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phyllishall2 · Nov 23, 2009, 03:02 PM

My son is having a hard time in school. I think he is having trouble focusing in class. He has never been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD but I think he might have a slight case. He is barely passing all his classes and keeps getting in trouble for talking and not paying attention. He is 16 and a junior in High School and is really beginning to hate school. He only has a year and a half left so I was trying to find some safe medication, vitamin or something that he could take that might help him focus and start doing better in school. Is there any type of over the counter medication for this?

JudyKayTee · Nov 23, 2009, 04:26 PM

Have you asked your Physician and Pharmacist for suggestions?

I have seen over-the-counter "medications" in health food stores but don't know how safe or effective they are.

Alty · Nov 23, 2009, 04:35 PM

Your best bet is to get a diagnosis and go from there.

My son has ADHD. If this is what you're dealing with then there's no quick over the counter fix.

You could try a change in diet, cut out all artificial sugars, see if that helps.

If he does have ADD or ADHD I'm surprised that no one has questioned it before. Usually kids are diagnosed early. Sixteen years and no diagnosis is not the norm.

Good luck.

N0help4u · Nov 25, 2009, 11:52 AM

Like Alty said
Change in diet is most important.
Make sure he gets omega fatty acid and vitamin B complex.
Drinking Chamomile tea at bedtime might be helpful too.

These are two books that should be helpful

Amazon.com: The Crazy Makers: How the Food Industry Is Destroying Our Brains and Harming Our Children (9781585426263): Carol Simontacchi: Books

Amazon.com: Brain Allergies: The Psychonutrient and Magnetic Connections (9780658003981): Willam Philpott, Dwight Kalita, William H. Philpott MD, Dwight K. Kalita PhD, Linus Pauling PhD: Books

twinkiedooter · Nov 26, 2009, 09:29 PM

My son had ADD when he was little but has successfully outgrown it without any medications. He's 26 now and has not had any attention problems in years and years. Your son may just be going through a phase where he's now finding it hard to learn in school. Don't go pushing drugs on him unless he's really in need of them. All the ADD drugs such as Ritilin are basically speed in a different form and are quite harmful to children. I've read a lot about the meds they are pushing on kids these days and I keep thanking my lucky stars that I never gave my son any of them.

A healthy diet is best. Cut out all junk food. Vitamin D is a good vitamin to add to his diet. Most children don't get enough vitamin D every day.

Have him definitely stay away from any aspartame, sweet n low, equal, etc. Diet sodas are definitely out for him as well. Diet anything should be out for him as well.

JudyKayTee · Nov 27, 2009, 10:36 AM

I don't know if it's at all common but my nephew was thought (without testing) to have ADD and it ended up to be an allergy to milk. Once he was off all dairy he improved greatly. Now and then he has ice cream or a glass of milk but nothing very often.

As I said - I don't know if it's common but I know it's a possibility.

twinkiedooter · Nov 27, 2009, 03:10 PM

My son was lactose intolerant but I solved that using Lactaid drops before he was 2 years old. He's been able to drink milk, eat ice cream ever since in any quantify.

MrEasy · Nov 29, 2009, 08:57 PM

In my past career I had a biochemist on my staff who developed nutritional products. In a meeting we were all discussing different health problems and the topic of ADD came up. He said he had found that high doses of multivitamins along with minerals such as natural humic or sea minerals greatly improved or cured the condition. Which in turn means there was a lack of proper nutrition to begin with. I agree with TwinkD about a healthy diet and then add proper supplementation. It's important to limiting sugar and soda intake too.

QLP · Nov 30, 2009, 08:01 PM

You say your son is 16. Has this problem only recently surfaced? It's unlikely he wouldn't have shown signs before unless his diet or something has significantly changed.

Is he getting enough sleep? Teenagers often have trouble switching off at night - especially if they enjoy playing computer games etc in the evening.

Is he just bored with school or unhappy with something that is happening there?

Whilst all the above suggestions are good regarding ADD I think you should explore all avenues. Can you have a good, non-judgemental, chat with him about how he is feeling?

Can you pinpoint when the problem started and what was going on in his life at that time, as that could give you a big clue.

justcurious55 · Nov 30, 2009, 09:51 PM

I don't know your son, so maybe this isn't the case at all. But whenever my cousin starts having trouble with his classes and hating school he's either using drugs or he's gone back to his online video games. I hate to have to throw it out there, but unfortunately it's a real possibility for too many teens. My boyfriend barely graduated high school and a large part of his problem was his use of prescription drugs, that weren't prescribed to him and he had no actual need for. He eventually was prescribed meds for ADD but he actually started doing best in school when he stopped taking meds all together.