Farmacy: Mind Over Medicine
Sitting here I can vividly remember my baby brother confiding in me after he'd been caught spitting out his medication in front the house on his way to bus. "Sometimes I hide the medicine under my tongue then spit it out on the way to the bus. I don't like taking my medication. I don't feel like myself. It makes me feel like a zombie."
He was 10 years old at the time and had been on medication since the age of 5. The diagnosis was ADHD, but I honestly don't remember him having more energy than your average child. What's worse is, most of the medications he was on have since been recalled. Ritalin was the first one. Then he was on Concerta. There were so many other changes along the way, but nothing really changed for the better with his condition. In fact, after being drugged for over 20 years, he's developed other mental conditions.
Then I realized there are many people in my family who were on medication as children and once they were of age, stopped taking the prescribed meds, but switched to street drugs. One family member even told me he tried meth and it made him cry because it gave him the exact feeling he had while taking medication as a kid. It was traumatizing. But how could this be? Well, if he was also on Concerta, that is literally Methylphenidate.
This prompted me to do more research. It turns out, most children and young adults who are on medication have had the same initial feelings - they don't feel like themselves when they take it. There are several reasons for this. For one, most of the mediations have opioids in them. Amphetamine sulphate which is found in most ADHD medications is also a street drug called "Speed". It can lead to euphoria, and it suppresses the appetite, which can lead to weight loss. Used outside the medical context, stimulants can have severe adverse effects. "Lean" is great example of this. Lean is a mix if codeine cough syrup and soda (some add hard candy). So the same codeine that is used in medicines is made from the opium poppy plant just like heroin.
Another fact to consider is, the dosage. One of my babies was diagnosed with ADHD, PTSD, Bipolar Disorder was taking as much as 100 mg of psychotropic meds before the age of 8 years old. I've advocated for her for so many years to the point that now her dosages have been lowered to 15 mg or less of each medication. She's a teen now. Imagine that. How can a small kid take the same amount of sedative as a grown adult? It's unhealthy.
Did I mention that once upon a time this same child was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia? That's a mental disorder that is can't really be seen or diagnosed until 15-18 in girls and later in boys. Consider the fact that you and/or your child(ren) could have been misdiagnosed. That could be why the medication is giving you adverse effects; it 's not meant for you.
Never allow a doctor (or anyone for that matter), to tell you something or prescribe something to you without you doing your own research. Doctors an other health professionals went to school to learn general information about healthcare. They don't know you or your health issues specifically. Always advocate for yourself. After you have researched your diagnosis, your medication, and your dosage, make sure to research NATURAL REMEDIES!
Nature has a cure for everything! Many medications are synthetic forms of the natural cure.
Last week one of the babies in my family came to me asking if she'll always have to take her medication. I was honest with her. I told her that currently she struggles with stabilizing her own mood and staying focused. She can be impulsive and explosive at times. This is something I've seen so many times on our bloodline, but with her I'm fostering some healing. But after she said that I felt obligated to finally find and try some natural remedies. It took me a few days and reading through a couple hundred reviews, but I finally found something great.
1. ADHD - ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active.
This baby was taking Adderal 15 mg and then was switched to Strattera. There are many generic versions of these two so make sure you do your research about what was prescribed. Herbs that are great with reducing symptoms of ADHD are: Ginkgo Biloba, Iron + Zinc + Magnesium, Astragalus Root, Rhodiola Root, Passionflower Leaf, and St John's Wort just to name a few. So I looked for a product that contained most of these.
2. Antidepressant - medications used to treat major depressive disorder, some anxiety disorders, some chronic pain conditions, and to help manage some addictions.
She's also on Fluoxetine which is a generic version of Prozac. Can't forget about Respiridone which is used to treat certain mental/mood disorders (such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, irritability associated with autistic disorder).
So I researched natural mood stabilizers like SAMe, or S-adenosylmethionine, is a coenzyme found naturally in the body that has been extensively researched and shown to reduce symptoms in people with major depressive order. Here's one I'd never heard of; 5-Hydroxytryptophan, also known as oxitriptan, is a naturally occurring amino acid and chemical precursor as well as a metabolic intermediate in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin. We all know Serotonin is "the happy hormone". So after much research I choose Mood Boost from Amazon.
3. Insomnia- insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep. You may still feel tired when you wake up.
My baby is taking Clonidine and Respirdone at night just to get some rest.
Many people in my family suffer from insomnia. I've had the sleep disorder since a small child. I even used to sleep walk and talk in my sleep. I first heard about melatonin maybe 10 years ago. Not sure why I still don't take it. I just stay up most of the night until I fall asleep. Then I still wake up several times during the night and wake up very early, yet I still wonder why I'm not getting enough rest. Don't be like me. Once you find the remedy- USE IT!
There are many herbal teas you can take to fall asleep peacefully and easily. Lavender and Chamomile are great, but Melatonin does wonders as well.
So let me tell you what happened... Long story short - IT WORKS!
One Saturday I gave my baby 2 droppers full of the Mary Ruth's Focus and Attention coupled with 1 mood boost pill. It lasted all day and she felt great! Then I gave her the liquid melatonin (2 droppers full) that night. She fell asleep within 30 minutes. Now we're just taking our time with these making sure they continue to work and she doesn't grow out of the effectiveness. Obviously she'll need to switch from the kids version of Focus and Attention, but it works for now.
Let me know if this article and these natural remedies helped!
***Please note that mixing natural remedies with prescription drugs can cause severe side effects so make sure you're detoxing from the chemicals before you start this method. You can't swap out days. You have to use one or the other.
***Please note that this works for adults, but if you are an adult that hasn't tried to seek mental help you should see a counselor and discuss your options. There may be something mild you can take to stabilize you before you go back to the herbs.