Penny,
I cannot help with your BrightSpark question, but you might post this question in the alternative and complementary med section. There might be someone there that has used BrightSpark.
I know that it is can be hard to "medicate" your child and in some ways using unproven alternatives doesn't sound or feel like you are actually medicating your child. After a teacher recommended retention in the second grade, difficulties in the 3rd and 4th grade that culminated in my child becoming increasingly deffiant, depressed and anxious, I was very happy that there has been so much research in the area of ADHD and that I could read research findings to help me make decisions in the treatment of my daughter.
As far as feeling like you are "only treating symtoms", many meds treat "only the symptoms" that if not treated can make recovery from the primary cause of a disease slower and even cause death. Fever is a symptom of bacterial or viral infection but not the actual cause; not treating a high fever can cause death. Taking anti-inflammatory meds to treat the pain and inflammation of severe arthritis does not treat the root cause ofthe disease, but without the treatment for this excruciating symptom, life can be unbearable.
This is a journey and I wish you luck on it.
try the alternative section...I am sure someone there has tried this
so, do you sell this BrightSpark?Nope. I hope my message didn't come across wrong. I'm trying to get an unbiased opinion. When I did a google search on BrightSpark, it kept taking me to the manufacturer's websites with their testimonials. I just want to know if anyone else (not from Native Remedies, the manufacturer) has tried it and if they had any luck with it.
For the past month, before trying BrightSpark, I was using castor oil packs on my son (piece of flannel soaked in castor oil, then placed on the lower right abdomen with a heating pad put on top). He did well with the packs for a couple of weeks, but it slowly dwindled, and up until yesterday, he was acting like he did before the Metadate.
Has anyone had any luck using BrightSpark? It's an herbal remedy for ADHD that claims to work without any side-effects. Plus, there aren't supposed to be any ups and downs like there are when stimulants kick in and wear off. I just started my son on it yesterday. He seemed to do really well on his first day, but it could be a fluke. I won't get excited about it until he's gone an entire week without any problems.
Our story: My son was diagnosed with ADHD last year. He's really more ADD than ADHD, being only slightly hyper. He, of course, has trouble with focusing his attention and with impulse control. He's a sweet boy, and very eager to please. It really was starting to bother him that he was making his teachers and parents unhappy with his difficulty in school. It was affecting his self esteem, so we put him on Metadate. He did really well on it, with few side effects. Plus, it helped him get through first grade.
However, I don't like having my kid on a stimulant, and I feel we've been treating the symptoms, not the problem. Over the summer, I took him off Metadate and have been exploring other options. I tried to check with the pediatrician's office before starting with BrightSpark, but they were no help; a nurse told me they don't endorse the use of herbal remedies because they haven't been tested. My son's psychologist wasn't as condescending about it, but he couldn't really give me any advice, other than asking why we would choose an herbal remedy (supposedly inconsistent and unreliable) over a carefully measured pharmaceutical administered by a physician.
Oh well, I'll keep everyone posted on my son's progress with BrightSpark.