My 9 year old son, inattentive, is on coffee for the last 3 months. I pour a shot of espresso to his morning and early afternoon coconut milks. If I forget it, he realizes while doing homework and actually begs for it. I dont give it after 4pm

Could you try vivarin? My mom has inattentive ADHD and she swears that caffeine pills help her better than the Ritalin she was prescribed in the 90s.

The adults I know who claim to treat ADHD with coffee drink excessive amounts all day long. It's really not something that would work with a kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So did you even try the coffee? To see if it had an effect?

Again, she doesn't like coffee, tea, or even chocolate really. I'd have to test it out with a Frappuccino. I don't see that buying her a Frappuccino daily for a month is a good idea.

To everyone one else, thanks for suggestions. I had called Zametkin's office before, but when quoted costs was hesitant because our first attempt at this was ridiculously unhelpful. I'll either bite the bullet and pay or try one of the other providers that accept insurance.

12:19 here. My DS likes his coffee on the sweeter side, my DD much less so. My oldest (in HS) gets a Frappuccino every day after school. I set it on the counter, pill cup on top of it with his afternoon medication and a sticky note covering the pill cup with a list of what he needs to do that afternoon. He LOVES Frappuccino so it's been effective for us in having him take his meds/do chores when we're not home to supervise. It's only 180 calories.

I haven't seen caffeine do what a good stimulant can do but have seen minor improvement. If I'd let him, DS would drink Mountain Dew all day. The caffeine in it kills me but seems to be no problem for him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So did you even try the coffee? To see if it had an effect?

Again, she doesn't like coffee, tea, or even chocolate really. I'd have to test it out with a Frappuccino. I don't see that buying her a Frappuccino daily for a month is a good idea.

To everyone one else, thanks for suggestions. I had called Zametkin's office before, but when quoted costs was hesitant because our first attempt at this was ridiculously unhelpful. I'll either bite the bullet and pay or try one of the other providers that accept insurance.

We have been seeing Zametkin for two years now and I guarantee you will have a better experience with him than your first doctor. He listens to parents and is good with children. He won't offer you a frappacino. His costs are in line with other child psychiatrists but unfortunately very few of them take insurance.

Anonymous wrote:So did you even try the coffee? To see if it had an effect?

Again, she doesn't like coffee, tea, or even chocolate really. I'd have to test it out with a Frappuccino. I don't see that buying her a Frappuccino daily for a month is a good idea.

To everyone one else, thanks for suggestions. I had called Zametkin's office before, but when quoted costs was hesitant because our first attempt at this was ridiculously unhelpful. I'll either bite the bullet and pay or try one of the other providers that accept insurance.

So did you even try the coffee? To see if it had an effect?

Anonymous wrote:I'm interested in any more people with stories about giving kids an "OTC" caffeine dose, coffee or other.

I am sceptical about the caffeine claim, but since it is fast, cheap and safe, why not just give it a try? Just give him a cup of coffee or coke in the morning on a weekend and see the reaction. If it works, you will see a change in 30 minutes or so.

Anonymous wrote:So, my son who is inattentive just started Concerta. Other than side effects (he has been very weepy, doesn't want to eat, sleep has gone to crap) I haven't seen any improvement in the ability to focus. He is not hyperactive at all. Just can't focus.

Would caffeine work for a kid like him? Also, if your kid started stimulants, how long was it before you noticed a difference?

Doctors typically start at a low dose to check for side effects then work up to an effective dose. It takes a few days for the body to get used to each change in dose, but when you reach an effective dose, it's like turning on a light switch, 20-30 minutes after taking it your kid can suddenly can focus, do things much faster and you don't have to repeat yourself 10 times.

Stimulants can cause mood swings or anxiety Sometimes they add an SSRI for that.

I have 3 children that have ADHD inattentive. None have hyperactivity. All three are taking stimulants (one on LA ritalin, two on vyvanse). They have worked wonders on my children. Seriously, like night and day. The PP that says stimulants are not effective or used for inattentive ADHD is completely uninformed. Go to a new psychiatrist, OP. Good luck.

So, my son who is inattentive just started Concerta. Other than side effects (he has been very weepy, doesn't want to eat, sleep has gone to crap) I haven't seen any improvement in the ability to focus. He is not hyperactive at all. Just can't focus.

Would caffeine work for a kid like him? Also, if your kid started stimulants, how long was it before you noticed a difference?

I'm interested in any more people with stories about giving kids an "OTC" caffeine dose, coffee or other.

^^forgot to add this https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3616598/

First line psychopharmacological agents
Stimulants are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat ADHD in children and adolescents and are considered first-line pharmacological agents in the treatment of ADHD.

Alternative psychopharmacological agents
Non-stimulant medications are not usually considered first-line agents in the treatment of ADHD due to less robust response than stimulants. A meta- analysis report of double-blind placebo-controlled ADHD treatment trials indicated effect sizes of 0.6 to 0.7 for most non-stimulant studies compared to effect size of 0.95 for stimulant studies. Non-stimulant medications are usually considered if a child fails to achieve an adequate response to or experiences TEAEs with stimulants. However, under certain circumstances, one may consider initiating treatment with non-stimulant medications without a stimulant trial first, for example, with comorbid tic, substance abuse, anxiety and depressive disorders, and parental preference.