Want to Take 13 Year Old Son off ADHD Meds

Have you tried seeing Dr. Mary Ann Block at the block center yet? She has has some very good results of working with children without meds.
http://www.blockcenter.com/

I've recently begin reading up on homeschooling and have found many many instances of mothers who, after years of fighting the ADHD battle, they decided to homeschool their children and have had great success. I see that you're a SAHM, so perhaps that's an option for you? It's atleast worth reading a book or two on the subject.

Best of luck to you!

go to www.schwablearning.org and ask this same question on the message board. there are so many that have been through everything there, it is an awesome resource. My son is only 7, I don't like that he is on meds but I know he needs them. Taking him off is something I would someday like to do, but realize it may never happen.

Hi L.,

My daughter is only 4 and hasn't been diagnosed anything, but because of past food allergies of mine, I've really watched her in relation to different foods.

I'm very allergic to wheat, which basically makes me "stupid" and can put me to sleep for 14 or more hours if I ingest very much. After getting allergy testing done, they verified the wheat allergy and also confirmed a few more, such as corn. Corn makes me hyper.

And, I discovered, it does with my daughter too. If she has juice with corn syrup, she skyrockets. She's an otherwise somewhat mellow kid. We don't let her touch ANYTHING with any form or corn or corn syrup.

Just a thought. You might want to get some allergy testing done. I was amazed at the things I learned from the allergist about children's behavior and food allergies.

Hope that helps.

Best,
L.

My husband was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, although he probably had it as a child but it was not recognized. I find that people who truly do have ADHD, the medication is crucial in controlling impulsiveness and helping with focus. I know when he has or has not taken his medication just by his behavior. Our bodies and brains are basically big bags of chemicals that are supposed to work together in the right way to make us function normally. If we are missing a particular chemical or we don't use it the right way, we need to fix it with medication to either replace what's missing or to correct its action. I wish my husband didn't need so many medications, but the reality is, he functions so much better with them. He also works with a psychiatrist, who manages his meds, and has worked with an ADD coach (Debra Moore in Carrollton) with good results. Be careful with dietary supplements. Just because something is not prescription does not mean it is any safer than a prescrition medication. We assume dietary supplements are safe because they are all natural and available over the counter, but they are drugs just the same. If you think about it, snake bites and marijuana are "all natural", but are they safe? I suggest working very closely with a physician when taking any dietary supplements. Good luck with your son.

L.,
I agree about finding the right Dr. My daughter was medicated around the age of 6...we have just recently found out - by getting our 3rd Dr that she has been on the wrong medication all this time!!! Also, found out that she is mildly hypo-glycemic. I would tell anyone who seems to have the patience as you do - try Dr Arnold Mech, Plano (far north)- I can get you the numbers is you can't find him on the web or in the phone book. He actually does a test that measures brain activity - we never had that done before - but, found out alot we didn't have a clue about.
Good Luck!
L. (____@____.com)

L. have you maybe thought about Homeschooling your son. I know there are moms that are going thru the same thing and homeschooling has helped it's not hard and he may enjoy it. He can still have his friends and social activities he'd just be at home learning one on one with you just a thought. I thought I would add this after seeing someone else suggest the same Homeschooling is wonderful I have been doing it for going into our 4th yr with my son my daughter graduated out about 7yrs ago. Public school when a child comes to them with problems are to quick to want the meds or say the meds aren't working. you can start when ever you want in homeschooling and it's very easy. K.

I just met a guy whose daughter had the same problem. She was around 12 years old and was taking the highest adult dose of a particular ADHD medicine (she'd been through dozens up to this point). Over a 3 month period they actually replaced the drugs with glyconutrient supplements. She's drug-free and under control now. Check it out at www.mannatech.com or Google glyconutrients. Email me if you wat more info. I just talked to him last night because I have a neighbor interested in keeping his 8 year old from going through escalating doses of drugs.

I beleive that most kids that are diagnosted with ADHD do not actually have it. I have a son that was diagnosed at age 5 and they put him on meds all different kids and none of them work they made him worse. I do not believe in any of those meds that they prescribe to these kids or adults. My son takes Chelex every other day, Valtrex every day, yeast fighter everyday and multi vitamine on the days he does not take chelex. I also have him on Cortef and I give to him when I see that he is more hyper then normal. Since he is going through cheleation therapy right now he will continue to take these pills. The chelex is over the counter, but you can only get it at People's Pharmacy in Austin, TX. I know of some other pills that you may get that are over the counter. If you would like to know what they are please email me at ____@____.com and I will be happy to give them to you. I just do not have them with me right now. My son's Dr says any child that has true ADHD is unable to speak. If he is diagnosed with ADHD because of hyperness then usually something is going on with there nervouse system and that has to do with the inside of the childs body that can be controlled or cured instead of covered up. I know this great doctor that has help many children with autism, ADD, ADHD and even SID. If he can help my son then he can help yours. Go to these websits to help you. WWW.starcenter.us and www.SPDnetwork.org it may help you understand and give you ways to help you son in many ways. Hope this helps.
K.

I am a child care provider and have gotten some information over the years. I don't know personally if this works or not but it's based on diet.
It's the Feingold Association of the United States, Box 6550, Alexandria VA 22306
It's a dietary connection to better behavior, learning and health.
Phone: ###-###-####
www.adddiet.com
I really think you should call and talk to them. I just did, to get and update and it was very interesting.
Good luck to you and your family,
Lonie ###-###-####
Allen, TX 75002

My grandson was also diagnosis but the family was tollaly against it. And I advised my daughter to get him tested in a for his schooling. And now we are so glad he didn't start like the school told him to do. So, he is now a honor roll, and visiting college to attend. He is a all A student. I believe you should get him tested, and go from there. He just might be a very extreme smart child who needs more attention focus on his ablities. He might be getting bord.
And the classroom should be adjusted to his speed.
I bet he is a very intelligent young man. And you should search out from a university where you live. Because many parent make the mistakes and take the advice from non specialist at the schools.
You have the responsiblity to search out the problem before it get out of hand. You will be surprised what his true intelligence is. But, be careful to wen him off the drugs so it will not have a side effect. It could be very dangerous to do it cold turkey. It should be done by your physician whom put him on it. Sometime, these kids make the change in there behavior as time going on. And you know how much you can bear with his behavior. I wish he could meet my grandson, he could see how he endure the era of this problem. All his teacher can't believe it is the same boy. He did thing like turn on the school fire bell alarm. And he told lies to get him out of trouble. But, you would not believe he was diagnois with the same label.
Think what older parent did before these drugs came out. They manage to raise their children in discipling them and providing alot to do. And I bet you know this already. But, you don't have to take my advice with getting him examined again.
And I know they will say he is very intelligent.

Good luck
S. A.

There is a company called Pharmanex that has all natural products. I have seen many testimonials from parents who have been in your situation and have been able to take their kids off their meds, as these products are really working for them. One of the products is called Cortitrol. It is very calming. I can arrange for you to get the products at wholesale if you are interested. You cannot buy them over the counter and they are not prescription. You can call the company directly and explain your situation and they will direct you from there. Let me know if you are interested. M.

Hi L.,
My heart feels for you as we have walked this path with our son. Our son was put on meds for his ADHD and as you have dealt with have had to change meds numberous times. At one point my son was on 3 meds; 1 for AHDH, 1 for anxiety, and one for sleep. We have taken him off all meds last December. He went through a withdrawal period under the supervision of his doctor and is in much better health. I would love to talk more with you about the process, please email me with your number or requesting mine if/when you want to talk. The right doctor is key and we finally found ours. Wishing you health and peace.

Doreen

L.,

Check out Franklawlis.com. If you are not familiar with him, he is a Dr. in Lewisville that specializes in ADD. His preference is definitely to handle things without medication if possible. He has written a book called The ADD Answer which is good.

I would love to hear from you. My son is 7 so we are just beginning down the road.

Kim Farbisz

Hi, L.. I'm no expert on this subject and you've probably heard this type of advice already, but I just wanted to give you a lead if you didn't have it. Have you tried a diet without any processed grains, corn syrup and sugar? I know alot of diets try to eliminate various "trigger" foods/colors, too. Here are a couple of sites I found:
http://www.newswithviews.com/Dean/carolyn27.htm
http://www.rxfreekids.org/

Good luck, J.

HI L.,
I have heard of AWESOME results of children with ADD and ADHD coming off their meds to use glyconutrients (natural supplement). The Dallas Morning News (in the A section) has an entire one page informative ad for you to look at (the ads run everyday for the next 2 weeks). Please take the time to read them and call me if you have any questions. Also, www.Mannatech.com and www.glycoresources.com and www.glycoscience.org are wonderful websites for you to get more information.
Call or email me at ###-###-#### or ____@____.com I would love to hear from you and I understand your struggle - I was a Special Education teacher in the public school system before I decided to stay home with my wonderful 3 children and homeschool them. I saw alot of side effects with ADD meds. THere is hope for you :)
God Bless,
A.

If he gets excited around new people, he's probably just on sensory overload from all the visual stimulus. You can talk to North Texas Therapy Innovations about Occupational Therapy and Sensory Integration therapy that can help teach him to regulate his sensory system. The see LOTS of kids with ADHD.

Also, you could see Dr. Sheshagiri Rao here in Plano. His son has ADHD and he's a big researcher as far as finding out what combo of diet, meds, and such go together. He can do a "neuro focus" test to determine the RIGHT kind of meds if that ever became an option for you again. Since you don't want to do meds, he's fine with that too and can offer you a combo of vitamin and mineral supplements that might help. He might also suggest a dietary change such as the gluten-free casein-free diet (GFCF-- meaning no wheat and no dairy... it's VERY challenging) He used to be a pediatrician and after his son's diagnosis he became an immunologist. His located in Plano at Parker and Preston.

Another guy to go see is Dr. Charles Shidlofsky. He's an ophthalmologist who specializes in Prism Lenses. As a kid, he too had symptoms of ADHD and has had lots of patients with this diagnosis and these glasses with these specific lenses help a lot of kids focus better as these lenses are for visual processing and not just visual acuity. My son is getting them next year. We can't wait!

Another thing you can do is Listening Therapy. North Texas Therapy Innovations has a person certified in this program, however, they don't take insurance. It's all private pay. There's another occupational therapist who does listening therapy in East Plano named Anna Schevima at Eastside Speech and Language. My son (who hasn't been diagnosed yet with ADHD because according to the DSM-IV, you can't legally diagnos it until age 7, but I do suspect he will become diagnosed) has been doing The Listening Program for a couple of months now and I've seen wonderful changes in his focus and attention span. He's able to follow directions better too which eases a lot of frustration on my part :)

I think that's about all the non-med interventions I use for my son that I know of. Let me know if you need more information on any of these.

Good luck

R.

My son is autistic, so we do meds to focus, but we were just the opposite. We wouldn't try meds till he was in 7th grade. It was a lot of trial and error and finding the right doctor was the key. He now has better focus on meds, Adderall XR.

But I have a friend who's business is health supplements and many people have raved about the products helping their kids.

Her website is www.kimhughes.isagenix.com

I commend you for wanting to get your son away from the drugs.
There's been lots of other goods suggestions, but I've not yet seen a mention of Dr. Block in Bedford. She is a well known expert in the field of treating ADD/ADHD without drugs. She often finds that either food allergies and/or lack of nutrients are at the root of the problem. Take a look at her website: www.blockcenter.com
She also has excellent books that provide step by step guidelines for helping parents dealing with these issues. I spent alot of time researching her approach and found that removing gluten and dairy from my son's diet and adding nutritional supplements (including things like DMAE) helped tremendously. We still have some issues, but they're now in the manageable range.