Caffeine | ADHD Information

After diagnosis of my younger daughter (10yo, combined form ADHD), my husband was resistant to starting meds, so I tried caffeine with her. She would not drink coffee or soda in the morning so I got some caffeine pills (over-the-counter, generic for no-doze) and gave her 100mg (the amount in 1 cup of coffee and the amount in the study I had read about). It seemed to help for about a week and then the effects faded. It did give me a preview of what results stimulant meds might give. I had read that the body can become resistant to the effects of caffeine, causing you to need to increase more and it to become less effective.

My older daughter (undiagnosed, but strongly suspected innattentive form of ADHD) drinks a strong cup of tea before school and before homework when she is having trouble getting started.

Here is the caffein content of many drinks:

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine_info1.shtm l

I tried the coffee thing too, but I got scared and backed out, lol. I'm
not a doctor. I dont know what levels are safe for a 5 year old and I
cant very well do a controlled study. He did seem to settle down a
little, but not for long. My husband has ADHD and coffee keeps him
focused but too much and he is a BEAR. I guess it's like that with any
stimulant though.

Yesterday I made a drink for my son with a cup of coffee (a small cup), a spoonful of General Foods International Coffee, (for flavor and a little more caffeine), and a heaping spoonful of protein powder. He drank some of it, not all of it, and I think it helped him. I wanted to do it on a weekend so I could observe him. Sure he's had caffeine before, but this was more caffeine. I also gave him a DMAE pill. When we went to church, he was fiddling constantly with his hands and feet and never stopped squirming, so I assumed it didn't help. But in the car on the way home, I told him I guessed my coffee drink didn't help, but he said it did help. He said he was listening to the sermon! I don't know if it was the caffeine or the DMAE or just a coincidence. I have to give the DMAE at night because it made him sleepy.

I think I'll try to order that Spark drink and see what that does.

 

So, what are the opinions on giving your ADHD child caffeine?  I have read about it and know that studies prove improvement in behavior, but also know it sounds crazy to other parents...

Is is safe?  Is coffee more affective than soda?  What pros and cons have you all noticed?

Thank you for another dose of answers!

We tried coffee, and it helped a tiny bit, but not for long and not reliably.  Some people use Mountain Dew soda, as it is supposed to have tons of caffeine.

I just can't imagine giving my child soda every day, kwim?  How much coffee did you give, btw?  Does it "wear off", I wonder?

Sorry - so many questions!! lol