Managing ADHD without stimulants - how did you do it?

[Anonymous]

I practiced figure skating for three hours before school, from 5 to 8 a.m., and has a bedtime of 7 p.m. There was a lot of structure in his daily routine.

My kid inherited my ADHD and will need to stay on stimulants indefinitely. Without medication, he wouldn't be able to learn anything at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I understand where you're coming from, but I learned the medication is also beneficial in the long term. It helps rewire the pathways in the brain as they're growing so they're less likely to need stimulants as an adult.

Did you get the brain scans to see this?

[Anonymous]

OP- I think you mentioned that you are getting an updated neuropsych. That may provide a more clear picture of the symptoms/ severity.

My DS manages okay without medication, but his neuropych indicates mild/moderate ADHD. Even with mild/moderate, he was on stimulants in MS and early HS to manage the executive functioning expectations.

FWIW, DS stopped taking his meds w/o our knowledge- first inkling was a drop in grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I practiced figure skating for three hours before school, from 5 to 8 a.m., and has a bedtime of 7 p.m. There was a lot of structure in his daily routine.

My kid inherited my ADHD and will need to stay on stimulants indefinitely. Without medication, he wouldn't be able to learn anything at school.

Did you inherit your ADHD from your parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I practiced figure skating for three hours before school, from 5 to 8 a.m., and has a bedtime of 7 p.m. There was a lot of structure in his daily routine.

My kid inherited my ADHD and will need to stay on stimulants indefinitely. Without medication, he wouldn't be able to learn anything at school.

Did you inherit your ADHD from your parents?

Probably. If it gives you hope, my dad can't spell above a first-grade level, but he built a substantial business and legacy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I practiced figure skating for three hours before school, from 5 to 8 a.m., and has a bedtime of 7 p.m. There was a lot of structure in his daily routine.

My kid inherited my ADHD and will need to stay on stimulants indefinitely. Without medication, he wouldn't be able to learn anything at school.

Did you inherit your ADHD from your parents?

Probably. If it gives you hope, my dad can't spell above a first-grade level, but he built a substantial business and legacy.

At least memorizing spelling words doesn’t matter too much any more.
Do kids still do this in school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I understand where you're coming from, but I learned the medication is also beneficial in the long term. It helps rewire the pathways in the brain as they're growing so they're less likely to need stimulants as an adult.

Did you get the brain scans to see this?

NP
What specific "brain scans" are you referring to, which would show this directly (without autopsy)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I understand where you're coming from, but I learned the medication is also beneficial in the long term. It helps rewire the pathways in the brain as they're growing so they're less likely to need stimulants as an adult.

Did you get the brain scans to see this?

NP
What specific "brain scans" are you referring to, which would show this directly (without autopsy)?

NNP
What is the evidence/proof of this rewiring that fixes everything?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Transcendental meditation. I've tried everything for DS 16. TM combined with meds help a lot. You can lower the dosage a bit but I am telling you, to go cold with zero meds is almost impossible in order to achieve academic success. We've tried. DS runs varsity XC as freshman and eats well. Did therapy. We've tried the gamut without meds and it simply isn't enough.

This is all IF your kid truly has ADHD as it's so misdiagnosed. Poor Working memory and not being able to manage complexity effectively - the hallmarks of ADHD is not a joke. It very much is like an actual health illness. If you had a heart defect, whatever disease, you'd have meds to help you and that's applicable to ADHD. It's simply not just something that's optional to treat. Just because you aren't clinically ill does not mean you don't need meds.

DS was diagnosed just before 5th grade and is a rising HS sophomore and I am just being honest - as someone who rarely even takes Advil - the meds are really important because I've had him off and on and on is so. Much. Better.

Where did your kid do TM? How did you get them in board? I've heard several people mention benefits to meditation. Is TM more structured than regular meditation?

Op, I recommend the book ADHD 2.0. it has chapters on many things that can help ADHD including sleep, exercise, including very specific exercises, meditation, and yes, medication.

While other things help, medication can be very valuable for some kids so don't throw it away without working with your medical/psych team.

[Anonymous]

Take her off gluten immediately. Also get bloodwork to see where her deficiencies are. Things like zinc, vitamin D, magnesium are typical offenders that make ADHD symptoms worse. Get her ALL the exercise you can possibly squeeze into a day. Something full body like swimming is the best. The more they sleep, the more the brain can repair. That goes for anybody, not just kids with ADHD.

We have tried drugs, and the side effects have never been worth it, so we are doing everything we can to manage holistically. Other things we have tried with mixed results: acupuncture, meditation, grounding, vision, therapy, homeopathy, supplement for any deficiencies, super clean diet and tons of water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Transcendental meditation. I've tried everything for DS 16. TM combined with meds help a lot. You can lower the dosage a bit but I am telling you, to go cold with zero meds is almost impossible in order to achieve academic success. We've tried. DS runs varsity XC as freshman and eats well. Did therapy. We've tried the gamut without meds and it simply isn't enough.

This is all IF your kid truly has ADHD as it's so misdiagnosed. Poor Working memory and not being able to manage complexity effectively - the hallmarks of ADHD is not a joke. It very much is like an actual health illness. If you had a heart defect, whatever disease, you'd have meds to help you and that's applicable to ADHD. It's simply not just something that's optional to treat. Just because you aren't clinically ill does not mean you don't need meds.

DS was diagnosed just before 5th grade and is a rising HS sophomore and I am just being honest - as someone who rarely even takes Advil - the meds are really important because I've had him off and on and on is so. Much. Better.

+1 to meditation. I have ADHD and the only thing that ever worked for me was meditation.