Are caffeine use and ADHD connected?

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I'm fairly certain it's connected. I'm diagnosed with ADHD along with Asperger's Syndrome. I drink a LOT of soda/energy drinks and smoke a pack a day. When I don't get caffeine or cigarettes I'm miserable. Could be addiction added in there though.

I've always liked soda though and I've drank far too much since I was a kid. Hasn't changed. They tried to put me on Ritalin but that made me very hyper as a kid. Who knows.. I suspect I have ADD and not ADHD, or it could just be related to Asperger's Syndrome, but I know most people with Asperger's don't overly consume caffeine or smoke.

Self treating with stimulants seems very reasonable since Ritalin is basically just another stimulant.
 

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Yes, it is supposed to help if you drink caffeine an hour or so before an important test, but in the long run it is harmful. In the long-run it makes you dependent and makes the ADHD worse. It does the same with Asperger's. You should limit your caffeine intake to the times you absolutely need a boost rather than have it regularly. Ritalin and Adderall are different kinds of stimulants than caffeine and that's why they work better for ADHD. Adderall too is prescribed if you have both Asperger's and ADHD. If you live in the U.S. and cannot afford your medicine for Autism disorders you can get it through Social Services but I was told you can't for ADHD unless you have a serious illness too, such as depression. If it's just ADHD I guess your stuck with coffee, diet and exercise to self-cure it.  

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YES! Not the worst form of self medication though. Some take illegal drugs, some smoke, some all of the above.
But, judging that you consume a lot of caffeine as the reason to diagnose ADD is improper. Get a proper diagnosis. You just might have ADD, you might not. The side effects of caffeine mimic some symptoms of ADD.
At any rate, reduce the amount of caffeine you consume. Do the symptoms go away? Or, are they even more pronounced? Consuming that much caffeine is not good for your health! It interferes with your natural sleep rythms. Which make you more sleepy, in turn you drink more coffee. It is an endless cycle.  

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I agree with Amy, but want to add: If you feel that you are functioning well in your own life, don't worry about ADD. Unless you are so disorganized, forgetful, and/or distracted that you feel it is interfering with your goals in life, who cares?  

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I believe they are connected because I stopped drinking caffeine a year and a half ago and my ADD had gotten worse. Therefore, I had to start taking the medication again. It was either that are continue drinking a 2-Liter a day and being overweight. Although, now I find the medication isn't enough anymore, I'm still not drinking coke but I'm consuming more chocholate which has caffiene in it. I really want to get off the medicine, to be able to function without any of it would be nice. Several times, I have thought about taking myself off of it but I worry about my job, I get very bored at work and don't pay attention to anything. Please if you have any advice or new information I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks Natalie  

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Wouldn't caffeine (being a stimulant like Adderal or Ritalin) help treat the ADHD symptoms also? I tend to think that Caffeine would have less harmful results than the prescribed medications, but I am not a doctor.  

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Natalie and all...
thank goodness I found you all. I gave up caffeine for lent, and have gone completely 'wack'. i can't concentrate, i can't sleep, i can't stop my leg from bouncing, and I'm doing BAD in college because I can't keep my mind on what the instructors are saying. I thought i was going nuts, and it's getting worse. There seem to be about six ideas going on in my head, and I can't sort one from the other. Just today i began to wonder if there was a connection between lack of caffeine and my ability to concentrate. it's good that others have had the same 'problem'. I'm going back on the Dr. Pepper to see if it makes any changes, and will let you know.
thanks all. maxi  

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YES
caffEINE nicoTINE dexeDRINE are different ways to spell STIMULANT.
Coworkers note the more coffee I drink the calmer I get & my son sees it as a mood-enhancer for my depression...(ADD and depression being closely linked neurologically)  

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I was diagnosed at 7 as having an Attention Deficit. What I really had was Tourette Syndrome.
Caffein induces anxieties when considering Tourette. That's fine. Because the aspect of ADD is almost 100% rectified by consuming 1 Extra Large Tim Hortons coffee every morning. And when I need a fix, rather than having another coffee, I take Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans. They taste great, are not as hard on my stomach as brewed coffee and provide me easier access to that boost when I need it.  

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I have been diagnosed by a doctor with an anxiety problem. I tried to explain to him that my anxiety is caused by my mind racing or jumping around from one thought to another; but he didn't pay much attention to that. I also have many other symptoms of ADD. I've read that caffeine causes such a disorder. However, I don't drink cola, coffee or tea, and I almost never eat chocalate. I also eat very little sugar. Well, I couldn't sleep last night and I decided to try drinking a can of Dr. Pepper. It seemed counter-intuitive, but I thought I'd try. Well my mind almost immediately cleared up, I could stay on one train of thought, my emotions became much easier to control, and I quickly fell asleep. I thought it might just be in my head. It seemed strange that caffeine would have a calming effect, but I went on the web this morning and found all these other ADD sufferers who have experienced the same thing. Strange thing is, I'll occasionally drink a cola to stay awake on a long drive, and it works. So I have two questions: Is it common for anxiety to accompany ADD? Is there another treatment that doesn't have the longterm side effects of caffeine? Thanks.  

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Having been diagnosed with ADD in 1988 I have been researching it for many years. I worked very closely with students at the college level to help them learn effective studying habits. As you may be aware the correct functionality of the brain requires sequential firing of the proper neurotransmitters. When you are dealing with an ADD brain you require a means to stimulate the neurotransmitters to fire. All caffeine does is act as a stimulant much like commonly prescribed medications. This is not to say mass quantities of caffeine are the answer but ADD is a genetic, inhierited, physiological disorder. You do not "get" ADD from consuming caffeine.  

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I believe caffiene may relieve some symptoms for ADD. I am 44. I started drinking tab and other diet drinks when I was 15. I seemed to be able to concentrate and be successful by consuming diet pop and coffee. I never gave it up. If I don't drink it, I have difficulty concentrating, sleeping and I have mood swings. I actually get confused. I have never mentioned anything about suspicions of ADD to my doctor. My son is 21. He does not use caffiene. He is very intelligent and meets all of the symptoms of ADD. He won't see a doctor and changes jobs alot, disappointments and lets others down. He gets depressed about his failures but just does not carry through with things. I think that we both have ADD. I can keep a successful job, but, I become bored very easily and often change jobs and locations frequently. Most physicians are relunctant to hassle with this, so, many people are reluctant to discuss this with their doctors.  

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While drinking 3-5 bottles of Mountain Dew a day, a friend suggested I might be self-treating ADD. I quit on a Friday night, and tried to do my company's bookkeeping - could not pay attention long enough or even remember the simple steps to balance the checkbook! Got on line and read up on ADD - failed a lot of the diagnosis tests as I seem to be 'highly functioning' (found my own 'coping strategies' over the years) and many of the tests are based on 'failing' due to a 'disorder'. When the tests are based on 'personality traits' I pass them quite well! I exercise frequently and work seasonally outdoors, so I was using Dew to hydrate and to replace sugar, as well as treat ADD. Frequently, when my mind raced in the evening, I would drink a Dew to get to sleep. So I have separated the reasons I 'used' Dew and treat each with an appropriate product. I hydrate with simple water or by adding a product called ElectroBlast, which is comes as a fizzy tablet. I replace sugar with fruit or hard candy or jelly beans when I need a fast boost. I use 1/2 No-Doze (same caffeine as 20 oz. Dew) when I need to concentrate, sleep soundly, do boring tasks, reduce anxiety, stop panic, or manage any of my other ADD 'traits', and I avoid it when I want to be creative and let my mind ramble with fresh ideas, or when I need to sleep lightly for some reason. This is working for me as a system now, but I worry about long term heart effects. Caffeine is said to raise heart level: Does it do this in ADD people or only in 'regular' people? How does that risk compare to side effects and risks of RX meds?  

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Just wanted to give everyone a big KUDOS in reference to all of your intelligent and well thought out thoughts and considerations concerning the association of caffeine as a treatment option for those of us with attention deficit problems(when I was a child I was always in trouble for not paying attention during what I considered to be the boring, mundane and often repetitive teaching practices of my primary education, and spent a great deal of my time daydreaming.) I didn't realize until I was 33, when my youngest son, now 9, was diagnosed at the young age of 3 with ADD/ODD, that I was also classified as having Adult Attention Deficit. I too use caffeine products to assimilate a cloud-free mind. Thanks again and keep up the good work. Geretta  

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I'm excited I found this because it's something I've known for years but haven't been able to prove. I have ADD and a month ago my pop drinking had peaked at 3 Liters a day!! Years ago I took Ritalin and after my first year of high school I stopped taking it and started to drink a lot of pop. I mentioned to my mom several years ago that I thought pop helped me and she thought I was nuts. Now I'm a senior in college and I just started taking Adderall and I've almost completely stopped drinking pop immediately without really even trying! The only time I even go to drink Plus I've lost 10 pounds because of it.
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July 5, 2009:

My son is 7 1/2 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD last year. The doc handed me a prescription and that was it. I believe 110% that my son has ADHD, but I do not believe that medication is the only answer. After agonizing over the decision for days, I decided not to fill that prescription. I couldn't handle medicating my son with such powerful drugs. I had to take medication for my anxiety years ago, and I hated how I felt.
I do not judge any parent who chooses that path for their child. I just knew it wasn't right for him. There have been particularly trying days where I wondered if I made the right decision, but I do believe that I did. Caffeine calms my son down considerably. I found this out quite by accident. I give my kids soda occasionally as a treat if they have been good, and one day it just "clicked" that my son was so much calmer after having just a small glass. Of course, I am not suggesting that a parent take their child off of their medication and use caffeine, but I know that the caffeine does work for my son. Everything in moderation and I only use caffeine if he is out of control. It is a short term solution to a long term problem, but it does work.

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Caffeine is a stimulant. Many stimulants are prescribed to children suffering from ADHD to increase the amount of communication in impulse control in the brain. My son was diagnosed with adhd when he was 5, as a research experiment our doctor asked me to give him diet mountain dew when it was homework time or a specific time that needed the extra concentration. The caffeine helped greatly but for short periods of time. I don't recommend the sugar because that does seem to make it worse and they ultimately crash when finally calmed enough. Now he is almost 9 and we started a new medication. As well a stimulant based metadate CD. unfortunately this medicine works differently in each child and it wears off earlier than expected. The good new is my son does have some facial tics, but they don't seem to progress with his current dose of metadate.


I have had ADHD all my life. When I was around 8 years old my doctor perscribed me Ritalin. I personally had THE worst side effects from it. Side effects that started when I was eight, and having been off the Ritalin for 15 years, I STILL get suffer from them. These side effects include severe insomnia, anorexia (which is actually pretty common), and VERY SEVERE facial tics (rapid eye blinking and a gulping noise in my throat). When I get nervous the tics come back with a vengence. If ANYONE has there child on Ritalin, I urge you to take your child off of it. The side effects will most likely be carried into adulthood.
On the subject of caffeine....well, I have had similar results in terms of it calming me down. Usually if I had a soda or coffee right before bed, I am sacked out within a few minutes. When I was younger, I never realized why caffeine would not stimulate me, but now I have come to an understanding. I have been stupidly getting coffee right before my classes start, and not realizing how tired I become after I drink it. After classes get out, I usually go home and sack out for hours. No one ever believed me before. It's nice to have found a forum that can recognize these effects. I used to tell people that when I suffered from one of my massive insomnia fits, I would drink a liter of Pepsi, and would be out before I knew it. The only reservations I have concerning caffeine, while great for helping me sleep or calm down, consuming caffeine on a daily basis is NOT healthy in any way, shape or form. It can cause serious heart problems and horribly rots your teeth. That's why I almost never drink it. Only when I haven't slept in many days will I then drink some.
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I am thirty something, with a 9 yr old daughter, we both have ADHD. I have tried her on many different medication and have worked very closely with her teachers to moniter her behavior. Nothing really seemed to work well at all. I had read something years ago when my daughter was about 2yrs old, about the effects of giving coffee to a child with ADHD. But she would drink it back then. Now that she is older, she drinks it. Her weekly citizenship grade went from a constant 'C' to a weekly 'B'. The citizenship grade is based on staying seated, speaking at appropriate times, and just doing what she suppost to. She recognizes a difference with herself too. And likes medicating with caffeine better than dealing with any of the side effects the other drugs gave her. I also will medicate with coffee, I will drink it before bed, and sleep like a baby. I first really noticed the caffeine effect about a year ago, when we would all go to Starbuck. After having a Latte, I would feel tired and sluggish. That is when I remembers the article many years ago and began experimenting with the 'caffeine effect.'
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It was then I was put on Ritalin for quite some time (ever since on and off) and either due to comorbidity of other diagnoses or heredity, I've since become an acute alcoholic and drug addict and like many of my peers I know that suffer from Add/ADHD too either due to impulsive, situational depression due to organization and attempted failings at navigation around a more linearly apt minded world have come out without prodding to exclaim they and I most believe that stimulants such as Ritalin and or amphetamines of varying degree have outright contributed to or provided the latter day angst of addiction to said such stimulants in youth.
I urge parents to use extreme caution with these chemicals to treat the symptoms of Attention Deficit in children. That was my first memory of mental shift and change and not that it was comfortable completely having the wind taken out of my sails, but it sure was the first time my brain had an alien catalyst provide norepinephrine and dopamine to enlist an altered state for me. I do find it as I did then a bit dysphoric, but I gradually eat less pills and started to "self medicate" around 8th and 9th grade. That has led to a world of problems for me in later years and I attribute that partially toward stimulants fed to me at the age of 7. As far as drugs go I tend to lean toward downers, drink or opiates in my adulthood.

Parents, stimulants can be dangerous for a developing child's brain. Around that same time I witnesses two separate accidents involving my parents resulting in my fathers paraphernalia and my mothers reconstructive surgery along with an injured younger sister. PTSD or whatever any number of reasons it could have been as a kid, it was hard not to gravitate toward drugs. Comorbidity in at the very least almost always effects children with ADD/ADHD at some level or another including a somewhat anti authoritative status or such. ADHD is a very real thing and will continue to effect a child's affect and personality towards themselves always,its a very trying condition to have, albeit not without some ups in such a paradoxical way. My father considers his paraphernalia his second handicap second to ADHD. Like I said, I'm 28 and still a spaz and remember how I felt growing up feeling different than other children how they seemed to ride a smoother rail and look up from a more legible page navigating around than I and that type of thing will also effect a child while growing up. Learning disabilities don't indicate or mean one is inferior or stupid (sometimes quite the opposite), it just means maybe then may need more time to work on things at school or try alternative healthy ways to calm down after recess and acclimate toward class. I do however "calm" when given a stimulant and both my Father and I drink coffee or tea to relax at night, before his diagnosis in adult hood pots of coffee, but it always doesn't make a pill or cup a straight cure for the problem. Treating the symptom and not the disorder doesn't always suffice. Thank you all for your time and try more of a combined effect if possible, I know, trust me! It's a gift and a curse both at once, but I find most of us afflicted quite enjoyable and engaging most often. Don't let your kids feel internally alienated or in fact slow on the uptake and different, just love em as I'm sure you do and explore and try a multitude of things and if all else fails caffeinated the lil critters and send em off to school (just joking), just use caution with the pharmaceuticals, I wouldn't wish chemical dependence on least favorite soul. excuse any spelling errors please, jc
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Another voice from someone for whom caffeine has a total knock-out effect. It's better than Ambien. Whether that's a function of having ADHD or the fact that I've been taking my Adderall prescription for almost ten years is an interesting question, but it seems to me that the anecdotal evidence strongly supports a connection between caffeine and fatigue for one or the other.

I was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD when I was four years old. Since I was about eleven, I have been self-medicating with caffeine. I am 22 now, and I was recently diagnosed with fibrocystic breast disorder, a disorder which can be caused by consuming large quantities of caffeine.

This disease does not just affect women, and I can tell you first hand that it can get extremely painful. It was definitely caused by the daily doses of caffeine I exposed myself over the course of nearly twelve years.

Just because a chemical is easily accessible without a prescription, does not change the fact that it is a drug, and it does not guarantee a lack of side effects - especially when consumed on a regular basis over a long period of time.

I am not saying that your child is going to get cysts, or stunted growth, or a heart condition, or anything like that. I am just saying that, as with all things, moderation is the key. Never try to medicate - especially a child who is in the midst of rapid development - without first consulting a doctor.
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I have a 4 year old son that has begun to have serious behavioral issues in preschool. He is a loving, playful and overall respectful 4 year old, but over the last several months has had significant increases in outbursts, hitting, biting and tantrums in class. The teachers and I have worked very closely on his environment and after all was said and done we decided it was time to seek outside help. Hyperactivity, listlessness and extreme fidgeting were the major "classifiers" of his behavior and several Dr's evaluated him and all indicators pointed to ADHD. My reluctance to medicate lead me to alot of food management solutions. By serious cutbacks in processed sugars, dairy products and the introduction of 3 doses of 40mg. of caffeine per day (in the form of a fruit and black tea smoothie) we have eliminated our "incidents". He is participating at longer lengths with other children, sitting for project time and going for 10-15 minutes strong during self play centers. Teachers are amazed and frankly so am I. The best thing is even at 4 years old, my son even notices and asks for his "food medicine" on his own.
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I can't really answer in a scientific manner, but being a seventeen year-old who has had ADHD all his life, I can say from personal experience that caffeine doesn't have the same effect on me it does on most people. Instead of making me more active and stimulated, it actually has more of a "calm-down" effect; I actually drink a caffeinated drink like tea or coffee before I go to bed or before I take a test because I find it helps me to relax. Scientifically, I can't explain this, but trust me -- it works.
Parenthetically, Ritalin seems to work in a similar manner; If you've ever seen someone who doesn't have ADD/ADHD take it, it's not pretty; they get jittery and hyper, because it's essentially a stimulant that hyperactive people respond to differently.
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I have heard similar second-hand anecdotes(!) of children with attention deficit problems (as opined by teachers/parents) who get relief and are able to focus better after drinking caffeine. I wonder if this doesn't recommend a strategy for improving kids' performance in school: Hold off on the new drugs for a while. Start your kid on a cup of hot joe in the morning! Sure sounds nice and natural to me.
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I have to agree with DT that it was always a calming thing for me even now at 24 I still deal with adhd and caffeine still helps with other things don't.
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Caffeine works by disallowing calming chemicals to attach to neurons. It does not stimulate the central nervous symptom.
Thus, caffeine denies mental relaxation, and does nothing to increase attentiveness or focus.
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While it's true that caffeine disallows Adenosine connection in your body (which allows it to relax), it also stimulates the production of adrenaline and dopamine. Common ADD medications work by stimulating the production of dopamine. Note that the calming, focusing affects of dopamine production in ADD sufferers is counteracted somewhat by the adrenaline production and adenosine blocking of caffeine, so you've got opposing forces working at the same time. But it is possible for caffeine to have a "calming" affect in this manner.
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Having lived with ADHD all my life (now at 34 years) I can tell you that caffeine definitely "slows" me down. I have anecdotal evidence from ADD acquaintances over the years confirming my own results. If I want to sleep, a big cup of tea or coffee at night is all it takes. Should we try this on children? Careful and intelligent experimentation (in consultation with a doc) could keep a youngster off Ritalin and thus avoid some of the recent stigmatize associated with the over-medication of America's youth while affordable and simply calming an out of control child. Please be careful though, my own mother avoided all meds on me and I was bouncing off walls, but on the other hand I was able to explore my creativity which has helped me as an adult. My two cents
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I am 42 years old. I was started on Dexedrine when I was 12 and was on it for 24 years. I then switched to Cylert for 6 years. These drugs got me through Electrical Engineering school. Without the drugs, I would be digging ditches for a living. I was failing grade school. With the drugs, I aced school and enjoyed it. But I had to get off the drugs last year (Cylert was making me dizzy, I thought). After 30 years of the drugs "helping me", I was very afraid. I was worried if I could keep my job. I believe the combination of being on the Atkins diet and 2 cups of coffee (one in the morning and one at NOON) has keep my ADHD in check.
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In reference to the statement "caffeine does nothing for attentional deficit". This is NOT accurate information. Research has proven that caffeine is an effective stimulant for managing the symptoms of ADD/ADHD in adults and children. Caffeine assists the brain to focus and stay on task. Many children that struggle with inattentiveness can be helped by a small amount of caffeine. Research is also showing that many adults that state "I just can't get moving without my morning coffee", actually have undiagnosed ADD and are self-medicating very effectively with the all natural stimulant of caffeine. Also, new research has shown that 2 ounces of caffeine every hour (less for children, of course) is very effective in sustaining long term attention and avoids afternoon brain fog. It is said to be more effective than drinking a mammoth cup in the morning, as large amounts of caffeine cause blood sugar levels to rise, adding to fatigue and brain fog. Protein is also helpful for ADD/ADHD.
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I have a 6 year old son with ADHD. He has been medicated for about 6 months now. We started with Adderall XR, it seemed to help for the first week or two and then we started noticing short intervals of uncontrollable hyperactivity appearing again, and with in another 2 weeks it was like it was before the meds. Now we are trying Strattera. Knock on wood, we have been on this for 5 months and it helps. He is starting to have a more uncontrolled hyperactivity again and upon the advice of my boss, who is a mother of an ADHD boy, I have just today started to research the idea of a cup of coffee in the morning for him. I came across this website and out of ALL the ones I have visited this has helped the most. Thank you to all the people affected by ADHD posting their experience and opinions about caffeine VS ADHD. I have just given my son a very small cup of coffee so we will see what happens.
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It's funny, I was just recently diagnosed with ADHD in my early 20's. In college I never used caffeine to try to stay up and study. The few times I did take large doses of caffeine, I fell asleep. On two occasions I took 6 caffeine pills (I'm not big on moderation), and another time I had two triple espressos. Each time I did so to try to stay up, and each time I was in bed within two hours. I remember telling people that once, and I got so much flack from them (That's impossible, you're clearly exaggerating), so I stopped telling people. In retrospect, that was a clear sign that I was ADHD. Just like everyone else here, caffeine (all stimulants) seem to do very little for me (other than calming me down). Meanwhile, sedatives kick my rear. I take sleeping pills because my ADHD meds can make it difficult to sleep, but I have to take half or a quarter or a pill (always on the lowest dosage possible for the medication) if I want any chance of being awake and functional before evening the next day. Anyone else with ADHD find they have a similar reaction?
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I am 43 years old and have had ADHD all my life. It's cut a path of destruction through my ENTIRE life - it's compounded a great deal of emotional problems and kept me from my full potential. I'm similar to the previous guy who said he'd "never have made it through" college without meds - neither have I. I've tested to an IQ of 121 and all of my friends are that or smarter than me - but I've never been able to stick with anything for more than 5 minutes or maybe a few years. Caffeine makes me feel "stupid", calm in other words, and I'm currently experimenting with caffeine pills - I'll go see a shrink and possibly try the meds - but in the past I found some of the stimulants to make me feel like I wanted to grind my teeth out of my head. DO NOT avoid addressing ADD or ADHD and consider caffeine or meds, don't be me - a 43 year old guy who had the potential to be happily married (to a guy) with a great job and family ... but instead my emotional problems compounded with ADHD have left me years behind.
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I am still a child myself, however I am fourteen years old and have been diagnosed with ADHD. For the last seven years I have been on Adderall XR, and I too noticed short intervals of uncontrollable hyperactivity. I then upped my dosage of Adderall from 15mg to 25mg which periodically stopped my outbreaks. However I also have found that my medicine has caused emotional problems for me such as, not being able to control my anger, or not being able to openly share how I felt with anyone. I don't much care for coffee, but I love Coca-Cola so everyday on top of my medicine I have a few cans of pop when needed. When I start to feel jittery I just pop open another can. This, I would have to say has been the most effective way of calming my nerves and works almost immediately. Though I have noticed that I now have a dependency on caffeine and must have my pop or I become worse than I ever am. I hope I could help you and your son.

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I am 30 years old and only recently diagnosed with ADHD. I never thought of myself as hyperactive, but after starting medication, I realize that I was extremely jittery, fidgety, and "revved up" my whole life. Caffeine helps me to wake up and get going in the morning, but it also makes me calmer, does not keep me awake at night, and helps me to focus. Sounds a little confusing, but it gives me exactly the same effect as Adderall, just way milder. Caffeine definitely helps, but would not solve the problem all by itself, unless someone had rather mild ADHD. I wouldn't recommend drinking gallons of soda pop, as it has a lot of harmful effects. Coffee or strong tea would be better. As an adult, I'm not worried, but I don't know how caffeine effects growing children.
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I am a 36 year old mother of 3. The kids are now ages 15, 13, and 10. When my son (the 13 year old) was in 1st grade he was very out of control. The school suggested a Doctor who "specialized" in determining whether a child was ADD/ADHD or Bi-Polar. Apparently the symptoms are similar. After much testing the Doctor told us that our son had the most severe case of ADHD he had ever seen. My husband and myself were tested to see which parent he inherited it from. The results were that Both myself and my husband have ADD. So the girls were tested and they also have ADD. My son's hyperactivity effectively led to the whole family being diagnosed. We tried Adderal for my son at age 6. This drug made my son loose his appetite. He was a walking skeleton. We tried Concerta when he was 8. This drug induced night terrors Not to mention all the appetite suppressant of Adderal. (Night terrors are a sleepwalking nightmare.) After taking him off Concerta, his night terrors vanished. My oldest daughter also tried Concerta. She began seeing things while awake. Imagine trying to calm a 10 year old girl because she saw dead bodies walking around her classroom!! I myself tried the drug Concerta. It threw me into severe depression. I did not want to get out of bed in the morning. I laid in bed and cried. My husband had enough of his family falling apart. We weaned ourselves off the drugs. We now us Caffeine to help us focus. It really helps chase off the "fog" for myself, the girls, and my husband. And our son says that it helps him relax, the fidgets, and jitters go away and he can focus in class. My two cents worth? Don't give your children these dangerous drugs unless they are a danger to others and you have exhausted all other forms of treatment. There are several other things you can do besides give your kids drugs. Help them stay organized, talk about things the school can do to help, Get Family counseling, Talk about anger management, Cognitive therapy to give them skills to deal with there symptoms. Keep an open, honest, daily dialog going with your kids. You will be surprised, the kids will think of things to try to help themselves. If your kids are simply a wiggle worm that can't focus. Try Coffee. Coffee will not give them hallucinations and it won't slow down their appetite, long term effects of caffeine seem like so much less of a problem then stunting a kids growth cause they won't eat or driving them crazy with seeing things. Most of all hang in there. I have been through hell and back. I know how tough it is. Fight for your kids rights. Don't let the doctors drug them cause it is an easy fix for them. Just my experience. Thanks.

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I have had ADHD my whole life. It has been very difficult. The more independent responsibilities I had the more challenging things became. School-what a nightmare. I've often thought of medication. Primarily because this has been a lifelong problem and I often wonder if I could have spared myself a lot of pain. And believe me---it is painful to have parents call you lazy your entire life, to run around in a haze losing things like it is second nature, and have your mind running on a different circuitry (spelling?) than other people have. As a special ed. teacher, I have had the opportunity to instruct students who share the same issues I've had, Preschool-High School level. The medications, even when the work, have significant issues. One- when you start a medication at a young age, you never really learn the educational/social/behavioral coping skills you need to live with Attention Deficit Disorder. As bad as it is-and frustratingly so- you do learn how to compensate. When you take medication- you mask this, and a lot of my students have had trouble coping without the drugs. Two-Side effects. There are many and some scary, especially with the new non-stimulant kind. I have been a big lover of caffeine for years. Sleeping during all night caffeine binges, also. I used to even drink Jolt soda (these were the days before Red Bull) and go straight to sleep. I thought-Gosh that is really weird. No one believed me either. However, it was a real indication of how strong the chemistry of ADD/ADHD is. I have stopped caffeine while I was pregnant. I missed my clarity of mind. It isn't even this addicted state or anything although during college I drank a whole lot of caffeine. It changes my processing ability. I truly believe it because I live it everyday.
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Its amazing the similarities I have been reading about the caffeine connection. Today is 18 Nov 2008 and last night I made a comment about how coffee doesnt work on me after my wife had made a comment about how she had to drink some to wake up after a nap that afternoon. We were in a group of friends and one of them said that it makes sense that coffee didnt affect me because I was such a hyper guy. I'm 36 and and have always dealt with my inability to sit still for long. My coworkers call me Ringo because Im always tapping on stuff LOL. I do remember the DRs as a kid telling my mom to put me on meds to slow me down. Thank God she didnt. She would point to the door and say "go play until your tired". I grew up on a farm in TX so there was plenty to do. I was always in trouble in school and probably would have failed every class but I had an uncanny ability to grasp things quickly so when I wouldn't do homework I just relied on acing tests and quizes to pass the classes. My mother always coached me on forcing myself to focus on the task at hand and get through the school day. I graduated HS no problem and joined the NAVY and was introduced to coffee and cigarettes and have always assumed I just had alot of energy but it makes sense after reading all these testimonials. I never would have made it through 2 years of electronics without the coffee even though I didnt realize the good it was doing me. Im still in the military and after 18 years Im 100% addicted to caffeine and get huge headaches if I don't have any. I did quit smoking tho. Thanks for the insight everyone.
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I decided just today to give my 11 year old son some Mountain Dew to see if it would help him focus on his multiplication tables. Oh my gosh what a difference. So I'll continue to look into the healthiest ways to give him small amounts of caffeine.
In the meantime, I just want to put in a pitch for homeschooling, which for us is a godsend. My son was extremely unhappy at school because he found it excruciatingly boring. But now that he's homeschooled, he is the most cheerful - and grateful - kid. His generous, funny and light-hearted spirit are with him every day. I have an acquaintance with a 14 year old who is very similar to my son, but who is in school, and their family is in a dark crisis - employing psychiatrists, ADD specialists, anger management specialists, hypnotists, dieticians...I want to tell her that she doesn't have to be slamming her head against the wall like this, that she can simply step two steps to the right, and there's a door! When something is toxic for a kid, eliminate it! My son has reams of friends, and he's even allowed to participate in any of the school activities, so he has the best of both worlds. My son is not hyper, so that probably makes it easier, but I highly recommend you get 10 books out on homeschooling and read them first before you cast it off. All the best to you!
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Hello everybody. I'm 25 years old and a soldier in the US Army...Shockingly enough, I have ADD...And shockingly enough I'm discovering that caffeine is probably the safest alternative that I have to taking medication. I've heard all kinds of bad side effects that go along with taking adderall, Ritalin, vyvanse, and any number of other medications. I took about eight cups of coffee today and found that the previous stupor I've been in for the past six months is gone (I just came from Iraq, had some nasty PTSD, but still couldn't figure out WHY I had so many problems with focus and memory). I realized that caffeine is probably what I've been missing. However, insteady of having coffee or mountain dew, I'm thinking an even better alternative might be buying caffeine pills. Mostly because I'm highly picky about physical appearance, and one of the nasty side effects from coffee and carbonated drinks is what they do to your teeth. I'm definitely going to look into getting some stackers or something of that nature, but I figured I'd put my two cents worth into the discussion just so that others might see the validity of it. Caffeine really, REALLY helps. The source of caffeine though needs to be something better like pills though I'd say. :D Alright, I'm through.
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I am a 24 year old male and I have ADHD. I use to find it very difficult as a child to stay focused and I use to think I was stupid and always be embarrassed that all the other kids would get great grades and knew what the teachers were talking about. I then started acting out in school to "cover up" my embarrassment by yelling out playing video games in class, talking back to my teacher, sleeping in school simply being rebellious. Yet at the same time very friendly with all the teachers and was always told I had great potential. I did not know at the time that I had ADHD until I was 17 I went online looking up mental disorders because I thought I had Bi-Polari Depression because I was also depressed by the age 15 then I went to a therapist to get help for bi-polar and he told me I had ADHD, Social Anxiety and Depression. I do remember drinking coffee and feeling very tired afterwards but didn't realize what was going on at the time. At 18 I started smoking witch seems to help keep me calm at times, not sure if it's the cigarette or not. I hope this, very confusing paragraph help someone out in some way.

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I was diagnosed with ADHD in the summer of last year. I ignored the diagnosis until I started to have issues at work. Ultimately my inability to quickly deal with ADHD at work led to me losing, or giving up, my job and start working for myself. Although it was unfair for my employer to deny me enough time or resources to deal with this issue in the workplace, it was also my fault for not paying attention to the diagnosis and not seriously focusing (haha) on researching solutions. Realistically though, it is difficult for someone to find a solution to ADHD within a few months - many people struggle with different medications and treatments for several years, if not decades. I had a negative response to Ritalin. Besides the reported long term side effects, I experienced the very strong come-down effect and the associated anxiety or emotional roller coaster. I have found that white noise helps, and recently I am noticing that dark chocolate, of all things, does actually give me more focus. I thought I just liked dark chocolate because of the taste - but in fact after having it I feel more calm and focused, and am able to think clearly and work consistently for at least two hours without needing any medicine.





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All of you people who are shoving caffeine down the throat of your children need a visit from social services. If you don't think it's bad for your CHILD you should read this:

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Caffiene

I understand adults, or anyone over sixteen making the decision to take caffeine to help with the stress of ADHD, but feeding it to a four year old, or nine year old? You say you don't want to give your children drugs, can't stand the idea...and yet you feed them one of the most addictive drugs out there. It's disgusting, and stupid. Not too mention, 100 mg to 200 mg is the proper dose for a 12 year old, or OLDER. I read one post where they give 40mg, was it three times a day, to a four year old!?!? Are you insane? This is disgusting.


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To the person above me......Seriously? Social services? Judgmental much? Have you read some of the potential side effects of the very powerful drugs that doctors are prescribing for children with ADHD and ADD? I don't judge anyone who chooses to medicate their child, but caffeine is very mild in comparison. Maybe I missed it but I haven't seen ANYONE suggest that a parent give their child nothing but caffeine all day long. Give me a break!


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I'm a 16 y.o. male that was diagnosed with ADHD when i was 8 i think it was. my mother didn't believe the psychologist though so she didn't give me any meds. i had to struggle through until 6th grade. my grades were being jeapordized because i could not concentrate on any of the work that was being given to me. finally after she realized i wasn't at my full potential she agreed to get me the medicine. at first the doctor put me on adderal and i had side effects of dry-mouth, headaches and having trouble going to sleep at the end of the day but after about a week or so of taking the medicine i was able to get to sleep. dry-mouth was easy enough to fix all i had to do was drink water often. the headaches, although often, were not severe. when i was in 8th grade i was switched to vyvanse which is a newer "upgrade" to adderal and the side effects are almost non-existent. i have headaches still but they are less frequent and even less severe. I'm a junior now and at the beginning of the year i decided i wanted to try school without my meds. i was able to force myself to stay quiet but i couldn't concentrate. I'm in pre-cal and calculus so my grade plummeted. i was only able to stay off of my medicine for a short time for fear of permanently ruining my future. during the time i was off of my medicine i would drink monsters for the caffeine. it helped but on a scale of 1-10 it was about a 4. on the other hand my medicine on a scale of 1-10 is a 10 all the way across. recently i took an IQ test and got a 50 which is almost genius. that was off of my medicine. on my medicine i made a 70. which is genius. Albert Einstein is believed to have had an IQ of 160. just for comparison.



TO THE MOTHER AT THE TOP OF ANSWER:

As a child with ADHD I know from experience that I have horrible anxiety and can't sit still. I'm very smart and am in a gifted program and classes in school. My teachers can tell when I don't have my medicine and they immdiately call home and tell my parents. And if your son is anything like me then put him back on the medication and never give him caffeine. caffeine is NOT a stimulant and just makes your ADHD worse or can even work against medication. And if you feel that you don't want your son taking a stimulant like many ADHD medications like adderall or vyvanse, you can talk to your doctor about straterra which is not a stimulant and is easier to have replenished. Putting your child on medication is your decision but I highly suggest that you DO medicate him.

No, I have ADHD and I was born with this. Caffine or soda intake has nothing to do with a hormonal imbalance. You are just born that way, it doesn't go away either, you just learn how to deal with it. Doctors say you grow out of ADD/ADHD I say you grow into it.