other then stimulant drugs does anyone know other safe alternatives to treat ADHD?

Question

I have a 9 year old boy who has been on ritalin and now dexedrine and well let me tell you it is controlling the ADHD but i feel these meds could end up killing him in the long term. Does anyone have any other real alternatives that have worked for them.

the dexedrine has caused him to be unable to sleep, eat and he has lost 35 pounds in less then 3 months. i have forgotten to mention that i have a partner that was on stimulant drugs for 7 years growing up and with no family history has had a heart attack and is suffering from congenative heart failure. Due to the stress thiese meds can cause on the heart

Answer 1

This is a good question, and having been a child with ADD/ADHD myself, as well as a psychology hopeful, I'd like to impart my experience on some non-drug related methods of control.

First, it's important to understand some of the things that accelerate the behaviors exhibited by ADHD children. Chemically speaking, one such accelerative agent is, surprisingly, certain food dyes. Specifically, the food dye "Red 40" has been proven in tests to accelerate some of the hyperactivity in children. It's very important that you check foods for this, as it is a surprisingly large contributor. Caffeine is also an accelerative agent, not for any unique reasons like a dye, but just because the effect it has on the brain and biochemistry has a tendency to accentuate specific states of mind: If you're feeling happy and energetic, you may becoming overly energetic. Likewise, if you're depressed, it can depress you further, and so on. That's also important to watch.

The number one accelerative agent that isn't chemical, however, is BOREDOM. That's right... If your child has nothing to do, they'll naturally do whatever they can to find something to do. Boredom is unhealthy for ANYONE, and doubly so for ADHD patients. This is a key piece of information for parents of children with ADHD, because the psychological effects can actually be a very large factor in your child's development on many, many levels.

Some general methods of control are surprisingly simple. One is to control boredom by encouraging your child to develop a healthy imagination. Imagination is the human mind's natural coping mechanism for boredom. However, it's possible for children to underdevelop this, and as such, this coping mechanism suffers. There are countless ways to encourage the healthy development of your child's imagination. You could get them art supplies, and they can draw and color. You can read books to them, or you could even start helping them build a book collection of their own to read. Another is definitely excercise, and this has many added benefits. Aside from just dealing with boredom, it also deals with children's restlessness and inability to sleep. You'll benefit from excercise from the day you're born to the day you die, and the benefits aren't confined to the physical, either.

Dietary habits are important, as well. Your mental and physical health are not mutually exclusive... When your body isn't healthy, your mind isn't healthy, and vice-versa. Fresh fruit in particular is a good way to keep your child's dietary habits on track, as most children can appreciate a nice apple or a banana with little goading.

For the inability to maintain attention, you can try many things, but one off-the-wall thing I suggest to a lot of parents, is, well... Video games. Just listen for a moment! Keeping your child's exposure in check, and monitoring what they play, video games can be an excellent tool for mental stimulation. In general, they can encourage attentiveness and reaction times, as well as other pleasant side effects, depending on the content. Your child can develop better comprehension and reading skills. Some games even encourage a certain level of extracurricular learning. For example, RPGs (Role-playing Games) are generally thick with mythological and historical references, and if your child becomes curious enough, they might just hop on the 'net and start hunting down some of this information. This is a surprisingly helpful tool, but it MUST BE KEPT IN CHECK! You can't allow your child to be babysat by a video game. Along with some of the benefits, if not controlled properly, they can have some very detrimental effects, as I'm sure everyone is well aware. Shoot-'em-ups and the like are not helpful at all... Besides encouraging behavior that is less than desirable, while they *can* encourage your child to develop a certain level of strategic thinking, in general, they're very straight-forward, and some of the other benefits they could otherwise be obtaining will be lost on that.

It's also important to note that some (Though not all) children will actually develop some coping mechanisms on their own. Myself, I developed several. One such mechanism was a predisposition to developing most behaviors as habitual. My parents will attest that for the longest time, my typical morning behavior had no real variations: Get up, bathroom, go downstairs, eat breakfast. From the moment I got up, to the moment I finished breakfast, there was nothing terribly different from day to day. When chore time came, I did everything in a specific order, every time. You have to be careful with this one if you see it start to develop, though... One of the not-so-great side effects of my developing this behavior was that, well... Old habits die hard. If I needed to make sure something got done BEFORE I went to breakfast, it was quite likely I'd forget it. During chores, there were certain things that I'd fail to do, not occasionally, but pretty much every day. It's definitely important to keep an eye on your child and look for these sorts of things, they can potentially do more harm than good. I've started to quell this particular adaptation to the point where I can successfully vary my routines from day to day, and still get what I need done, but with no small amount of work, to be certain.

There's so many different things that be used to control and combat the effects of ADD/ADHD that you'd be utterly astounded by all the inane things that have a positive effect. It's a terrible shame that the majority of the medical world would have it that your only real solution is pills. The best thing in the world you can possibly do is simply understand that the brain cannot safely be controlled by drugs. Ever. What looks harmless could have effects that aren't even obvious on the surface. If you just monitor your child, see what he likes, dislikes, and just in general try to see if you can figure out what makes him tick, you'll have no trouble figuring out natural ways you can deal. Just the fact that you've come to believe medications are not your best bet is good indication that you've got what it takes to help him. Don't be discouraged if you can't see the effects right away... It takes time, but you'll get it under control.

Answer 2

I don't know personally what you are going through, but my brother has ADHD so I have seen the effects up close. He was on medication for over 10 years (started age 5 and ended right before he turned 16) and it actually did help him somewhat. But it stunted his growth dramatically, so my mother took him off of it (he was on the old standby for ADHD, Ritalin the entire time). When he went off of the medication he lost control and pretty well went off the walls. He still hasn't completely gotten a handle on things (he's been in trouble with the law a lot). And he has similar difficulties that you have, concentration problems, girl issues, friend issues, etc. Now, some things from your question/statement I would like to address. You are on three different medications. Only one of them is a medication for ADHD, Vyvanse. And it is not usually recommended for extended use in adults. Lexapro is an anti-depressant and Abilify is a schizophrenic medication. You don't have either of those conditions. While you may seem to be depressed, you have ADHD which causes you to think differently than most people. It's not depression, it's just a misfiring of neurons. I would suggest that you seek out another doctor. It might not be what you want to hear and I'm sure you've had your fair share of medical 'professionals' thrown at you. But you do have a condition that needs treatment, so you might as well be getting what you need. I know that a lot of people have criticized you about your statements here. They don't seem to truly understand how ADHD affects adults. My brother lives with me now, and he still has the same problems that he had when he was a child and teenager. Personally, I don't think you're getting the correct treatment. I know that ADHD is incredibly frustrating. It makes life harder on you than most people and a lot of people probably just see you as a trouble maker and pain in the butt. But with the right treatments and medications and/or therapies you could probably see some improvement.

Answer 3

As a parent of kid with SEVERE ADHD let me assure you that Ritalin will not kill him. However, when we first started giving it to him, the medicine crash that came at the end of the day definitely got our attention. When we got him on Concerta, the time release function of the medication really ended that problem. But if your doctor has him on Dexedrine, that indicates to me that you're dealing with a pretty singular situation. By best friend's kid is also on Dexedrine, but he needs it just to go to sleep at night. There are also a number of different magazine publications (I'm sure you've read them) that might be able to better answer your question.

Answer 4

You may want to try Strattera. My brother had relatively good luck with it. It made him sick to his stomach at first, but you have to figure out what works for your son. For my brother, it worked best for him to take it right before bed rather than first thing in the morning. Everyone is different and reacts differently, so it may take you a few times to figure out what meds work best for your son, etc. With most of these kinds of drugs, it either doesn't work for them or they think it's the greatest thing on earth.

You also might want to talk to your doctor if you haven't already. Our doctor was incredibly helpful as far as the different possible meds and trying simple changes such as what time of the day the med is taken.

Good luck!

Answer 5

You could try looking at your son's diet. Certain foods may trigger him to be more hyper - ranging from glutens to E numbers. Have a look on food labels and try to avoid buying any product which has colours in it. My son's worst reaction is to peanut butter - it sends him crazy - so I've swapped it with almond butter. It may make shopping take longer - but it is worth it if your son is drug free!

Answer 6

I have heard about a research in Australia that says a daily dose of fish oil helps.

Answer 7

a different drug might help. Or, diet can play a big role. You could probably find a book on it online or in a large book store.

Answer 8

Go to walmart and get Natural Cures THEY Don't Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau. I believe he has something in there about that.

Answer 9

i know a woman that used to sell herbal life and she swears by it as one of her customers sons did very well on it for the same problem

Answer 10

piano lessons as strange as it sounds ...before drug therapy this was used to teach them to sit ..pay attention... and focus