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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[…] recent comment reminded me that many people continue to look for alternate ADD treatments or non-prescription ADHD remedies. This is not surprising considering that parent’s are especially concerned for ADHD kids that […]