Caffiene instead of Ritalin? Results anyone?

[pamela]

I know I may be searching for a miracle, but has anyone had continued success w/ giving low doses of caffiene instead of ritalin for an adhd, gifted, 7year old boy?
Isiah's symptoms are:
1. impulse control especially in groups of friends larger than 2.
2. focus trouble in class (finishes work and is a GT kid, but requires many prompts from teacher)
3. anger management problems that are helped (but not erased) by Prozac 10mg nightly
4. NO dangerous impulses/behaviors; NO real property damaging except off of Prozac when very angry
5. annoying behavior (without Prozac he denies is annoying and blames everyone else for being annoyed w/ him.)
Now I list these 'symptoms' to show that he's not been definantly labeled ADD/ADHD and we've seen 4 doctors. He has been diagnosed /w Depression/Anxiety and the prozac helps, but he is still alienating friends and having problems w/ finishing work in school. He isn't throwing chairs at teachers and isn't running out into traffic....I think his anxiety helps to prevent him from doing those things ironically enough.
So maybe a low dose of Ritalin will help says his latest psychiatrist. Then I read horror stories about slowly Cardiac Damage after being on Ritalin for years and of sudden death and increased risk of Suicide on Ritalin and I am simply TERRIFIED and do not know what to do or not to do.
So maybe someone here has had some success on curbing this relatively mild (in comparison) symptoms w/ caffiene as a stimulant instead of Ritalin.
Thank You for any responses.

[misty]

My daughter is unmedicated. She takes fish oil & vitamin E, but thats it. The fish oil helps her focus but she does show a bit more attentiveness when drinking caffeine. She loves Mountain Dew & those Monster coffee drinks. The Monster drinks are EXPENSIVE....8.00 for a 4 pack, but on days she drinks one before school she completes her work more efficiently, at least in her morning classes. I don't let her have them often though because of the high sugar content. And I'm reluctant to let her have sugar free versions because of how bad Aspartame is for the development of the brain.

[pamela]

Thanks! We tried fish oil and it didn't help. We've also tried Pine Bark Extract and the effects didn't last.
Does your daughter have social problems too or 'just' trouble w/ school work completion? If so, does the caffeine help w/ the social issues? Have you tried straight coffee instead of the monster drinks w/ a little cream and sugar?
I'm so desperate to not give a stimulant drug...I'll decide to give it a try and then a few minutes later, be convienced that he'll die from it! If I think about it too much, I start panicing.
I'm glad this board is here. I don't feel like anyone around me has the ability to give me good advice....either too close to Isiah or doesn't have enough knowledge about ADHD or other mental health issues.

[misty]

I've tried giving her regular coffee, but never drinks it! I think she likes the novelty of the Monster drinks, but at 8.00 a 4 pack & with the price of gas & groceries these days its just too expensive so I buy her Mt. Dew in between. The sugar content is my main concern. I make sure she drinks lots of water.

She doesn't really have social problems. She did when she was younger to an extent but now she has a best friend and a bunch of boys they hang with. She's always been a tom boy type & hung with boys. I think because a boy is a bit behind a girl in maturity they seem to be at the same level. Her troubles are mostly inattentiveness at school...not handing in work, being completely unorganized, stuff like that. Next year we are starting Cyber school with her & I'm dreading how I will keep her organized.

[charliegirl]

I found this link to help you understand caffeine and make your own decision. One thing to consider is that your body adjusts to it so it will take more and more to maintain the same level of focus you get in the beginning. Its also very addicting at even low doses.
www.kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/drugs/caffeine.html

The heart warnings about stimulant medications are valid. You need to realize that its rare that there will be a negative effect from them. Even aspirin can be lethal if its taken irresponsibly or you have an allergy to it.

By having tests done as recommended, a thorough initial evaluation which includes an electrocardiogram and then a check up every six months for the first couple of years, then yearly, you should be fine. Learn what symptoms indicate a possible problem and contact your dr immediately if you see any.

Have you discussed caffeine with his psych? Its very important to listen to what he has to say since he knows your son's physiological make up better than you can and understands the way they each would affect him. The final decision is yours but he should be able to help you see the pros and cons of each so you can make a good decision.

[jj]

I understand the hesitation to giving your son a stimulant like Ritalin. It can scare the heck out of you when your read the side affects. Like CG mentioned, there are very few medications out there that don't have a mile long list of potentially dangerous side affects including the natural remedies for things so try to keep that in mind. They do seem to publicize the suicides when kids are taking Ritalin but you don't hear much about ADHD kids that are not on medication that commit suicide. (Perspective)

Your mention of anger is sending up red flags regarding Ritalin. I would be very careful using a stimulant before you are 100% comfortable with any DX's and I say this because if there is any worry what-so-ever that bipolar may be part of the mix a stimulant can trigger manic episodes. (If you are 100% convinced bipolar isn't an issue then disregard my above statement.)

Have you noticed your son does better when drinking soda with caffeine? Does he seem calmer? If so, a calmer child will unquestionable be able to do better with school work, concentrating, etc.. I always have felt it is good if you can try more natural ways and I'm sorry the Omega's didn't help. It sounds like you have done a lot of research but have you had him checked for allergies? (They can mimic ADHD symptoms.)

Sometimes taking the time to rule out some of these things that can mimic ADHD isn't possible and may just make a child fall farther behind but you said he does fairly well in school if kept on task so maybe looking for other alternatives is an option.

I don't think caffeine is a cure-all but I don't think it would hurt to try.

By the way, I'm not officially DX'd with ADHD (but fairly certain I am with a little "h") and I drink coffee all day and evening - my self-medication, I guess. My avatar is a true representation of myself. LOL

[pamela]

Well, no, I'm not 100% convinced, but 3 doctors have said that since he doesn't have hallucinations, that he isn't bipolar. I've been reading online about bipolar symptoms in kids, and I'm still not sure. He has some, but not others and I'm not sure if the symptoms he does have that are bipolar-ish are in a severe enough amount to qualify, if that makes sense. I've read the warnings about bipolar taking ritalin and that is also a fear. How CAN we be sure he isn't bipolar? We 'only' have depression in our history, not bipolar.
Also, his doctor didn't even talk about doing any cardiac tests before taking ritalin....that concerns me in light of the latest notification from the AHA.
As for caffiene...I've never allowed my son to have it, assuming that it would only serve to make him more hyper. I hadn't realized how it could possibly work on the brain of adhd.
I don't like the idea of it being addictive and of building up a tolerance, but I also read that Ritalin and other stimulants can also be addictive and build up tolerances over many years.
We have not tried any food allergy ideas. It seems so overwhelming and so unlikely that I just haven't known where to start...milk or gluten or nitrates or artificial colors or....etc etc.
I get so darn mad...there should be constant research going on until we find consistant and qualifiying results about all of these issues!!!!!! Just think of the money spent getting us into outerspace!
I digress.

[charliegirl]

They are doing research. It just takes so long to do it right. Its frustrating for all of us.

Since your son isn't used to caffeine, why not try giving him a small amount on the weekend and see what happens, how long it affects him, etc? If you think its helping, give him some before school and see how that works.

Its possible that it could help for a while and give you time to decide what you want to do without feeling you have to make a decision immediately. Also remember that no matter what you choose, it isn't irrevocable. You can stop at any time if you don't feel comfortable with the results you are seeing.

If you decide to go with the meds, just refuse to give them to him until he has had a cardiac workup. You are an intelligent and informed mom and don't have to do whatever the dr suggests until you are certain that everything has been done to your satisfaction. You have empowered yourself with knowledge that most of his patients or their families don't have. In the long run, you will do what is right.

Does the psych talk to you and answer your questions fully in language you understand? That can make a huge difference.

[puzzled]

Anger/aggression is not necessarily bipolar, my son was always kind of aggressive, like yours, not overly so, but had a hair trigger if you will.

Have you thought about trying Tenex only? There have been tests that show that this med- an older high blood pressure med- has positive effects on focus and impulse control and curbs the aggression as well. My son takes it along with the stimulant drug and it has done wonders for his outlook.

Shire was also working on a time release version so that it only needs to be taken once a day. My son takes the generic version, guanfacine, morning and night. It will make him sleepy when he first starts taking it as you titrate it up to an effective dose, but after reaching the target dose, the sleepiness goes away, so it may be a good idea to wait till summer to begin.

[jj]

Pamela,
I know it is overwhelming and I feel for you. There are things you can do while your deciding what route to go.

If you start making a log of what your son eats, and do a simple mood chart along with it, after some time you may start to see patterns. And you may see foods that trigger some of those moods. I think this would also be very good to do if you decide to try the cafffine route.

You can probably make your own mood/food chart (Excel works great for this but you could do one by hand) but here is one link that can kind of get some ideas from. This particular link is for geared toward bipolar kids but also would be handy for kids with ADHD and anxiety.

www.bpchildren.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=43

Maybe something like this:

Sleep #of hrs

A.M. mood

Breakfast

[Late AM mood

Lunch

School:Good/Bad

Dinner

Evening Mood

I think asking him to pick out the mood he is in per the link I gave you as well as your take on his mood will be helpful.

Also something you can do is sneak in his room when he is sound asleep and listen to him sleeping just to see if he may have sleep apnea. (Maybe forwarn him you will do this so you don't scare him to death). Maybe do this a couple nights just to be sure. When you don't have good sleep this can certainly trigger bad moods, quick to anger.

I hope this helps a little. By the way, I'm not saying at all that I think he is bipolar. Not at all. I just worry some parents don't know what can happen if their kid is bipolar and they put them on stims.