Help w/ natural remedies for ADD Listol? | ADHD Information

Hello!  I am new to this site, and am currently seeking new options for me 11 year old daughter that has been diagnosed with "borderline" ADHD Innattentive Type.  We have tried Stratera, Adderall XR and most recently Concerta with no luck.  I do not like her personality even after 1 week of being on these meds.  It is not worth that!  Now at the end of the school year we are having more difficulty staying on task and I am wanting to start something that will have us better prepared in the Fall.  I have read alot about Focus and Listol.  Also, I have heard alot about DMAE.  If anyone has any info or experience, please let me know!  I am lost as for what to do!  

 Hi,

This is my first post to this forum but I couldn't help but reply after reading what you're dealing with. I've just ordered the Listol last week and started administering it to my 9 yr old son last Thursday.. 2 x's a day.. no effect so far. He's taking this along with OPC3 which is a natural supplement, antioxidant. I'm at the point you're at.. what to do next? I'm trying the natural route since the Straterra he's been on for 2 mths (40 mg) isn't doing squat! He was on Concerta for almost 3 yrs which was working great until motor tics became such an issue that we had to take him off it. The good thing is that since coming off it, he has a fantastic "normal" appetite, and sleeps great.. just isn't helping at all with the impulsivity and hyperactivity. I didn't know what else to do other than try the Listol.. I have to give it some time to see what happens.. Good luck on your end. I empathize and feel for your situation.. it's so hard sometimes isn't it??

what does borderline adhd mean? Haven't tried it but my Yoga teacher swears by Focus.  She and her child both use it.  Good luck with that.

Dmae we tryed. school said didn't help. Remove refine carbs also makes a difference. Remove preservatives and dyes.  Remember this child is also a preteen. My non adhd has mood swings too. Hormones also effective mood.This kick in girls long before period comes.

Caffeine and citrus also effect absorbtion rates.

If it's only a problem with school work (math and english) you might want to get a second opinion. Maybe something as simple as getting a tutor to work with her for awhile is all she needs. Good luck to you.  I was always FANTASTIC in english, but I hated math with a passion. I still do. Get her into a musical instrument maybe. What does the doctor say about treatment, and how long did you try each medication for? We didn't try any of them very long because of the personality change.  We did not like her very much.  She was not our daughter!  The doctor said that these would probably worsten if we were already seeing them hence questioning whether or not she really needed meds.  That is where we are now!  She does play the guitar.   For what it's worth, My son has had two great days at school this week. It could be the Listol/Focus that he's taking? Too soon to tell, but this is encouraging We need to give it more time before I make any judgements on it, but considering his impulse issues over the past few months, this is a pleasant surprise.  We're keeping our fingers x'd!! Will report back with an update in another few days.

To MaffiaKiddo-

When we had our daughter tested by the psychologist referred to us by our pediatrician, she stated in her evaluation that there were areas definately typical of ADHD and there were areas where she had no signs of the illness.  However, based on the Burks' behavior rating scale that was given to her teacher at the time, she diagnosed her with ADHD, Inattentive sub-type.  We have trouble deciding whether it is her age or the illness.  She seems to have no trouble focusing on things she in interested in or does not struggle with like Sports, Science, or the Arts.  However, in areas where she has little interest such as Math or English she is in lala land most of the time.  All of the medicines she has been on create too much of a "downer" affect on her because she does not have the impulsiveness and hyperactivity.  After reading the side effects of the drugs, I am thankful they did not work for her so that she wasn't on them very long.  We are currently taking DMAE, NaC(amino acid), Hyperzine A, and a Arbonne "teen" multi-vitamin and she says it seems to be helping.  These are some of the same "main" ingredients in the Listol.  I have also heard that some people are having great luck just by taking Zinc.  Thanks to everyone for their input!   

 

We'll have our listol in a few days and I am going to use it with the adderall (5mg).  Keep me updated!

tisacson-

My son's tics were so bad on Concerta that's why we switched to Strattera.. Since the Strattera didn't appear to be doing anything, the dr. recommended trying Adderall XR... I couldn't see why Adderall - another stimulant- would be prescribed considering the tics on Concerta, so I decided to hold off on filling the Adderall prescription and tried the Listol.  I'll keep you posted on how things go on the Listol w/ the Strattera.. If all goes well, we plan to try weaning off the Strattera.. we'll continue to wait and see.

Enchanted: Can you update me on how it's going with the Listol and your son?  My son hasn't been officially diagnosed but we've had all the syptoms of ADHD and the school is very concerned.  I'd like to try Listol and I'm very encouraged by your postings and success you've shown.  Can you let me know how it's going now?  Thanks so much!

And anyone else with feedback on the listol would be appreciated too.  I don't want to medicate my son so anything natural would be a great benefit to learn about.  Right now we have him on some Omega 3/6 oil and another type pill called Concentrate! from Sea Buddies.  It has a lot of the recommended supplements in them and we haven't taken them for very long so I haven't seen any results.

Anyway - your help is so much appreciated.  Thanks!!

One other question - what do the Listol tablets/pills look like & how many does a child of 54 lbs/7 years old take per day?

I've been trying to find dosage information, etc. and haven't been able to.  Thanks!

mkremer-

We're still administering the Listol 1 time per day with a spoonful of applesauce(the pill is huge in a clear capsule w/ beige colored powder in it - I compare the size to that of a pre-natal vitamin or large multi vitamin). Our son is still doing quite well on it and we plan to continue with it at this point. He is also still on the Straterra which we plan to try tapering off after school gets out next week. The listol bottle recommends 1 pill 2 times a day and we haven't gotten to that point yet.. I think we will start the 2nd pill after the Straterra is done. I don't have any other info on dosage info either. I recall another poster asking about that in perhaps another thread and if I recall correctly someone else responded that there weren't any other specs available. My son is 9 and weighs roughly 65 lbs -but rather tall for his age so he's a string bean! So all in all, it's been a pretty good experience. I honestly think it's having a positive effect and is helping to some degree. I've noticed his urine being a bit cloudy lately and I plan on calling the doc on it, but it doesn't seem to bother him. May be from the Straterra, not sure.. Keep me posted on what you decide to do.. Feel free to email me if you like. Good luck!

I think we may be on to something with the Listol.. Great week last week and great Monday (yesterday). No emails or phone calls from school since we started it.. He's not as amped up as he was without it, and yet he's not walking around like he's half asleep without a personality either - which is what he was like when he was taking his stimulant (Concerta).. We'll need to give this another week and see how things continue to go.  He's still taking his Straterra (40mg) but I find it hard to believe it "suddenly kicked in" when he started taking the Listol.

I am going to try Listol for my son.  He was on Metadate for two years and started doing this itching type motion that his doctor said was tics from the medication.  So we tried straterra .. ugh .. that did nothing.  He is on 5mg of Adderall and it is helping, but only a little and the tics are starting up again.  I woudl really appreciate it if you all woudl keep me posted on how your children are doing on this supplement.