non-drug management for ADD

[laughing lioness]

ds 19 is ADD. We've controlled it with hours of green therapy. Last spring he stared college classes, got a gf, and a fairly demanding landscaping job making great money. He plans to go to college f.t. in the fall. 

He struggles with severe insomnia and has for years- we sort of control it with liqued melatonin and OG coffee. Also going to chiro 1/mth and eating clean really make a difference but we can't always afford the chiro and he gets super hungry eating gf.. 

 

So, this spring- 2 classes, p.t. work and about every 3rd day he would flip out- exhausted, frustrated, irritated and really difficult time focusing on classes.

He pulled "B's" in both Fresh Comp and College Alg. which frustrated him because he is capable of A's but the focus thing cooks his grits. Anything "extra" -like paperwork for work, or paperwork for college, would about send him round the bend.

 

He is incredibly bright in verbal areas but producing stresses him out. 

 

Any help, supplements, behavioral helps, diet that has worked for you,  please share. 

 

 

 

[PeterPan]

Just tossing out options that come to me...

 

-Is that landscaping job a living wage?  (You said great $$ and I'm being literal.)  People actually make a living landscaping, and maybe you're seeing his bent?  Maybe he could reinvent his dream and think an associates in business done one class at a time while he works or just work and eventually start his own business?

 

-It seems like his insomnia is affecting him more than the classes.  They're just the straw that broke the camel's back.  Those are not hard classes in theory.  Was he remedial/struggling going into them and they were requiring unusual amounts of time?  I'm just thinking time spent on the insomnia side of things might help.  You mentioned eating clean.  I used to have outlandish insomnia (as in if I'm not careful I never even get tired at night) and I've used an unusual nutritionist who was able to help.  Might be a way to approach it.  You can write me on that if it interests you.

 

-Executive Function coaching.  There's actually a professional org for this, so you can look for it and try to find one.  They're stink in' expensive (I forget, was it $150 an hour around here?) but they WORK.  They could help him with organization and coping techniques.  I think they'll tackle anything from how to approach the assignment syllabus to how to manage his calendar to how to study to...  Ok, found it.  I attended a lecture by a lady who does this sort of locally to us, and she was AMAZING.  She's a member of this org  http://www.aetonline.org/findET/index.html  and apparently they're called educational therapists.  Check it out though.  Might change his life.  She was rocket fuel for these things, able to assess the problem and blast off really quickly with solutions.  Her appts were typically just 1/2 hour, making it not so horribly expensive as it seems.  Better than failed classes and better than dealing with Mom.  :)

[Jennifer-72]

Neurofeedback?  It is expensive though.  One of the first effects many people notice is better sleep.

[sbgrace]

You might see if pycnogenol helps. I'm not sure what the adult dose is. My son uses/used 1 mg per pound. I think I got that from a pediatric asthma study, though. The dose for the ADHD in pediatrics was .5 mg per pound I think. I'm sure that varies for an adult size. It's expensive, but there is research support. When we accidentally dosed my son twice (so 100 mg for him) he was night and day different, and this occurred on two different occasions. But I can't dose him that high day in and out. I've been lax lately, and I'm not sure I'm seeing a huge difference. I had felt it helped him initially, though nothing like that huge dose did!

I think grape seed has some support too. Both of those are powerful antioxidants, so you might try antioxidants generally.

 

I think magnesium is likely key for many people. I've heard things about magnesium taurate supplements specifically. I keep meaning to try that.

Did melatonin never work well or stop working for him or it doesn't do enough? I think cognitive behavioral therapy might be able to help with insomnia. Melatonin does help here. I've heard that non-responders to melatonin sometimes respond to valerian.

[fiberdrunk]

I've read melatonin only works if the body is deficient in it.  Valerian can help (though in some it has the opposite effect... it's a stinky herb, too, so just be forewarned!)  I grow a lot of lemon balm which is also relaxing and helps promote sleep (as does catnip).

 

For ADD, we've been using the Feingold diet (which avoids specific chemical additives and food colorings).  And we've found the book Healing ADD by Dr. Daniel Amen had a lot of helpful and practical suggestions in it to try.  There are different types of ADD, and this book helps you hone in on the right one so the correct treatment can be applied.  He mostly emphasizes supplements and beginning the day with protein.  I found the section near the back about how to teach ADD kids very helpful.

 

What is the "green therapy" you first mentioned?

[Ottakee]

The fish oils have helped here.  Aim for 1000mg of EPA (not just total fish oil) a day.

 

Is he getting enough protein and fats in his diet?  Those are important.

 

Sounds like he is getting exercise and time outside with his job so those are covered.

 

Gently asking here..........would he consider a trial of medication?  honestly for some people, it is the answer and makes such a huge difference.  It sounds like you have tried so much already and the meds might make reaching his goals much easier.

[PeterPan]

 

What is the "green therapy" you first mentioned?

I assumed she meant the landscaping.  It helps my dd too.

[prairiewindmomma]

Going camping and realigning with nature's clock for a few days has helped us with sleep issues.  You can't stay up late with a flashlight, but it's done more for us than melatonin, which caused crazy nightmares, or valerian, which has only helped with anxiety.

 

Cog-med...and organizing life around add issues (using a smart phone, keeping all pending paperwork in one file, organizing the house with visual reminders, always keeping keys in the same place) have been helpful here.

[texasmama]

Coffee was the treatment for ADHD before Ritalin.  Many adults help manage their ADHD with coffee.

 

(The other ideas are good, too, just throwing this out there as an easy, inexpensive help.)

[imagine.more]

Coffee was the treatment for ADHD before Ritalin.  Many adults help manage their ADHD with coffee.

 

(The other ideas are good, too, just throwing this out there as an easy, inexpensive help.)

 

 

This is what my DH uses :)  He drinks insane amounts of coffee and it truly helps him focus, he's a mess without coffee, he started drinking it at 12 which I think is too young for many but for a 16+ I definitely think a big cup of coffee in the morning along with protein and the other natural suggestions can help. 

 

Also, I've read that for people with ADHD coffee does not make them hyper or impede sleep. I know my DH at least can drink coffee right before bed and sleep great. It baffles me as a non-ADHD person but it seems to work for him. 

[mymommy1]

Can I just tell your son, as a college instructor, 2 B's isn't bad?  College Algebra is hard for most students and about 20% make A' and B's.  (Just guessing, but I do teach math at a college.)  From the way the English instructors complain about their students, I don't think a B in comp is too shabby, especially for someone with ADD. 

 

Where his classes in the morning?  If he doesn't sleep well, could he take afternoon or evening classes? 

[Tokyomarie]

 

-Executive Function coaching.  There's actually a professional org for this, so you can look for it and try to find one.  They're stink in' expensive (I forget, was it $150 an hour around here?) but they WORK.  They could help him with organization and coping techniques.  I think they'll tackle anything from how to approach the assignment syllabus to how to manage his calendar to how to study to...  Ok, found it.  I attended a lecture by a lady who does this sort of locally to us, and she was AMAZING.  She's a member of this org  http://www.aetonline.org/findET/index.html  and apparently they're called educational therapists.  Check it out though.  Might change his life.  She was rocket fuel for these things, able to assess the problem and blast off really quickly with solutions.  Her appts were typically just 1/2 hour, making it not so horribly expensive as it seems.  Better than failed classes and better than dealing with Mom.   :)

 

Just wanted to let people know more about AET, which stands for Association of Educational Therapists. Educational therapists have the skills to do remediation work in the academic areas, but they also have the skills for executive function coaching, educational assessment (the kind that some educators are qualified to do), advocacy work with schools, and helping a parent choose an appropriate school environment. In addition they are qualified to handle case management. Case management is about helping to coordinate care for a child who is receiving multiple therapies, to help the various professionals communicate with one another, as well as to be able to refer out to other professionals. In all of this, the educational therapist is thinking about the whole child, not just the academic piece but social and emotional function as well as how physical function may be impacting academic function. Because the ET is qualified to coordinate all these various areas, educational therapy is usually more expensive than standard tutoring, but for children whose needs are fairly complex in one area or another, it can be a good option for parents to consider.

 

I will let the cat out of the bag and let people know that I am currently preparing to be an educational therapist.  I have joined AET as a student member because I like the emphasis on the whole person, building positive relationships with the client, and because their certification process ensures that those who finish are well-prepared to fill the ET role.

[PeterPan]

 

I will let the cat out of the bag and let people know that I am currently preparing to be an educational therapist.  I have joined AET as a student member because I like the emphasis on the whole person, building positive relationships with the client, and because their certification process ensures that those who finish are well-prepared to fill the ET role.

You're going to be awesome at it!!!  I was VERY impressed with what these ladies could do and the positive way they could turn around a situation by seeing the big picture and bringing in answers.

[texasmama]

That is really great, Tokyomarie!

[Atilla the Mom]

Interactive Metronome helps a lot.  It retired my kids ADD, although not her executive function issues.  http://www.interactivemetronome.com/

 

I would also think about a sleep evaluation (does he kick at night? Restless Leg Syndrome is treatable and he may think of it as insomnia), when it is the legs keeping him awake, not the insomnia making him restless. 

 

Does he snore?  Adults who snore usually are overweight and have their airway collapse on them. They need CPAP. Kids who snore usually have big sucker tonsils and adenoids, or a zillion environmental allergies, making their noses useless, which btw are often to be found in landscaping jobs.  Those kids a T&A and possibly an uvulectomy and partial paletectomy as well if you really can't see down their throat. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/868925-overview (The uvula is the dangly thing in your throat.)  Either way, the insomnia is because the need for O2 overwhelms the need for sleep.  Fix the insomnia and often the ADD will go away by itself. 

 

Have you tried light therapy?  You want to reset his clock so he gets lots of bright light (replace the standard light bulbs in his room and especially his desk with high intesity lights used for SAD http://www.sadlight.com/?gclid=CPPSvdauvr4CFQIT7AodnDsAcg and keep him away from TV, video, iphone, computer screen,  kindle etc 2 hours before sleep. 

[laughing lioness]

Thanks so much- I've been so busy and I'lll read slower later and take notes

Green tx- outside time- we live in SD so winters are long but he still gets out daily. 

He drinks coffee by the gallon. 

The landscaping is really good money and he could live on it but he is a bit of an intellectual - get him started on history/lit and if he can talk about it, he will talk your ear off. He doesn't want to labor for a living. He wants to run a company, write for a living, direct movies- he has acted shared the lead in a couple of shakespeare plays- he can memorize like mad. 

He was 1 pt away from an "a" in comp- so disappointed. And thank-you for saying they weren't bad grades. They were a.m. classes. He wasn't remedial going in- he took pre-calc and trig in h.s.and tons of writing/comp . But he struggles mightily with handwriting (think 3rd grade looking) - so note taking is stressful. The insomnia is a serious hardship. 

We are talking meds. He does snore- but the chiro and diet has helped a lot. 

I'll be back to take notes. 

Y'all are the best. Thanks for spending time responding!! I will have more questions! 

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

The fish oils have helped here. Aim for 1000mg of EPA (not just total fish oil) a day.

 

Is he getting enough protein and fats in his diet? Those are important.

 

Sounds like he is getting exercise and time outside with his job so those are covered.

 

Gently asking here..........would he consider a trial of medication? honestly for some people, it is the answer and makes such a huge difference. It sounds like you have tried so much already and the meds might make reaching his goals much easier.

 

Seconding fish oil. The EPA amount is important.

 

 

We use medications too, but there is a difference with the fish oil too.

[Tokyomarie]

Lisa, does your son have any experience with using a keyboard or LiveScribe pen for note taking? Either one of these or using a student note taker could help the issues with taking notes. Does he have any documentation on file with the college's disability office for accommodations? If not, it would be a good idea for him to talk with the staff in that office to see what they would allow/offer. I agree with a recommendation for him to schedule classes later in the day. My son now will do OK for an 8am class because he seems to fall asleep a little earlier than he did a couple of years ago. However, he still does better in classes that start at 10am or later. If he's going to take a full-time load this fall, he might consider keeping his schedule to just barely full-time (usually 12 credits). Some students really feel overloaded and have a harder time keeping track of their assignments when they get up to 15-16 credits.

 

For sleep, you might consider magnesium supplements. Many people find it helps them fall asleep earlier and/or sleep longer.

[mymommy1]

I have students in each class that use laptops or ipads for note-taking.  In this day and age, most teachers would be willing to let him use a laptop, even without disability services.  However, if he meets someone who doesn't like it, disability services can insure he has the right to it. 

I'd also recommend late classes and sticking to 12 hours.  Maybe he can take one class each summer session to help make up for less hours in the long semester.  But only one!

 

Good luck!

[sbgrace]

He snores? Has he ever had a sleep study? I would strongly recommend this.

I had sleep apnea diagnosed in my 30's. I never dreamed I would have apnea. I'm sure I had it in my teens as well.

My son (10) was recently diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea and had surgery. I wear a sleep medicine oral device, which fixes my apnea. My mother needed cpap.

None of us look like you would expect a sleep apnea patient to look. I didn't really snore (at least not much). My son and mother did. Both of them had worse apnea than me.