First time on this site- have questions

[Cami]

I have a 4 year old son who has not been diagnosed with add or adhd, but has many of the symptoms. I have never taken him to the doctor for this mainly because I figured they would just try to put him on some kind of medication if he did have anything and I don't want that. He is very active, has a very short attention span though getting a little better with age, but he gets very hyper when he is tired and that seems to be the main time he acts out so much. Sometimes acts like he can not control himself at all. We try to keep him off of caffine and chocolate because they specifically trigger his hyperactivity. He is about 35 pounds and I would like some recommendations of what type of vitamins, minerals and herbs I can try with him to see if it helps him to focus and be able to go to sleep when his body is tired. Can anyone help?

[HooDunnit]

Hi Cami and welcome to the forums. You've sure come to the right site and right forum to ask about natural alternatives. Many children exhibit some of the traits of ADHD but to be diagnosed that way requires that a child show a large number of those traits in more than one social situation for more than something like six months. But there are many natural supplements that can help all children. One thing that helped my ADHD child a lot with his hyperactivity was exercise. Have you thought of gymnastics?

[catatonic]

Hi Cami and welcome. I also have a little one who is a human whirlwind. Not sure if she's ADHD or just an active 3-year-old, but I'm keeping an eye on her. She seems to have lots of behaviors in common with her ADHD brother.

I think most kids get hyper and wild when they're tired. I make sure my daughter gets a nap in the afternoons. Without it, she's loud, oppositional, and wild. If she get her nap, she's normally much more agreeable and calm.

We also follow the Feingold diet very strictly. I know it's been miraculous in controlling my son's acting-out type of ADHD behaviors (he's 10), though not so helpful with attention/focus. I've also noticed that I'm less of a space cadet on the diet. You might want to take a look at some of the Feingold Association information at
www.feingold.org

Finally, I give my daughter Omega-3 and Vitamin E twice a day. She weighs 34 pounds, and takes a tiny 100IU Vitamin E capsule which is easy for her to swallow. The Omega-3 is in liquid form and she thinks it tastes pretty nasty, but swallows it anyway. (We tried soluble powder and it was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted not to mention it didn't dissolve worth a darn.) She'll also take an Omega-3 capsule, bite it and swallow the oil, then spit out the gelatin capsule. (That's why in our house we a call fish oil capsule a "Pop-and-Spit".) I also give her a multi-vitamin that contains zinc and magnesium. I've seen very obviously with my Challenge Boy that the minerals make an enormous behavioral difference, so it seems wise to give them to my little "angel" as well.

I know the Omega-3 is good for her developing brain, but I don't know if it changes her behavior. I do think Feingold helps, and certainly she falls asleep very quickly when kept away from the artificial colors. She also sleeps better when her dinner is high in protein and there's no sugar afterward (plain fruit or pumpkin custard is about as sweet as it gets, sometimes flavored yogurt).

[rosyred45]

Welcome Cami, Hoo is right, you found just the right place. I think as far as the doctors go, find out how yours deals with add/adhd. I specifically told my ped. nurologist that I didn't want medication. She respected that since we do follow the feingold program and that makes such an inpact. It's like 2 different kids when my son has something that he shouldn't have.

If you look at the top 2 threads, they may be of a help to you also.

Welcome again

[Cami]

Thanks so much ladies for all the help. I am going to look at the feingold website and take the list of supplements that were suggested and get started. May come back with more questions later. Again, I really appreciate the feedback.

[Cami]

Catatonic,

I have a couple of other questions based on what you said and the other things I have read on this site.

What brand of vitamins are the best to use? How much Omega-3 would you give a boy at 40 pounds? Is it just one amount that comes in a capsule? What about extra magnesium and zinc- I read about that in some of the other messages? What kind of multivitamin? All this information may be at the feingold website, but thought I would ask while I was reading through these other messages. Thanks again for your help.

[catatonic]

What I do for my 3-year-old is very different from my 10-year-old's protocol, because she is so much smaller and can only swallow a very tiny pill. Because he body is small, the amounts are really reduced.

On the Omega-3, I have tried liquid and it's not too popular, but some kids will certainly prefer it to a capsule. The Nordic Naturals liquid is lightly flavored with lemon oil, and 1/2 tsp. contains 300mg DHA and 450mg EPA. That's plenty for a little one. My daughter prefers to bite open a capsule, swallow the oil, and spit back the encapsulation. She takes one "Pop-and-Spit" per day, a Natural Factors Rx-Omega-3, with 200mg DHA and 300mg EPA. There are also DHA-only capsules available. Now brand for example, has a DHA-250 that we've tried. The capsules are small and my daughter is able to swallow one a day without any problem.

You need to take Vitamin E along with the fish oil. The tiny little 100IU capsules are really easy to swallow and provide plenty of Vitamin E for a little body.

With multi-vitamins, I really don't like most of the kids' ones out there because they are loaded up with junky artificial color, flavor, and corn sweeteners. Unfortunately, the adult vitamins are much to large for a pre-schooler to swallow. I'd take a look at Kirkman Labs. They have a high quality, additive free line of multi-vitamins that are available in liquid and powder forms. Some of them are Feingold approved, although I can't offhand remember which.
www.kirkmanlabs.com

Magnesium and zinc are very important to provide, but unfortunately it's not easy to find them in a form appropriate for a very small child. Your target dose would be about 100mg magnesium daily for your son. If you select a multi-vitamin such as the Kirkman Nu-Thera powder, the magnesium and zinc are already included in the formulation, avoiding the need for separate supplements. That is probably your best bet, to select a multi that meets your mineral needs as well.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

[eaccae]

Cami - welcome!

I just want to add something as well.

If - as your son gets older and you notice that the focusing/high energy remains an issue - I would definitely get him diagonosed. As a parent you have EVERY right to decline medication - but having a diagnosis may help out if you need to evenutally get accomodations in school and find someone who can help you with a behavioral plan and a parenting plan. ADHD children often don't respond to discipline tactics the same way that nonadhd children do - especially the highly impulsive type. And often times having a third party work with you to create a parenting plan is a huge help because it can get terribly frusterating - especially when mom & dad are on different pages.

Unless it is causing real problems right now - it is good to just keep your eye on him (we have been watching DD - almost 5- very closely for OCD). (Sometimes it is hard to determine at an early age - sometimes it is very clear.) But if it gets to the point where you don't know what to do - do NOT be afraid to get a diagnosis because of the meds. You as a parent have a choice to use medication. It may be presented to you by the doctor as the best option but that doesn't mean you have to agree!

In the meantime you wil find this board to be a great source of information regarding natural alternatives. I think catatonic and ohmama know a lot more than some doctors!!!

[catatonic]

I think the two main advantages for my son of going through the diagnosis process were that he received a number of lab tests and physical exams to rule out other conditions (such as anemia, thyroid disorder, heavy metal toxicity) that could have been responsible for his symptoms; and secondly that as a result of his diagnosis our insurance covers his bi-weekly sessions with a psychologist. We were extremely fortunate to consult a neurologist who advises dietary modification prior to trying any medication. He doesn't think the Feingold diet is flaky, and he supports the use of supplements. His pediatrician, on the other hand, is just a butt-head. I don't even bother talking to him about the ADHD because his only answer is to reach for the prescription pad. So if you do decide you want to go through the diagnostic process, you will probably have to take the initiative in seeking alternatives to assault with pharmaceuticals.

[Cami]

Thanks again Ladies. This has really helped a lot and I am going to start with the supplements. I have also ordered the feingold program and plan to try that as well. Right now I have Clint in a 3 year old 1/2 day program 3 days a week. Since he is such a young 4 I did not think he was ready for any kind of pre-k program yet. I also home school my older daughter and will probably do the same thing with him next year, so school is not really an issue for us. He does seem to be getting better as he gets older- when he gets tired and night time starts to come is when he seems the most out of control, but he does have many of the symptoms that feingold listed. I will think about taking him to the doctor to be evaluated. He has a check up coming soon, so I will probably discuss it with his doctor then. Thanks again- you have been wonderful and such a blessing to me and my family.

[catatonic]

Cami,
I'm so happy to hear you decided to try the Feingold program. It's been just miraculous for us. Be sure to use the Feingold support board. There's excellent help there on everything from dealing with doctors to which brand of biscuits to buy.

[ninjyagirl]

Aloha,
I am new and I've been reading all the post. I am so overwhelmed that I do not know where to begin.
My son is 7 years old and weighs about 47 pounds.
He is taking 2 Gummy Vits in the morning ( I bought this at Costco).

I bought a bottle omega fish oil liquid with lemon flavor.
I bought a bottle of calcium and magnesium vitamin tablets 500 mg.

I tried to cut the magnesium tablets in half and have him chew on it. He gags on it. I gave him fish oil and he threw up everything. Now he thinks this is all bad for him.

I went back to the health store and picked up Planetary CALM CHILD and some powder magnesium. I am confused about all the different types of Magnesium.

My son likes the flaver in the calm child but I am not sure if I should continue.

Has anyone tried the fish oil in ESKIMO KIDS?

I am trying to find ways to disquise the fish oil. I was looking for some shake I could make in the morning and evening to put the fish oil and magnesium powder in. I am still searching for healthy products.

Please advise...
Mahalo Nui Loa (Thank you very much)

[rosyred45]

:)Welcome to the forums Ninyagirl. There is a lot of information here and I know this has been a life saver for me. Especially since I just got back from a meeting with my son's teacher

Cruz around and post away. If you ever have any questions, just ask.
Take Care
Kaiti

[finnmom]

Hi Ninjyagirl, welcome to the forum´s. Iá m sure you´ll found some good info in here plus lot´s of great support

[catatonic]

Welcome Ninjyagirl,
Trying to figure out supplements can really give you a headache! I know we've tried so many that I could practically run a "slightly used" pharmacy out of my cupboard. My primary suggestion to you would be to try and keep things simple. If you can get a good multi-vitamin that reduces the number of additional supplements you need to buy, then it's going to be much easier for you to keep on using them.

On magnesium -- most of it has pretty decent bio-availability, except magnesium oxide. As long as you buy any other type of magnesium, then you are doing fine. There are chewable magnesium tablets readily available, but in my experience they taste like total cr*p and kids won't eat them. Same with liquid fish oil. Have you ever tasted it?

You're right that blending the supplements in a shake disguises them pretty well. It needs to be pretty strong flavored to hide the vitamin taste, which is why apple juice probably isn't good. Grape juice might work, but my Challenge Boy can't have grape anything so I haven't tried it. You'll probably have to experiment to find one your son likes, but the two basic types my kids drink are:

Fruit smoothie (makes 2):
1/2 cup frozen undiluted orange, pineapple or lime juice
1/2 banana
1 cup rice milk
1 carton vanilla yogurt
a little sugar if you like it sweeter
2 Tbsp. lecithin granules (optional, a good brain booster)
vitamins, etc.

Chocolate peanut butter shake (makes 2):
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup chocolate syrup (or more, to taste)
1 cup rice milk
1 carton Caramel Underground yogurt
2 Tbsp. lecithin granules (optional)
vitamins, etc.

If worse comes to worse, you can always use the method that worked for me in training my son to swallow pills -- even big ones. I paid him cash. If he got all his vitamins down -- and kept them down -- before the oven timer buzzed, he got $2. I paid him for a week and at this point he could probably swallow a golf ball if I offered him enough money!