers recommended that I get tested independently, so I did. Turns out I have ADHD (like my mom, and 3 siblings) I was prescribed Ritalin for test/exam days and wanted to hear someone's opinion, I don't speak to my mother so asking her isn't really an option.
Everyone says meds for kids is bad and I agree with that, but what about for adults?
I am just getting on board with homepathic remedies b/c I do not like the side effects of this controlled substance. We have been on it for a while and it has not made my life easier at all. My son deals with ticks/twitches, has anxiety and has trouble sleeping. I need some guidance in this aspect as well. I did want to comment on the MELATONIN though. My son is also on TRAZADONE at night to sleep. This was not working until I added teh 5 mg MELATONIN to it. I think it(Melatonin) is wonderful and start off low first then increase if need be. I just want my children to be normal...
Caffeine
Caffeine
Caffeine
★☆☆☆☆
WARNING!
However, some research in its infancy is starting to show that these stimulant drugs (and coffee falls into this category) can do more harm than good in the long run. Yes, the child may be sitting still right now, but with repeated stimulation of the nervous system comes issues. That means that the neurons are being overworked and overstressed constantly. In addition, your body has to process out much more stimulant than it is used to. Think about it--if you overstimulate your pituitary glad for too long, what happens? It breaks down. While much more research needs to be done on these effects, using caffeine and other stimulants to treat ADHD may not be the best idea.
Theories for Cause
Theories for Cause
Possible causes: head trauma, maybe upbringing (eg. Physical and mental abuse), vaccinations (heavy metals) and toxic foods (excitotoxins like MSG ad aspartame and excess fattening and fried foods and vegetable oils, etc) and lack of oxygen (e. G. Home or office bound and lack of exercise due to sedentary lifestyle behind a PC or TV), etc. Lets say it is a combination of these things: hit hard on head as a baby a few times and a toxic lifestyle growing up. Possible cures: Could oral hyaluronic acid help heal? I know it exists naturally between the skull and brain to cushion it. Smart drugs? Do these need prescription and are these expensive(eg. Hydergine and l-pryoglutamate)? Amino acid L-glutamine (rid body of MSG)? Alkalization, especially with malic acid (eg. Apple cider vinegar) and baking soda for its metal chelating properties and other chelating agents (e.g. EDTA, Cilantro, etc), mostly alkaline diet, cooking with extra virgin coconut oil, exercise in fresh air, etc
But is this enough? Could it be this simple? What is the key, what am I missing? Thanks.
I feel that kids should not have any caffeine through drinks or chocolate and they should be on a high vegetable and fruit diet, with meats. You can ask your health food store for the vitamin mixes that can be added to juice, they have them in liquid form and some, like calcium have them in chewable form. We still give them a calcium in chewable because they always liked the taste - it tastes like vanilla. I would never put my child on to a drug to cure hyperactivity though!
Feingold Diet
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
★★★★☆
Would he be best served by magnesium gluconate or citrate, granulated lecithin or kelp? He refuses to take so many supplements and the cost of a taylored multiple is not possible. Also. I know he has heavy metal poisoning. He reacts severly to changes in his chemistry. Would Epsom salt cream applications suffice? It seems the more you learn the more your realize you do not understard. I am grateful for this site.
Ps I cant remember my password sorry
Sleep
Caffeine
Caffeine
Avoid Potato Chips
★★★★★
Caffeine
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★★★★☆
I am skeptical on the medical stance of ADD/ADHD. Of course, most of us here want to stay away from drugs. But I'm sure some children do have real issues, and some children just need real boundaries. This is a world where children gain instant gratification from tv, video games, internet, ipods, cell phones and the hundreds of other electronics they are exposed to. I mean, why does a 7 yr old even need a phone, let alone their own Firefly? It's so rare to see the child whose daily life consists of the enjoyment of reading, hiking in the woods, fishing, and the like. Even sports have, for many, lost its value of just playing the sport. I am not surprised to hear so many more of these ADD/ADHD cases in today's world. And here I am, young myself, in my 20's. My son, how surprising, is very calm and focused on the occassions he plays video games. Imagine that!
I tell him to turn off that tv and go play outside.
Apple Cider Vinegar
EC: Not according to our acne remedies page, where apple cider vinegar is the most popular cure with 44 Yeas!
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
The most dramatic results occured with injections of b methalcobalamine. This allowed him to make sentences. He receives ot and speech. To address his sensory integration disfunction. He still suffers from auditory processing disorder which causes him to have significant learning disability. GABA did not work for him nystatin helps his chronic internal yeast I fection most of the time. We also use enzymes with meals. He is able to attend school and was down graded from profound autism to his separate ailments. It is costly but very beneficial to determine the weak spots in an individual bio chemical make up.
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Fish Oil and Primrose Oil
Sleep
Please consider just getting more sleep for the victim of one of these problems before trying anything else! I did see that Ted mentioned sleep being a problem and was trying to go into what to give so they can sleep better. According to Dr. Weissbluth, sometimes just going to bed earlier makes it easier to sleep because if you go too late, when you're too fatigued, you actually CAN'T get to sleep because of hormones you release when overtired. So consider just an earlier bedtime!
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Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
Someone here wrote something about structure...and they are absolutely right about saying how children need it, regardless of their psychological state of being. Order within ones life often produces order within the mind. What you see your child doing is merely the tip of the ice berg. It is chaos...untamed wildness. If I had to compare my mind today to what it was then...
Today my mind is as a rabid animal. Then it was as a race car that kept going faster and faster. It is torture.
Unfortunately I'm rather absentminded so I've left my email on the off chance that someone has any questions about my life experience with ADHD. If you have the right questions I'm sure I can answer them. I'd like to help as many people as possible...it makes me feel useful, and by extension...normal.
Which brings me to my final point.
You are your childs best friend. Without you they will crumble. This is true with many children, but only with children who suffer from ADHD is it a certainty. No matter what you decide to do, you must be with them every step of the way. No amount of medication, drugs or otherwise, will be an adequate substitute for a parents love.
I speak from experience, because I have seen many others who were not so lucky as I am. You see...I thrive in isolation. But when I was a child and my mother had left my siblings and I for whatever her reasons were at the time...two years...the foundation on which our lives are built crumbles when the only person who loves and understands us abandons us. I can think of nothing so horrible as a child suffering from ADHD forced to confront it alone.
Of course I'm perhaps being a bit melodramatic, or over exaggerating things to make us seem as though we are as delicate as glass houses. But even if you won't believe how terrible it really is to suffer from this monstrous thing...understand that we are listening on some level. We do hear and understand what you say and how you say it. When you tell us you love us we hear that too...and it can make all the difference.
Right then...hopefully that helped someone.
Melatonin
EC: Here's an article on medscape that might help:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/448467
... "While there is an enormous amount of anecdotal information available, there are few well-controlled studies that have examined safety, appropriate dosing including amounts and timing, use in special populations such as children or the elderly, side effects, or interactions with other products. However, the few published studies that have looked at use of melatonin in children have generally found the product to be safe, though most have focused on use in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
One study of 20 children with developmental disabilities found that children given melatonin fell asleep significantly more quickly, but did not experience overall longer sleep durations or wake less frequently.[4] A second slightly larger study of 46 children with neurodevelopmental disorders found that sleep improved in 34 of the children and none experienced side effects.[5] Only a very few studies have examined the use of this hormone in children without disability. For example, a study of 40 elementary school children without neurologic problems who were experiencing delayed sleep onset found that over the duration of the 4-week study, melatonin was relatively safe and significantly more effective than placebo in advancing sleep onset and increasing sleep. Of note, tests that examined attention span in these children found that, even in those whose sleep improved, measures of attention did not change.
The National Sleep Foundation[3] suggests that the product may be useful for teenagers who experience delayed-sleep-phase syndrome, an inability to fall asleep during the early nighttime hours that causes problems in awakening the next morning. However, appropriate dosing and duration of use in teenagers is not known."
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
★★★★★
Dietary and Herbal Suggestions
To Medicate or Not to Medicate
"Dear Friend,
Consumer advocacy groups are working overtime trying to get the FDA to wake up to the dangers of artificial food colorings--especially for children. As usual, the FDA has turned a deaf ear. The consumer advocacy groups claim these additives could cause hyperactivity and behavior problems in some children.
"Many of your kids or grandkids probably headed back to school this week. And on that first day back -- and every day since -- half of his or her classmates probably made a trip to the nurse's office for their daily dose of Ritalin or Adderall.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become such a common diagnosis and the drugs are looked at as such a cure-all that it seems like both are taking over the school systems in this country.
But the fact is, these drugs are powerful stimulants that mimic things like speed, which I'm positive most grandparents and parents would do anything to keep their little ones away from. The good news is, you can keep the kids in your life away from these medications and improve, if not completely reverse, their ADHD....For nearly 30 years, Dr. Wright and his colleagues at the Tahoma Clinic have been using natural approaches to help parents do just that. In the upcoming September issue of Nutrition & Healing he outlines the various approaches they've used with such tremendous success over the years. It's an issue no parent or grandparent should miss, so keep an eye out for it to arrive in your mailbox soon. (And if you're not already a subscriber, visit www.wrightnewsletter.com for details on how you can become one).
Yours in good health,
Amanda Ross
Editor
Nutrition & Healing
