Diet Becomes the In Thing Parents Do in Treating ADHD

Parents who fear that their children have a potential to have a lifelong dependency to ADHD medications seeks alternatives in their kids' diets.

Mark Carey was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when he was still in kindergarten. His doctor prescribed Concerta that will serve as his medication. The effect of Concerta can be compared to a stimulant produced by Ritalin or Adderall. However, Rachel, Mark's mother sees the side effects not long after Mark has taken the prescribed medicine. He became aggressive in school. Mark loses weight rapidly in a short period of time and he begins to have insomnia. Rachel is also worried that her son, Mark, will be dependent on Concerta for the rest of his life. This is all according to STAT news reporter, Colleen Kimmett.

Rachel's worry about dependency on drugs is not totally unfounded. There is a report on Pacific Standard by Madeleine Thomas that there were a number of children who were diagnosed with ADHD in the year 1990. Thomas wrote that in 1990, a great number of children formed lines outside the nurse's office to get midday doses of the prescribed medication. Now, these children are already adults and they are still dependent on the drug used to cure ADHD.

Additionally, Thomas wrote that most of the medication used to treat ADHD are considered Schedule II drugs. The patients will have a high risk or tendency to be dependent on the drugs for a long period of time. Even the kids who are considered cured will use the drugs for an extended period of time even if they don't need it anymore. Thomas has interviewed many patients who say they are still on drugs after several years. Some even are still in medication for decades. When they tried to stop, these patients experience withdrawal symptoms that are both psychological and physical in nature. One woman whom Thomas has interviewed said that everything feels so much harder once she decided to quit.

What Rachel Carey does is searching for alternatives to her kid's diet. She is not the only one who is concerned for her kid. Other parents are doing what they can to find alternatives in the food area. News reporter Kimmet says that, although there are fewer studies which can support the notion of a diet that can serve as an alternative to medication, more and more people are doing it. There are several opinions that say food coloring can increase hyperactivity in children and fatty acid supplementation can improve the health of children with ADHD. There are also elimination diets that help kids to lessen the symptoms of ADHD.

Mark is currently 10 years old. On his diet, he avoids anything that has milk, sugar, and artificial food additives. He also takes vitamins as supplements. His mother insisted that he will strictly follow the regimen of his new diet. Mark stopped taking Concerta completely when he started his diet.

There are additional things that you can do. I highly recommend that you contact an Online Psychiatrist Miami.

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