? Feingold with ADD not ADHD

[Horst]

Hello All,

I am new to this board and have just begun to deal with ADD. I have 3 sons, the youngest of whom I believe almost certainly is ADD - inattentive. He is 8 years old. This has been a long process with reoccuring school difficulty... I have not yet taken him to be diagnosed, but have done much research and am still trying to educate myself.

I've been reading alot on this board about the Feingold program and how it helps ADHD. Is it as effective with ADD inattentive? The program seems like a huge lifestyle change. Are their other dietary changes that are more specific to ADD?

My goal is to try natural, non-medical treatments first, but I'm not necessarily ruling out meds - as the last option.

What do you all think about my family trying dietary changes before official diagnosis? How important is the diagnosis/label?

Any help you can give is so appreciated. My journey with ADD seems like feeling my way in the dark, but I'm beginning to see gray outlines of things and the help you give makes it so much easier to see my way. THANKS

Horst

PS I've read your threads about Omega, magnesium, & vitamins. Is there a reasource/book that could lay that out for me?

[catatonic]

Hi Horst. I hope you'll find some support and some answers here.

For anyone just starting out on this path, I would recommend Laura Stevens' book "12 Effective Ways to Help Your ADD/ADHD Child", which is available through her website at users.nlci.com/nutrition/ This is an excellent book which outlines a variety of natural treatment approaches with proven effectiveness for at least certain sub-groups of children with ADD/ADHD. (If you want more depth or specificity, we'd all be happy to post our favorite reference books on a variety of natural treatment topics.)

I'd also recommend looking at the Feingold Association website at www.feingold.org where you can read some of the research on dietary changes and ADD/ADHD. I can't tell you from personal experience whether the diet is as effective for ADD as for ADHD, since my boy has a very major H in his symptoms. I do know that attentiveness has been our biggest struggle, and that supplements have helped tremendously in that area.

I will be forever grateful that my son's neurologist recommended dietary changes before suggesting medication. He told me that he recommends this to all his ADD/ADHD patients, but that most of them want a faster solution, and most of them are unwilling to make the major changes that are necessary for a dietary approach to succeed. It has succeeded remarkably well for us. Without the Feingold diet, I assure you, my son would have been medicated long ago. Same is true of supplements. The two work very well together for him.

My advice...try the diet before you do anything else. It's more than worth the $70 to join the Feingold Association to get the approved food list and help from the members-only support board. I implemented it on my own for 3 months before joining...found it worked miraculously, but we were having problems with mystery ingredients in foods and needed more product ingredient information than simply reading labels could provide.

In terms of diagnosis, unless you're looking to medicate, or to obtain special education services or special accomodations through the school, the diagnosis is not particularly critical. We went ahead with the official diagnosis in order to get our health insurance company to pay for psychological counseling, which has been very helpful to my son in dealing with the inevitable self-esteem problems caused by ADHD.

I'd say get on the Omega-3 and the magnesium immediatley. It takes 6 - 12 weeks to remedy nutritional deficiencies and see the behavioral effects of supplementation. It won't hurt, it's something you can easily start while evaluating other options, and you'll have a headstart on treatment. (Just don't make the mistake of getting an Omega with enteric coating that contains artificial flavors or colors...and don't make the mistake of purchasing a magnesium oxide supplement. Get ANY OTHER type, since the others are all bio-available but oxide is NOT.)

Hope this helps some. Best of luck to you.

[rosyred45]

Welcome Horst,
I see as you do the need for dietary changes with meds as a last resort. Along with Catatonic, I follow the Feingold guidelines, although I am not a member, I advocate tremendously as it has such an impact on my son's behavior. With that said, I personally don't feel a need to medicate, although somedays ;)are royally a pain if he gets into something that he shouldn't have.

Ask away, we are here to help
Have a good day
Kaiti

[Horst]

Catatonic and Roseyred,

Thanks for your replies and advice. I do plan on getting the 12 Effective book. And it is comforting to know you aren't appalled by our not getting an official diagnosis before trying dietary changes.

I have visited the Feingold site, but find it not very specific. I guess they want you to join before giving you "the goods". I did gather that they advocate less carbs, watching food dyes, and getting more protein. I wonder if I could just try that in a general way to see if it is worth pursuing?

It is wonderful to have your support and to know that I'm not alone. Thanks!

Horst

[rosyred45]

Horst, whatever you try, you'll know. The food diary was the biggest help for us.

Specifically, with just the elimination of the salysitates (sp) we find that when Mikey eats certain things, he reacts a certain way.

Funny thing, I grew up on hot dogs. We always had them in the house, just in case we were hungry, just grab one and go. I run a kitchen at a hunting club every Sunday. I always have hot dogs, but for the first time in I don't know how long I ate one. I didn't really care for it. AT ALL!!!!!!!

Because we have to keep things from Mikey out of the house-think an alcoholic with beer or liquor- that's my son. If he can get to it he will. I even had a stash of candy out in my truck. Found it gone the other day.

And personally, neither my husband nor I wanted a DX, incase it might be held against him later in life, but we got it to get the help that he needed in school. There's a whole nother story in itself

The best I can say is that you ARE trying to make a difference. You are holding up your end and trying to get to the root of any problems. Don't EVER be ashamed of that. There is never any reason to be sorry for a question. Did I tell you I asked all the stupid ones? Plus I have more to come too.....

Hurry back if you have any questions.....there is a whole lot of information waiting to be uncovered,

Take care
Kaiti

[catatonic]

Horst, here's what Feingold eliminates:

all artificial colors
all artificial flavors (including vanillin)
the preservatives BHA, BHT, TBHQ
high salicylate foods (for the first 6 weeks, then reintroduce them individual to test for reaction)

high salicylate foods include:
almonds
tomatoes
oranges
apples
berries
grapes/raisins
peaches

low carbohydrate is not an official aspect of the diet, although most of us find that limiting highly refined carbohydrates (such as those found in processed foods like pop-tarts or wonder bread) and substituting high-protein foods instead (eggs, cheese, nuts) helps a great deal with attentiveness issues.

[bunny]

Horst,

I am also in the begining stages with my child. I found Feingold through research on my other ds because of his sensitivity to red food dyes (extreme personality issues!).

I found the Feingold information very interesting (you're right, the web site doesn't give much, but once you join, the food lists are interesting and helpful), and although I don't follow it, I have adopted better eating habits for my family. No dyes, artificial flavors, hydrogenated oils (tough one, it seems to be in everything ). What I have found is that we don't buy many snack foods from the grocery store. I get my cookies and crackers at the health food store, and am finally getting some good alternative choices.

I am also giving all three children (ages 7, 6, and 4) daily supplements (multi, magnesium, dha, calcium), and although I am not yet convinced it has made a great difference in my 7 yr old (inattentive only), I am feeling great about my choices of feeding my family a healthier diet.

"Mom, will we ever get to have pop tarts again?" So sorry, but NO! If you want some good ideas of healthier brands, let me know. I'm probably not strict enough, we still go out for ice cream, and eat hot dogs at the neighbors, and occasionally have McDonalds, but you would be amazed at how much you can do in your own home. I think the food industry is trying to kill us slowly but surely (or at least make us unhealthy enough to need lots of medical attention )

So... although I'm not yet fully on board with the natural stuff, I decided that my family needed more improvement in our choice of foods. Once I started reading those food labels, I felt like I just HAD to stop feeding my kids all of that junk.

Good luck, I'm with you all the way!

[rosyred45]

Hi Bunny, unfortunately we don't have a health food store around here, but I make everything from scratch. I actually thought back to my mom. She said on Saturday's at Nana's Farm, it used to be baking day, so she would help Nana knock everything out for the week. While we don't always get a chance to back for the entire week, I usually get a good amount done to hold them over til about Thursday.

And as I think about shopping over the internet, funds aren't there in the summer time, so that's not an option. Everything is fresh from where ever we can get it. But I can't stand apples and oranges anymore, makes Mikey the worst.