beCALM'd

[JohnBark]

Has anyone tried beCALM'd? How many successes with it? And how long did it take to start seeing positive results?

Thanks!

[catatonic]

This question comes up regularly, thanks to the incredibly aggressive marketing tactics employed by the BeCalmd multi-level marketing scheme.

While there are a couple of people who post here reporting positive results with BeCalmd, there are far more who've tried it and decided that it's a waste of money. From an objective point of view, a review of the ingredients indicates that while there are a number of things that most certainly are beneficial for ADHD symptoms, they are not present in appropriate quantities. There are a number of ingredients that most likely do absolutely nothing. There are some that, in certain subgroups of children with ADHD, may actually worsen symptoms.

Some specifics:

Even at the 2-tablet does, you will only consume 50mg of magnesium per day. This is a joke. Therapeutic dose is 6mg per pound of body weight. Even a tiny little 50 pound child needs at least 300mg.

Vitamin B6 is at 1mg per capsule. Folic acid at .01mg (that's 200mcg in a 2-tablet dose). Why bother? Therapeutic dose of B6 is in the thousands of grams (which doesn't help if your child falls into the subgroup of ADHD sufferers who react badly to B6). Folic acid intake ought to be in the 400mcg range daily, just to meet minimum requirements.

The other components are amino acids. Personally, I don't believe in fooling around with them because you may do more harm than good. It's less risky to use a protein powder supplement that contains the entire spectrum of amino acids, unless you are receiving advice from a medical professional who has experience with amino acids.

You'd be better off, and save a ton of money, purchasing separate supplements. A magnesium tablet, a B-complex, a multi-vitamin. A Tbsp of protein powder in the morning.

[AnneM]

I tried B'Calmed with my son and it made absolutely NO difference whatsoever! The people I bought it from tried to tell me that I could stop meds within a few days !! ha ha .... there was NO WAY this was possible!

Catatonic gives some great information on what B'Calmed contains (and for that matter DOESN'T contain!) and I think the reality is that this is no more than a vitamin pill.... and not a particularly great one at that - and especially with the potentially worrying ingredients that Catatonic points out!

My advice is stay away from this product!!

GOOD LUCK!!

[JohnBark]

Have either of you tried the NON-Medicated approach without results then? We are to the point where we are about to agree to MEDS. I think we might try the Feingold approach. But, we are starting to lean toward MEDS. Your thoughts?

[catatonic]

John -
My own frustration and despair have driven me to the brink of surrendering and going for the meds on more than one occasion. Generally this is in the midst of a baffling and unpleasant reaction that makes me feel like all my efforts are useless and my son is doomed to be a monster forever. Then I crack down on the diet or tinker with the supplements and he gets back on track and I thank God that I got my resolve and my positive outlook back.

It's not easy, though. In fact, it can be incredibly stressful and overwhelming...but the worst thing of all is to lie in bed at night realizing you can't stand to be around your own child.

For us, the Feingold diet changed that and supplements made even further improvements. Realizing that my son could not tolerate corn syrup made a huge difference. I now refer to Sprite as "temper tantrum in a bottle".

Pressure from school makes it even more difficult, because you feel like you have to do something NOW. It's hard to take the 2 months or so necessary to get a non-medical treatment plan on track. I truly believe in non-medical approaches, however, and feel they actually address some of the underlying causes as opposed to treating symptoms alone. I also believe that I owe it to my son to do everything in my power to help him, viewing medication as the absolutely last resort. So for us, yes, it has been more than worth it.

On the other hand, there may come a point where you believe medication is the only remaining answer. If that happens, please please please keep in mind that this is NOT a failure on your part. It doesn't make you a less caring parent. It's just a reflection of how difficult and baffling this ADHD condition is. The decision to medicate is rarely easy, just as the pursuit of a non-medical treatment regimen is not easy. So whatever you do, remember to be kind to yourself.

[JohnBark]

Bless you! Thanks again! Even though I've been apart of this board only a matter of days. Everyone has been so kind and helpful in address this situation. We are going to hold off on the meds at least until the new year. We hope the Feingold diet and supplements we get the situation under control. We home school our 2 children. And since, I home office for my job. It's very hard to see my lovely wife struggle with him. It is comforting to know, we share the same struggle as so many other parents. Our 7 year old son was just officially diagnosed with ADHD last week. But, we have been trying several things. And will continue to try the non-med route for sometime. Meds in our opinion, will be our last resort. I hope and pray we don't end up that way. But, if we need to, to help him, I guess we will as a last resort. Thanks again!