Posted on 08/27/2004 11:41:39 AM PDT by Joe Republc
Ancient Dietary Wisdom for Tomorrow's Children"
I eat only natural fats (butter, lard, etc -- NO canola/soy/cottonseed oils, hydrogenated or not, not a drop), and take a tablespoon of codliver oil per day, plus I sharply limit sweets and emphasize meat, fish, raw-milk, kefir, & low-starch vegetables. That diet, plus some excerise (a bit of running, a bit of Matt Furey's combat conditioning) keeps this ex-ADHDer feeling great.
I know of the "no military service" rule because a buddy of mine's son got zapped by it when he tried to join the Marines. A damned shame, too, because he would have been a very good one. Ironic, because the selfsame government that refused his offer of service is the same one that mandated his Ritalin use in the first place.
i would suggest taking your son to a good child psychiatrist. there are newer and safer medicines than ritalin that would probably be tried before ritalin.
i take ritalin and it works pretty well for me, but an up-to-date child psychiatrist would probably first use one of the newer medicines. i would only discuss this issue with a competent child psychiatrist--they are the ones who are most familiar with these medicines. all the rest of us are amateurs, and most of the advice here is just people's personal opinions.
(I'm a psychologist but i'm not up to date on the newer drugs.)
This was exactly the case with me except my color was FD&C Yellow number 5 and carmel coloring in Coca Cola.
No experience with it myself, but I hear Hannity and Boortz rail on about how dangerous it is all the time.
I say NO to ritilin.
I have been told by Dr.s that I am a sufferer of Adult ADD. I do believe it's a real disease (not sure if disease is the right word but can't come up with another..) It explains a lot about the types of problems I've had all my life, especially as a child.
But here's my take on ritilin. When my son was around the same age as yours, they decided that he too suffers from ADD and they wanted to give him ritilin. I was not happy with this but went along with it for a few months..
Here's what I discovered.. it does help people focus. But it does so because its basically speed.
I am an ex-drug user with lots of experience with various types of speed. One day I decided to take some of my son's ritilin because I wanted to see if it would help me.
Guess what? I had the exact same feelings that I used to get from speed, even meth, back in my druggie days. Speed is a funny drug.. It causes one to hyper-focus on pretty much anything that is in front of you. Thats why kids are able to stay more "on task" while on it. It seems to have a calming effect because it's low dose and because you're so focussed on whatever it is that you're doing - homework or video games, it doesn't matter - people think its working.
Look at his diet, limit his sugar. Teach him tricks to use on himself to stay on task. I've learned (the hard way) to do this and it works.
Most ADD people are actually very intelligent.. its just that they have a hard time thinking about just one thing for any length of time.
Imagine sitting in a room with 10 TV's on at full volume and tuned to different stations and try to absorb just one of them thats showing something you're really not much interested in in the first place and that's what ADD is like.
Yeah! Screw those who are ADD/ADHD themselves or had siblings with ADD/ADHD. Forget it if your spouse was ADD/ADHD. And those in the sciences or medical field, GO AWAY!. < /sarcasm >
"This has got to be the most logical solution EVER!!!
Great post!"
Thanks! :)
Shockingly, there are some parents in this thread who've bought into the myth of ADHD/ADD (since it's yet to be a proven biological disorder) and still insist on drugging their kids.
Oh heck, marajuana will do just a good and at a much lower cost.
Your son sounds just like my child entering 4th grade. He struggled and the teachers did not help the situation. I did find the book "overcoming underacheiving" a great help. If you will take the time to read it, there is a lot of information that will help you decide if your child does need further work up regarding the ADHD. There is a section in the book that gives a testing method you can try between home and school(which requires the help of the teacher every day for at least a month) but it will give you a much better picture of what your child may be struggling with. You should also ask the school phsychologist to administer a couple of tests to determine his impulsivity response. You may be surprised by the results. I believe that education is the first most important thing you and your wife can do. Diet may help some, especially stopping the sugars and white flour, these do cause changes in the blood sugar that can cause problems with concentration. Physical activity a must, it increases the endorphins that will help him feel more at peace and happy. Sleep is a must, and most of all, take Proverbs chapter 1 verses 1-7 and pray these words over your son with his name, saying: your sons name will know wisdom and instruction...etc. Try this for the month of september and see if there is a change in all of you. I pray you will be able to find God's will in this.
You're right.
Nowadays, any intelligent kid with little patience for droning slacker teachers is put on mood-altering drugs.
It's one of the ways for the system to fight it's main enemy, human nature.
My wife's best friend has a 9 yearold who is very very hyper. He is homeschooled by the way. He is extremely skinny yet very strong for his size. Neither his mouth nor his body ever stop and he will say rude and goofy things though he is very bright. His mom will smack him all the time and the poor kid can't control his behavior or his mouth. She finally decided to medicate him, as little as possible. The difference was amazing and he was able to sit and learn and interact. This is an extreme case, most cases don't need the drugs.
Don't give the bastards any ideas.
Of course the number of cases properly diagnosed is probably about 1% of all diagnosed cases.
All of my boys needed a lot of exercise growing up. They were all pretty good athletes, and played a lot of ball outside. But when one of them would be laid up with an injury, my wife would absolutely be tearing her hair out. Their teachers would inevitably complain about them in the classroom.
Running won't hurt him and it just may help.
I think that was my problem!
That site may also be of some help :)
For a second opinion you might check out an optometrist who specializes in vision therapy. They generally work with kids who are having problems in school. My son was greatly helped by such a doctor without the use of drugs.
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