Do I Only Care About Medication?
ByAs a doctor who blogs on ADD/ADHD, I am often asked questions about medications for ADD/ADHD. This can be such a controversial and tricky issue.
Also – medications for ADD/ADHD is an area of expertise of mine.
So, on occassion, we get people who write in and characterize me as a doctor who just cares about medication for ADD/ADHD.
Suggesting that I don’t care about any other treatments…
My view is actually quite the opposite.
Medication is a great tool for ADD/ADHD treatment, but it is not the only one. I like to see people have a comprehensive treatment plan, that includes ‘multimodal treatment’. This means that it includes the medication treatments as well as non-medication approaches as well.
Which non-medication approaches? Certainly counselling, parenting therapy, family therapy, academic strategies, coaching, and also alternatives.
I am pretty open about alternatives, and I actively engage in discussion with my patients about it.
Why?
Research has clearly shown that about 66% of people try some kind of alternative treatment for ADD/ADHD, though most don’t talk to their doctor about it. I regularly ask about diet changes, supplements, and other treatments that families may have tried. I often recommend that people try some supplements – like Omega 3 fatty acids, melatonin to help with sleep; and that they consider treatments like neurofeedback, cogmed, as well as other options.
So, I acknowledge that many of my blog articles contain info about medications.
That said – I want to point you toward three resources on Alternative Treatments for ADHD in the coming weeks.
The first is a Virtual Holistic Health conference, being run by Jennifer Koretsky. She ran the Virtual ADHD Conference that I participated in last fall.
This conference has several experts, and I believe that it is a resource which can help you out. Go over to their site and see if it’s for you.
It takes place Tuesday January 26th 2010, and Wednesday Januray 27th, 2010. I know that this is short notice, but if you decide to participate, then you can get access to the recordings of any of the sessions that you miss.
Take a look and see if it’s for you: Virtual Holistic Health conference.
I’ll be following up in the coming weeks with two other resources on Alternatives for ADHD for you.
Best,
Dr. Kenny
Hey Dr. Kenny,
yes you are so right, in addition to meds there are certainly viable alternatives – in many cases no meds are necessary at all and in the remaining cases often much lower doses can be used…
I write about ADHD and ADD in my blog too, I use EFT a lot, plus diet – which is really the basis I guess.
The other day I watched a video from the US senate about radiation from cell phones and brain tumors… What do you think about radiation from wireless devices? I started to think about that – kids are much more sensitive than adults, and the exposure has never ever been so big as now… Could that also be a factor in the explosion of ADHD diagnosed cases…?
Warmest regards from Portugal
Charlotte
Hi Dr. Kenny, and Fellow Bloggers,
I have an ADD son studying Engineering at U.of T., and I have a touch of ADD myself, that I manage with natural supplements, diet and bio-identical hormones.
His ADD includes a diagnosis of Auditory Delay, which means he is slow to process auditory information, but a good visual learner.
He also had difficulty with facial recognition cues, which made socializing difficult when he was younger, but we found a DVD on line which helped him to overcome this.
Recently, thanks to a link from your website, we found and ordered a product from the states called ADD-Care, and so far so good. Helps with the GABA receptors to calm his body and behaviour, boosts the neuro transmitters in the brain with l-tyrosine, helps with focus with Bacopa, and has a homeopathic base that helps with other issues related to ADD. He also has regular chiropractic adjustments with acupuncture, which help a lot with confidence, moods and sleeping. He has begun NAET treatments as well, which are helping, slowly. Will get back to later on that one.
ADD-Care can also be used with regular meds, but we are off them for the time being, due to bad reactions to Ritalin and Concerta. These are prescribed by his Psychiatrist, who is not even remotely open to exploring alternative or nutritional methods. I have had to be the Momma Bear here to help my kid, rather than just relying on chemicals. However, we are soon going to try Dexadrine, and other meds recommended on your site, if the ADD-Care requires something to boost it. Our son is also going to try adding Ritalin for extra focusing times, as this supplement allows it.
Our son also takes EFA’s, B, C, Zinc, Magnesium, Calcium, and some other supplements that help with brain chemicals and focus. He used to take Focus-factor, but that stopped working. He is also wheat free, and now avoids gluten, dairy,(except goat and sheep products) sugar, and additives or artificial colours.
The difference is that our son being on this diet produces A’s & B’s; when he is on the diet and is eating crap university food he tends to get D’s and F’s in his course marks.
We use Agave syrup for sweetener, carob to replace chocolate, vegetables, delicious rice bread with nuts and fruit, almond and rice milk, lots of beef, salmon, chicken, and grains that don’t contain gluten. He starts the mornings with a high protein meal, no cereal & milk nonsense that totally spaces him out. (used to do the same to me when I was young). He is working at finishing off 8 hours of homework this weekend, that has taken him 12, but he feels good so far on the ADD-Care. We will post some more on this blog in a few weeks, to see how he does through midterms with the ADD-Care.
Dr. Kenny, this is the 18 year old kid that you didn’t want to see due to this random age cut off policy of yours. How are you doing with training associates and cloning yourself, so that your practice and talents can be grown to assist older kids and adults who need your skills? You clearly can’t do it all, but you could inspire and train a fleet of other Doc’s to help the rest of us.
Our boy is a clear example of a child who has been helped with a mixture of alternative and pharmaceutical methods. We started working on this when he was 4, and the symptoms surfaced, but we only resorted to the meds once he started university, as I wanted his brain and body to grow up first, and saw such nasty side effects on his friends who were medicated. Each child’s body chemistry is so different, and it boggles my mind why more practitioners can’t escape the traditional medical-pharmaceutical model, and expand into mixing it up with naturopaths who have knowledge of neutriceuticals, homeopathy and acupuncture. I know that there are insurance issues with MDs mixing it up with the alternative world. Have you any naturopathically inclined colleagues that you collaborate with? Thanks for your courage and forward thinking in linking us up to sites for alternative solutions for ADD. Without this site, I would not have found this supplement, ADD-care, to add to our arsenal of neutriceuticals that help our son to feel focused and capable.
Best wishes for a great week,
Marilyn
Thank you for the links to the holistic health conference. I have 2 children with attention issues. I use trace minerals and omega 3 for them. One of the most successful interventions I have used for them was the power of music. I started with my son with his speech issues. Not only did his speech improve, but so did his social interaction, attention, and more. Using modulated music seems to balance their ability to focus. I feel so lucky to have found interventions that have worked.
People should leave open options besides for medication. Even though the medication does help. Or a very good combined treatment.
Does the Systemic Tonic Neck Reflex method by Dr. Bender cure
ADHD as advertised by performing crawling exercises for 8 or so months? Is crawling less than 6 mos. a leading cause or indicator for ADHD?
Thank you in advance for your input.
John,
I’m sorry, I’m not aware of that system, or if it works.
Dr. Kenny
Marilyn,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Just to answer a couple of points of your comment: I teach hundreds of doctors each year in ADHD. Some are just in a one hour session, some for longer. Step by step, hopefully my efforts, along with many others will make a difference.
Regarding my ‘random age policy’ – I work at a hospital based child psychiatric clinic, and those are the hospital’s policies. Most child clinics ask 18 year olds to go to adult services.
Best,
Dr. Kenny
Hello Dr. Kenny,
I appreciated your article on medication for ADHD being coupled with other forms of treatment. I am a clinical social worker who has been in practice for 30 years. I work with urban children in Little Rock, AR under the supervision of a good psychiatrist. We use every treatment modality we can to help the children under our care. In working with inner city youth and their families, one of the greatest problems is non-compliance with treatment plans. It makes it very challenging to get consistency going in their care.
I was diagnosed recently with ADD inattentive type and have been working with my doctor on a trial of medication. I have found it helpful yet I realize medication is not for everyone who has the problem. In dealing with this problem, it is important to work with a physician who is knowledgeable about the diagnosis and its variables so a wise decision on treatment modalities is made.
Thanks for your opinion on the subject.
I have two sons with ADHD. One is medicated and one is not. My primarily inattentive son does well on a cup of coffee a day, Omega-3, L-carnitine and a flinstones multivitamin with 12mg of zinc. My younger son is on Vivanse and Paxil. He was not controlled on diet alone but his diagnosis is more complicated. He has hyperactive/impulsive adhd with depression and oppositional defiance disorder. I have found that he is much better controlled on his meds when he in on the Omega-3s and the Flintsones with zinc. There are now several published studies that have confirmed the beneficial effect of Zinc and Omega-3s. There are several studies with some positive findings being reported for L-Carnitine for inattention but not for hyperactivity or impulsiveness.
Tess http://primarilyinattentiveadd.com
I think a lot more could be said about Diet Changes and ADHD/ADD. Would love to see more info and studies out there on how exactly it seems to help and why. Here is a great article that talk specifically about changes one can make in the diet of a child with ADHD.
John, I’m not familiar with Dr. Bender’s neck/crawling exercises. I can tell you that I have 3 adult children with ADD or ADHD. They all just came in under the wire of normalcy with developmental milestones. The 2 boys, in particular, continued to have very poor gross motor skills and poor hand/eye coordination. I believe this is quite common with ADHD. Interaction improves all children’s abilities; however, I don’t think exercises will prevent ADD/ADHD.
I’m so glad to see that you talk with your patients about alternative treatments. Medications have their place, but there are alternative treatments and parents need to assess if these may work for their child. They include biofeedback, a dietary approach, brain exercises, behavioral strategies, a Gluten Free and Casein Free diet, physical activities, cognitive training, and much more. A lot for parents to consider, but they do have options.
I am against medication, when possible. Medical advancements and technology have increased recently and I am glad for societies sake. I came down with shingles a few years ago and in this instance I was happy to take medication for the condition. On the other hand, I am a true believer in exercise and I believe you need to break down the body in order for it to rebuild. If I am feeling restless, I expend the energy on a bike or lace up my running shoes and when I go to sleep at night I am thoroughly exhausted.