Alternative Treatments | ADHD Information

I have been on Strattera for a whopping 4 weeks
now, and going very slowly with increasing the
dosage. I don't know if it will work yet or not. I've had
some benefits, but not consistently.

But check this out...

4 years ago I had this amazing time in my life for
several months. I could read and meditate and do
my work and I just felt so much more able to cope
with daily life and even start to address the big
issues. It was great! Then it ended. (This was all way
before I knew I had ADD.) I had no idea why and I
never figured it out till last week.

I was checking into alternative treatments for ADD,
and came across an ad for a homeopathic remedy.
One of the ingredients was Calcarea Carbonica.
Hmmm... I had taken that before....about 4 years ago.
In fact, I looked it up in my medical records and
found out that the times conincided exactly!

The more I found on the web, the more things
started to click. At that "amazing time" I was also on
chlorophyll, an antioxidant and iron source, as well
as zinc. The most common dietary
recommendations I found were: iron, magnesium,
calcium (calcarea carbonica), zinc, omega-3 fatty
acids and antioxidants. There's more, but I won't
bore you with the details.

The past four years after the "amazing time" were
increasingly hellish. I couldn't figure out what I was
doing wrong! Now I know.

A few months ago I found out I was iron-deficient
anemic, and I think I had also overdosed on
Magnesium, b/c I was using it as a remedy for
muscle tension. So I was probably calcium deficient
too.

I don't know how all this will turn out, but I'm thinking
of getting off the meds and going for the alternative
stuff (diet, supplements, chiropractic and maybe
some homeopathy too). Then after I get that figured
out I'll try the meds again, and see if they help any
more.

Has anyone had any luck with any alternative
treatments? It seems like people mostly do this for
their kids and not themselves. Anybody else
interested or know anything?

ps. Why do my posts turn out in such a skinny
column?Hi Freedom! I to had some seemingly normal times in my life. In 2000 I went back to school for health ins. billing & coding, graduated with honors. Than everything seemed to fall apart. Of course i had ADD & diden't know it,but i was also going through the "change of life". I tried St. Johns Wort. No luck & also went to a Chiro. That did provide some relief, but only temperary. adderall seems to work the best for me, but let me know how the strattera works for you in the long run, because I would LOVE to be free of stimulants! Good luckYeah that sounds about right sumi- my job has 4 levels and i've been doing it about 8 - 9 years total (all in 1-3 year spurts).  While I study for licensure, I am also looking into retiring it once I get it! What's really screwed up is that I have no problem with this fact :) Actually I'm not sure what route of study you are following, but Ca still has a rule on the books where.....bypass college entirely with 9 clep exams, take 1 year of correspondance law school, pass a really, really hard "baby bar", then take 3 more years correspondance school and graduate, then pass bar, then practice lower courts for 5 years, before being allowed in all ca courts. :) Hopefully arny won't pull a commando and axe it though :) You don't even have to be a ca resident. Well, if we don't hear from you for a while take care and good luck with your job & studies.  Hey, my last day on the job is June 29th. I'm going to try to persue a career that relies on competition - hopefully this will help keep me from getting bored so quickly :) My head is just so over-stuffed right now it will take months to clear it out (my brain is more cluttered than my room!). I guess you're busy learning the "new routine" freedom, good luck- hopefully the people there are friendly. Hopefully you got some "rest time" in-between jobs.

Hey Addlatina, believe me no offense taken. Actually, I was thinking that you are lucky I am not your SO, as I would have surely released your talking parrot into the wild long ago! Guess they are better than those giant "shrieking" cockateils though!

Hey this job switching thing has given me an idea. We should throw annual "add field trips" where we all quit our jobs and run off to europe or something and live in a motorhome for a few months. I wonder if unemployment will forward checks to another country

LOL wile e...i would love that field trip. althought i seem to be so stable on paper when you look at my job history i actually seem to leave a job after two years. so as soon as i've really mastered it..i'm ready to move on and i'm sick of it. right now i'm stuck in a bind b/c make a rather decent amount of money and it pays the bills but i want to go back to school. guess i'll have to do the harrowing multitask in life! i think in two years i will phase out of working all together and just go to school.

it is so inspiring talking to all of the other adults here. every day i seem to have to really psyche myself up to do things.

like right now..despite that i'm on wellbutrin and adderall

i've completely let myself become sidetracked by this forum and i'm glad my computer is about to die (laptop) b/c i need to get off my computer and go register for classes.!!! LOL

i'm such a procrastinator!!! i was supposed to be out of the house two hours ago.

oh well. i'm leaving RIGHT NOW! (do you guys ever do that? give yourself a specific time to do something b/c you don't want to do it right away? i live by the minute..i will leave in ten minutes. i will get out of bed in fifteen minutes..etc. i have to.)

good luck to you all..if nothing else i appreciate the fact that i can think about things differently than most ppl. i think this is an incredible advantage. plus i am able to empathize with a wide variety of ppl.

life isn't a straight arrow i tell myself...

sumi

   Hi Freedom, how are you making out with your new job responsibilities? I hope your doing OK. I'm currently looking for a new job and i'm TERRIFIED! ( I still have the job i hate). Doc has not been able to get me the sample of Strattera yet, but meds don't help the terrible fear I have of job interviews. I afraid of having an "ADD" moment!

WILE E, I hope you weren't offended by my snoring remark. I'm sure i do to!
Take care y'all!

Hey, sorry to hear you are suffering from depression :( I get depressed from time to time, but it seems to be getting better as I get older. Have you read the list of famous and adventurous individuals who share a bond with us? With so many people who have done so much to advance our world, one (at least me anyway) has to believe that this is something that is meant to be a "good" thing. I think it is evolution, but whatever it is, it can be a gift if it is used correctly. We may not be able to multitask as well as others, but when we get our drive aligned with the right vocation or idea, only fellow adhd'ers can keep up. I guess what gives me strength is I relate this to something like the tv show "greatest american hero" - where a school teacher is given a suit which has super powers, but he loses the instructions on how to use it.  Perhaps we can be of some help with your trouble sleeping. I learned to "snore" myself to sleep and it works without fail every time. Unfortunately I snore ALL THE TIME! (Good thing I'm not married I guess) I heard others say that a fan or white noise helps them. The real trick (I think!) is to put yourself in almost a hypnotic state, then "flood" your mind with relaxing images. I imagine a calm lake with lots of details. I relax and breath slow and controlled (while lightly snoring) and i look around the image and slowly stare at the details of the image (trees, dock, fish, etc) and within a few minutes ZZZZZZZZZZ :) I am assuming that your problem sleeping stems from your "overactive" brain.  Try not to be to critical of yourself - whatever powers that you believe created this world put us here for a reason.  I think I avoid much of the depression because I don't ever lie or do things I have to lie about (unless it is to spare someone's feelings), gamble, thrill-seek, drink excessively (alcohol makes me do/say things i usually regret) etc. I also avoid movies or circumstances that cause negative emotions as much as possible.  Hopefully the strattera will help you live a happier life, but also try to think as positively as you can. Everyone has good days and bad days, all we can do is reduce the number of bad days!  Wow, I sure am long winded today - sorry!  If there is anything I can do to help please don't hesitate to let me know


Addlatina - I agree that these forums are great! No matter what you believe, it's nice to find people that you can share and draw strength from :)

 Depression is a terrible thing to experence. and new job responsiblities can make it worse. I wish you luck & even though I diden't geta chance to write last night(wiped out from working nights) I still read the messages and said a special prayer for you, Freedom. I pray everynight for all of y'all, and I think God knows we need extra support.I to have crazy sleeping patterns. I mean REAL CRAZY!

P.S WILE E, my husband snores himself to sleep to. I sleep in the spare bedroom with our 22 yr. old Amazon Parrot!  She 'talkes" me to sleep!

 Hi, I just went to my Doc this morning, and mentioned Strattera. She is going to try to get me some samples. Maybe by than, you'll have a better idea (lord knows how long it will take to get the samples)! if the stuff worked for you or not. In the mean time she wants me to continue with the adderall. I know everyones different, and she said Strattera might not be the thing for me. I'm willing to give it a try, but something tells me i'll have to stay with the adderall. I hope your health improves soon! Freedom & Wile E, my Doc says she thinks this message thing is great! Us ADDer's need a place where we are understood, and can share our feelings without being judged by the people who think it's just an "excuse"! 

 

It's a love hate relationship with the strattera. I think
I'm experiencing some pretty good benefits. Namely,
more focus and occasional good quality sleep (so
that's what it feels like!). Also, it seems like my
emotion-reactions are easier to control. Like
someone else on this forum said somewhere, that
"white hot anger" is there even when I do get angry.

BUT...I am also experiencing depression, loss of
appetite and whacked out sleeping patterns.
Besides, it's hard to tell if the benefits (and some of
the side effects) are from the med or from everything
that is going on in my life...job changes, realizing I
have ADD, etc.

Today I was being trained for a new job
responsibility and I started crying twice during it. It
was all okay, but I hope this doesn't go on too long,
and I hope I can get thru it okay. (Please say a prayer
for me, it was a *really* rough day.)

All this and I am only on 20 mg/day, which is less
than the lowest dose for a child. Increasing very very
slowly.

So, I'm not sure yet if I will continue with the Strattera.
It seems like some days are great and some are
horrible. If I don't continue now, I will probably try it
again after getting my general health back on track.

If you try it, be prepared to give it time to work itself
out. I want to give it the time it needs, but I started
taking it as soon as I was diagnosed. Now it seems
like I moved a little too fast. Need some time to
process. My doctor, who is really awesome, has had
really big success with other patients on Strattera,
and really thinks it could help me in a tremendous
way.

Yeah, I agree that it is great to be able to converse
with others going thru the same thing. The judgment
thing is rough, even though I think if you don't have it,
how could you possibly understand?

Peace!

ps. Wile E, I am 28. I've heard good things about
vitamin B as well. And I was also taking that during
my "amazing time". Funny, it happened to all three of
us about 4 years ago... (twilight zone music here).That's interesting. I wonder how much female stuff
interplays with all this. I won't go into all the details
here, but during the worst time I've ever had with
ADD, I also had to have a 3-unit blood transfusion. In
fact, the calcarea carb was prescribed for the same
problem (only that time it stopped). Amazing how
much everything is interrelated! Then again, I've
been reading that that's how us ADDers see things
... as one big related cosmos!

I'll let you know how things go. Side effects from the
Strattera aren't too bad, but I think I might like to try
some other stuff first. I figure if I get myself healthy
first, then if I need the drugs, maybe they'll work
better and have less side effects.

hi, i just found out i have this as well (i'm 36). what happened to me was i developed carpel tunnel syndrome. i began taking a natural b-complex vitamin (windmill brand)for it, and i think it helpd my brain function better. i don't think i will ever stop taking it now though! i'm not sure why you did so well briefly or how old you are, but i believe that we "turn the corner" as we get older (for me it was about 32). i believe we will become very wise in our golden years, and that a positive outlook and a strong logical foundation can do more than any substance. positive emotions can be a tremendous asset as well. i have designed my life around this for so long without knowing what i had. i developed a tremendous set of rules i have learned to follow as if they were morals, and i work in "spurts" and advance my career(s)/ salary through learning while between jobs. have faith and things will get better - i hope :)

p.s there's a book called "the add nutrition solution" - haven't read it yet but will soon - good luck