ADHD / ADD Support Group

choline 250 mg and inositol 500 mg 1 or 2 daily each can help. avoiding refined sugars, preservatives and artificial sweeteners in diet can also help. regular and frequent exercise is a must. structure and consistency of personal habits. i recommend most books written by thom hartmann. i don't know much of anything about treating and dealing with bipolar. the above methods have helped me make it well into adulthood successfully. consider getting your son an add/adhd coach, they can help deal with individual challenges of everyday life. remember the nutrition!! good luck, i'll do some homework and post later. -blessings, aubrey

Has your son's doctor suggested a trial of a non-stimulant medication such as Strattera? Anti-depressants can help some children, too. My daughter experienced some side-effects with regular stimulants, but does not have these with Focalin due to its chemical structure (which I would not attempt to explain since college chemistry was many years ago for me). If ne need some type of medication to perform well at school, don't give up without trying other options besides regular stimulants. A doctor who specializes in this area would be very helpful. Good luck!

First, validate anything we say here with your doctor. We're not doctors. Well, I'm not anyway.
With that said, there's new treatments arriving seemingly everyday. Check out the CHADD website, read up on Strattera. It's what I take because the Ritalin-based meds don't work with me. What I've found in my quest for appropriate treatment is -- never stop looking until you find what works. ADD cannot be treated like infections and allergies. There isn't ONE thing that works the same for millions of people like antibiotics and antihistamines. Treatment requires a customized, multi-disciplinary approach that can be frustrating and time-consuming. But, it takes whatever it takes because he's your son and that's what we parents do. Good luck.

I, very much like you, do not want to medicate my daughter. I have been researching some "programs" like DORE, learning breakthrough, and brain gym. These seem to be programs that help correct the problem rather than treat the symptoms. It is very interesting to at least learn about. The Dore program is extremely expensive, but if it works, I would soooooo rather do that than put my daughter on drugs. The Learning breakthrough program is a much less expensive route, but not as hands on from occupational therapists. I think I am going to try the Learning Breakthrough and if you are interested at a later date, I would be happy to share our experience with you. Hope this helps.

Go check out a Book called "Born to be wild" Freeing the spirit of the Hyperactive Child. by Kristi Meisenbach Boylan. It gives you great suggestions without medication and gives you some wonderful insight and a different point of view from a mother.

is it possible that he is bipolar and the ADD/ADHD is masking those symptoms.

You may want to consider "attend" by Vaxa.
here is the web site http://www.vaxa.com/ and a web site of a company that sells the stuff but gives you info on it. http://newideas.net/adhd/attend I know a number of add people who swear by it. I have just started taking it and reduced my adderal by half. Its too early to give a thumbs up, but so far so good. I have not gotten spacey without the second adderal tab and it genuinely seems to be doing good. Also taking Omega oils from (plant) flax seed sources is supposed to really help. The best book I have read is Delivered from Distraction, by Edward Hallowell. He has numerous chapters on add alternative treatments.

What about Strattera? I'm on Strattera and it's helping me alot to stay focused at work. My doctor won't put me on stimulants because they cause increased obsessive thoughts and because I also have other mental health issues.

well wut i did when i went off of meds was i retrained mty brain to not b hyper and i actually forced myself to focus and pay attention and i have been off of medication for 6 months and it is working great for me and i just started school 4 days ago i still have a lil bit of hyper activity but if you can teach him how to control his add/adhd then he will do good

STRATTERA IS NON STIMULANT WORKED GR8T ON MY NEPHEW