Is ADHD/ADD just an excuse?

HI there, my son no longer takes medication and hasnt since November. I found that they were not beneficial enough to warrant the loss of appetite etc. His blood sugars were checked twice last year in regards diabetes. Came back normal on both times.

I cannot deny my son is different. His behaviour is different to anything I have ever seen. I have 5 children and even as a baby he was different. I believe whole heartedly that if ADHD is not the correct diagnosis then something else is going on.

I should mention that he is currently being monitored for autism as he has lots of the traits relevant.

Have read from your OP to this post and in my head its been screaming

*autism.* I have a grown up grandson who is autistic who attended a

special school, and all the symptoms you have described came up with

with the other pupils and my grandson.

Adhd can be treated with a methyl donor. Cooked spinach, certain berries, foods containing choline, even caffeine in coffee and thiobromine in tea are methyl donors. Foods containing betaine are methyl donors and are needed for folate metabolism. This works for some types of adhd but not others. Try reducing sugar, keep their tyramine intake down. Too much aged food is not good because they are tyramines.

They knew not to give too much sugar to kids when I was young. We were only allowed a few sodas a week. We weren't allowed to drink a lot of juice either. Moderation of carbs is necessary don't try to eliminate them. Moderation of tyramine foods is necessary, don't completely eliminate tyramines or the kids can get depressed. Too many tyramines can lead to anxiety attacks sometimes. Sugar is a tyramine like chemistry. Hydrolized anything is tyramine. Glutamates are tyramines too.

I am not really good at explaining this even though in my mind it looks adequate. When you study things a lot you forget how to think like other people. I could go on and on with this, I have studied the origination of the drugs used to treat this, finding articles of when they discovered the connection between methyl donors and adhd. Methyl cobalamin actually settles a person even though it contains a speed as part of it's formula. Other drugs contain methyl donors to moderate their absorption and utilization.

Try not to feed kids with adhd too much raw cruciferous veggies, they can imbalance the thyroid and mess things up. The Isothiocyanates attach and fire up the thyroid but don't allow companion hormones to be created.

a reply to: demondonna

Not all those diagnosed have it, but it is a real issue.

My 11-year-old son has it, and has it pretty bad (especially the hyperactivity and lack of focus/forgetfulness), but we choose not to medicate him.

It got so bad that he started making a comment here and there about wishing he wasn't alive because he always felt like he couldn't do anything correctly, so we took him in to try a medication to see if it would work--it took away the hyperactivity and some of the forgetfulness/focus issues, but what it did was make him angry, bad enough to where he even recognized it. So we stopped the meds and feel that going the route of removing/limiting foods that we notice exacerbate the issue is a better way to go--coupled with a very arduous journey for me of learning to be more understanding and patient.

But, my son also has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, and that adds and entirely new set of issues to the problem. Interesting thing is that the psychologist said that Asperger's and ADHD happen in tandem way more than one would expect--makes me wonder if the "AD" of ADHD might not be an even more subtle version of Autism than Asperger's is.

I suffer from ADD to the point of utter annoyance and frustration sometimes, but I feel that trying to learn to deal with it is a much better alternative for me than trying out medication, especially if it may cause anger problems.

Also, our son's ADHD is what caused us to start homeschooling, as he was in constant trouble for not being able to sit still, not remembering to raise his hand to answer questions, not being able to stand in line absolutely still, etc. The way the school system treated him was the main factor, imo, that fostered his low self-esteem. I still hold that grudge against the school system.

ETA: My wife--the one who does all of the all-natural research--also started him on a supplemental regime that includes a probiotic. It's in an attempt to see if the "leaky gut" hypothesis out there and its association with ADHD and Autistic symptoms has any veracity to it. And in all honesty, it has made a difference that it much more noticeable than it just being a placebo effect.

originally posted by: calstorm
I believe the excuse is that they are CHILDREN. Guess what. A child's brain is not fully developed. Each child is also different. Children have varying levels of energy, outgoingness , attention, ect. A kid acting like a kid is not an excuse.

Are there times when there really is a problem? Sure, but we have a huge problem pathologizing healthy child behavior just because they have a bit more energy than their peers and don't find every school subject fascinating because their love is for baseball or comic books.

I agree. My son has been monitored on and off by docs for a long time now. school have kept reports etc. nothing major as no one wanted to point out he was different for fear of damaging his confidence further. He's taken any diagnosis on the chin and got on with it.

His behaviour isn't constantly challenging. He often has long periods without now that we have it under control, I pick my battles and let him express his a opinion and then he calms.

All sounds familiar. I have been so low with him in the last couple of years. His behaviour seemed out of control and I have often been kept awake by haunting dreams about the path his life will take. He is just 13 and does seem to be slowly maturely and realising he has some control over his behaviour even if this is only a small amount.

On the medication front, we were advised to take because both adhd and aspergers were suspected but the doc couldnt tell where one started and the other began. The medication helped with concentration and the hyperactivity.... sounds good on paper lol My son hated it, his appetite gone. He couldnt sleep and was so moody. We stopped after we could only get him to eat one pear in 48hrs and I would never consider meds again. This however means its taking longer to get a better diagnosis as we havent followed their advise apparently.

originally posted by: SlapMonkey
a reply to: demondonna

Not all those diagnosed have it, but it is a real issue.

My 11-year-old son has it, and has it pretty bad (especially the hyperactivity and lack of focus/forgetfulness), but we choose not to medicate him.

It got so bad that he started making a comment here and there about wishing he wasn't alive because he always felt like he couldn't do anything correctly, so we took him in to try a medication to see if it would work--it took away the hyperactivity and some of the forgetfulness/focus issues, but what it did was make him angry, bad enough to where he even recognized it. So we stopped the meds and feel that going the route of removing/limiting foods that we notice exacerbate the issue is a better way to go--coupled with a very arduous journey for me of learning to be more understanding and patient.

But, my son also has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, and that adds and entirely new set of issues to the problem. Interesting thing is that the psychologist said that Asperger's and ADHD happen in tandem way more than one would expect--makes me wonder if the "AD" of ADHD might not be an even more subtle version of Autism than Asperger's is.

I suffer from ADD to the point of utter annoyance and frustration sometimes, but I feel that trying to learn to deal with it is a much better alternative for me than trying out medication, especially if it may cause anger problems.

Also, our son's ADHD is what caused us to start homeschooling, as he was in constant trouble for not being able to sit still, not remembering to raise his hand to answer questions, not being able to stand in line absolutely still, etc. The way the school system treated him was the main factor, imo, that fostered his low self-esteem. I still hold that grudge against the school system.

ETA: My wife--the one who does all of the all-natural research--also started him on a supplemental regime that includes a probiotic. It's in an attempt to see if the "leaky gut" hypothesis out there and its association with ADHD and Autistic symptoms has any veracity to it. And in all honesty, it has made a difference that it much more noticeable than it just being a placebo effect.

originally posted by: demondonna

originally posted by: DeepImpactX
No. The doctors are for the sake of job security.

Would you care to elaborate?

Never mind about that. I was in one of my "Everybody is only in for it for the money" moods. It's hypocritical for me to think like that, and it undermines people I know nothing about. I'm sorry I said it.

I just find it implausible that there is a medical condition out there right now that is so rampant, and that we only just discovered recently. And this condition is based on behaviour that we have always seen as the normal behaviour for a child.

Why is it now abnormal?

People misunderstand ADHD. Most believe the sufferers are 'naughty', actual symptoms are:
Disruptive behaviour
A person cannot sit still or is hyperactive
Acts without thinking
Does not pay attention or does not seem to listen
Cannot concentrate
Daydreams
Has problems with friendships and other social relationships
Has low self-esteem

I can only speak from experience. My son was disruptive in school. He wasn't disruptive in a crazy 'throwing chairs at teachers' sort of way. He was bullied for over a year and the kids would taunt and spit at him etc When he spoke to the teacher he was told that he was being sensitive. He would then refuse to do what was asked of him until the bullies were asked to stop because he couldn't concentrate with them teasing him. Only once did he retaliate when a boy a year older spat in his face. My son pushed this boy and walked away. This bullies parents called the police.

He cannot sit still. He dances and sings when there is no music and walks around my dining table over and over. He doesn't seem to be aware he's doing it until it is mentioned. He gets carried away. He's unable to calm down for hours after any excitement.

He's very impulsive at home and often says things that are not appropriate, and you can see that he just cant stop himself.

When I speak to him he 'zones out' and stares into space.

He has 2 friend. Both are not really good friends but my son sees them as very close. They play computer games on a server but other than that barely interact at all in normal life. Kids his age who have spent time with my son state that they do not want to be friends with him. They say it isn't because he did anything wrong but because he's odd or weird or they dont know why.

And his self esteem. He puts on a very very brave outer wall. He tells me and our family he doesn't care what anyone thinks but at his lowest moments he says things like 'i'm a lost cause' and 'why dont you give up on me.' Its all very upsetting.

I don't know if this is really adhd or problems because of separate disorder or a combination of both but he is not what some would call 'normal', his reactions are different but I wouldn't use the term 'naughty'.

a reply to: demondonna

What type of doctor are you seeing? I'd highly recommend going to a psychologist and having them run their diagnostic tests to absolutely determine if it's one, the other, or both--not for medicating reasons, but because once you know, you can adapt your behavior to better help your son control his, as well as the psychologist can help your son understand how to recognize and do things to self-regulate his behavior on his own, that way when he's in social situations without you around, he can learn to thrive.

ADHD can sometimes be outgrown with age, but severe cases persist but can be controlled by the individual as they mature. Aspergers, though, is a life-long struggle that will never go away (at least, there's no known cure in the medical field), but as with ADHD, can be controlled to a manageable extent as people mature.

I wish you the best of luck--it's very hard as a parent to sit there relatively helplessly as your child struggles through this, and I can't imagine how hard it is for a child not to be able to "fix" themselves when they know something is "wrong."

a reply to: demondonna

This sounds a lot like Asperger's more than just ADHD.

One of the things that my son does is that he has to touch EVERYTHING that he's either walking by or standing by--apparently this is how he stays "grounded" and helps him feel comfortable. For about 7 years of his life, he would get in trouble for it, but now we know that it's something that he can't control. But his touching includes people--not in any terrible way, just touches them on the arm as he walks by or something similar. This used to get him in trouble at public schools because, of course, "Keep your hands to yourself" would be yelled at him by kids and teachers alike. And what do they do as punishment for that type of behavior? They take away his recess...the only outlet he has to get some of the nervous energy out.

He also has some tics from time to time, although those seem to be getting better (unnecessary throat clearing, obsessive blinking, contorting of his hands, etc.)--don't know if your son has those that you've noticed. My son's newest tic is obnoxiously loud burps...not to be funny, and not because he has to burp, but swallowing air and burping before he even knows he's doing it. It's a frustrating one.

Like I said in my last comment, I'd make an appointment with a psychologist if possible. They'll know what to do from there (I keep saying psychologist instead of psychiatrist because a psychologist can't prescribe meds, therefore they won't pressure you into trying that route).

The symptoms of the meds you tried sound like exactly what happened to my son, especially the loss of appetite and moodiness. Good call stopping them. Was it Strattera?

He's seen a psychologist, GP. He's been to counselling for anger issues and to help with his self esteem. We were given rest bite care with a befriending service a few months ago for 80 hours per year but my son could not be convinced to give it a fair go.