Comments on: St John’s Wort for ADHD: Who Cares? http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/ A blog about Attention Deficit Disorder, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:39:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: JV http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/comment-page-1/#comment-211536 JV Sun, 06 Jun 2010 03:12:05 +0000 http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/#comment-211536 Biederman, as you may know, takes drug money from pharmaceutical companies. Nothing wrong with that, except that when you’re a researcher, you’d better make sure you make those ties well-known in advance. Oops! Biederman failed to report a measly $1.6 million of drug-tied money. Guess who gave him a lot of that money? Yes, you’re right — the makers of certain ADHD medications. Biederman, as you may know, takes drug money from pharmaceutical companies. Nothing wrong with that, except that when you’re a researcher, you’d better make sure you make those ties well-known in advance. Oops! Biederman failed to report a measly $1.6 million of drug-tied money. Guess who gave him a lot of that money?

Yes, you’re right — the makers of certain ADHD medications.

]]> By: Bob H http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/comment-page-1/#comment-90218 Bob H Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:47:59 +0000 http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/#comment-90218 Some people with ADHD or ADD who aren't on medication may be depressed from the frustration of living without adequate medication. St Johns Wort, especially the timed release version, taken for a while might help with depression. Proper meds really do make a difference. It just takes some time to find what works for you. But don't quickly switch because usually effectiveness tapers off initially and dosage needs to be adjusted up to find the right dose for you. Nothing wrong with trying different meds, but test them right before switching. Knowing the proper working dosage of one med makes it easier to know the starting dose of another med. I've also found that if I leave my meds in the heat of the car for too long they lose effectiveness, and a too acidic diet, like drinking lots of orange juice through the day can make the dosage wear off too quickly. Some people with ADHD or ADD who aren’t on medication may be depressed from the frustration of living without adequate medication. St Johns Wort, especially the timed release version, taken for a while might help with depression. Proper meds really do make a difference. It just takes some time to find what works for you. But don’t quickly switch because usually effectiveness tapers off initially and dosage needs to be adjusted up to find the right dose for you. Nothing wrong with trying different meds, but test them right before switching. Knowing the proper working dosage of one med makes it easier to know the starting dose of another med. I’ve also found that if I leave my meds in the heat of the car for too long they lose effectiveness, and a too acidic diet, like drinking lots of orange juice through the day can make the dosage wear off too quickly.

]]> By: Nanci Rhoades http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/comment-page-1/#comment-55116 Nanci Rhoades Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:12:44 +0000 http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/#comment-55116 I live in the Philiipines...they only have 2 meds for ADHD...we tried both them but they make my 9 yr. old more agitated and hyper. So I researched the herbal route. I read in a book about what to try..its written by a Dr. in Calif.-- I forgot the name right now. Its been helpful! I see a difference in his behavior and mood. Because of my child's specific symptoms, we tried a combination of an amino acid (L-tyrosine) combined with St. John's wort. The book said not to take the amino acid without the St. John's wort, for the ones with anger and negativity, because some previous patients had experienced nightmares and destructive thoughts. The amino acid helps the brain regarding hyperactivity and impulsivity and the St. Johns wort helps the mood. He has always been hyperactive and impulsive, but happy. Then at 8 years old, and a school year with a teacher and principal that were uninformed about ADHD (always scolding and punishing him), my child became quite negative, including complaining, whining, and also angry. My child takes 3 times daily.....I can see when it starts to wear off. The herbs dont work immediately, but have to get into the system.....also if takes a couple days to see a big difference if stopped. I live in the Philiipines…they only have 2 meds for ADHD…we tried both them but they make my 9 yr. old more agitated and hyper. So I researched the herbal route. I read in a book about what to try..its written by a Dr. in Calif.– I forgot the name right now. Its been helpful! I see a difference in his behavior and mood. Because of my child’s specific symptoms, we tried a combination of an amino acid (L-tyrosine) combined with St. John’s wort. The book said not to take the amino acid without the St. John’s wort, for the ones with anger and negativity, because some previous patients had experienced nightmares and destructive thoughts. The amino acid helps the brain regarding hyperactivity and impulsivity and the St. Johns wort helps the mood. He has always been hyperactive and impulsive, but happy. Then at 8 years old, and a school year with a teacher and principal that were uninformed about ADHD (always scolding and punishing him), my child became quite negative, including complaining, whining, and also angry. My child takes 3 times daily…..I can see when it starts to wear off. The herbs dont work immediately, but have to get into the system…..also if takes a couple days to see a big difference if stopped.

]]> By: CATHERINE JACKSON http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/comment-page-1/#comment-55074 CATHERINE JACKSON Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:30:16 +0000 http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/#comment-55074 HI , JUST THOUGHT ID SHARE WITH YOU SOME INFO.MY SON WHO IS NOW 14 SAW A NUTRITIONALIST FROM HARLEY ST IN LONDON AND HE RECOMMENDED A LOCAL CHEMISTS PREPARATION OF ZINC DROPS. APPARENTLY ZINC WORKS AS A TRAFFIC POLICEMAN TO THE BRAIN AND HELPS SEND THE CORRECT MESSAGES AT THE RIGHT TIME. THESE DROPS HAVE WORKED WONDERS AND MY SON CAN CONCENTRATE AND THINK MUCH QUICKER WHEN HE IS TAKING THEM. PS ZINC TABLETS ARE NOT THE SAME. HI , JUST THOUGHT ID SHARE WITH YOU SOME INFO.MY SON WHO IS NOW 14 SAW A NUTRITIONALIST FROM HARLEY ST IN LONDON AND HE RECOMMENDED A LOCAL CHEMISTS PREPARATION OF ZINC DROPS. APPARENTLY ZINC WORKS AS A TRAFFIC POLICEMAN TO THE BRAIN AND HELPS SEND THE CORRECT MESSAGES AT THE RIGHT TIME. THESE DROPS HAVE WORKED WONDERS AND MY SON CAN CONCENTRATE AND THINK MUCH QUICKER WHEN HE IS TAKING THEM. PS ZINC TABLETS ARE NOT THE SAME.

]]> By: Steven Tullis http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/comment-page-1/#comment-54677 Steven Tullis Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:38:22 +0000 http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/#comment-54677 I am all for natural treatment & remedies. Keep up with the research though any kind of education is good education. I am all for natural treatment & remedies. Keep up with the research though any kind of education is good education.

]]> By: Lisa http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/comment-page-1/#comment-54588 Lisa Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:44:07 +0000 http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/#comment-54588 Dr. Kenny, I recently purchased something at the grocery store called Nervita (for lack of concentration), containing anacardium orientale, cina, coffea cruda, gelsemium, kalium bromatum, and kalium phosphoricum. Our 7-year-old son has ADHD, and is currently on 25 mg of Strattera - it is helping a little for hyperactivity but not for inattention. We tried the Nervita once and didn't notice any difference. Can you tell me anything about the substances in Nervita and their effectiveness in treating ADHD? Dr. Kenny, I recently purchased something at the grocery store called Nervita (for lack of concentration), containing anacardium orientale, cina, coffea cruda, gelsemium, kalium bromatum, and kalium phosphoricum. Our 7-year-old son has ADHD, and is currently on 25 mg of Strattera – it is helping a little for hyperactivity but not for inattention. We tried the Nervita once and didn’t notice any difference. Can you tell me anything about the substances in Nervita and their effectiveness in treating ADHD?

]]> By: Kelly http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/comment-page-1/#comment-54574 Kelly Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:05:47 +0000 http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/#comment-54574 Thanks for the information on ADHD. We recently wrote an <a href="http://brainblogger.com/2008/06/12/does-having-adhd-mean-doing-poorly-in-school/" rel="nofollow">article</a> on if having ADHD affects children in school at <a href="http://brainblogger.com/" rel="nofollow">Brain Blogger</a>. Having a child with ADHD is hard work, especially when having ADHD affects their school life. There was a study that followed 370 adolescents who have ADHD as well as 740 controls (There were two controls for each adolescent with ADHD.) and showed that ADHD students are absent more, have lower standardized reading scores, dropout of school at higher levels, and are held back more often. We would like to read your comments on our article. Thank you. Sincerely, Kelly Thanks for the information on ADHD.

We recently wrote an article on if having ADHD affects children in school at Brain Blogger. Having a child with ADHD is hard work, especially when having ADHD affects their school life. There was a study that followed 370 adolescents who have ADHD as well as 740 controls (There were two controls for each adolescent with ADHD.) and showed that ADHD students are absent more, have lower standardized reading scores, dropout of school at higher levels, and are held back more often.

We would like to read your comments on our article. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Kelly

]]> By: Lea C. http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/comment-page-1/#comment-54561 Lea C. Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:18:39 +0000 http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/#comment-54561 I hope questions are ok. I'd like to know if herbal / vitamen preparations such as Clarocet are helpful. What about the vitamin advice given by Dr. Frank Lawliss (Dr. Phil's mentor!) in his book on ADHD? Also, should women who only discover they have ADHD at menopause because their estrogen tanks and they have been adaptive enough to cover it up since childhood, try estrogen creams or patches? Do you favour website brain programs for helping with ADHD in adults? I hope questions are ok.
I’d like to know if herbal / vitamen preparations such as Clarocet are helpful. What about the vitamin advice given by Dr. Frank Lawliss (Dr. Phil’s mentor!) in his book on ADHD? Also, should women who only discover they have ADHD at menopause because their estrogen tanks and they have been adaptive enough to cover it up since childhood, try estrogen creams or patches? Do you favour website brain programs for helping with ADHD in adults?

]]> By: Patti http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/comment-page-1/#comment-54531 Patti Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:38:33 +0000 http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/#comment-54531 Hi; Our 9 year old son is ADHD and we have researched the mainstream herbal medications in order to try to ensure that the medicine he uses can be kept at the lowest dosage possible. We have never heard of St. John's Wort used for this condition so thank you Dr. Kenny for commenting on it. We have used the Omega 3's with limited success although when we first started using them a number of years ago we did feel there was an improvement in his emotional stability in that it didn't seem to be quite the same roller coaster of emotions. If I may add to the above comment about behaviour modification being more important than the medications either herbal or otherwise. I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, it is not effective if the person's ADHD will not allow the brain to grasp the lessons being taught. Our feeling is that the combination allows our son to grasp the lesson before failure to fit his behaviour to society's narrow confines causes his personality/charm & exuberance to wither. ]What we have used that has been very effective for him is Melatonin. He has great sleep hygiene however struggles significantly to get to sleep, lying in the dark for upwards of 2 hours without successfully falling asleep. Our pediatrician suggested some medications but we were reluctant to persue the drug cocktail solution, for obvious reasons. After some research and unsuccessful attempts at yoga for sleep etc. we decided to give Melatonin a try. It has been very successful for our son in quite low dosages allowing him to fall asleep appropriately and impacting his behaviour accordingly. There are a couple of studies I've found about sleep/Melatonin/ADHD but I believe this is an area that would benefit from further concentration. Hi; Our 9 year old son is ADHD and we have researched the mainstream herbal medications in order to try to ensure that the medicine he uses can be kept at the lowest dosage possible. We have never heard of St. John’s Wort used for this condition so thank you Dr. Kenny for commenting on it. We have used the Omega 3′s with limited success although when we first started using them a number of years ago we did feel there was an improvement in his emotional stability in that it didn’t seem to be quite the same roller coaster of emotions. If I may add to the above comment about behaviour modification being more important than the medications either herbal or otherwise. I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, it is not effective if the person’s ADHD will not allow the brain to grasp the lessons being taught. Our feeling is that the combination allows our son to grasp the lesson before failure to fit his behaviour to society’s narrow confines causes his personality/charm & exuberance to wither.
]What we have used that has been very effective for him is Melatonin. He has great sleep hygiene however struggles significantly to get to sleep, lying in the dark for upwards of 2 hours without successfully falling asleep. Our pediatrician suggested some medications but we were reluctant to persue the drug cocktail solution, for obvious reasons. After some research and unsuccessful attempts at yoga for sleep etc. we decided to give Melatonin a try. It has been very successful for our son in quite low dosages allowing him to fall asleep appropriately and impacting his behaviour accordingly. There are a couple of studies I’ve found about sleep/Melatonin/ADHD but I believe this is an area that would benefit from further concentration.

]]> By: Mike Seiler http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/comment-page-1/#comment-54507 Mike Seiler Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:21:17 +0000 http://www.addadhdblog.com/st-johns-wort-for-adhd-who-cares/#comment-54507 Dear Dr. Handelman, I'm glad that you noticed that the study was seriously flawed. Unfortunately, the major news networks were not as thorough. Some of the headlines were: St. John's wort fails to help kids with ADHD The Associated Press St. John's Wort Doesn't Work for ADHD Washington Post St. John's Wort No Help in ADHD ABC News St. John's wort no better than placebo for ADHD, Bastyr study finds Seattle Times St. John's Wort No Help for ADHD TIME Magazine Herb does not ease ADHD ZDNet St. John's wort doesn't help ADHD, study finds Reuters _____________ It makes me wonder if the big news organizations have a bias against alternative medicine (After all, the drug companies advertise heavily in the mainstream news media. ) Or, perhaps reporters are just to overworked to take the time to dig for the truth anymore. Keep up the good fight towards figuring out what really works. - Mike Dear Dr. Handelman,

I’m glad that you noticed that the study was seriously flawed. Unfortunately, the major news networks were not as thorough. Some of the headlines were:

St. John’s wort fails to help kids with ADHD
The Associated Press

St. John’s Wort Doesn’t Work for ADHD
Washington Post

St. John’s Wort No Help in ADHD
ABC News

St. John’s wort no better than placebo for ADHD, Bastyr study finds
Seattle Times

St. John’s Wort No Help for ADHD
TIME Magazine

Herb does not ease ADHD
ZDNet

St. John’s wort doesn’t help ADHD, study finds
Reuters

_____________

It makes me wonder if the big news organizations have a bias against alternative medicine (After all, the drug companies advertise heavily in the mainstream news media. )

Or, perhaps reporters are just to overworked to take the time to dig for the truth anymore.

Keep up the good fight towards figuring out what really works.

- Mike

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