Has you had success with alternative treatment for adhd?

mimom

Fri, Sep 14 2018, 6:56 pm

I am looking into alternative therapies for my odd/adhd son. Has anyone here had success with reflex integration, craniosacral therapy, neurofeedback, brain balance, or neurodevelopment therapy? I am getting lost in a plethora of conflicting information.

amother

Smokey

Sat, Sep 15 2018, 1:47 pm

I did not have success with any of the above
after years of trial and error with everything alternative I finally had success with coaching and medicine

I know this is not the answer you want to hear but it saved my child (and now other children also with adhd)

amother

Emerald

Sat, Sep 15 2018, 1:54 pm

Not op, but we’ve tried Ritalin focalin strattera vyvanse and attent. Personally we’re looking into alternative therapy because it looks like my son may be amongst the 10% of the ADHD population that can’t tolerate/ doesn’t respond to medication, NOT because we’re against medicating.

amother

Powderblue

Sat, Sep 15 2018, 2:53 pm

amother wrote:

What type of coaching did you have success with? With who?

I desperately need to find something that will work for my 10 yo dd. We've tried Ritalin and the comedown was so horrible for her. She really needs therapy, but it's so expensive, I don't know how we'd be able to pay for it.

amother

Lawngreen

Sat, Sep 15 2018, 8:47 pm

I have done sensory integration, craniosacial, listening therapy, reflexology, social groups, individual counseling and it helped a ton.
Takes way longer than meds, which we did when school insisted. Meds worked too but only while taking, therapies slowly changed him and he's off meds and doing great for 18 months.

To be clear, we did alternatives on and off for years, slow changes. Did meds for a year and weaned off while continuing alternatives whole time.
18 months ago, stopped meds and BH no issues since!

Everything alternative is very expensive though and time consuming

amother

Slateblue

Sat, Sep 15 2018, 8:54 pm

We have seen a huge reduction in symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and emotional lability by going off gluten and dairy, treating yeast overgrowth and chronic strep and supplementing with tons of magnesium and b vitamins.

seeker

Sat, Sep 15 2018, 11:31 pm

Check out kidsbeyondmeds.com - it was started by an imamother member (who I haven't seen here in a long time) who went through a lot of trial and error after meds didn't work out for one of her kids. BH she had great success and went on to start a consulting business to help people sort through the options. Some parents would love to at least try to benefit from alternative treatments but just don't have the headspace to research everything and then decide what to try, figure out how to implement it, evaluate the effectiveness, and figure out what to try next. So I think her consulting is an amazing service.

amother

Powderblue

Sun, Sep 16 2018, 2:28 am

amother wrote:

for coaching you can try Levi Yitzchok Albert - iloveadhd.com
he guides parents by phone as well (He is in Israel)

Thanks so much!!!

imasinger

Sun, Sep 16 2018, 8:01 am

No success with neurofeedback (boy, did I want a lot of money on that!) or dietary changes, essential oils, etc.

The right meds, social groups, parent training, counseling, executive functioning coaches. These are what seem to be worth it.

amother

Babyblue

Sun, Sep 16 2018, 8:06 am

amother wrote:

Yes, in the same boat. Had one year of success with medication many years ago. Since then, we have tieed at least five and nothing has worked. Apparently we are part of the small percentage for which medication isn't useful.

A very strict home routine and zillions of reminders are the only things that have helped. Hard work for the parents but eventually pays off.

imasinger

Sun, Sep 16 2018, 8:15 am

For those open to meds but who didn't get the help they hoped for, you might want to try a super knowledgeable prescriber.

I only learned recently about some helpful options, like combining a bit of Adderall with Strattera, or alternating Ritalin, Adderall, Vyvanse, switching every 2-3 months.

amother

Babyblue

Sun, Sep 16 2018, 8:16 am

imasinger wrote:

Took us years to find the right doctor, someone specializing in ADHD and tic disorders, but still, no success.

amother

Blue

Sun, Sep 16 2018, 8:53 am

imasinger wrote:

In theory, stimulants work for my kid. In practice, the side effects set in before the deiredones and often stronger. So while on stimulants, he needs fairly intensive medication to help him fall asleep at 10pm even if the meds wore off at 4pm. And the rebound effect comes in so strongly that he can become violent, or tear apart the house when missing something; he loses a huge chunk of his behavioral gains for the back third of the day. This happens even if we dose him up at 4pm (for example), during the time the meds are waning beforehand. Adderall, Vivanse, etc. We do use Straterra.

Batyah85

Sun, Sep 16 2018, 9:11 am

I am currently in the same boat. I am trying vision therapy at the moment to help my son with ADHD like symptoms. I have done cranio sacral, chiropractor... the alternatives are great but a huge commitment of emnergy time and money so it’s hard to stick to....I may go back to chiropractor for some practical advice on vitamins and building up my sons system. My son has a reading tutor as well. I tend to mix the standard therapies and alternatives....Right now we r not doing medication to see how it he does. My kid is 7 and in touch with his abilities and what he needs in the classroom so here’s to hoping it helps him!

amother

Slateblue

Sun, Sep 16 2018, 2:29 pm

amother wrote:

Took us years to find the right doctor, someone specializing in ADHD and tic disorders, but still, no success.

If your child has adhd plus tics, have you ever had them evaluated by a pandas-literate MD?