Many parents who have children who have just been diagnosed with ADHD, inattentive (ADHD-PI) or Slow cognitive pace (SCT) do not want to start their child immediately with medicine, but they do not know where else to start.
The most common question I get from parents and patients is “Where should I start if I want to try something other than medicine?” The next article describes the walking approach to non-drug treatment that parents can try before starting prescription medicine.
Discuss any treatment plan you start for your child with your doctor before starting treatment. I numbered the treatment recommendations in a sequential order.
1. Diet
The ADHD-PI diet (any diet for each person) should be as free from unwanted food as possible. If there is a possibility that a person has even a slight allergy to milk, wheat, eggs, seafood or nuts, these products should be eliminated.
Dietary supplements such as multivitamins with iron and extra omega-3 fatty acids, Neptune Krill Oil is my choice. Multivitamin must have zinc, iron and magnesium.
A cup of caffeinated coffee or tea is useful in the morning and again at 3 pm. You will need to avoid this if you have caffeine sensitivity (for some people, caffeine causes their heart to chase or cause an upset stomach). The exact caffeine dose is about 100 mg, and that is the amount of caffeine in one cup of 8 ounces American coffee. The caffeine content in teas varies slightly, but a 16 ounce cup of cold tea has about the same amount. You can find the caffeine content in most drinks that I look for on the Internet.
2. Sleep
All people with ADHD-PI will have to sleep at least 8 hours a day. Many people with ADHD have trouble sleeping. The remedies that helped these issues include taking Epson bath before bedtime, drinking a cup of sleeping tea, avoiding caffeine and exercising for 3 hours before bedtime, and using white MP3 noise or relaxing CDs before bed. If none of the above works, one 3 mg of melatonin 1 hour before sleep will help a person fall asleep.
3. Exercise
Exercises and, preferably, aerobic exercises are important and extremely useful for treating ADHD. Start with 20 minutes of brisk walking. If it's a baby, go with the baby. Bring flash cards or school notebooks with you and try your child when you walk. Don't make excuses for not training. Try to increase your workout time to at least 40 minutes, 4-5 times a week. No need to invest in expensive equipment. All you need is a pair of comfortable shoes.
4. Additional additives
The best data we have to improve inattention with additives is designed to:
Omega-3 fatty acids (if you do it higher, you get it in bulk Krill).
Iron, Zinc and Magnesium (if you do this, Epson multivitamins and salts are included).
Caffeine (if you do it, it's already done).
There is some evidence that some other supplements may help. These include:
Pcynogenol, you can see this message on ADHD Inattentive and Pycnogenol for more information.
Bacopa Monieri. You can see this post on Bacopa Monnieri for ADHD Inattentive for more information.
There are no studies that were made specifically for the following additions, but some people swear that they help in the invention, and you can try them. These include:
Ginseng energy, ginseng has stimulant properties, and it has been shown to improve cognitive function in normal subjects in several medical trials.
Ginkgo There are studies showing that Ginkgo Biloba is useful for treating dementia, and several studies have shown that they improve cognition.
5. More thorough medical evaluation
If none of the above measures made a dent in neglect, then a further thorough assessment is in order. This assessment will include psychological testing, as well as medical and laboratory testing. There are many medical problems that can cause ADHD symptoms, but not caused by ADHD. Careful medical evaluation is the best way to ensure that there is no other diagnosis that causes ADHD symptoms.
6. Therapy and training
It has been shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (free cognitive therapy site), brain training (free brain training), organizational learning, life exercises training, and social skills training are very helpful in understanding the symptoms of ADHD and ADHD-PI. This therapy and training becomes necessary if there are symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other social, emotional, or psychological problems. The most appropriate training and therapy will depend on the specific symptoms experienced by the person.
7. Medicinal preparations
If none of the above measures helped, the process of stimulating non-stimulant drugs is fine. Your doctor can help you decide which medicine may work best for the symptoms that you or your child are experiencing. There have been years of research on stimulants. Although they seem invasive, consuming and unsafe, many studies conducted on these drugs have found the exact opposite.
Stimulants do not cause heart problems, stimulants, when properly prescribed for ADHD, do not cause addiction, and in fact I reduce the risk of substance abuse in people with ADHD, and stimulants do not cause long-term medical problems. This post answers some of the questions that may arise regarding the safety of stimulant treatment for ADHD.
To delineate, the best way to start treatment for ADHD is to do the following:
Ensure that a person's diet is adequate.
Make sure that they fall asleep enough and exercise.
Supplement your diet with omega-3 fatty acid and a multivitamin.
Test them more carefully to rule out other medical problems that look like ADHD, but this is not the case.
Providing advice and training
Initiate an ADHD Medication Test.
By taking this step, a wise approach to treating ADHD will allow patients and parents to start with the most minimally invasive interventions for ADHD and ADHD-PI and only move on to more invasive therapy as needed.
There are some great books on ADHD treatment, and the books I use the most can be found at the bottom of the inattentive ADD resource page.
If the person’s symptoms worsen at any time during the process, you will need to meet with the medical staff. It is important that patients and parents inform their doctors about the plan of action. As a team, you and your doctor can best treat the symptoms that can be so devastating for people living with ADHD, ADHD Inattentive, and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo.
