Monday, June 02, 2008 ews asks

Q: Are there natural alternatives for a 12 year old opposed to taking medicines like concerta?

My son who is 12 years old has been taking Concerta for awhile now, and it seems to help him focus in the classroom. I am concerned though as to how prolonged useage of the "drug" will affect him in the long run.

1. Are there natural ingredients we can try giving him to help in his ability to focus instead of medications?

2. Will the drug Concerta pose a risk to his health given over a long an extended period of time?

3. Should we refrain from giving him the medication over the summer months, since he is not in school?

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Answers (4)

Vicki M, Editor

6/ 3/08 4:42pm

Hi Ews,

No one wants for their children to have to take medication for the rest of their lives, but sometimes that is what we have to do. There is information here at this link about Concerta, the brand name for METHYLPHENIDATE, also known as Ritalin and Methylin tablets. there is limited information about the viability of long term use of this medication. The best thing to do is stay close to your doctor. There is a section here that addresses general side effects of these medications.

There is also a section here about alternative treatments including information about natural and herbal remedies. There is little evidence that many of these treatments work scientifically, but the information here can give you something to talk to your doctor about.

Eileen Bailey wrote a good article about the practice of giving a kid the summer off from medications. You can read the full article here, but here is an excerpt:

"considerations have led many doctors to believe that a "vacation" from medication during the summer months is not necessary and may actually be detrimental to children."

Hope this helps somewhat! Take care and stay in touch. Let us know how you and your son are doing!

Vicki M

anniem319

6/ 8/08 8:48pm

We have found that a combination of diet and an easier med is the best approach for us. We follow the Feingold diet loosely (mainly we avoid dyes and other obvious highly processed food) and use Tenex, which is actually a blood pressure med for adults used in a much lower dosage for kids. Our son has ADHD as well as Tourette's, ODD, and sensory integration disorder. Between the dietary and meds intervention, and some family counseling, our son is doing well enough to be mainstreamed next September.

I have to add that we have just started a heavy duty biomedical approach under the care of Dr. Compaign, who is the partner of the doc that wrote the book "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Allergies and Asthma". It's too soon to say if it's going to help or not, but the half dozen or so books I read on the connection between diet and environment and the increase of diagnosis of these disorders really fits our particular circumstances, so it seemed worth a try.

Best of luck,

Anne

7/ 7/08 7:19pm

7/ 7/08 7:27pm

My daughter has recently been diagnosed with adhd and was prescribed Strattera, I opted not to administer this drug to her in fear of the side effects. I searched on the web for a natural alternative and found a website called nativeremedies.com they have various natural products for adhd and I have read many of the parents testimonies and the parents swear by them. I am going to order some of the products just before school starts and I cant wait to see the results. Good luck with your son.

Q: Are there natural alternatives for a 12 year old opposed to taking medicines like concerta?

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