coffee and adhd?

Carrie - posted on 07/24/2009

My 8 year old daughter is also on the Daytrana patch at 10mg.She is ADHD with OCD tendencies, and she also pulls her hair out. Her school starts at 8 am so I try to put the patch on her around 6/6:30 in the morning while she is still sleeping. It doesn't always work as soon as she gets to school and I think alot of that is just excitement to see the other kids. She has a hard time making friends because she is so aggressive. The teachers were saying that after lunch the meds seem to really kick in and then she was still not paying attention then I decided to try something on my own. She needs the patch just to help her out but I cut off a small amount of the patch a;nd then put it on her, she is able to concentrate more at school and not come home like a zombie. The teachers noticed the difference also and like the way she is because I take the small amount off. I also do not give it to her on weekends/vacations. She is supposed to take anxiety meds also, but refuses to swallow pills, so the patch it what we have and I am appreciative of it.

Robin - posted on 07/17/2009

It is the caffiene in it that helps, so if the coffee doesn't go over well you could try tea or soda.

Sabrina - posted on 07/17/2009

My daughter has coffee with the Vanilla creamer.....she likes it and it works! :)

Robyn - posted on 07/16/2009

My sons always loved french vanilla cappucino. You can buy Folgers instant version in the grocery store. My 18 year old has drank coffee since he was 3 because they wouldn't diagnose him until he was 5. Still to this day he drinks a cup of coffee before bed to help him go to sleep- practically knocks him out. All kids differ though, but I know that it has worked well for us as an added help.

Pamela - posted on 07/14/2009

a mountain dew might work too. Does with my son! :)

Sherrie - posted on 07/13/2009

I agree with the statement about coffee calming them down. My 5 year old is very hyper and when I found out that I friend gave him coffee I almost freaked until she told me that it mellowed him down, I tried it myself and was amazed. Plus he loves it too, so its a win-win situation.

DeAnn - posted on 07/13/2009

My son likes flavored coffee, espically the iced coffee from starbucks.

Brenda (Tonks) - posted on 07/08/2009

I wonder if you tried making the coffee and used a flavored cream. They have the Vanilla, Hershey's Chocolate.

Elise - posted on 07/08/2009

thank you for the replies! i always wondered why coffee and chocolate made me sleepy - esp chocolate! i tried making her a cup and she hated it. is there anything anyone uses to make it taste better for her?

Shannon - posted on 07/05/2009

The way to treat a person with ADHD is to give them a stimulus. I know it sounds funny because they are already so active, but it actually calms them down. The reason for this is that the brain in an ADHD person generally has problems with the dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmitters. To put it plainly, the body's natural stimuli system is out of whack and the ADHD person is trying to get the natural response through other means. The coffee, is providing caffeine - a stimulant to help increase the activity in the brain, bringing the deficiency up to a more normal level, thus calming them down. For people whose levels are already normal, excess caffeine causes other side effects. Did that make sense?

Jennifer - posted on 07/05/2009

I give my 5 yr daughter coffee in the morning to help her calm down (doesn't sound right does it! :) she is underweight because she is so active so we haven't been able to put her on meds yet. I make it half coffee half milk with 1 splenda. I don't know the exact medical reasons but I know they say alot of adults who have ADD/ADHD before they knew what it was basically self-medicated with sugar and caffene. I know I did before they put me on meds when I was 28.