Neurofeedback as an ADHD treatment?

[SASM]

Hello all,

I am just curious if anyone has experience with neurofeedback as a non-medication treatment for ADHD. This topic hasn't been addressed on here in a while...hoping for more input. I just met with a PhD who said that 75% of people have success with meds and 75% of people have success with neurofeedback. Interesting. We haven't had the greatest luck with medications for DS...and his psychiatrist (not many in our area) doesn't seem to want to change his medication. Thinking of possibly trying the non-med route. The out-of-pocket expense is kind of off-putting but it sounds very intriguing.

[gatorsmom]

Hello all,

I am just curious if anyone has experience with neurofeedback as a non-medication treatment for ADHD. This topic hasn't been addressed on here in a while...hoping for more input. I just met with a PhD who said that 75% of people have success with meds and 75% of people have success with neurofeedback. Interesting. We haven't had the greatest luck with medications for DS...and his psychiatrist (not many in our area) doesn't seem to want to change his medication. Thinking of possibly trying the non-med route. The out-of-pocket expense is kind of off-putting but it sounds very intriguing.

I have no experience with neurofeedback but what medicines have you tried? We tried 7-8 different ones before we found one that was a decent fit. It's not perfect but it had the least objectionable side effects. Our pediatrician wanted to stop trying but I insisted that if there was a med we hadn't tried, I wanted to try it. I wasn't will to accept a med that either gave him terrible stomachaches, caused him to fall asleep, or gave him fits of rage.

Have you considered getting genetic testing done to find a better fit?

[bisous]

Hello all,

I am just curious if anyone has experience with neurofeedback as a non-medication treatment for ADHD. This topic hasn't been addressed on here in a while...hoping for more input. I just met with a PhD who said that 75% of people have success with meds and 75% of people have success with neurofeedback. Interesting. We haven't had the greatest luck with medications for DS...and his psychiatrist (not many in our area) doesn't seem to want to change his medication. Thinking of possibly trying the non-med route. The out-of-pocket expense is kind of off-putting but it sounds very intriguing.

Hi. If you haven't checked them out, check out the podcasts from ADDitude magazine. They're SO informative. All the research that I've done has indicated that neurofeedback is not very effective or loses its effects very quickly. What Lisa (Gatorsmom) said is very apt. For ADHD medication is the gold standard but it is really, really hard to predict which medication and what dosage will be effective. This particular webinar (or podcast if you choose to just listen):

http://www.additudemag.com/RCLP/sub/11889.html

was VERY informative and helpful and I highly recommend listening to it. According to Dr. Dodson, medication is not just effective but highly effective for 80% of ADHD patients. That's a super high percentage BUT it also means that 20% of patients are not helped by meds. He definitely recommends trying at least the two main types of meds--the ritalin type and the Adderall type (I'd have to research which ones fall under which category) and as far as dosage it is impossible to predict.

If I were you I wouldn't put much stock into what the PhD who is recommending neurofeedback says (based on my research) and I would absolutely insist on trying a different kind of medication. If your current psychiatrist does not comply, I know you said it is difficult to find one but I'd look for one. Kids who are properly medicated receive tremendous benefits.

[lalasmama]

Hi. If you haven't checked them out, check out the podcasts from ADDitude magazine. They're SO informative. All the research that I've done has indicated that neurofeedback is not very effective or loses its effects very quickly. What Lisa (Gatorsmom) said is very apt. For ADHD medication is the gold standard but it is really, really hard to predict which medication and what dosage will be effective. This particular webinar (or podcast if you choose to just listen):

http://www.additudemag.com/RCLP/sub/11889.html

was VERY informative and helpful and I highly recommend listening to it. According to Dr. Dodson, medication is not just effective but highly effective for 80% of ADHD patients. That's a super high percentage BUT it also means that 20% of patients are not helped by meds. He definitely recommends trying at least the two main types of meds--the ritalin type and the Adderall type (I'd have to research which ones fall under which category) and as far as dosage it is impossible to predict.


Stimulant:
Methylphenidate: Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate
Dextroamphetamine Salts: Adderal, Vyvanse

Non-stimulant:
Strattera

Just went to a really interesting ADHD "update" presentation put on by a local pediatrician that does ADHD testing. I think what surprised me the most with the presentation, especially while discussing the medications, is that it's a paltry number that respond to Strattera, but the stimulants are usually more helpful. Unfortunately, I can't grab the numbers right now. I'm home with a tear in my elbow, so I'm not supposed to be typing much at all. (I'm a bad patient.) I'll try to remember to come back to this when I can write more!

[bisous]

Stimulant:
Methylphenidate: Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate
Dextroamphetamine Salts: Adderal, Vyvanse

Non-stimulant:
Strattera

Just went to a really interesting ADHD "update" presentation put on by a local pediatrician that does ADHD testing. I think what surprised me the most with the presentation, especially while discussing the medications, is that it's a paltry number that respond to Strattera, but the stimulants are usually more helpful. Unfortunately, I can't grab the numbers right now. I'm home with a tear in my elbow, so I'm not supposed to be typing much at all. (I'm a bad patient.) I'll try to remember to come back to this when I can write more!

Yes, those are the ones. Thank you! The podcast discusses some older classes of meds and also how kids that don't respond to any meds at all might actually respond to....are you ready for this? Methamphetamine. Yes. Like the street drug. He says he doesn't know a single psychiatrist that will prescribe it now but I still thought it was fascinating!

[gatorsmom]

Stimulant:
Methylphenidate: Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate
Dextroamphetamine Salts: Adderal, Vyvanse

Non-stimulant:
Strattera



Another non stimulant we tried was Guanfacine aka Tenex. It wasn't a great fit for DS3. Unfortunately it made him very sleepy at the lowest dosage. He was very sensitive to it so we had to stop. Another that we tried was Focalin which is a stimulant (a type of methylphenidate). That didn't work for us either. Ds3 would go into terrible rages where he couldn't calm down. But the Concerta works well for him (with some side effects) which is what he's been using for the past year.

[lalasmama]

Another non stimulant we tried was Guanfacine aka Tenex. It wasn't a great fit for DS3. Unfortunately it made him very sleepy at the lowest dosage. He was very sensitive to it so we had to stop. Another that we tried was Focalin which is a stimulant (a type of methylphenidate). That didn't work for us either. Ds3 would go into terrible rages where he couldn't calm down. But the Concerta works well for him (with some side effects) which is what he's been using for the past year.

Tenex is a hypotensive. Essentially, it's used to try to "tire" the child, as it did with your son. As with Strattera, works for some, but not most, kids with ADHD. It doesn't do anything to affect the actual area of the brain that needs to be awakened for ADHD.

I got the informational form out from the lecture the other day. 40-50% will respond well to either stimulant. 20-30% will do much better with amephetamines, and 10-15% will do significantly better with methylphenidates.

It was a great lecture. Essentially started explaining the changes in ADHD that have been discovered in the last 20-30 years. One of the major changes is that we used to believe stimulants had a paradoxical effect on the brain with ADHD. However, with newer imaging and testing, they have discovered that the part of the brain that controls many things (activities to be persued/suppressed, how hard to work, suppressing impulses that would interfere with chosen activities) is actually in a "sleeping" state in a person with ADHD, and the stimulant medication wakes up that specific area of the brain.

Concerta worked well for our DD for several years. However, we switched her to Adderall maybe 3 years ago now, and it was a fairly amazing change. Stick with it--it's not uncommon to need to try several medications (3-6!) to find the right one.

[trcy]

We tried the two types of stimulants. Both were awful...horrible rages. Intuniv has been the best fit. DD has the hyperactive type, not inattentive. I wonder how stimulants are, in general, for her type of ADHD.
OP, sorry, no experience with neurofeedback.


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