Replied By Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 10/22/2010
Hi Corinna, ever thought of having him try a trampoline? It seems to work wonders and it is a lot healthier for a child than coffee. I have sessions with someone in Zurich because of my myopia and he told me that trampolining works well for children like your son because they get very worked up only in order to find the balance they miss and calm themselves down. I bet he would love the trampoline and you can buy a small one for the living room which is what I have.Replied By Justwantinganswers (Easton, Pa, United States) on 01/05/2011
I was diagnosed with ADHD with my severity level being somewhere around the 97th or 98th percentile while in college--studying psychology, ironically enough. I was part of a research study where cat scans and brain imaging was used to "map" the brains of the participants after different interventions. The researcher at my school and I began discussing the different results and I was surprised when she told me coffee would help people with ADHD. Often ADHD's underlying cause is a lack of functioning neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft of the neuron responsible for passing along information. Basically--there aren't enough little message carriers making it to their destination--the next neuron. So, the message that came from the original brain neuron intended for another brain neuron will often stop before it reaches the final destination. It's sort of like the neuron short circuiting and stopping temporarily--the signal gets lost. (I wish I could draw a diagram on here--it's how I finally understood it! ) Ritalin, Concerta, and many other ADHD "medicines" are really just stimulants. They work the same way coffee does. Basically, they stimulate the neurons to release more neurotransmitters than they are used to--which helps the message get to where it needs to.
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.
Replied By Maskeen (Dubai, Uae) on 01/08/2011
Try magnesium supplements instead. Mg glycinate/lysinate with bioperine. Adhd is the result of mg deficiency.Replied By Justwantinganswers (Easton, Pa) on 01/14/2011
Actually, Maskeen--I have been taking Mg since I was diagnosed and it hasn't been helping me one bit with ADHD. It has helped with my migraines (nearly gone), but the ADHD symptoms haven't changed. Most natural healers I have spoken with have said, when I asked, That Mg deficiency is NOT a cause of ADHD "proper" (being the lack of neurotransmitter function).Replied By Quixote (Las Vegas, NV) on 03/11/2012
When I was a kid I there was no label for this but they recognized that some kids had these issues-sometime the problem is not the child but what they are learning-they are not interested and see no real reason to learn it-they tested me because they were so concerned but turned out my IQ was higher than most of my teachers. I just was not interested.... but of course that wont sell any drugs.Replied By Violet Velvet (Oklahoma ) on 07/21/2016
I agree. I am on Adderall right now as both Adderall & Ritalin are both supposed to be the best medications thus far, in order to treat ADHD/ADD. I have it really bad too. This is why I had never done well in school at all and it is upsetting. Especially when I look back on all of those years in the 80's when it was not properly diagnosed or even known of as far as I know anyhow. Because of it, I have barely made it through life to where I could have a semi decent life. I have a decent job but it could have been a lot better had someone known what was wrong early on. In my opinion, I feel that both Ritalin and Adderall are too strong for a child to be taking. If they are on it, I hope that they start out on the smallest dosage possible. I wish that I knew of a natural cure for it rather than taking over the prescription medication. However, I will tell you what would have helped me. If I had a parent that gave me a lot of love, attention and moral support when I was young. I think that it helps to also slowly involve your children on activities very early on because having some type of self esteem and support from parenting would have helped a lot. My mother took care and raised 2 daughters on her own. Therefore, that just unfortunately did not happen. I also grew up in the 80's when ADHD was not well known. Everyone thought that I was just hyper active and did not listen. To this day that still bothers me when people accuse me of not focusing, listening, paying attention. I would if I could and I would also do better around people who have a little bit of patience and understanding. If I feel like this in my adult life, can you imagine how a child must feel? It's really a sad thing to have to go through folks. Love, be patient and encouraging to the children who have this. Encouragement from a young age will help a lot. I feel that this also causes low self esteem as it makes you feel like everyone thinks that you aren't smart or good enough because they just so not understand what ADHD/ADD is all about. Especially children that do not have it. Support, Encouragement, sports and/or some type of school activity(s) and attention would help a child A LOT, who is suffering from this a this type of disorder. Trust me, I'm 48 years old and I've been there and know that I would have done a lot better if I had those things from a parent. I scored an 80 on my test for ADHD. I could relate to every single question. Even the ones that did not pertain to me. It's difficult even when you get older but could be a lot better with age with what I had mentioned above. Thanks so much for listening to my two cents worth of advice. I apologize that this is so lengthy and the fact that I really do not have any natural remedies to apply here other than a good night sleep and what I had mentioned above. Good Luck To All Of You and thanks for taking the time to read this. V.V.B