Natural Herbs for ADHD

So you'd rather give your child a chemical that is not regulated and has not been proven to be effective instead of trying chemicals that are tested and proven to work?

Because herbal supplements are combinations of chemicals. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it's safe. Please work with a doctor on this. And if you don't want to do chemicals, talk with your doctor about a referral to a behavioral therapist who can teach your child coping strategies.

"My child has been diagnosed with: diabetes, cancer, schizophrenia, cystic fibrosis, *insert some other illness*, but rather than give my child prescribed medication specifically for their illness, I would rather use some cocktail of unregulated drugs, cross my fingers, and hope for the best"

Really? Your child was diagnosed with a specific disorder, one that has medications that typically work for it. He is probably getting shamed at school for his behaviors, and you are getting calls already regarding his behaviors. Yet you want to see if there are "natural" medicines out there that might calm him down.

No one "really wants" to put their kid on medication - whether it be for ADHD, or diabetes, or cancer or CF or anything. You are not special in that regard. The difference is that when you are aware that a medication would likely work but choose not to use it.

Treat this diagnosis like you would any other "illness" and try the medications suggested by your doctor. If they don't work or he has some kind of reaction THEN perhaps as a last resort you should be looking into alternatives.

Remember this isn't about you (your entire post is I, I, I). It is about your son - if you told him he could take a pill and have a much better day at school, would he WANT to take it?

A first grade boy who has lots of energy and won't sit still? Say it ain't so.

I was diagnosed at age 8. My boys were diagnosed at age 6. They are both on medications (different ones, because they responded differently) and are most certainly not zombies. They still have a ton of energy and are goofy kids, but they are able to focus and actually remember and enjoy school.

We tried "natural" meds. They didn't work. We tried parenting differently. All sorts of trendy tactics. They helped a little, but didn't work because ADHD is a brain disorder where neurotransmitters basically don't communicate properly. They needed actual medication to fix that problem.

Today they are 12 and 14, on meds, and both get A's and B's in their classes, enjoy sports and music, and are 100% mainstreamed at school (meaning they have no IEP/504 plan).

You can try natural medicines. And reward charts. And diet changes. And a whole host of other things. But please, please keep an open mind. If your child does need stimulant medication to help to manage his ADHD symptoms and to help him to be successful in school, it is NO reflection on you as a parent. He has a real neurological condition that needs to be treated. Treating it makes you a GOOD mom, not a bad one.

ETA: I just wanted to say: I couldn't agree more with Starr and Nervy.

Honestly, I think that parents who don't treat their kids' behavioral health disorders are cruel. If he had anxiety, would you allow him to go day after day feeling like he's having panic attacks? Guess what....about 70% of people with ADHD also have anxiety.

I see how much my son struggles and feels frustrated when he accidentally forgets to take his meds. He WANTS to be able to focus, he WANTS to be able to stay on task and sit still, but he simply cannot. It's really not something we with ADHD choose. And if all it takes is a pill in the morning to make all those synapses fire properly and make him feel less anxious, more confident, more focused and able to stay on task...give it a try.

My son was diagnosed with ADHD in January. The way I understand it, ADHD means his brain functions differently and that the neurons are firing off faster in his brain that in the brains of others. Taking the meds helps his neurons to fire at a rate much more consistent with society, thus enabling him to function and "fit in" with society.

My son stated taking meds, and it has made a HUGE difference. I can't even tell you how much happier he is. He is so much more relaxed, and he can actually function!!! He was having so much trouble just sitting still and being a part of things ... and he desperately wanted to be a part of things and be included. He knew he was different from the other kids, and it broke his heart.

My son is 6 1/2 years old, and he has told me he feels better when he takes his meds. I wasn't very strict about it at the beginning of the summer, and that was an eye opening experiences. He was goofy, had trouble focusing, couldn't get him out the door for anything (even things he LOVED). It was just a mess. He even told me that he doesn't like it when I forget. I'm so glad we had that experience this summer, because it helps me to feel so much better about choosing the meds.

If you want to try another route, go for it. But, for your son's sake, please do not rule out the meds. This is not just about him being calm or sitting still. This is about helping his brain to function!!! His brain might not be able to without the meds.

ETA - I know I'm making an already long post even longer, but this is important.

One thing we learned is that our son still needed to learn how to behave at school. Yes his ADHD was a huge part of the poor behavior, but because he was always trying to cope, he never really learned how to behave in many situations. We have been working with him and trying to remind ourselves to expect more from him (even when it makes things harder on us). We also take him Social Skills and Occupational Therapy each week for 1 hour each, and he goes to Speech each week, where he works on Social Speech. It's an ongoing process, but at least now we are making progress. All of these components are extremely important, and we do what we can to help his therapists work together.

My point is, drugs alone are not going to "fix" everything for him. I would feel very safe saying that any "natural" remedy you find is not going to be enough either. Your son will more than likely need to work on his social skills and really learn how to behave in the classroom. Right now he might not even fully understand what that means.

Many people are concerned that doctors tend to throw meds at the problem, no matter what the problem is, without even exploring other options. There probably is some truth to that. At the same time, an awful lot of research goes in to those various meds, and most doctors do not prescribe anything willy nilly. They give it serious thought.

Our son saw his doctor several times over a period of 3 years before he received the diagnosis of ADHD. His doctor suspected when he fist met him, but he would not give that diagnosis until he was sure. He carefully weighed the teachers evaluations each time we came in (so 3 years of evals) before observing that his teachers were, in fact, noticing enough sign/symptoms of ADHD.

I'm just saying, consider the possibility that your doctor is telling you that your son has a medical condition and not just that he needs to "settle down" a bit. If he has a true medical condition, you really might not be able to help him without medicine.

No one starts out wanting to put their child on medication. However, speaking from experience, it was the best thing we ever did for our son. He went from being kicked out of preschool and having one friend to being on honor roll with a group of friends. At 12, he's doing great!

Unfortunately, the only "natural" option showing promise is omega 3s. Those can help with mild focus issues, the research is showing. We tried those for a good year+, but never did see any change in our son. He has extreme combined-type ADHD, so there probably wasn't much hope there to begin with, but it was worth a try.

With 9 years of ADHD experience now, I strongly recommended developing your treatment plan with his psychiatrist, rather than playing doctor yourself or turning to general boards like this one. The specialists really do understand how to treat this condition effectively. We do a combination of medication and therapy. I went to a CHADD conference (if you don't know CHADD yet, look them up) several years ago and the top ADHD researchers were there. They said medication combined with therapy had by far the best outcomes in people with ADHD. Medication alone came in second.

It would be awesome if there was a vitamin we could give our kids that would alleviate this condition, but there just isn't. It's a serious medical condition and one that needs to be treated under the advice of medical specialists.

ETA: Your child won't be a zombie. That only happens when the dosage is too high and any decent psychiatrist will start on the smallest dosage and work up. Medication is handled very cautiously and thoughtfully. Our son is still as spunky and full of personality as ever. None of that changed.

Please do yourself a favor and work with a psychiatrist in regard to your son's treatment.

I think some people have the idea that medication is just meant to serve the adults and not the child. Medications are not meant to make a child sit down and shut up: they are meant to help frustrated children have balance.

My son has ADD. We did a lot of testing and evaluation before being presented (by a very well-esteemed doc) with a diagnosis. We learned a lot about our son, including where his strengths and challenges lie. We learned that some of his most difficult moments come because his brain and his abilities to express himself or take information in are out of synch with each other. More than one person has explicitly said "it's not actually that he's not focusing, it's that he focuses on everything". His brain hasn't learned to tune out or discriminate what he needs to attend to and what he doesn't.

Keeping him home and homeschooling seems ideal, until you factor in that part of managing ADD/ADHD is learning to be around other people. The social development piece is very important. Learning to be in the group, not be a distraction, to control one's own body and actions-- these are skills one needs, lifelong. Added to this, even sitting near the kitchen window can stall his homework for five minutes at a time-- every moving object is an invitation to distraction. These problems don't, as suggested, magically go away once a child is out of school.

By pulling a kid out, we do risk taking away opportunities for practicing those skills. By shielding them from expectations we all know exist.

Our doc recommended against medication because of some other factors relating to our child's health, however, we were open to it. We wanted our son to feel successful in school, to be able to track what was happening when his more difficult subjects were being taught. We have found some things are more helpful: high protein diet, staying away from corn syrup/HFCS, good physical activity every day and also small, targeted goals and incentives designed to encourage. Small, daily successes are to be acknowledged and failures to be put into perspective with problems identified, goals restated, etc.

We attended a weekend workshop and work with this doc, who is a psychologist, on how we as parents need to change our thinking and behavior to help our son. THAT is the most powerful intervention, from my perspective. Helping the parents to understand that their children need some structure and discipline which may not be part of today's parenting 'norm'.

Do what others have suggested: talk to professionals about this, not here. As you can see, opinions vary widely and run the gamut.

My son is on meds and it's far from making him a zombie. He can focus long enough to get through his classes and isn't in trouble as much as he used to be.

He also has an IEP that allows him to take breaks about every 15 minutes and limits his work to a reasonable amount for him to do. He doesn't do any homework at all and a few other things that help him. If your son has a psych he's seeing and a diagnosis, he should qualify. Good luck.

I believe the best thing to do would be to talk to his Dr. and get references for what types of natural supplements are best and why. I am not anti RX but I hate taking RX and will only do so if I really need it.

There are tons of people online that sell all kinds of snake oil remedies and you have no idea what is in them or if they are regulated by the FDA. I am speaking about types of essential oils and other supplements that are not properly labeled with ALL ingredients. The last thing you want is a negative reaction or overdose of a supplement.

I am a believer in going the natural route. I take a natural anti-inflammatory BUT my DR is the one who gave me the info me, explained how it works, why, dosage, etc.

Best wishes to you!

So, how many more days are you going to get called?

Treating a chemical imbalance in the brain is very difficult on a good day. His brain is firing randomly and switches from one connection to another.

When you finally break down and try medication see if his psychiatrist, that is who should prescribe mental health medication, will try him on Ritalin. It's been around a long long long long time and has very few side effects. If it doesn't work well there are other meds to try.

How the medication works.

You might have had an old beater car at some point or had a friend that had one. You know the kind, it doesn't drive worth anything until it hits 35 or 40 mph. Then it drives like a dream. That's like an ADHD brain. It's jerking over here for a moment then bouncing over there, randomly shooting around and not making the right connections.

With meds they speed up brain function and it suddenly syncs up. Connections are made and kept. The person can see clearly for probably the first time in their life. They can process thoughts, come to conclusions, carry out a task, listen to the teacher, figure out how things work.

It's like the blindfolds come off and the world makes sense. They are better off and are able to finally function. They aren't in a fugue anymore. The world makes sense.

Bad behavior is sometimes an effect of skipping around brains. They can't focus and that makes them angry and that makes them act out.

Meds can change your child's life. Please visit with his psychiatrist about this more. They can help you see that there are biological reasons to do this.

Would you want to treat diabetes with herbs? Would you not give your child insulin if they were having a high sugar reading? Would you treat epilepsy with herbs? When they were having seizures every day at school and you were getting calls to come up there? Would you treat that medical problem with herbs? Would you treat a sinus infection with herbs? Or anything but the medication the doctor prescribed?

Why wouldn't you treat another illness with meds and not a biological mental health chemical imbalance with anything else? When there are so many different medications that can help this.

When "my" daughter was diagnosed I told the doc they were nuts, that ADHD was just a result of too much sugar or too much other stuff and that kids act bad because they haven't learned to do what they're told. I walked out.

She flunked kindergarten and I threw a fit. They put her in Transitional First grade. She didn't do great. She started 1st grade and I was getting calls almost every day. Told the teacher she wasn't much of a teacher if she couldn't manage a child and find consequences to make my daughter do what she wanted.

Sent daughter to live with her dad. He put her on meds the first week. She passed 2nd grade, next to top of her class. Went on through elementary school excelling at her work. Came back to live with me and of course "I" took her off her meds, she was doing fine and didn't need them.

She dropped out of school by age 16 and got addicted to drugs later on in life, around age 30. She went through rehab and has been drug free since. I wonder how things would have turned out if she had stayed on the meds and been able to concentrate and focus. What did my decisions to take her off her meds do for her? Not a darn thing positive.

My grandson was diagnosed ADHD and I let the psychiatrist put him on Ritalin. It's on the $5 list and it has been around a long long time. We did half a pill right before he went in the door to eat breakfast at school. It wore off about 3.5 hours later. Gone, nothing left in his system. It doesn't build up. It's like taking an aspirin or Tylenol, gone after a little while. It doesn't linger or stay around. I like that. I don't like having a med that builds up in their system and stay forever.

Over 3 years he worked up to a whole pill at breakfast and half a pill after lunch. That's it. By the end of the school day the med was completely out of his system. If we needed him to be calm for an event such as church or a piano recital we were allowed to give him the other half of his lunch pill around 3:30. It would be gone by 7:30/8pm and he would not have much interference with his sleep that night. There have been a few times we gave it to him in the evening and it was a bit late so he stayed up late, really late, but he didn't have a hard time any other evening. He was so tired he'd go to bed and be asleep in a few minutes.

He's one of the smartest kids in his class and he is well behaved. Compared to a child who routinely flipped furniture or threw things or banged furniture until he'd make a hole. He was a changed child because I learned through my experiences with my daughter that his ADHD was a medical problem and not an environmental issue. His brain needed medication and it was up to me to manage the side effects and watch to see how he was doing.

Some meds are too much for the kiddo. Some meds work well and have minimal side effects. It's not the end of the world either way if you choose to not give him the meds. It's just harder on him and makes him feel like he's less since the behaviors and actions are pretty much out of his control.

well, i hear ya. ADHD is certainly a real thing (my family is riddled with it) but i really do think that an awful lot of wiggly kids are diagnosed because they're wiggly, not because there's a brain disruption going on.
i wish you'd have got cracking on this over the summer. trying to fix it non-medically now while he's wiggling away in school will be difficult and disruptive for you both.
i'd start with diet. a lot of 'problem' kids experience a vast improvement in behaviors simply by cutting out additives, sugar and processing chemicals.
that plus plenty of vigorous outdoor activity would be a better place to start than herbs.
i like herbs, grow a lot of my own and use them in teas, baths, and culinary creations, but if you're actually going to use them as medicine and in place of a px med being recommended by your doctor, PLEASE go see an experienced and licensed homeopath who can guide you far more effectively than a mom's advice board. the idea of just throwing st john's wort at a 1st grader whose behavior is generating that many phone calls is worrisome at best.
i'm all about plant medicines, and grooving with what our systems have evolved to work with. but it's a big field, and you need expert guidance with it. the food and drug industry is already using us and our kids as lab rats. moms need to be smarter.
khairete
S.

Can you homeschool? 6 year olds should be outside running everyday, for long periods of time. There is nothing wrong with your son. Your instinct is correct. Please do not medicate him so he can be trained to sit in a chair for periods of time that are not developmentally appropriate. Free him and yourself from thinking he is broken. He isn't. The schools are.

Diet might help, but he has a chemical imbalance and it needs to be dealt with. EVERYTHING is made up of chemical chains, even "natural" things, so don't shy away from medication or assume "natural" is better in a case like this.

Tell your doctor your concerns and ask questions about smallest dosages. Also, see if your school can provide a wobbly seat and/or fidget object. My son has a wobble seat at school - he has sensory needs, and it helped him sit still because it gave his body something to do while he was sitting.

I have a cousin with it, and strangely (or not), Mountain Dew (high caffine) calms him. Coffee also has a calming effect on him as well, and I've heard this is somewhat typical for ADHD/ADD.

Hello
I try saw a program that discussed Ayurvedic medicine and it was mentioned that rubbing sesame oil on their feet. I know sounds strange, but it's interesting.. there is an interesting article about attention deficit disorder on this site:
http://www.alandiashram.org/school/school_html/reviews/ad...
I think this type of alternative medicine and wisdom seems like a better approach than taking meds. that isn't to say that depending upon the severity of any condition that meds don't have their place..
but if it was my child, then like you'd , I 'd want to first avoid medicine...
not to mention, its many side-effects..
check out the article I found it helpful..
my child doesn't have ADHD, but he had a classmate who did and I wanted to know more about it.. In that child's case, he would take his medicine in the am but you could tell by afternoon something was different, the child seem to become more agitated.. what bothers me is that they give the kids the meds but then who is really there besides the teacher to really watch how the child is doing .. to assess if the dosage is too high or even low... I didn't like that they gave the child medicine and too... allowed him to eat a lot of junkfood, which I do think can many any person too hyper, especially IF there are unseen allergies.. sometimes, allergies don't manifest themselves with a rash or apparent physical symptoms.. an allergy can creep in subtly with a feeling of being jumpy or a maybe a racing pulse.. there are many other ways to discern if a child has an allergy or is ADHD...sometimes, docs take the easy way out .. I really think you should trust your gut instinct and try alternative cures. I hope the article helps
good luck

Many of us have been on this path, and I was right there with you. I tried some natural/herbal remedies also. You need to find a registered Homeopath. Ironically, one of the ads that is on this page as I type is for "BrightSpark", which it says is a homeopathic remedy for adhd symptom relief. (Not endorsing it, just thought that was interesting.) Whatever you choose, do your homework and research, research, research. Be sure that it's safe. Just keep an open mind and realize that all that matters is helping your son- and in the end, you may find that the best option is to get him medication, if that is what it takes to get him through school successfully. And once you do that you may have to try more than one before finding the right fit. It's not a quick or easy journey for most of us. Good luck mama! he is depending on you!

Look into homeschooling. My son has ADD and in middle school, 7th grade, we opted to try meds. It helped him to focus a little yes, but it also made his eyes blink really fast. I got spooked and took him right off.

He's in 10th grade now and by 9th grade, things improved.

If you keep him in school, try to get him to BIKE to school. You can bike with him. Or walk a few blocks to school. Teachers have reported kids come in calmer and ready to learn if they walk to school. That might help him to calm his mind. My son is very active and loves to be out doing stuff. I would definitely be homeschooling if my husband was supportive.

Natural Medicines - there might be some herbal supplements at the health food store. Go and ask. I give my kids FISH OIL almost every day. They are 11 and 15.

No Electronics after 7pm. Help his mind to quiet down. After school get him outside playing.

You have to be very careful if you play "kitchen chemist" - just because something is "natural" or "organic" doesn't mean it's safe, and it's very difficult to mix/match products on your own to get the right concentrations of different nutrients. You can actually cause more problems than you solve, and I've had friends actually put themselves in the hospital trying to do stuff on their own or buy what the clerk in the "health food store" recommended.

You need to know where the products are manufactured and under what conditions. While the FDA does not approve supplements that are food-based (just as they do not approve food products in your grocery store), they do inspect manufacturing facilities in the US. So if it's not a drug that requires approval (such as most vitamins and over-the-counter medications as well as prescriptions), the ingredients should be on the GRAS list (Generally Recognized As Safe) but also (important) carefully blended to prevent an excess amount or difficulty in processing through digestion.

So you want a US-manufactured product (not just distributed by a US company!) from a company that has the FDA Good Manufacturing Practices designation. A patent is helpful because it guarantees that the product is unique and that the company was willing to put everything up to scrutiny, and it guarantees that what's on the label is what's in the container. (A lot of "healthy" stores like GNC and Whole Foods were recently caught selling things that did not have the listed ingredients in them.)

I don't think you need to justify that your son is a "good boy" - let's assume that all kids are good at their core. Conditions like ADD/ADHD, Asperger's and so on are real conditions. There are options besides medication and they are worth trying.

Have you read anything on epigenetics? That's the science that has shown so many conditions as coming from damage to the switching mechanism in some cells that causes them to function in a way other than that in which they were intended. More and more university research institutions, government agencies, and other facilities are doing work in this area, showing great results in everything from autism to cancer metastasis to cholesterol reduction using a natural peptide that repairs the gene switching defect. This is not a genetic issue but an epigenetic one - above the genome. If that defect occurs in a brain cell, the person may have something like ADD. If it occurs elsewhere, the person may have a tendency to another condition (cancer, IBS, high cholesterol, you name it).

Working in food science, I've seen tremendous results with natural peptides in these areas, and I work with some of the leading scientists in this area including experts in pediatric nutrition. So there are ways to evaluate what you are considering using, and to make sure that your choice is based on clinical studies and proven safety.

I don't know of any herbs to help but I came across this article a while back.

My nephew has ADHD and has terrible reactions to the prescription meds, they are always changing what he takes. Not sure if this would work for all kids but you never know.

Just a side note here: America is only 5% of the worlds population and America uses 50% of all pharmaceuticals made. It's certainly something to think about.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/suffer-the-children/...

Doctor's don't have all the answers, the best ones will work with you to come up with a plan that works for your child. There is no magic bullet but lots of paths to try before and in addition to medicating. Some kids need it, others respond to changes in diet, exercise and herbal remedies.

My oldest daughter has mild ADD (her Dad does as well). She went undiagnosed until HS as she was able to get great grades and was never a behavior problem. As school got more intense her ability to rely on intelligence alone became too much. Distraction, disorganization and time management were burdens she no longer could overcome by willpower. At her age she knows when she needs the medication and does not take it every day or even every week.

ADD is a weird disorder. My girl can focus just fine on certain things like rigorous Mock Trial Program or even AP classes that are very difficult even for kids without the disorder. If it's subject matter that is challenging for her, particularly math, her brain copes by just checking out. It seems like laziness or lack of self control but I have learned that's just not true. I suggest you learn as much as you can about this and definitely look into all treatments available. Diet, exercise and sleep patterns all play a big role in the severity of symptoms for my child.

Also, the ads for herbal ADD remedies are not by chance as someone mentioned. They are placed due to the content of your question. Which leads me to my final piece of advice. Online research includes the best and worst of information available to you. Take what you read with a grain of salt, look carefully at the sources and find a doctor that specializes in this disorder to guide you.

Go to a very good and high quality healthy food store. See if a Nutritionist is on staff. Talk and see what s/he rec.

And, then, go to a Naturopath doctor...Bring the information w/ you.
See what the doctor says!

I can tell you from personal experience that Occupational Theraphy --- a few days a week after school--- worked wonders with my ADD child.

I made sure that my child was allowed to chew gum in school at least 2 - 3 hrs a day ! The school told me no. So, I brought my child's neurophychologist into the meeting. My child was allowed to chew gum in school after the dr said it should be in the plan !

Be very specific every year who your child gets for a teacher. It is sooooo important! Third grade was a disaster for my kid. The teacher knew NOTHING about working w/ a child w/ ADD/ADHD.

I am a certified parenting instructor...and I have worked with many families over the yrs. Do a search on the Feingold diet.

But, remember that ADD/ADHD is attention deficit...It's in not the child's fault. It takes place in the brain.

Swimming and ADHD ==== GREAT !!!
Exercise is key, too !!!
Try to get your child into occupational theraphy !

Try a weighted vest...This is good for kids with sensory...I am not sure if your child has sensory, too. They sometimes overlap!

Squeezing a squeeze ball during class is helpful, too! In some schools, a child could sit on a medicine ball . The child has to keep balancing ....It has worked w/ some ADHD kids !

At times, meds are the only thing that helps the child. Try the natural approaches first !

I totally understand.

I don't know about herbs. I would include your pediatrician in this discussion. Many supplements are not FDA approved. I would make sure to get your doctor's blessing.

Hope his behavior is better this year. I know what it's like to get those phone calls and emails from the teacher. It's not fun. I would also recommend talking to the teacher to get a good behavior plan in place. Something that offers positive reinforcement.

An IEP may be in your child's future and if so, it's a great opportunity to develop a plan to address unwanted behaviors.

Have you tried coffee? It actually works for some kids. I would try that first before medication.

Does your son have an IEP? If he doesn't, GET ONE. Now that you have a diagnosis, make a copy of it and write a letter to the school. Find out WHERE to mail the letter. You might need to send it to the school district school pyschologist. They have a certain amount of time to respond (I think 10 days).

You need a behavioral plan put in place for him that includes getting him UP and moving a lot during the day. He could take papers to the office for you. He could take notes to the librarian. He can be the "room helper".

You shouldn't be getting calls every other day if there is an IEP/behavioral plan in place.