ADHD

panicos_2

Anyone any advice? My son is 10 and recently is out of control Ritalin does'nt seem to be working anymore and I don't want the dose to be put up as I think it's a shame. I do have him on fish oils hes been settled for a year now but recently has become very violent to his twin brothers who are 7. Anything is worth a try as I'm at my wits end.

debbiet

hi,

Have you tried altering his diet? I work with students with ADHD and have had a bit of training but I'm by no means an 'expert' but studies have shown that diet can make a really big difference in some cases, even things like coloured toothpaste (as it has a certain E number) should be removed.

debs

Greenstuff_2

First, I'm really sorry to hear what your going through, I know how you feel.
My Daughter had severe problems including behaviour problems and is now 100% fighting fit.
After getting nowhere with Doctors and finding she actually got much worse when given drugs, we went down the alternative route and the results are astonishing, she hasn't been to a doctor since 1997.
She is now sweet, calm and very creative, and is going to attend a mainstream secondary school next September that has art college status, her future is looking very bright.
The fish oils are fantastic and a great starting point, the trouble is they need to be given in massive doses and take ages - about 12 weeks to take effect, they are also contraindicated with Ritalin.
The fish oil he is on may not be the most effective brand for him, also after taking something for a while you can become allergic to it so need to change.
He could also be lacking in other nutrients, drugs sap the body of vitamins.
After much trial and error we found Kinesiology, it is the art of muscle testing, it is excellent for finding what is upsetting him food or drug wise, and what vitamins he needs.
I will PM you my Kinesiologists details, she is in Illford, London, but if that's impossible for you to get to I'm sure she can recommend someone nearer, get to her if you can as she is wonderful.
There are different types of Kineiology, in my opinion Clinical is the best as it uses various different methods and is more accurate.

I shall also give you my email addy, please please get in touch if you want to talk.
What Doctors don't tell you is also a wealth of information. WWW.WDDTY.co.uk as is Foresight
http://www.foresight-preconception.org.uk/
Although their website isunder construction but you can get info by sending a 36p sae to Foresight 28 The Paddock Godalming Surrey GU7 1XD

Best of luck,

Vicky

macchicken

Im so sorry to hear about your son. I agree that diet change could help, which is going to mean being strict....hard i know.
Also maybe you could ask your doctor if there are any support groups where other families could share their advice.
good luck

Greenstuff_2

I totally agree, the main part of my Daughters recovery was diet.
She was three and a half and still in nappies and couldn't talk.
I was told I'd need a social worker from the disabilities team that I really was not happy about but turned out to be the best thing I ever did.
She arranged free nappies, 2 days at a nursery, and put me in touch with support groups.
One was AFASIC, that helps with speech and language problems and the volunteer I spoke to on the phone told me about diet. Although I was sceptical, I did as she suggested and cut out all food additives especially bright colours and sweetners and processed food - really not that hard at all, they also said to cut out cow's milk (we switched her to goats milk) and any foods she craved and ate or drank lots of and the results were stunning.
Within 2 weeks she was out of nappies and talking in sentences, she has developed normally ever since.
She was always that bit behind - when assessed about 2 years, but as she's got older the gap has been less and less. She can now eat as she pleases, although we do follow a healthy diet and eat organically as much as possible. Foresight do a booklet called find out, it's pocket size and it lists the side effects of additives, one of the ones she reacts violently to also causes internal bleeding!!
The alternative route is expensive, I don't know if you are aware but you may be eligable for a disability allowance, but don't attempt to fill in the claim form yourself, it'd tricky and if you put one thing wrong you will not qualify. My Mother in law who's a legal secretary told me that her solicitor who deals with benefit claims has appealed for severly disabled people who have been turned down simply as they have put down one wrong thing. I don't know the ins and outs but there is a benefits thread on here that will give you the information, CAB type places will help you do the form, if you are not working you could get legal aid to get a solicitors help.
She reacts to drugs, so we only treat her with natural remedies that are very affective and have no side effects, we found a brilliant supplement, drops by biocare vitascorb vitamns and minerals, if he wont take them they can be hidden in food or drinks, https://www.nutricentre.com are doing £5 off over £25 and Tesco clubcard points, or they are availiable at good healthshops. We have found she is also allergic to boligical washing powder, face paints and dogs, these things we found out by trial and error, but as I said before Kinesiology is an excellent way of finding out quickly, but not essential, we have all been seeing one for almost a year.
Best of luck.

panicos_2

Thanks for all your advice. Greenstuff you've given me hope and your daughters story is remarkable its amazing how diets do affect our behaviour and learning abilitys. I don't really want a social worker but if it helps I'm willing to give it a go. As for diets I've tried The Feingold Diet but it is really strict. Ive got the Paediatriacian next week so I'll ask about other diets and alternative therapy. I'm so grateful for all your advice and thanks to you all again.

Quackers

Hi,

Just another angle.

My daughter has behavioural problems and was referred to a counsellor at our mental health unit (great name!) through our GP about 2 years ago. She was 10 at the time.

For the whole time my daughter didn't utter hardly a word. Well, maybe 2 or 3. Me and the counsellor did most of the talking and I was quite suprised wen I realised that it was probably me that was being 'counselled' for the majority of the time. I went home & cried after many of the sessions!! We talked a lot about my background and how it affected the way I deal with my daughter as well as the reason for the violence - my daughter was and still is very violent towards me and her younger sister and also herself.
It certainly opened my eyes and has made me look at how I deal with the situations and look further into what causes them. Its going to take a long time for my daughter to change - not sure she can :-/ so how I react to situations that arise and how I deal with any issues to prevent them from 'exploding' is really important.

I know very little about ADHD so obviously it may not apply as you may have no control but the way you react to the situation could sometimes make things worse - it certainly did for me!

Hope that helps a little

Js_Other_Half

I work with adolescents with a disabilty, some of whom have ADHD, autism, etc. I can wholeheartedly recommend looking at the diet your child has. It doesn't have to be artificial stuff that sets them off - we have one young man who managed to kick a table leg off a dining room table and attack me with it after he had eaten some Heinz Tomato Ketchup! (I managed to restrain and disarm him - difficult when he was bigger than me! )

E Nos are the obvious culprits, but we also have young people who cannot have gluten or dairy - and their behaviour has improved immensely.

We have some young people on super nu thera - from nutricentre. I think it is a B6 compound, but it seems to work well with some autism - not sure about ADHD.

If you do need to go down the pharmaceutical route, there is new medication out called risperdal or respiridone. It is an anti psychotic drug. Initially it wasn't licenced for children, but that does seem to be changing. It is not something that should be given lightly, but if your child is becoming more and more violent and you cannot find any reasons why this is happening, it may be a last resort.

Good luck with it all.

John_M_Business

Hi there

Would definitely agree with change in diet - no artificial colours or flavouring and reduce, as far as possible, intake of processed foods and sugar. Have been told that salt makes a difference, but not sure on that one.

Also, reduce / limit exposure to TV / internet / computer games if at all possible.

Greenstuff_2

Hi there,

You are most welcome, I get really excited when people decide to look into natural ways to treat their health - especially when It's the health of children who are very sensitive and can't make the decision for themselves.

A word of warning though, don't expect much encouragement from health professionals re diet and natural therapies, I remember going to My Daughters Pediatrician full of excitement about diet and he looked at me with a 'look' and basically told me I could try but wouldn't even enter into a conversation about it with me. When she started to improve so much he still wouldn't admit I was right. What bothers me most is that so many desperate parents go to these people every year and they could so easily point them in the right direction, but they don't.
And we are talking about food here - the most natural thing in the world.
When I speak to other parents they all say that diet played an astonishing part in their childs recovery and development, but this is never recognised. They say it's because there is no money in vitamins and supplements, I don't know if that's a fair thing to say, IMO it's because doctors spend many years learning how to be a Doctor so simply don't know how to advise on vitamins and diet - it's like asking a builder about your plumbing.
I don't know if you saw Trevor McDonald a few weeks back on Epilepsy, some children who were having up to 100 fits a day were put on a Ketone diet, (where the body uses fat for energy instead of sugar - ala Atkins) thus processing fat instead of storing it (fish oils??) and their seizures stopped, the diet was actually a cure.
I also saw a drama about it that was a true story, a Mother in America was apalled at the drugs given to her Son and was dead against surgery, so looked into the diet when she aproached her Doctor she knew of it but told her it was a waste of time, she then actually accused the Mother of neglect and tried to stop her trying it.
Mother suceeded and the boy was cured, but the nicest thing was at the end it showed that several parts had been played by people who had been cured by the diet, they had all been drug and seizure free for years.
The diet had been devised in the 20's but largely abandoned when the anti epileptic drugs were introduced.
Folic acid, the trials were done in the 70's that proved they were invaluable, it wasnt till 20 years later it was recommended for preganant women, how many babies were born (or aborted) with cleft palets or spina bifida in that time?
Sorry I digress, you mention the 'Feingold' diet, I've never heard of it, but it's important to realise you will not be putting him on a 'diet' you will simply cut out E numbers and processed food, things like tomato ketchup comes in an organic variety as do most things, he won't miss out and probably not even notice, you will simply be returning to a more natural way of eating that will be easier on the whole families digestion, organic is important too, yes it's expensive but we have found ways to manage, we look to old fashioned ways of stretching food, for instance I roast a chicken minus legs and wings for one meal, strip the carcass and make a pie with the pieces and lots of carrots and peas, then a stew with the legs and wings and lots of veg thats a lot cheaper, Cathy on Money saving old style is a whizz for ideas.
Spag Bol, organic pasta v cheap, jar of organic sauce, pound organic mince less than £2 in asda, split the mince, freeze half, bulk out with tomatoes (buy ones reduced, soft and perfect for cooking) onions etc. easy fill up a family of 5.
Not too much sugar, pure fruit juice instead of squash, watered down, and keep away from chemicals when cleaning, use eco friendly brands or good old Cathy's tips.
He might be worse at first as he withdraws from the chemicals, it won't last long and cutting things out gradually will help if he does, although he may be fine.
Homeopathy is very usefull as they sit and talk to you for up to 2 hours at a time, he might find that very theraputic, too as the remedies are very gentle, Martin did a comparison on here for healthcare cashbach schemes that cover alternative treatments.
Re social worker, don't be put off, they are not the usual ones, they are simply to help children with special needs. Does he have a statement of special needs for school? Look into that of not, it's invaluable.
Don't forget to look into benefits, I've spoken to a friend who's son has ADHD and she gets the higher amount - £600 per month
Good luck and keep us posted?

jellyhead

just wanted to say i had a similar experience to greenstuff. my boy was suspected of having ADHD and autism. he was referred after his 2 year check. he was diagnosed with moderate developmental delay but is around average now. i don't so much care about his academic progress but what i wanted was for him to be able to make friends and interact with other children, and for him not to be so violent and hyper that children shunned him. he's still very day-dreamy and people on an ADHD email list ADDvocate@yahoogroups.com say it sounds like he has ADD but because there's no hyperactivity in him any more unless he eats certain things he doesn't get the ADHD diagnosis because he doesn't need medication.

anyway, the things i found i needed to avoid are dairy products and some artificial colours. sunset yellow is absolutely evil. avoid mcdonalds milkshake and certain sweets such as skittles or refreshers. jelly beans are usually full of colours too. asda have a range of sweets that contain 'NO AZO DYES' (that's what it says on the packet). they are in bags that are 3 for a pound. we have to avoid lots of things but he's quite careful about colours (because he knows how awful they make him feel and that he gets punished for bad behaviour). he doesn't eat dairy except for maybe a tiny bit of chocolate sometimes (and only chocolate covered biscuits, he doesn't eat chocolate bars or easter eggs as they contain more dairy).

it was the speech therapist who told me about artificial colours. i saw a social worker as part of the assessment and she arranged the free nappies and childcare fees (they paid for him to go into the uni creche while i finished my degree) but there was no implication that i was a bad mother or that he was at risk or anything like that. the social worker was there purely to make sure that everyone being assessed got as much financial help as they could. i didn't feel worries or ashamed, i was glad of the help and i never saw her again.

once he'd stopped having bad colours and dairy he began to talk and also began to sleep at night and the violence completely disappeared. he still has bad times - some things can set off problems, including flourescent lighting. the bright lights in asda and mcdonalds that give me migraine cause him to go hyperactive. we got a tint put into his glasses and it seems to help, although for some children proper coloured lenses are needed. we've found that as long as he avoids the bad foods (we can tell if he's had dairy because he gets invisible eczema, his skin turns rubbery and itchy), avoids bright lights for long periods and most importantly that he goes to bed early (much earlier than other children his age, he needs 11 hours sleep even at weekends) then most of the time he isn't hyperactive, he's not angry and he can control his impulses. when one or more of these factors creep in he explodes into an angry child who behaves like a toddler.

oh, and we also give him omega 3. it doesn't seem to do a lot for him but he doesn't eat fish so he needs the fatty acids. i've noticed that he is cleverer when taking the omega 3 but he's still dreamy and it hasn't helped him concentrate.