Plant or Prescription?

Today we went to see a Naturopath, to explore options for our daughter’s ADHD treatment. The husband and I have both agreed that we don’t want to go down the prescribed medication route and, if at all possible, want her to be able to deal with her symptoms via natural and healthy options.

We have been doing A LOT of research recently, specifically in to natural alternatives for medication. It seems that the two main supplements that we should be looking at are Zinc and Ginseng.

Having met with the Naturopathic Doctor, we are now looking at food allergies and intolerances, to see if this is throwing her off balance. We ended up taking away a probiotic powder and Omega 3 oils, plus continued use of multivitamins and Siberian Ginseng.

The doctor also recommended Bach’s Rescue Remedy to calm her down and help her sleep. He mentioned it’s only a band aid and won’t sort out the root cause of the issue but, after nearly eight years of very little sleep, I’ll take it!

As I write, the doctor is putting together a diet plan and list of herbal remedies that E can start on, to see if this will help.

Hopefully, along with finding out if there are any food allergies, this may help little one with her sensitivities and concentration.

It’s a waiting game…..

The ADHD Journey

It’s been two years since I stopped working in the corporate world and decided to be a stay at home mum and, guess what? I lasted four weeks! Four very long weeks of not knowing what I should do with my days, because let’s face it, after twenty odd years of working, I am brainwashed in to feeling guilty if I’m not out there making money for the family.

Fortune favoured me and I was offered a job working as a consultant for the family on the site where we live. Which means I can drop E off at school and then drive home to work.

Which has turned out to be super handy and a bit of a lifesaver as E has just been diagnosed as “HSP” (Highly Sensitive Person) and High Functioning ADHD.

The Husband and I always knew she was “unique”. She runs at a high level from the moment she wakes up to the moment her little head hits the pillow in the evening. Almost like she has a motor and someone switches the on/off button twice a day. She has NEVER slept, and I mean in seven and a half years she has only slept through the night once. And that took four days of intensive skiing and four nights of no sleep to accomplish. Exhausting.

Recently we had to get an extra tutor for her after school as she is struggling greatly with reading, writing and maths. She is grade 2 but with a reading level  of a kindergarten student. We have always read to her and encouraged her to pick up a book and try, but it just doesn’t seem to stick in her brain. It makes her frustrated and angry when she can’t read a sentence and this invariably ends up in a meltdown.

E can’t be in any situation where her senses are tested; if we go shopping and there is a squeaky wheel on the cart, she ends up curling up in the the foetal position with her hands over her ears. She literally can’t stand it. There are also problems with clothing sensitivity, colours, smell, music etc etc.

After consultation with the school, we ended up in the offices of a child psychologist. He is a lovely person, gentle and funny with E and is helping us along the start of our journey in to ADHD. As one of the main issues at the moment is anger episodes, the Doctor is giving us tools to work on this, as we don’t really want to go along the medication route.

We have also decided to see a naturopath who specializes in children with ADHD. Our first appointment is tomorrow so we will see what happens.

But that’s enough of the harder parts of ADHD. On the positive side, E has a lot of energy and stamina for sports such as skiing and kayaking. She also loves drawing and painting, and she has a natural ability to sing on pitch. Her powers of observation are ridiculously good and she can memorize a song after only hearing it once. She is also hilarious. She makes me laugh every single day.

At the moment, we are waiting for a consultation with the paediatrician to see what the options are for E’s treatment. We want to try and help her along the journey in the most natural and unmedicated way possible. Because, at the moment, she is finding it hard to get through the day without crying. And that breaks my heart.