caffeine a good substitute for meds?

Post Reply New Topic

I know that somewhere on this forum I read about various college students who use caffeine, either coffee or coca-cola drinks, etc., as a way to help them pay attention in class or finish projects, rather than taking drugs such as Strattera, Ritalin, or Adderall.

We are in this awful situation where my son, a middle schooler, is having a horrible time at school. At first we thought it was because of Adderall NOT working, so I took him off the Adderall. Then he struggled even more, with no drugs. He just can't seem to do anything at school lately. So I received emails from teachers saying how listless he is in class, how he needs constant supervision, how he cannot start any projects. I called our doctor, who I now find out is gone on vacation for the next week. So I can't get any help from him. I decided to put my son back on the Adderall for the next few days the doctor is out, but to only give it to him just before school starts. Well, this means that he is not "on" for period 1 (I've already heard from that teacher), but hopefully he is not "off" for the last period of the day, where he was formerly over-emotional or angry, probably because the Adderall was not working by then. I am confused now, because the Adderall did seem to be working slightly, and now that we have taken our son off of it, and then put him back on, it seems to not be working at all.

Would caffeine help, even slightly, to help "wake up" my son enough to get some work done at school?

Only positive responses would be appreciated -- negative responses right now would be really hard to take. I do not like "medicating" my son, just like a lot of parents, but I don't see what the alternative is, other than pulling him out of school completely.

Kris

Caffeine may interfere with growth and since you're son is still growing, I wouldn't deliberately dose him with it. I was addicted to caffeine as a child and I had insomnia and likely stopped growing because of it. Caffeine overdose can include paranoia, irritability, nausea, insomnia and withdrawal includes headaches and drowsiness. I was the tallest in my class all through grade school and stopped growing by age 11.
Unless your son can drink coffee without a lot of sugar, other caffeinated drinks are problematic because of the amounts of sugar and fat in them. Not just from a nutrition point of view, but sugar is also a very strong drug and can interfere with focus in the morning. I have known people with attention-deficit problems that can't eat sugar in the morning.

Caffeine's bad stuff.

I've been addicted to it since I was a kid. I'm 21 now.

Maybe try green tea. It could even be sweetened with Stevia if you want to avoid sugar....or you could experiment with natural sugars....likesay, with a heathy all-fruit smoothee in the morning, possibly with an energy/nutrition supplement in it...I have known those to give me alot of energy/focus...and they also keep my blood sugar from dropping before lunch...(which also helps with focus)

I am an ADDer who was never medicated as a child..(i did seek medication temporariily as an adult). In high school, I was a hard-core caffine addict...I am talking 40 oz of coffee every morning.....also in order to do my homework I was on this crazy sleep schedule where I would get up at 5:30 every morning, in order to be the first one at school every day...around 6:30.....because I could not concentrate on my homework at home...and had to do it in the morning before school in the commons area.

During all that time, I drank my coffee black...so the sugar wasn't an issue....

I would not reccomend that your son become a hard-core addict like I was for the same reasons listed by KimJ...but it was a useful tool for me to some extent...i did have a tendancy to "crash" around 3rd period or so....

It is my understanding that ADD meds have the propensity to stunt childrens growth as well...

It makes sense that he would have difficulty adjusting if you just remove him from the Adderall, because there are withdrawl factors to contend with....which might mean alot of lethargy...

Better to ween him off the stuff.

It is a tough call...

Alot of times ADD folk...struggle so much to find the balance that will help us focus...(ok..i am mainly speaking for myself).....i.e.....too many stimulants.....we become lethargic because our adrenal system is so taxed....

I take a supplement for natural adrenal support, and I find that I have more energy when I lay off so many stimulants.
I suggested green tea because it contains l-theanine as well as caffine, and the l-theanine counteracts some of the the negative effects of the stimulant...I even remember somebody somewhere mentioning that they were able to focus really well using a green tea diet supplement....not that I am reccomending this....but since he is already on Adderall, which is a pretty strong amphetamine.....I couldn't imagine that being much worse.

Also....Omegas....is he getting enough of those?.....really really helpful in the long run....

Oh yeah...also....I was on Adderall for a while....and yeah..you can really build up a tolearance to the stuff...I liked it on the short term, because I really felt that I needed something really powerful to help me focus (and still do)....but in the long run...I don't like what it did to my head....over time, it made me worse to such a degree that I no longer take it and have a greater appreciation for the way my mind works without it.

cafeine is sold in drugstore in the form of pills. Positive sides of this is that you have one and only one active ingredient, and you know the exact dosing (one pill is 100mg i think, it's written on the package) so you can monitor the results easily, and you don't mess up with sugar etc.... you should still do your own reasearch, i didn't know about the growth problem that cafeine can induce, according to above poster.... i know i am small and the only one in the whole family, even my 12y.o. son is now taller than me, and i began coffee at around 10..... strange.....

I find that tea and coffee help me, a lot. I haven't been drinking energy drinks, since last October.

I found this on a teenhealthFX website:

"As far as caffeine stunting one's growth, this is a myth. Scientists have had many concerns about this possible side effect, but thus far there has not been any research to support it. It is important to know that caffeine can have many other adverse effects on your health if consumed in higher doses. Caffeine can cause anxiety, headaches, jitters, sleep interference and contribute to some heart problems. This substance is a drug and like most stimulants it can be addictive."

Adderall, Strattera, and Ritalin all contribute to stunted growth in children, and I have been concerned about that. My poor son already is not very tall, and I'm short (5'1") as well, so my genes aren't contributing to his future height either. This is one of the reasons why I am trying to find something other than meds to help him. But he very obviously needs SOMETHING.

coyote, I have been mulling over in my head the possibility of caffeine pills, so thank you for that idea. It definitely would be easier to control the dosage, and it would avoid the sugar that would be unavoidable in caffeinated drinks.

poopylungstuffing, I'm going to look into the supplement for natural adrenal support. Also, I have been wondering about Omega 3's -- maybe taking fish oil tablets or something. I'm going to have to do a lot of research to see what are natural alternatives to meds. My plan is to try things one at a time, and see what works. It's a hard thing to do, because if it doesn't work, then my poor son pays. But that's basically what we are doing with meds, without much success.

Thanks for all of your responses. It's so helpful to hear all about your experiences with the same issue.

Kris

Well, that's weird. We need calcium to grow and to strengthen our bones and we know that caffeine interferes with the absorption of calcium. So, why wouldn't we follow the next step and say that caffeine can stunt your growth? link that talks about caffeine

Caffine doesn't do anything for me. I don't like chocolate or coffee because it just tastes bland for me

I second the idea of caffeine pills rather than cola. I used to drink almost the whole of one of those big 2 litre bottles of cola per day in my last job, (not cos I have ADD type issues, because I was working 12 hour days with no breaks) and I got heavier than I've ever been and ever hope to be again in my life. I seemed to be ill half the time too.

I can't handle caffeine, it makes me jittery, shaky, my hands tremble, I go into overdrive, and then crash horribly. Hate it so much.

Try him on some fish oil anyway - the modern diet massively lacks in Omega 3, and to balance the ratio of omega 3 to 6 as needs to be done for most people these days leaves you feeling a lot more 'with it' and energised. The effect might not be as obvious as drugs, but it'd be good for him anyway and may help him feel a bit more with it. I always feel it if I've not taken any.

Have you tried homoeopathy? I find some of those medicines can be really helpful, they always affect me far better than pharma drugs do and have no side effects.

i don't think caffeine would be a great idea. It's physically addictive, once the dependence starts if your son stops taking caffeine he could experience stomach aches, drowsiness, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and just generally feeling poor.

the other thing is that it does, indirectly, increase dopamine in the brain. your son's adderall does this exact thing and that's what helps ADDers concentrate. asking for an increased dose would be another option that i believe would be better than adding caffeine to the mix but with it comes increased side effects. In my opinion medicating children should be used as a last resort. I've recently been diagnosed with adhd and started medication two weeks ago and low doses help me a bit without changing my personality or making me feel drugged but i definitely don't want to be spending a long time in a drugged state. I use the medication to help me concentrate for schoolwork, and possibly when i get employed if i have difficulty there, but i'm staying off the meds on the weekends (unless i'm studying) and during holidays.

i think you should discuss this with your son, have a good talk about medications, the side effects, other possible treatments, and what he thinks about them. I definitely don't suggest self-medicating though. If you decide to try the caffeine while your doctor is away, let him/her know when they get back so that they don't increase the dosage without knowing that you've added another stimulant to your son's diet.

I love caffeine as a way of making myself more alert but the bad side effect is I believe if I drink to much drinks that contain it I become and anxious wreck.

DAMN! I drink coffee occasionally, and took the three top ADD/HD meds for about a year or two in my mid 40's... I'm only 6'2" and I would have liked to be 7'1" and playing on my college's b-ball team... guess THAT won't ever happen now!


Here's what I would suggest...

Don't get all over wrought about the growth, addiction, and other side effects concerning caffeine.

Start off with small amounts and see if you can notice a difference that is attributable to this addition to his diet.
Try this for a while and then withdraw it to see if there are any changes.
Try some of the various forms of caffeine mentioned here... coffee, drinks, tea, pills.

Be mindful of the amount he is consuming each day, time of day he takes it, diet, stress factors and other distractions during his day.

I would recommend you not upping doses very fast or very much at a time.
Like anything else in our world, caffeine can have negative effects as well as positive.
If he seems to become dependent on it, hopefully you will notice soon enough to back off on his dose or stop it all together.

along with any meds, I believe a person should be working on behavioral changes too.
I'm trying to concentrate on behaviors learned while self-medicating as I deem necessary.

Just because one person's experience with caffeine is wrought with horror stories, doesn't mean yours will be.

My former wife, who is a pediatrician, has told parents before to try the caffeine route when she didn't want to put the kid(s) on the heavy meds right away.

one other thing to consider when thinking about caffeine is the half-life. in healthy adults it's usually about 3-4hrs (i've found this to be pretty accurate, it's about 3hrs for me but i seem to metabolize stimulants pretty quickly) but might be higher for children. you would want to monitor how long your son feels, or shows, the effects so that he's not crashing before school's over, as you've done with his current meds.

you seem to be very concerned (in a good way) and observant about your son's treatment so i'm sure you'll do what's right for him. just be sure to watch for benefits and side effects and go slowly.

That's a good post!

I play around with coffee... low roast... but like the other ADD/HD meds, I couldn't tell you if it really works for me or not... I just don't pay attention to what I'm doing all day... lol... seriously.. I forget to check whether my day has been an especially good one or not and whether or not I took anything that day.

I believe this can be difficult for anyone to figure out because there can be so many variables directing one's day.
Some people... I believe GBollard here on WP (among others) has said his son's behavior changed for the better once they got the correct med for him.

I wish I could either just figure this all out myself, or find a med/drug that could just help me out enough that I can recognize it working and then do the rest of the 'fixing' on my own.

Hope you figure out all this for your kid.