Questions about ADHD and Coffee??

[nitascool]

I have been told by three different Psychologists that we should try giving our newly diagnosed ADHD son coffee. They all said basically the same thing... that it would calm him down. One (who is just a friend and has not seen ds) said that if it doesn't calm him then he probably was misdiagnosed. Have you heard of this?

Anyway, I gave him a cup of somewhat strong coffee the other day and saw no difference in his behavior. He didn't get more hyper or less hyper. He does seem to get more hyper when given foods with processed sugar though.

Have you tried this with your ADHD child?

Should I try giving him coffee a few more times?

[happygrrl]

I am not sure if it works or not, but I do know that when my husband worked at a coffee house he had a line of moms buying coffee for their kids on their way to school. All of them claimed it made a difference in their school performance, so maybe it has more to do with focus than behavior. Maybe you could make up a simple 'focus test' for the next coffee try?

[Elinor Everywhere]

My son was diagnosed ADD, although I was skeptical because I believe it is over-diagnosed. He is not hyper, but can't focus well and has a few other LDs such as word recall problems & short term memory issues.

At the time I was anti-meds, so we tried giving him an espresso right before school. I must say, I was amazed! And so was he. His focus was so much better; he ripped through his math class & homework, and did his spelling words in record time. By the way, he wasn't trying harder; we didn't tell him the espresso was given for any other reason than he wanted to taste it, liked it, and drank it down.

After that, he had an espresso shot every morning. But after a while it seemed like he needed TWO shots, and also he started having problems going to sleep at night, even though he had the coffee at breakfast. My dh finally convinced me to try meds, and now he takes 10mg of Adderall on school days. Other days he takes nothing or occasionally a 5 mg pill by his request. He said the medicine "quiets his brain" and allows him to think--like static on a radio being diminished.

We are overseas now, but when we get home I'm going to try the big doses of omega oils that some people use successfully with their ADD kids. I hope it works; I'd like to get him off the meds. We also eat organically with no dyes/corn syrup/hydrogenated oils/preservatives, and that helps, but doesn't handle it enough to make a huge difference in school.

[Michelle T]

My DS is currently on Metadate CD, helping somewhat. DH is also very ADHD, but generally won't admit it, and has so far not been willing to be evaluated or try meds.

Anyway, DH does not drink anything caffeinated because of some idea that caffeine makes his face break out. He goes to a weekly bible study, and by his own admission, almost every week he just sits there daydreaming, mind wandering, absolutely no idea what anyone else is talking about. He also tells me that back when he was in school, that was what every school day was like.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, he had a cup of coffee before bible study, and didn't know until later it was caffeinated. He came home, and was telling me all about the study, what he had learned, what he remembered, all sorts of ideas and connections he had made. It was really astounding, truthfully I had never know DH to actually learn anything that way.

I was the one who made the connection between the caffeinated coffee and his actually focusing in bible study. He was impressed, but hasn't brought it up again.
MichelleT

[Whisperlily]

It definitely works for my ADHD son. :)

We've tested, re-tested and blind-tested the theory. ;)

[Jennefer@SSA]

but we have yet to try it. He didn't say coffee though; he mentioned Mountain Dew or Red Bull. Those have so much sugar and dye that I have been hesitant to try them. I don't think ds6 would drink coffee. Any other ideas for sources of caffeine that would be more easily taken by a 6yo?

Thanks!

[Claire]

but we have yet to try it. He didn't say coffee though; he mentioned Mountain Dew or Red Bull. Those have so much sugar and dye that I have been hesitant to try them. I don't think ds6 would drink coffee. Any other ideas for sources of caffeine that would be more easily taken by a 6yo?
Thanks!

NoDoz is an over-the-counter caffeine pill. That would work. Tea has caffeine in it too.

At the coffee houses, quite a few of the coffee mixtures are quite sweet because they add things like chocolate, whipped cream, and caramel. I personally like a skim latte with a shot of caramel. This would be even tastier for a child with regular milk and whipped cream on top. There are also home brewing systems that make it pretty easy to make a latte with frothed milk.

[Whisperlily]

I drink sugar free red bull, myself. I do hesitate giving it to children, but have, on occasion, been known to give half a can to a child who is really having a bad day ADHD wise. It helps, but I always feel slightly guilty doing it. We end up doing this about once a month or so...

We will occasionally allow Mtn. Dew, but I don't like the kids drinking a lot of soda/sugar.

For us, those things are more of a quick-fix when things seem to be really "off."

[Stacy in NJ]

The wrapper says two pieces of gum contain the same amount of caffeine as one cup of coffee. It also contains a small amount of sugar and ginseng. I use this myself when I cannot get to a cup of coffee, works for me.:D

[Whisperlily]

I wasn't thinking of the kids, but just tonight I bought some "on the go" packets that you add to water bottles. They contain 80mgs of caffeine per serving, and are sugar-free. There are quite a few brands/flavors out there. Some had a lower caffeine content too.

[Blue Hen]

He said the medicine "quiets his brain" and allows him to think--like static on a radio being diminished.


My DS describes the effect of ritalin in a similar manner; quiets his brain. After 5 yrs on it though, at his request, we took him off the ritalin. He now sometimes has a cup of coffee in the morning and says the effect is similar, calms him down and quiets his mind. When he was little he would say that there were 10 topics all running around inside his head at once. Now (almost 16) he says he has learned how to keep the other topics quiet.

For us putting our child on meds was not the only solution, but part of the solution. We did behavior modification too, and strong discipline with consistent rules and boundaries. We never, ever resorted to spanking though and I mention this since some folks equate strong discipline with getting out the rod. Really the ritalin permitted my DS to be able to focus and be receptive to learning self-control. I'm not sure going the coffee route first would have done the trick. There are days when he realizes that a cup of coffee will help him be calm and other days, like now, that he isn't interested.


Carole, DE

[CalicoKat]

we're still regulating her focalin dose trying to find the right amount. It seems to wear off in the afternoon. So a cuppa joe helps the afternoon go better. IMO it works faster than the meds, but it also wears off sooner.

Now, my ds 2 -- never give him coffee! He does not have ADHD and we're so very glad that our all night experience after he did get some coffee revealed that fact. He was so jazzed up--all night. :eek:

[NewHomeSchoolMarm]

Anything new is worth trying a few times. That being said, we tried this with our ADHD son and it had no effect. It was only when he was older 19 or so when his body chemistry changed and I noticed a change in his behaviour. Much calmer and laid back. AMAZING. When I look back, the things that helped him were not the trial medications & home remedies...But, thoughtful advice and a narrowing of his insanse antics. Showing him how to do things slower and training him how to pay attention and take note of his actions. Demonstrating Patience...Patience...Patience...

HTH--NHSM

[Mrs Mungo]

People with ADD have different brain chemistry than most people. Anything that makes a normal person hyper (Ritalin, caffeine, etc) makes an ADD person more calm.

[Cadam]

My father has always self medicated with Coke or tea. He was dx ADD in his 40's, tried meds and went back to Diet Coke.

[Pepper]

It works for me and for my son. We both have ADD behaviors.

Just one cup (each).