First off, I do not have children. Secondly, if I did, I would never wish upon them A.D.H.D, a disorder that is currently diagnosed in over 4.4 million children in the U.S of which 2.5 million are taking stimulant drugs to curb the symptoms. But if I did have children, and they had A.D.H.D, I would make sure they had every option of treatment available to them, including holistic and integrative therapies.

Tara Parker-Pope of the New York Times writes today on stimulant drugs

⿿The drugs have been life-changing for many children. But nearly one-third experience worrisome side effects, and a 2001 report in The Canadian Medical Association Journal found that for more than 10 percent, the effects could be severe ⿿ including decreased appetite and weight loss, insomnia, abdominal pain and personality changes. Although the drugs are widely viewed as safe, many parents were alarmed when the Food and Drug Administration ordered in 2006 that stimulants like Adderall, Ritalin and Concerta carry warnings of risk for sudden death, heart attacks and hallucinations in some patients.⿿

This I understand because as a child, I was medically diagnosed with A.D.H.D. After undergoing several trials with stimulant drugs, I decided against using them because of these unfortunate side effects. Think Zach Braff in Garden State on and off the drugs. Hyperbole maybe, but you get the idea. Can conventional treatments be useful and powerful, absolutely, but given the knowledge now available, in retrospect I would have explored other avenues for treatments with potentially less side effects

“While some studies of alternative treatments show promise, there is little solid research to guide parents. That is unfortunate, because for some children, prescription drugs aren’t an option.”

The lack of readily available research on alternative treatments is one of the many problems rVita is trying to solve. By aggregating scientific data from trusted sources and pooling or crowdsourcing efficacy data from real people like you and me, we hope to solve this. Also in connecting people to others suffering through similar circumstances we hope to become a better resource for those looking for alternative treatment - not only for ourselves but also our children. Stay tuned!

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