Natural Help For Hyperactivity

Janna

New Member
Hi everyone,

My 7 year old son is having some difficulty, apparantley, maintaining himself in the classroom. The teacher is reporting him as "too impulsive" - "unable to stay in his seat" - "taking up too much space for such a little guy".

Although he seems a little hyper at home, I would not suspect him to be ADHD, however, the teacher is believing this is so.

I am starting to see a little bit of hyperactivity in him and his inability to sit still during homework. Although I think some of this is probably age related, I was wondering if there are any suggestions that may be able to help him rather than going the medication route.

FYI - he has congenital heart disease. Tricuspid atresia, transposition of the great vessles, atrial and ventricular septal defect. I did speak to the head of cardiology about this, there are a couple of ADHD medications that MAY be okay, but he'd rather not go that route if not totally necessary.

Can I maybe change his diet some, or have him tested to see if something is triggering this? I wouldn't even have a clue where to start. With Dylan, it's always been psychiatrists and medications, and quite honestly, I don't want to have to go this route with easy child if not necessary.

Oh, he's on Captopril for blood pressure, 6.5 mg. 3x a day. It's supposed to make him tired :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Yeah, right!

Thanks in advance.

Janna
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
Janna-
Stay away from dyes and preservatives where ever possible. Calming, soothing and centering techniques help, we use deep breathing and light massage. Try to find somewhere to channel the energy: something to squeeze that's not distracting, tapping on ones knee with a finger. Seating in a less distractible place: closer to the front, not near the window or good friends. Eat properly: lean protein if possible in the morning to help him get through to lunch and more at lunch to get him through the afternoon. Make sure he has a strong bedtime routine and an appropriate bedtime. Overtired equals fidgety for most kids. Good luck!
-TM
 
I agree with TM. The more natural the diet, the better. You may also want to look into a therapist who specializes in behavioral techniques for ADHD.
Homeopathic medicine is another option. It is deep acting, without side effects. www.homeopathic.org
 

Janna

New Member
Thank you for the info TM, typical teen -

I am going to inquire today into a nutritionist. Sorry to say, I have no clue about dyes and preservatives. Our diet here is the furthest thing from natural you can come by (unless you figure the organic fruits and veggies I buy - that's natural LOL).

The bedtime ritual is a good one - 8 PM weekdays, 9 PM weekends. He gets plenty of rest. The routine here is strict, and he's usually good about getting things done (homework, chores, etc) - he's just getting a little more hyper as weeks go by.

I bookmarked the homeopathy info. Good to have. Thanks for the advice, I had no clue where to start.

Janna
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
Janna,
easy child was sick recently, right? Has this been coming on since then? I'd consider having him in to the doctor just to rule out the small possibly that he had a reaction to the fever or some other occurrence when he was sick. Better safe than sorry.
-TM
 

Janna

New Member
Yeah, TM, supposedly sick. The school nurse called, said his lips were blue, he was quivering like he was freezing and said his belly hurt. She said he had a fever or 101.8.

But when I got him, his lips were not blue and he wasn't quivering. And as soon as I got him home and checked his temp, he was 99.1. He was fine as soon as I took him out of school, so I didn't take him to the pediatrician.

I think the teacher he has is over exaggerating the situation knowing of Dylan, the raucous he caused at that school, and his diagnosis'es. I do notice a little bit of distractability in easy child, don't get me wrong, but he does not fit into the DSM Criteria for ADD, ADHD, Bipolar, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) or AS, I've checked, twice LOL! The teacher has just been on easy child since day 1.

He's just not a quiet little country bumpkin boy that can sit as his desk all day and keep his hands in his lap. He is a little active, he's 7. I'm not taking the teachers words to heart - I will wait until next year, new teacher, if the situation progresses, I will have him tested then.

But for now, I just thought I'd try some natural remedies and see if that slows him down a bit. He isn't a candy kid, and I don't keep too much junk in the house, but when he wants something like chips or such, I usually give to him because he's so tiny (at 7 he only weighs 42 pounds).

You know, the killer to all this - when easy child was 2, going in for the first open heart surgery, the CHIEF of cardiology says to me "you know, he's probably not going to be able to play sports and such, and he IS going to tire very easily". The Captopril he's on is a blood pressure medication, "it will keep him very mellow".

HAHAHAHA, yeah, okay doctor :rofl:

Janna
 

Wildflower

Active Member
I totally agree with TM - lay off the food colorings. The two big culprits are Red Dye #40 and Yellow Dye #5. They are found not only in food, but in toothpaste, bath bubbles, and medicines, so check the labels carefully. It made a big difference for us to make this change in particular. Good luck!
 
I don't spend a lot of time in this forum so I'm a bit late on this thread. I'm responding to the "supposedly" sick part. There was something going around my cub's school about a week ago where the cubs got fevers very quickly and got over it quickly. Their stomachs also hurt. Cubs were being sent home left and right and they were monitoring all of the cubs' temperatures. My cub was apparently fine every time they checked and yeah, I think they'd send him home in a heartbeat if he'd had a fever. I picked him up at 5:30; he didn't look so good. I took his temperature at home and he had a fever of 102. The next morning, he was perfectly fine and bouncing around. Just hoping to give you a little faith back in the cub and nurse ... it's quite possible he had what mine had.
 
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