ADHD Treatment
Updated: Mar 23, 2023
Signs of Inattentiveness:
Do you lack attention to the details?
Are you often having difficulty staying on task?
Are you often struggling with following through with promises made on completing specific tasks or projects?
When someone is speaking to you, do you often get distracted and have a hard time following the conversation?
Are you struggling to stay organized?
Do you often find yourself procrastinating?
Are you easily distracted?
Do you lose things often?
Signs of Hyperactivity Symptoms:
Do you have a hard time sitting still, frequently discovering the need to get up and move around?
Do you frequently find yourself doing the following: fumbling through your phone, doodling, biting your nails, or tapping your feet or hands?
Do you frequently have difficulty falling asleep because you feel you should be doing something and the activity can be done the next day?
Do you find it very difficult to sit still doing activities like reading a book, meditation, or any other activity completed in silence?
Would others likely describe you as one who is always on the go, a high-energy multi-tasker where every minute of the day is filled with activities? At the same time, you often distract yourself and struggle to complete one activity by starting or thinking of another.
Would those who know you well describe you frequently talking excessively, oversharing,
Do you frequently interrupt others?
Do you struggle to wait in line?
Still not sure take a free quiz below
Adult
(ASRSv1) (Click on the link, and we'll email you a free quiz)
Children 6-12,
(VADRS) (Click on the link, and we'll email you a free quiz)
You are not alone
According to CDC, a study completed in 2016, approximately 6 million children have been diagnosed with ADHD between the age of 2-17. Boys are more likely to experience ADHD symptoms than girls, based on the same study. Further research shows that the number of girls who experience ADHD symptoms is much higher than the 2016 study estimated by the CDC. In another study, the research finding identified an upward trend in adult cases of ADHD. ADHD symptoms are on the rise in both adults and children.
What is normal, and when its a problem?
It is normal to have moments when you struggle to focus, experience some degree of procrastination, and don't have the best listening skills. The critical point is to consider whether patterns of inattentive symptoms affect your ability to function. Suppose you can identify with more than half of the inattentive symptoms in either the inattentive category or hyperactive category and think that inattentive symptoms are in the way of you reaching a higher level of productivity or social relationships. In that case, it might be time to start exploring steps to improve your functioning.
What are the factors I need to know that affect my inattentive symptoms?
Before we jump to what I can do, let's explore some key categories that correlate with inattentive symptoms.
Sleep
Diet
Exercise
Structure
Brain Chemistry
The Roadmap to Managing Inattentive Symptoms.
Sleep and ADHD
Let's begin by reviewing the first of the three foundational factors, sleep. I can imagine that most can relate to the feelings associated with sleep deprivation. If you are not getting proper rest, you will feel sluggish and tired, will struggle to focus, miss deadlines, and will not show up as your best self during social engagements. Children diagnosed with ADHD tend to have sleep issues. Those who experience inattentive symptoms are more likely to have later bedtime, while those with hyperactive symptoms suffer from insomnia. Sleep deprivation and ADHD have overlapping symptoms; these symptoms are fatigue, forgetfulness, and difficulty concentrating. Therefore, experts suggest screening for sleep problems before moving to the medication management route. They further believe sleep interventions can help improve ADHD symptoms. Do these eleven things to improve your sleep, and you'll be successful in building the first out of the three foundational steps to improve inattentive symptoms.
Start going to bed each night at the same time, aiming to sleep 7-8 hours
Avoid screentime at least 1 hour before bed
Cut off sugar, caffeine, and alcohol before bed
Avoid engaging in stimulating activities that involve hyper-focusing in the evening.
Create boundaries that limit your bedroom to sleep and sex
Exercise regularly
Spend time outside in the sun
Create a bedtime routine you enjoy, such as reading a book, spending time with your loved ones, and meditation, as some examples.
Keep the bedroom cool, quiet, and dark.
Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day
Using a weighted blanket
Diet and ADHD
While your diet cannot supplement your sleep, it can help build the next foundational stone. Let's start with a basic understanding of a healthy diet—garbage in, garbage out. In other words, if you are not eating well, you are placing additional strain on your body, which indirectly will have an adverse effect on staying present, focused, and making the most of your day. As a general rule, if you don't want to feel sluggish, low on energy, or experience an inflammatory feeling of bloating lows, let's review what will help you perform at your peak energy. The list below starts laying the foundation of what ingredients and foods will keep your physical body in top shape. This list below has foods that will help you maintain healthy levels of micro-nutrients and vitamins that will foster physical health and reduce ADHD symptoms. Ferritin, Iron, Omega 3/6, Zinc, Vitamin D, and Magnesium.
Ferritin and Iron
Ferritin is a protein that stores iron in your cells. If ferritin is low, you can boost it by eating good sources of iron and foods that increase iron absorption. Consume a moderate amount of green leafy vegetables, legumes, oats, and wholemeal pasta, and consider adding some meat options below. Please be aware that consuming excessive amounts of protein from animal products can lead to increased toxicity, which would be harmful to your body when done excessively. However, it is equally important to consume animal protein in moderation given that the animal protein has the heme iron, which is found only in red meat, poultry, and fish. Heme form of iron, in contrast to non-heme, found in nonmeat products, is absorbed 2-3 times efficiently. When possible, limit your intake of red meat and avoid non-organic animal products as a general rule due to the toxicity associated with the use of growth hormones and malnourishment, which occurs when meat is raised being fed animal by-products and grain instead of grass-fed meat. You are encouraged to consult your doctor before taking supplements.
Animal Products (heme) sources of Iron
Liver
Oysters
Clams
Shrimp
Tuna
Salmon
lean organic beef
organic lamb
organic veal
organic pork
organic poultry
organic eggs
Plant-based (non-heme) sources of Iron.
Consider adding foods high in vitamin C to improve absorbing non-heme sources of iron
Spinach (has both iron and vitamin C)
Broccoli (has both iron and vitamin C)
Leafy greens (have both iron and vitamin C)
oats
beans
lentils
chickpeas
wholemeal pasta and bread
whole oats,
whole wheat,
buckwheat,
millet,
whole barley,
quinoa,
brown rice,
organic corn,
whole grain bread,
nuts
Omega 3/6
Studies have linked Omega 3/6 intake and reduced effects on ADHD symptoms.
avocados,
salmon,
cod liver,
herring,
oysters,
caviar,
anchovies,
flaxseeds,
chia seeds,
walnuts
Zinc
Lower levels of Zinc have been linked in children and ADHD symptoms. A double-blind placebo-controlled study identified "zinc as supplementary medication might be beneficial in treating children with ADHD." Foods high in zinc are listed below.
oysters
lamb
beef
crab
poultry
pumpkin seeds
almonds
oats
chickpeas
yogurt
milk
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is both a nutrient and a hormone our bodies produce. It is critical to building bone, reducing cancer cell growth, controlling infection, protecting against heart disease, and reducing depression and inflammation. Several studies found a link between children with ADHD and low levels of vitamin D, not to mention that mothers with low levels of Vitamin D were linked with giving birth to children with ADHD symptoms.
The challenges of maintaining Vitamin D levels
Maintaining good Vitamin D levels can be very challenging. Acquiring an adequate amount of vitamin D involves living in areas where one will regularly be exposed to the sun and also consuming a balanced diet rich in Vitamin D foods. While research is still debating how much is enough sunlight, you will likely need both exposure to the sun and maintaining a diet rich in vitamin D to maintain adequate levels. Due to such challenges Worldwide, an estimated 1 billion people have inadequate levels of vitamin D in their blood, and deficiencies can be found in all ethnicities and age groups. [2-4] In the U.S.
Foods Rich in Vitamin D
cod liver oil
salmon
swordfish
beef liver
egg yolk
sardines
dairy products
Magnesium and ADHD
Magnesium has an indirect role to play in managing ADHD symptoms. It will not directly improve attention but can provide a calming effect, helping manage hyperactivity and agitation symptoms.
Consider the following foods high in Magnesium.
dark chocolate
avocados
nuts
legumes
seeds
whole grains
salmon
mackerel
halibut
bananas
leafy greens
Exercise and ADHD
The third foundational keystone is exercise. Not only is exercise linked to healthy physical health, reduction of stress, and a healthy coping skill to manage anxiety and depression, it serves as one of the three foundational keystones in managing inattentive symptoms. An exercise routine has been linked in children and adults to have a positive impact in improving the management of ADHD symptoms. Take the following steps to build your exercise routine.
Adults and Exercise
Start with partnering with a friend who goes to the Gym regularly and is willing to help you create a routine.
If the first option is not for you, consider hiring a fitness coach.
Be ready to push against some resistance. The old brain is wired to be overly cautious and is lazy when it comes to making changes.
Once you find your gym and identify your partner, it's time to plan out your routine.
Schedule your exercise on your calendar and set a reminder
Create reward incentives for going
Stick to your routine and use your accountability partner as leverage to keep yourself on task.
Children and Exercise
Parents engage their kids in at least 30 minutes of active play
Avoid competitive sports as a starting point
Try none-competitive sports such as swimming, track, martial arts
Family bike rides
Parents role model physical fitness. Studies demonstrate kids are highly influenced by their role models. If you are not active, it will be harder to convince your kids to get moving.
Become a Master Designer of Structured Routines.
This section is one of the most exciting and important. This is where we learn to take everything up to this point and design an actionable plan that will convert what we aim to accomplish into a behavioral plan that has proven in my practice to help my clients who struggle with inattentive symptoms attain results.
Adults and ADHD
Start with a clear goal.
Break the goal into bite-size parts.
Schedule each sub-activity on a calendar.
Set triggered alarms
Pair an immediate consequence if the activity is missed.
Reward yourself
Repeat steps 1-6 with each goal
Children and School Interventions for ADHD
Identify specific points of desirable behavior
Provide clear desirable reward incentives, e.g., daily report cards which reward desirable behavior with an incentive given by the teacher or working with parents can be given at home
Using checklists
Teach kids how to use a daily planner
Use a reward chart at home
When learning a new skill, explain the rationale
Supporting your ADHD Brain Chemistry with Supplements and or Medication
While science has not fully understood all of the connecting pieces that constitute ADHD symptoms, there is enough evidence to apply what is known to practical knowledge. A deficiency in norepinephrine dopamine has been linked to ADHD symptoms. You are encouraged to use food as your main source of micronutrients to support your brain health as the first line of defense, followed by sleep, exercise, and behavior modification methods reviewed. Once you have exhausted all the options, continue to experience functional impairment that impacts one or several imparts areas of your life, and have been diagnosed with ADHD symptoms by a licensed mental health provider, it is a good time to examine medication as an adjusted intervention. Experts summarize the role of medication in the following way; the medication can help with attention and reduce impulsivity while will not substitute for skills in the area of organization, prioritization, using cognitive aides, and time management.
Using medication and supplements can have a profound benefit in treating ADHD symptoms. With that said, it needs to be considered as a tool after the rest of the interventions have been applied. Often inattentive symptoms are misdiagnosed, and prescribers are quick to write a script without carefully evaluating the entire picture, which is very complex. Misdiagnosis is a common practice along with prescribing medication, without looking at diet, exercise, and building skills as the first step or adjusting necessary therapy. Like all medications, there are side effects. You are advised to research the side effects of each medication and be ready to discuss them with your doctor if you choose these options. The two most-common stimulants used are methylphenidate and amphetamines.
Methylphenidate
Focalin
Fcalin XR
Concerta
Daytrana
Metadate CD
Amphetamines
Adderall XR
Vivance
How we differ
In the past ten years, we have worked with our clients, helping them take ownership of their life, helping them design and create structured plans, training them to take ownership of their time, and becoming more effective in staying on task and accomplishing goals and objectives while maintaining a positive self-image. Connect with what you learned about our approach, schedule a free consult today, and learn how to start building a plan that will work for you.
