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Post by AustinsMom on Apr 14, 2004 23:55:11 GMT -5
I have a friend with a son who is 21, in college, with most likely undiagnosed ADHD/LD. At the start of this semester, he started a good multi, omegas, and magnesium. He said he noticed two big changes. Immediately he started sleeping better, and now he can study in advance (he's in P.T. school). Previously he always had to cram before a test, because he needed the stess to focus.
So my question is--what would you recommend trying next? L-carnitine? DMAE? Any suggestions, comments would be appreciated. He plays baseball in college, so is very active, and health conscious. He is about 5'11', weighs probably 180 for dosing considerations. Thanks for your help!
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Post by DenverSarah on Apr 15, 2004 11:50:45 GMT -5
Sounds like he is off to a good start. What kind of diet does he eat? Doing Feingold or at least cutting out all the *obvious* additives should help him tremendously if he is willing. Two things other than that that I would suggest trying one at a time are:
Enzymes...these have really helped my son over the last few months. I am truly baffled at the change. They are NOT all alike. Houston brand are what I would recommend trying. We use no-fenol because Feingold made it apparent that salicylate foods are a huge issue for him. However, if one isn't fairly certain of the specific foods that are a problem it would make more sense to go with Zyme Prime instead because it is a more overall enzyme targeting all the foods that are common reactors. The set back for these is that they are pricey and one has to keep taking them indefinitely.
Also...we have recently added amino acids to the supplement mix. I started with L-tyrosine 'cause I am copycatting Cat, who uses L-tyrosine for her ADHDer. It does seem to be helping with staying on task at school and with retaining info on a more consistent basis. For example, he could tell you all the sounds of each letter in the alphabet, and then the next day only know 5-10 of them. Amino acids need to be taken with more caution than other supplements. On this route one should start out slowly and closely monitor any reactions. I would encourage him to do research on the different kinds that are available and pick the one that best targets the specific symptoms he wants to help.
Hope this helps!
It's neat to hear about more and more adults who are treating themselves naturally!
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Post by AustinsMom on Apr 15, 2004 21:08:09 GMT -5
DenverSarah, How are the enzymes helping you? I'm asking this because I have been thinking about them for Austin. We have had some chronic constipation issues since for the past month, and I thought some enzymes might help. Do you think they would? Thanks for the feedback.
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Post by DenverSarah on Apr 16, 2004 11:51:14 GMT -5
Since we use them more for behavior issues I can't really give any reliable advice about BM issues. I do know that I've seen some posts about enzymes making kids more regular but in our case they haven't really seemed to make a difference. My son has always had about one BM a day and they are BIG! Sometimes so big that I've worried that his colon might get permanently stretched out...but since he has never complained about it or had any pain or blood I've never done any research or asked the doc about it. They don't appear to be hard or anything, so I can't say that the size is due to constipation. Anyway I do think that enzymes can help with a number of issues. If you are targeting a digestion issue more than a behavioral or absorbtion issue, it may be worth your while to try the ones that are cheaper than the Houston. There are a ton of different kinds out there. Wish I could give some better input! Hope this helps some anyway  |
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Post by songwriter on Apr 16, 2004 13:00:12 GMT -5
austinsmomm-
I used to have constipation issues also (what a lovely way to begin a post!) Since I have been taking more vitamins and herbs, etc., now things tend to go the other way a bit, if you know what I mean. God help you if you're in my way when I have to go!
Anyway, here's what I take (long list):
Vit. C, B comp., brewers yeast, calcium mag., calcium lactate, mega co Q10, flax oil, ginko biloba, vit. E, multivitamin, saw palmetto (for adult male prostate health), evening primrose oil, sam-e, St. Johns wort, and BeCALMED.
Don't know for sure which of these have made me looser except I know vit. C will cause diarrhea when given in higher doses. Try giving 1500 mg of vit. C daily.
Anyway, hope everything comes out all right!
-songwriter
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Post by catatonic on Apr 18, 2004 8:28:28 GMT -5
On constipation...we've found that fish oil in the evening helps promote regular bowel movements that are soft enough to be comfortable but still formed -- which is what you want your stools to be like. (This is such a lovely delicate topic!) Magnesium has further stool-loosening effects. Discontinuing either of them leads to an adjustment period of serious constipation.
For your friend's son, addition of l-carnitine would most likely help with more effecient absorption of Omega-3 essential fatty acids, although in my experience this is a hidden benefit that isn't demonstrated by obvious behavioral changes. It's a more subtle metabolic effect.
Tyrosine has helped my son with his attentiveness. A 180-pound adult is probably going to need in the neighborhood of 1 or 1.2 grams given in divided doses. My son is about half that weight and takes 600mg daily, half in the morning and half in the evening. Powders make it much easier to fiddle with the dose, but you need an accurate 1/4 tsp measure to do this.
I'd second DenverSarah's recommendation of an additive-free diet...and GET RID of sodas. The Feingold program has been miraculous for us. The enormous amount of corn syrup in sodas, however, is capable of undoing all the wonderful changes the diet causes.
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