ADHD Alternatives Video #2
ByIn this second video about Alternative Treatments for ADD and ADHD, I share how most doctors are trained to think about ADD and ADHD when it comes to alternative treatments. I also share how I think differently about them…
I explain that ADHD treatment is like a marathon, not a sprint – so you need to take that into consideration when looking at which treatments to use.
Please share your thoughts and comments below.
Best,
Dr. Kenny
p.s. watch for video #3 coming soon!
Hi Dr. Handelman,
I do like your philosophies on alternatives, I just wish you would delve into them a little more instead of hinting at them. I have an 8 year old who has been on Biphentin. He was only started on meds last summer and was prescribed 5mg, went to 10 almost immediately then went to 15 and is now at 20. We have recently seen a “leveling out” of his behaviour and our doctor has reduced him to 15mg again. I would like to get him off meds completely through counselling and alternatives as I don’t feel it is healthy for anyone to be on meds long term – especially to start as children. I do on occasion give him a “med break” – usually on weekends when he is in my care as I can better “handle” him. By the way he is ADHD – impulsive type.
My family doctor is not willing to give us a referral to the ADHD clinic at CHEO as she says she only does that for the children who do not respond to medication. I’m at a loss now as to where to go, as funds are limited and I do not have any health benefits. I currently work for a Hospital in Psychiatry and I see every day what a lack of treatment for those with AD & ADHD can do over time. I am committed to my son, who I would say on the spectrum of ADHD has a “milder” case.
I would love to hear more about alternative treatments!
Thank you,
Kalisa Dickenson
Ottawa, Ontario
Hi Kalisa,
Thanks for the feedback. I hear what you are saying.
I will put more specifics in the next video
Best,
Dr. Kenny
google – Dr. Hallowell – “my sensory Solutions” he has some information on alternatives i Know.
Im currently 23 and doing both play attention and the learning breakthrough program and even threw in Lumosity for the hell of it.
I eventually plan on getting a full neurofeedback workup some how – i figure im young, and I might as well have the best brain i can have.
I started on this little brain training journey when i had issues in college that really threw my adhd in to a crazy time as my thyroid went crazy for a good year and a half. Imagine having Adhd with a heart rate that is running at 150bpm and because such physicological stress keeps you from controling your self as it brings everything in your body to the brink – you continue hitting a wall – not knowing why;. so to make it worse, you end up developing depression too. Thats what happens when you run around with your head practiclly off with a heart rate so high and not understanding why you keep hitting all the walls you do.
It was during that time I started looking for more answers, as to be perfectly honest, the one thing i felt was really effecting me at the time was the adhd, but didnt understand why.
upon doing some investigating i stumbled upon an array of alternatives that might help.
Things like The learning breakthrough program Integrated listening systems..Neurofeedback.
all things that can help – both with or without medication.
once i found out about these, i knew it would be costly, but my only thought was – they all work differently, best outcome comes from a range of strategies. I might as well start on a path to see where they will get me.
David – thanks for your comments and for sharing your experience.
I’m glad that you took the time to share what you’re doing.
Dr. Kenny
Hi, try Transcendental Meditation. No, I don’t teach it although I used to. But many studies have been done showing how well it helps kids/people with ADHD, and we have evidence in our own family. It does so much more–balances the physiology so it can be its best. But any problems get smoothed out over time as the body gets and stays strong, as well as the brilliance of the mind is able to be applied and expressed. Just google it to go to the website and then you can find free lectures near you. It’s ancient, but has been tested since the ’60s with a solid track record of results. Other programs have piggy-backed on this knowledge to help people reduce stress, but this is the one with the real background, with a richness unmatched by those others. It works.
Kalisa, If you want to try alternative methods, I recommend seeking a naturopathic doctor that is also trained as a Dan! Doctor. They should be very well versed in how the stomach, nutrients, food intolerances, and MB12 & Vitamins affect the neurons in the brain. The one we use is very well versed and will order blood tests from the states that helps pin point areas of deficit/nutrients in they body. I do pay out of pocket for the naturopath and testing but I felt it was worth it since OHIP won’t cover the tests anyway.
She can explain to me exactly how each nutrient and chemicals in the brain work and who needs what in order to connect properly, etc. She is more than happy to work with the medical doctors, however, I have found my doctors will not work with her at all because they are so closed minded about it. She requested the family doctor order some blood work that is covered under OHIP and the family doctor didn’t even think of these tests so I am glad she requested them. So in the end, I chose the naturopath. I get more time with her, she explains everything thoroughly and I am comfortable talking to her and she gets back to me quickly if there is an issue. When I told the pediatrician how my son’s hyperactivity component disappeared weeks after we removed the intolerant foods and dyes, she dismissed it as him “growing out of it”. How does a child grow out of it extreme hyperness within 3 weeks at the age of 8? Yet if I give him the “bad” food again he is literally throwing himself into walls?
Our son has done very well through eliminating the foods he was intolerant to (found out by testing) adding supplements (testing done for where there were deficits) and MB12 shots and using behavioural modifications and parent training/knowledge. Every person is different, so the results may be different but some things seem to be quite common like not being able to metabolize B12, stomach issues, bowel issues. If you can’t metabolize your nutrients properly, they can’t get to the brain to help it function properly. It just makes sense to start with that and then if there are still issues, add some meds to help. It will likely mean the dosage of meds required might be less and they may even be more effective.
Everyone knows that what you eat affects you later. You can feel crappy, bloated, foggy, tired, cranky. Food doesn’t cause ADHD, but eliminating the foods affecting the body negatively and causing nutrients not to get to the brain and supplementing with what the body isn’t producing, just makes sense. It might not cure ADHD but it might make a person go from severe ADHD to moderate or mild. It did that for my son. He was severe and now he is mild and doesn’t need meds.
I think of it as a car with an oil leak. You can duct tape the leak and keep filling it up with oil and it will run but you keep having to change the duct tape and increase the oil, much like meds. If you work on finding out what is causing the leak and work on removing that cause and getting it repaired, the outcome is better. You might still need to top it up with oil (meds) to run better but duct tape and fill ups will only get you so far.
I believe, the reason there is not enough research on diet and alternatives is because there is no funding for them. When you look at who funds the “scientific” reports it is usually pharmaceutical companies. If someone would put forth a lot of funding, more research and studies could be done. But no one profits from changing diet and and pharmaceutical companies can’t claim the rights to MB12 and other supplements.
Thank you for sharing your experience Laura – that is very helpful!
Dr. Kenny
Thanks for posting – I echo Kalisa, I too would like more specifics and I look forward to the next video. Keep up the great work.
Kelleigh
Laura et al.
Thank you very much for your suggestions. Unfortunately a naturopath is not an option at this time. I have spoken to a nutrionist though and have gotten some good ideas. I know my son better than an anyone and after changing his diet, I am quite sure this is not a dietary issue for him, it is simply anger management. He is not hyperactive – he is impulsive. Someone makes him mad – he reacts immediatly – hit, kick, punch – but ONLY in the school yard or during gym. I have actually never seen him behave this way. It’s purely on what the school tells me. It’s all very frustrating. I know he just needs councelling but there is so little available for children with anger issues.
Dear Dr. Kenny,
Keep up the good work. I am an RN who is a school nurse in a middle school. I was diagnosed at age 40, will be 60 this week. I am studying to be a coach who specializes in ADD/ADHD.
I have 2 comments:
1 for the closed minded physicians==== “Your mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work unless it is open”. (unknown)
2. I do not believe you ever outgrow ADD/ADHD, (if diagnosed correctly in the first place.) Instead your change may be due to:
-Your situation continues to change during the life span.
-You may develop coping skills.
-Your body biology continues to change.
-Your support systems may change.
Rudie
Dr. Kenny thank you for not only listening to your patients but hearing what they have to say.
Rudte thanks for your comments laughter is the best alternative out there. As an adult with ADD it is often refreshing to hear about other peoples experiences and thoughts.
A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy? Albert Einstein
Hi Kalisa,
My son used to have the same anger and impulsive issues. It wasn’t diet that changed it, it was the MB12 shots that made a huge impact in reducing his impulsivity. He has not been in a fight or called down to the principal’s office in 4 solid months. We used to get calls almost daily!
Recess time and gym can be “unstructured” times and in both cases it can be very loud and may irritate some kids a lot. Also, with so many voices (kids) yelling sometimes our kids misinterpret what was said or they think a child called them a name when it fact they were not even talking to them. I find my son also would misinterpret things the other kids said or did. We had to re-enact each incident and tell him the other “side of the story” or explain that it was a legitimate “accident” and not on purpose. You can also request they have an EA, or Grade 8 student, or another teacher closely monitor him at recess for at least a week to find exactly what is going on and what is triggering the anger. It is beyond me why they don’t automatically do this. It might be your child is being picked on or goated into getting into trouble. I would drop in at recess time myself a few times to witness he was being bullied and the other kids were denying it. Nothing better than an actual adult seeing what was happening and reporting it to the principal.
Another thing you can try: You can request (in writing) that your school have their youth counsellor see him at least once a week to help him with social skills, anger, and to find out if he is also experiencing anxiety causing him to lash out or over react. It is free. You would think it would be automatically offered to a child experiencing these issues but it is not. You have to ask for it. It tends to be a “secret”. I only found out about it by attending my school boards’ SEAC meeting.
Depending on where you live, there are some agencies that have services to help kids with anger and social issues. They will waive the fees if you qualify so don’t let fees scare you away from them. Tell them if you can’t afford it and see if they can help you. I did a quick search for you and found a couple. But you may want to consider social skill training, not just anger management.
http://www.learn4good.com/great_schools/canada_ontario_social_skills_training_summer_camps.htm
http://www.communityresourcecentre.ca/programs_children_families-e.html
Never give up! I had to overturn many boulders to get us on the right path : )
Hi Dr. Kenny Handelman,
I hear you on looking for alternative methods for treating ADHD. I find that I can become extremely ADHD when I eat very poorly.
I definitely find that if I eat a bunch of high glycemic index food without some protein or fat, my concentration become poor, I lose track of my thoughts, etc.
In fact, after I used Adderall for a number of years, I started changing my diet. This diet change has really lessened my symptoms.
If you think about it, eating a heavy meal can make it hard to concentrate, so maybe diet should be a sort of 1st thing to check.
Of course I am not saying that the medications are bad. But if you can improve someone’s concentration by them staying well hydrated and eating quality food, why not start there?
What do you think?