Does anyone here have any successful experience with alternative or natural treatments for ADHD? I have a thirteen year old boy and a five year old boy both on adderall. I really don't want to keep them on a stimulant if I don't have to. It really hit home the other day when my thirteen year old told me he did not think he would live past forty because of the medication he is on. I started reseaching and could not find any studies on the long term effects of the mainstream treatments for ADHD. If anyone has any information on this I would appeciate it.

did you ask your son what exactly made him say that? did you get the feeling it was something physical or maybe he was implying the meds were making him live "harder" or faster.

It's a very interesting and valid observation because noone knows for sure what the long term effects of stimulant medications are since they are relatively new. Everyone is just... taking them. Treat the symptoms of today and hope there will be no surprises tomorrow. There are people here who will know more about this and will tell you for sure.

There are no natural remedies or alternative treatments that have been proven to treat ADHD.

I've been for about a month on another stimulant, concerta, and it works, but every once in a while my heart will beat a bit faster or something very subtle will happen and then I also think of the long term. These are side efects though.

It is an extremely well researched disorder and if there was even a hint of a real danger you would think it would have been known, but everyone listens to their body first.

In 30 + years of research,there have been no alternative or natural treatments found to work for the clinical treatment ( in lieu of meds ) of ADHD.

The US Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health ( Chapter 3 : Disorders of Infancy, Childhood & Adolescence (2004) has excellent info on the topic.

Another good source is : The ADHD Handbook : Third Edition by Russell Barkley (2005)

We tried a couple different things with my son for Alternative, to be honest, nada. Didn't really seem to do much. It is good to go and eat healthier though, lots of water, fish is good, etc....

I apologize in advance if I sound nuts. What does "long term" effects mean? I've wondered if it means when you take it as a child you have permanently altered your brain and will have problems as an adult. Also, what is considered long term use?

I apologize in advance if I sound nuts. What does "long term" effects mean? I've wondered if it means when you take it as a child you have permanently altered your brain and will have problems as an adult. Also, what is considered long term use?

Long term effects would be anything that is somewhat permanent and long term use can be anything from a few weeks to a lifetime.

There are always risks with any med, but stimulants have been used for many, many years and continue to maintain a good safety record. They've also been very well-researched.

I understand your fear. I've got an 8yo ADDer myself. But the alternative is much more risky than the meds.

As others have posted, there are no alternative treatments that have demonstrated effectiveness and there is much less research on the long-term effects of these unregulated products.

I hope you can rest easier. Hang in there.

The first research study on the use of stimulants and behavior problems was in 1937 by a Rhode Island physician named Bradley.

The efficacy and safety record is expemplary.

Welcome to the forums tkdan!!!!

Stimulant medications are realistically safer then many other medications including several over the counter medications. No medication including old stand bys like Tylenol are 100% safe for 100% of the population!!

I have been on medications for 12 years, as has one of my daughters. As a parent who had had to treat ADD and bi-polar in my children. I will state than the ADD stimulants are safer than the medications she has to take for her mood disorder. The bi-polar meds had to be monitored pretty carefully especially when she was still growing.


My daughter has probably reached 19 as a result of her ADD treatments as opposed to despite them!!! I would inquire further in regards to your sons comment. It is difficult to tell exactly what he meant by the short general statement. Does he “feel” some thing or did her hear some thing about the medications.

I will repeat the encouragement to do a some research. CHADD is a good place to begin with …..

Thanks all:
It does give me some encouragement. I'm glad I found this site. There are many areas of this disorder that I do not understand. I'm sure I will be calling on many of you for advise or just to vent in the future. Thanks again for the info.