Any opinion on herbal medicines for and ADHD child?

Question

I really don't want to put my five year on prescription medication.

Answer 1

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years. It is hard for these children to control their behavior and/or pay attention.

ADHD - CAUSE

Most substantiated causes appear to fall in the realm of neurobiology and genetics. This is not to say that environmental factors may not influence the severity of the disorder, but such factors do not seem to give rise to the condition by themselves.

ADHD - SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

The principal characteristics of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. These symptoms appear early in a child's life. When the child's hyperactivity, distractibility, poor concentration, or impulsivity begin to affect performance in school, social relationships with other children, or behavior at home, ADHD may be suspected. But because the symptoms vary so much across settings, ADHD is not easy to diagnose. This is especially true when inattentiveness is the primary symptom.

There are three subtypes of ADHD recognized by professionals. These are the predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type (that does not show significant inattention); the predominantly inattentive type (that does not show significant hyperactive-impulsive behavior) sometimes called ADD—an outdated term for this entire disorder; and the combined type (that displays both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms).

HOW DIAGNOSIS IS DONE for ADHD?

Because everyone shows some of these behaviors at times, the diagnosis requires that such behavior be demonstrated to a degree that is inappropriate for the person's age. The diagnostic guidelines also contain specific requirements for determining when the symptoms indicate ADHD. The behaviors must appear early in life, before age 7, and continue for at least 6 months. Above all, the behaviors must create a real handicap in at least two areas of a person's life such as in the schoolroom, on the playground, at home, in the community, or in social settings. So someone who shows some symptoms but whose schoolwork or friendships are not impaired by these behaviors would not be diagnosed with ADHD. Nor would a child who seems overly active on the playground but functions well elsewhere receive an ADHD diagnosis.

To assess whether a child has ADHD, specialists consider several critical questions: Are these behaviors excessive, long-term, and pervasive? That is, do they occur more often than in other children the same age? Are they a continuous problem, not just a response to a temporary situation? Do the behaviors occur in several settings or only in one specific place like the playground or in the schoolroom? The person's pattern of behavior is compared against a set of criteria and characteristics of the disorder as listed in the DSM-IV-TR.

HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT for Attention Defecit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Homeopathic medicines are known to have deep effect on human psychology and have been found effective in various mental and psychological disorders. The focus of homeopathy is not to treat the isolated symptoms of ADHD but to treat the child as a whole. Not only the symptoms of ADHD but also the general physical and mental constitution of the patient, past medical history, medical history of parents, information about pregnancy and vaccination - all are used to find the probable cause in a given case and based on the final analysis a remedy is chosen for a patient. The following medicines may help in the treatment of ADHD -

ADHD - CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT

The conventional treatment primarily uses a class of drugs known as stimulants (amphetamines).

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?

You can join various support groups. Behavioural therapy, Social-skills training, Parenting skills training, Psychotherapy can be useful for the patient and the family.

REFERENCE WORKS

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 14th ed, McGraw-Hill

Davidson's Principles and Practise of Medicine, 17th ed, 1996, Churchill Livingstone

New Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica & Repertory, William Boericke, 2nd revised ed., 2001, B. Jain

Answer 2

I have friends, a doctor and a nurse, whose son is ADHD. They had tried everything -- Adderol, Ritalin, etc. As a college student, he was unwilling to do anything else. They got him to try a powdered beverage drink that supplies vitamins and minerals to the brain with caffeine (less than what you get in a cup of coffee) as the delivery system. On a Calculus test, he made his first A in his life! He has now graduated from college, lives on his own and is a Personal Trainer. Their lives were changed from one nutritional product. Drugs are not the answer, especially for a five year old.

Good nutrition can provide answers to numerous physical and mental problems we face today. However, you cannot get all you need from the food you eat. The answer is in supplementation, phytonutrients and Omega 3s. Studies have shown that this is better than any drug and not harmful to your precious child's body. My friends are passionate about helping others keep their children off drugs. As I stated earlier, he is a Doctor and she is a Registered Nurse.

Answer 3

My son's school also said that he had ADHD. I took him to the doctor and they tried so many different meds, the last one really scared me. He was only 7 and was asking questions why was he even born, he doesn't have a right to live. I decided to take him off of it and do research on my own. I found out that my everyday cleaning supplies, shampoos, soaps everything had some sort of toxin in it that has medicaly been linked to ADHD. So I replaced everything in my house to toxin-free products, and he is doing so much better now. Straight A's in school. It has been great!!!!
email me and I can get you some more information
[e-mail]
or check out this website
http://dreams4moms.toxinchecklist.com

Answer 4

Me and my daughter both have it. I've done some research and trial 'n' error:
1) Cut out preservatives (in a lot of processed prepared foods) and refined sugar. It means more time cooking but it's worth it.
2) Get as much omega-3 and 6 in them as possible. Really. It makes a world of difference!!! It's in fish and flax seed naturally. A lot of multigrain breads now have some extra. Or there are fish oil and flax seed oil supplements too. (Best taken with food to prevent stomach upset!)
3) Make sure they eat a high-protein, low-carb breakfast. (Example: Eggs with multigrain toast.) Heavy carbs can make it harder to focus since more of your energy is spent digesting!

Answer 5

I have lots of ADD, and ADHD in my family including myself, and 2 of my 3 children. Although I do not consider it a deficit, because ADD children are usually very intelligent, and are easily bored. That is part of the problem with the school systems. They don't move along fast enough to keep up with these kids that are moving and thinking in a faster mode than the others, thus ADD/ADHD kids get in to more trouble, because they are bored out of their minds, and not challenged. I think they do better in smaller classrooms where they get more individualized attention from the teacher. My oldest was not diagnosed until age 14 when it manifested itself in to a severe leg pain, that they could never quite figure out what caused it. When I took her to the Neurologist, he pegged us both, as ADD. Mine was mild enough that I mangaged to live with it without treatment, however there is believed to be an association with fibromyalgia in adults, which I have now. My daughter at 14, refused to take the medication, so she just had to learn to deal with it. She never finished high school, but she did get her diploma, when she went to get her GED. She did so well on the test they gave her an actual diploma. She dropped out of school, partially because of her ADD, and partially from us moving clear across the country when she was 16. (Devastating for a teenager, she thought her life was over, lol) She is now an Office Administrator, all learned OJT.

ADD/ADHD kids are very intelligent and creative, active children. They are great auditory learners, so if you give a child a koosh ball to play with, he will be more likely to comprehend what the teacher is saying, because his hands are busy, and he can concentrate. My son is also ADD, and I wanted to try that method for him but of course down here in the good old boy network in Florida, they are still in the 50's mentality in the schools, wouldn't go for that and labeled my son as a trouble maker so fast it was scary. The poor child couldn't even breath in middle school without getting in to trouble. I went around and around with them and finally pulled him out and put him in an alternative school, where he did much better. My son tried Ritalin, and Adderol, without much effect other than stunting his growth while he was on them. I ended up taking him off of them because they didn't work very well. I did start giving him caffeine in the AM, and cut out the sugar, and that helped more than anything. No sugary breakfast, mostly protien, bacon, eggs, sausage, etc... It made more difference than anything.

Half of the battle is getting the school's cooperation in your ability to deal with ADD in your child. If you live in an area that is proactive, that will be awsome. If I could have home schooled my son, I would have. He was bored to death in school, and of course got in trouble as a result. I just couldn't get it through the schools heads that he needed to be challenged, not chastised.

The Soul Dr. is a great reference so definately read what he had to say, and check the link he gave you. Good luck.

Answer 6

Both my daughter and myself are ADHD. My wife has us drink caffeinated tea in the morning , and at night time, 'sleepy time' tea (decaf) for sleeping. It's safe and has been working for us both so far. We also avoid sugar as much as possible. good luck :)

Answer 7

Try a Yahoo search for adhd (OR "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder") + "natural remedies".