Posts Tagged: Alternative Treatments

ADD Medication — No Comments
10
Apr 12

Wellness Formula for ADD ADHD

Regular readers of Addessories know that I’m all about real research, real data, and real science. I don’t go in for fake ADD cures or treatments, and I certainly don’t believe in miracle pills that claim to treat almost anything that has to do with the brain. So, you’ll forgive me if I head into crackpot territory.

ADD Wellness FormulaFirst, this is something that I have noticed for ME. There is no science, no data, and not even the company that makes Wellness Formula makes any sort of claim about ADD. But, for some reason, it seems that Wellness Formula helps with ADHD symptoms from the confusion, fuzzy thinking side of things.

Let’s back up and take this from the beginning.

What Is Wellness Formula?

Wellness Formula is a pill from Source Naturals, sold at Whole Foods, among other places, that helps with overall “wellness.” If wellness seems pretty vague, you are right. Basically, I take it when:

  1. I’ve been around or are going to be around sick people
  2. I go to the doctors office (sick people)
  3. I start feeling sick
  4. I get a sore throat
  5. I feel a little bit “off”

You get the idea.

Basically, to me, Wellness Formula can best be described as a pill that contains every vitamin, herb, root or supplement that has been shown to have a beneficial effect on preventing or shortening the effects of the common cold. Or, as the company puts it, things that support the immune system.

Echinacea? It’s in there.

Vitamin C? B? A? Yep, yep, yep

Garlic Clove? Check.

Elerberry, Goldenseal, Astragalus, Ginger, Grape seed, you name, it’s in there.

In other words, if one of those things works, you are covered. The rest I guess are filler.

Wellness Formula Helps ADD?

Now, here is where we get from colds to ADD symptoms.

Sometimes, my head just doesn’t feel right. It might be fuzzy, slow, apathetic, blah. Use your favorite word for just not quite firing on all cylinders. When that happens, sometimes, I throw a Wellness Formula pill down my throat with the rest of my vitamins.

What I have noticed as I’ve tried to monitor my ADHD more closely now that I’m off (at least temporarily) the Adderall is that it seems surprisingly effective on that fuzzy, cloudy, uncaring mental state that is an ADD symptom for some people. The reason I notice it so much is that it seems very connected to my ADD, but is not necessarily one of my “everyday” symptoms.

If you ever have to sort of discombobulated feeling going around in your head and you want to try and do something for it, and are willing to go a little out there on the ADD alternative treatment branches, try Wellness Formula. It might not help, or it might just be a placebo affect, but it can’t really hurt, and it might just keep you from getting sick :)

Have you ever tried Wellness Formula for ADD? Do you have other kooky, regular, vitamins or supplements that seem to inexplicably work for you?

 

ADHD Research Studies — No Comments
8
Oct 10

Natural Cure for ADD – Exercise

I’m not sure if we got on someone’s radar somehow, or if we are showing up in certain search results, but I have gotten an increasing number of comments and emails regarding exercise as a cure for ADD.

Let me start by saying that I am a proponent of alternative treatments for ADD, if you can find one that works for you. I am skeptical that any one little change to your lifestyle will result in a cure for ADHD in adults or children. In fact, if some little adjustment to how you go about your daily life “cures your ADD”, I would question how legitimate your diagnosis was in the first place.

ADD is not some little nitpicky, attitude adjustment waiting to happen. If you believe differently, you are in the wrong place.

That being said, let me also point out that exercise has been shown to have a beneficial effect on attention deficit disorder. Of course, it has been shown to have a beneficial effect on heart disease, depression, sleeping problems, fibromyalgia, and just about everything else that medical science has a name for. In fact, at this point, it is probably a waste of money to study whether exercise is helpful for medical conditions, because I think everyone with or without a medical degree or PhD can see a pattern here.

Of course, being helpful is not the same thing as a cure. For example, if you have heart disease and embark upon a medically sound exercise regimen, that is going to be very helpful, but you are fool if you have serious heart disease and you are not also taking prescription medications that can make an even bigger difference.

Likewise, while aerobic exercise might improve your ADD symptoms substantially, if it is not enough, then you should also avail yourself to other possible ADD treatments, alternative or otherwise, although you would be wise to continue exercising as well.

If you want a stronger endorsement of exercise as a cure-all for ADD or ADHD, you’re going to have to find someone trying to sell a book or an expensive, herbal supplement, or something, because I know that while exercise always makes me feel better in the long run, and does indeed help my attention issues somewhat, it is not enough to “cure” my ADHD.

ADD Books — 1 Comment
9
Apr 10

Natural ADHD Cures Do They Really Work?

There are a lot of ideas floating around in the world about how to do things “naturally.” In some ways this is a very good thing. In other ways, it is either unnecessary, or in some cases actually harmful or misleading. Just because somethign is natural doesn’t make it good. Don’t forget, it is natural for a cougar or other wild animal to attack and kill your pet dog or cat if it gets close enough and the predator is hungry. That doesn’t mean that it is something you want to happen.

Metaphysical discussions of nature aside, the world of ADHD treatment and therapy is no exception. For now, we’ll ignore the question about whether or not something is really a “cure” for ADHD. However, traditionally, a cure means that when you stop doing it, whatever you were treating does not come back. Most of the so-called natural attention deficit disorder cures actually require the subject to continue on with the treatment, whether an ADHD diet or otherwise, for pretty much ever. That makes it a therapy, or more accurately, something that alleviates the symptoms.

Natural ADD cures are reported almost everywhere from the Internet, to research reports, to magazines, and even shelves full of books. All of these discussions of natural ADHD cures share one thing in common, the idea that naturally treating ADHD without the use of harsh pharmacological compounds is better than treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with prescription drugs.

One of the first ADHD tips and tricks most ADDers get after being told that medication isn’t the whole solution is to get more exercise.

True Natural ADHD Cures Real Research

Interestingly enough, SOME of the claims about a natural cure for ADHD are actually grounded in real scientific research that proves that natural treatment of ADHD can have positive effects for children with ADHD and adults with ADHD. Unfortunately, many times practitioners of natural ADHD treatment take modest research findings too far and inflate them to the point where the science no longer backs up their claims.

That being said, what natural ADHD cures really work?

The idea of curing ADHD with a special ADHD diet is a popular one. What exactly the diet consists of varies. Some ADD diets require the elimination of certain foods, while other ADHD diets require eating more of certain foods, and, of course, some Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder diets require some of both. In all cases, however, there is one constant. All ADHD diet treatments proscribe a healthier diet than the average teenager with ADHD or without eats. In fact, most ADHD diets are much more healthy than most all adults and children of all ages currently eat.

What does it mean?

That kind of depends on your perspective.

When it comes to the health of the human body, there are a handful of things that work on EVERYTHING. That is, some lifestyle changes can help relieve the symptoms of virtually any disease, disorder, discomfort, or other ailment to some extent. Changing from bad dietary habits to a good healthy diet will help with just about anything. A person with the worst kind of cancer will feel better to some degree by switching to a healthy diet. So, should it be any surprise that a healthier diet helps affect the symptoms of ADHD in kids and adults?

Other powerful natural cures include exercise, positive mental outlook (laughter is the best medicine), and reducing stress.

Getting more exercise will make ADHD symptoms better in virtually everyone. As a mind-based condition, ADHD responds badly to stress. Many ADDers will tell you that their biggest ADHD symptoms get even worse when they are stressed and worried.

So, do ADHD Diets and ADD Excercise therapies work on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? Yes! Of course, they do.

The question should be, Do they work enough. Just because someone’s Attention Deficit Disorder gets better, doesn’t mean that it is reduced enough. Better is a relative term. When it comes to ADD what matters is whether the ADHD treatment, natural or otherwise, does enough to help the ADDer live the live that they want to live.

In that respect, the jury is out on how well an ADHD Diet works, because that jury is you.

ADD Medication — No Comments
29
Mar 10

Alternative Medicine Treatments for ADHD and More

alternative-medicine-supplements-effectiveness-research-graphic The most common questions I get, and one of the most common searches that get people to ADDessories, are about alternative ADHD treatments instead of conventional prescription ADHD medications. It seems that many people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or there loved ones, are just too concerned about the possible affects of potentially harmful stimulants on their brains, or the affects on the brains of their children. While the scientific evidence accumulated so far would indicate that there is little to no long-term residual affects on the mind from using ADHD drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin, it is our brain we are talking about, and unfortunately, that is one of the organs that we know the least about.

The difficulty is that there is no other clinically proven treatment available for treating ADHD symptoms in children or adults. Depending upon who you talk to, this is due to:

  1. a powerful global conspiracy perpetrated over decades by ruthless drug companies and their government cronies
  2. lack of ADHD research being done on alternative ADD therapies because there is no money to be made in those treatments
  3. there just is not anything else out there that works (yet).

Regardless of what you believe, the fact is that many charlatans are all too happy to help find alternative ADD medicines and ADHD treatment programs for adults, teens, children, or anyone in between. While the FDA strictly controls medicines and drugs which claim to treat or cure illness, there is a much weaker grip on anything marketed as a “supplement” which does not claim to cure ADHD or treat ADD symptoms. This is why alternative drugs and medicines display generalized claims of better health without mentioning anything it might work for, like Attention Deficit Disorder. For example, many bottles of St. John’s Wort display the vague claim, “May help improve mood,” followed by a disclaimer somewhere on the bottle that such statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and that the medicine is not intended to treat any particular illness or disease.

What Alternative Medications Really Work?

It all adds up to concerned parents and adults with ADHD and other medical conditions groping in the dark about what DOES work, what MIGHT work, what COULD work, and what WON’T work.

A recent graphic seeks to change all of that in a startling effective and powerful visual format, just perfect for people with ADHD who aren’t going to find the time and energy to sit down and sift through pages and pages of boring text when there are more interesting things to be doing.

Keep in mind that this particular graphic is a universal depiction of alternative medicines and their current state of promise or rejection within the scientific and medical communities. As such, it is NOT specific to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Instead, it shows many of the most popular alternative supplements and the conditions that they are purported to treat.

Reading the chart is simple even though the directions on the website it comes from may not be very clear. The compounds are listed from top to bottom in order of how valid the treatment claims are scientifically speaking. In other words, the herbal supplements or other treatments listed near the top are the best medically proven ways to treat the condition listed. The so-called treatments near the bottom represent the disproven snake-oil of old wives tales, or the propaganda push by profit loving salesmen.

The size of the circle represents how popular, or common, the listed treatment is based upon how many searches are reported for that item on Google. Obviously, this is very imprecise, but can be assumed to be at least a ballpark of the chemical’s interest relative to the others listed. For example, Green Tea, Folic Acid, and Fish Oil would be very commonly looked at alternative medicines, while evening primrose and nettle would be comparatively less commonly investigated by the masses.

It makes for very interesting reading, although as I mentioned, it is for health in general and not for ADD. (In fact, I did not see Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder mentioned. Vitamin B6 and Omega-3 both in the middle area are listed for hyperactivity and ADHD / “behavior” – I actually plan to cover recent ADHD Omega-3 research in an upcoming post. It’s the first time I think I’ve heard of Vitamin B6, maybe because if the more generic “hyperactive” claim.)

Keep in mind that just because something has been clinically proven to be effective on one thing, does NOT mean that is is proven to be effective on something else. In fact, there is no more or less likelihood that the alternative medicine shown would or would not be effective for another condition no matter how seemingly related. One of the banes of ADHD alternative medicine treatments is the general assumption that just because something has been shown to be beneficial to the brain in some way, that it must therefore also be helpful for treating ADHD symptoms. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Consider that it is medically established fact that of the two most common FDA approved prescription medications that one may or may not work for any individual with ADD. In other words, the most proven ADD medicines in the world may not work on all cases of ADHD because of unknown differences in the biology of individual brains. If that is the case, how big of a false leap does one have to take to assume that just because a possible treatment for depression or memory loss is therefore a useful treatment for attention deficit disorder?

While many alternative therapies do work for some ADHD symptoms in some people, don’t believe the hype without performing your own investigation, and if something doesn’t work for you, stop using it and move on. It may be that you have hit yet another medical scam, or it may just be that a particular treatment just doesn’t work for you. Either way, don’t waste your money or your time on medicine that is not effective for you personally.

Enjoy the graphic.

P.S. I’m thinking of putting together a similar graphic specifically for Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder. Of course, my plans for this site and my freelance writing business are as long as the Magna Carta at this point, so we’ll see when I get around to it.

Have a happy and productive day.

ADD Medication — 3 Comments
4
Apr 09

ADD ADHD Non-Medication Treatments

prescription-medicine ADD/ADHD can be a complicated thing to address.  Diagnosis is not standardized.  For one doctor, the bar for a diagnosis of ADD can be so high, he might diagnose one patient in 500.  For another, the bar might be so low that he simply answers, “Well lets try some medication,” at the smallest of issues or questions.  Even when the diagnosis is correct, ADHD doesn’t have the same symptoms for everyone.  There are three clinically defined variants of ADD, each with numerous variations in symptoms.

For these reasons, there can be a lot of confusion when it come to just who does or does not have ADD/ADHD and if they do, then what to do about it.  This concern is only heightened by the fact that we are talking about the brain which we regard not only as an important biological organ, but a very important part of exactly who we are.  Thus, some people worry about “tampering” with something so important.

Going Without Prescription Medication May Be Fine, But Beware Snakeoil ADD/ADHD Solutions

One of the biggest areas of disagreement and concern when it comes to treating ADD is the use of prescription drugs like Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta, and Vynasse, particularly when it comes to treating children with ADHD/ADD.  The issue is complex and I don’t pretend to have the answer for everyone.  Careful analysis of your particular situation is required to make such a decision.

However, there is one thing that is absolutely true without any debate.  There are a lot of slimy sleezeballs out there who want to exploit your concerns for their own enrichments.  Trust me, when I tell you, no matter how many times they write otherwise in their literature or websites, these people care about nothing other than their profits.

There are no miracle drugs, or magic herbal combinations, or vitamin supplements that work to treat ADD/ADHD in all people.

Just like there is no one prescription drug that works on all symptoms for all people, there is no non-prescription drug that does either.  People, face up to some reality.  No matter whether you take prescription stimulants or not, the undeniable fact is that these medications are not low impact drugs.  Between the heart warnings, and the increased suicide risks for teenagers, you should already know that these pills are not anyone’s first choice.   Even the pharmaceutical companies would love to replace their patent-expiring stimulant drugs with something else that they could charge outrageous prices on for the next 7 years.  If there was a clever little combination of B and K Vitamins that took care of everything, doctors, parents, patients, and holistic practioners would be racing to embrace it.

Instead, various unresearched, untested, unproven, concoctions are being sold to people with ADD looking for something to help.  Unfortunately, most of them do absolutely nothing but drain your pocketbook.

The Conspiracy Explanation Scam

The easiest way to continuously perpetrate a fraud is to insist that everyone who speaks against you is part of a vast conspiracy to hide the truth.  It’s even better if that fake conspiracy exists to “protect the profits” of big heartless corporations, or to “protect those in power”, or to “protect the system.”

You’ll notice that is very same excuse is used to explain why every single alternate ADD treatment is unknown and under the radar.  Only you, and the people who figured this all out, have discovered the truth. Everyone else is in on it. 

Think about it for two seconds.  Can it really be that there are 100 alternate treatments for ADD/ADHD and that ALL of them are subject to vast secretive conspiracies so effective that no medical group, legitimate research team, in this country or in ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WHOLE WORLD, will stand up and speak the truth?  Really?  If someone actually could create and sustain such a  powerful conspiracy, can’t you think of MUCH more profitable ways to use it than to keep down Ritalin alternatives? 

Their reply will always be the same no matter how many facts you track down.

That’s what THEY want you to think.

Be careful, if you accept that non-sense here, you’re in for a long ride, because all the frauds use that line all the time.

Look at something like bovine growth hormone.  The FDA says its safe.  The label says its safe, but does is everybody in on the scam?  No!  Dozens of foreign countries ban it, hundreds of researchers have expressed doubts about its safety, there are dozens of peer-reviewed research studies about it.  There are even multiple companies making milk without BVG precisely because the government won’t ban it because it wants to protect the profits of heartless corporations.

Be smart.

Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements

There are various claims that certain vitamins, minerals, or supplements may help certain sufferers of ADD/ADHD in certain circumstances.  That may or may not be true as there is no published peer-reviewed research on those claims.  That doesn’t mean it can’t help, and if you want to try other alternatives to prescription medication, then more power to you, just do it smart.

Any LEGITIMATE claim about the benefits of an alternate medical therapy of ANY KIND will not require you to purchase one specific proprietary product to get the benefits.  Neither chemistry, nor medicine work that way.  That’s why there are patents for drugs.  The same chemicals do the same thing, no matter what bottle they come out of.  So, if you read materials claiming that you MUST buy their product for any reason (quality, purity, secret blend), throw it in the recycle bin or close the webpage and move on.

If it is a legitimate alternative therapy, then any bottle of any vitamin or tree bark, or whatever on the shelf at Whole Foods should be just as good.

So, try the vitamins and other things.  Be smart.  I hope they work for you. 

The sad truth is that Adderall is a very powerful stimulant.  It was developed to treat narcolepsy, not ADD/ADHD.  Caffeine pills won’t even get you close unless you take the whole bottle.  Even then, you brain will filter it out differently and you’ll just get a stomach ache and a busted up liver.

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