Alternative to Adderal | ADHD Information

He crawled fine and doesn't sit on hhis legs or anything like that.  he does have poor handwriting and basic writing skills.  That could be dysgraphia.
To me he seems unmotivated.   He always says things like, "I can't think".  Which I totally believe to be true.  It will be interesting when we get the feedback appt.  from the neuropsycholgist.  She did an IQ test so maybe that will tell us something about his potential.
I just wish we could find something to help him focus on school for 6 hours.  I don't care about the rest of the day.
We do omega 3. mag., vitamins, no red or yellow dye, karate for concentration and excercise, fitness class again for excercise, and he is getting 9-10 hours of undisturbed sleep.  School is tough and I am just hoping his self-esteem doesn't go down the toilet this year.  Public school may not be the right place for him.  Homeschool is out because he would NEVER listen to me.  maybe a small montessorri school.  I don't know.
By the way, his cardiologist didn't seem flustered that we had him on adderal 2 years ago but I would check with him before we tried anything else.

I was on Adderal and then tried some herbal supplement called Focus Formula.  It worked for a while and now I am trying exercises from a book called Stopping ADHD.  I have the inattentive ADD diagnoses and it still is working for me.

Here are some clues to see if your son could be helped by these exercises.  Does he sit on his legs, tip back in his chair?  Is his handwriting bad?  I was very well-behaved in school.  I am a calm person.  But my mind doesn't slow down.  I know I have been affected by a reflex that never got matured in my body because I didn't crawl enough as a baby.  I had casts on my legs.   These are crawling exercises.  They have helped me very much, just like Adderal used to and I don't get the side effects I used to get with Adderal.

Good luck to you and your son.

bailey, ask for alternative meds on the alternative boards if you want natural alts.

 if you want pharm alts, please specify.

 heart murmur is going to limit many choices in either realm.

 pharm alts to adderall are dexedrine.

 still not going to help,,, I don't think.

 Time to ask a dr and a psy and go from there.

 Heart dr would be best to ask. along with a psy.


bugzappers38703.4590277778

What happened when your son took Concerta and Metadate?

If he is dx with ADHD by the neuropsychologist, you still have Focalin, Strattera and Wellbutrin left. 

Why do you think he has a bad attitude toward taking meds?

 

Bailey,

I honestly don't think we can advise you on the next step.  You really are going to have to wait until the neuropsychologist gives you the dx and then ideas for interventions.  Good luck with the feedback appointment.

 

The Concerta had to be swallowed whole and he couldn't do that (gag reflex)
so we went to Metadate and that had similar side effects as adderal, plus it wasn't working as well with focusing.

He has not been dx with ADD (no H involved) as of yet.  We have the Feedback appt. on the 30th.  So who knows, maybe that's not it.  But I think he has it, plus maybe something else with it like a learning disability.

Why he doesn't like drugs is beyond me.  When he was really little we had to practically hold him down to get him to take amox.  He hates all medications and vitamins.  He rarely ever gets sick so we rarely have to deal with it.  One of my daughters is the same way.
I would get the LOWEST dose available and try that. then rule out that med.

 you can't discount all meds on one trial of one medication.

 I can't discount alts because one didn't work for me. wort...


 wort didn't work, for me. next med. same with pharms...

 you have to use common sense, and keep a level head.

 AND MAKE sure your childs dr UNDERSTANDS... LOW DOSE or we don't attempt.
bugzappers38704.5390162037We tried Adderal, Concerta, Metadate.
He was on 5 mg. of adderal and didn't react well.  He was 55 lbs. at the time so that was a VERY small amount for him.
The Dr. always started him on lowest levels. 
Drugs may not be the answer.  He hates taking even motrin for a headache.
Has anyone found an alternative for Adderal?
It worked well with focusing but my son had HORRIBLE side effects!
What else might work for him without the side effects?
He is ADD without the H and 9 yrs. old.
Bailey, I think everyone is out Christmas shopping.  I'll bet it is busy out there because it sure is slow here.  Best of luck with finding an alternative. He isn't hyper, just can't focus.  He is calm and behaved in school.  Very polite and respectful.  Just doesn't accomplish much.  He says he is an "idiot" which is so untrue.  He is very smart but it's all boxed up in there with no way to get out.
There MUST be something that he can just use to focus for those 6 hours.
He was on the lowest dose of Adderal and he didn't do well.
Maybe focalin?  He has a heart murmur so we have to be very careful.

Bailey -

Has your MD put your son on the lowest starting dose? Sometimes a doc will put the child on a higher dose and bring it down until the side effects disappear - which is totally reverse to my thinking.  All it does is freak out good parents like you when it does happen.

Is your son eating 3 good meals a day and snacks? Is he drinking a big glass of water with the meds? These are important as without food and water he'll get the shakes and irritability when taken that way.

Ritalin works for hyper kids best.  It tends to slow the whole system down and give the focus and calm that helps.  Give an already hyper kid adderall or dexedrine and they can tend to be jittery.

Please check with your MD as to whether they started high to go down or if they took into consideration the hyperactivity level of your child.

I wish you much luck here - and good results.

 

I wouldn't say that ritalin works best for hyper kids. I have AD/HD and use adderall with no problems. It all depends on the individual.

Good luck finding something that works!

deang -

I just go by the people here and other places I talk to.  It tends to be that if the individual is primarily hyper in the ADHD that ritalin gives the extra calm and focus.  And if the person is inattentive with no real hyperactivity then the adderall/dexedrine gives the additional energy and vigor needed.

Everyone is different but there are patterns in ADHD that tend to work one way or the other.  But it is a trial and error I admit.