Most parents with ADHD children ask this very question and the short answer is ‘no’, at least if we are thinking of psychostimulant drugs which are now household names, such as Vyvanse, Strattera and Ritalin, just to name a few. The shocking fact of the matter is that, according to an editorial in the Archives of Internal Medicine by Dr John Ioannidis of University of Ioannina School of Medicine in Greece, effects from drugs are “neglected, restricted, distorted, and silenced”. He is talking about all types of drugs here, not just those for ADHD. Another disturbing fact about the ‘ ADHD meds without side effects’ debate is that many of them carry the FDA black box warning which is the maximum for any drug, rather similar to those on cigarette packets. Like the smokers, this is not a deterrent for the doctors either, who persist in prescribing these mind altering drugs for children with ADHD.

The second shocking fact is that a very important study has revealed that after 3 years of being prescribed the drugs Ritalin and Concerta, a group of children who were studied and observed, it was found that there was no evidence at all that there was an improvement in their behavior. ADHD meds without side effects perhaps is a pipedream but when they do not produce effective results, you begin to wonder. One of the authors of the report William Pelham is a highly respected ADHD expert but he will not be offered any contracts with the drug companies ! So, they had wasted three years of their lives and their ADHD was not cured at all. In addition, the problems about appetite and weight loss, insomnia had not disappeared but were rather aggravating the situation.

Looking at ADHD homeopathic remedies, the situation changes dramatically. First of all, these remedies are manufactured to the highest possible standards and with the purest ingredients, if you deal with a reputable company. Secondly, there are no side effects and there are no long term health risks either so in this case we can say that ADHD meds without side effects really do exist, provided we use homeopathy. You will be shocked to know that some drug companies actually pay to do research which sets out to discredit the effectiveness of these remedies. However, millions of parents cannot be wrong. If this type of therapy is combined with ADHD behavior therapy, then the chances of your ADHD child growing up to lead a happier and more fulfilled life are much greater, without ever having to worry about ADHD medications with less side effects. Do not miss out on this chance.

I know a boy who was on several ADHD drugs for many years and he told me that he wished he had never taken them. This boy then went off the drugs because he was getting pretty bad migraines and nervous tics. He still had some of the ADHD classic symptoms such as hyperactivity and impulsiveness and felt that he had got himself back. But the ADHD medication side effects had robbed him of a happy adolescence.

Look at the warning labels on any of the well known ADHD drugs such as Adderall, Cylert, Ritalin and Vyvanse and you are most likely to be confronted with warnings about cardiac arrest, psychotic events, psychiatric problems and so on. There may be other warnings on the information sheet that might include loss of appetite, restlessness, irritability, mood swings, insomnia and hallucinations. It is true that any medication is going to have a long list of side effects but the ones caused by ADHD medications seem to be more alarming than most, especially as we are dealing with children’s brains that are developing and will go on developing until they are about 25!

The short term side effects of ADHD medication are listed but what about the long term effects? There is very little data about this which is quite alarming. We know from the warning boxes on these medicines that there could be long term effects on the developing brain but that is as far they go. They will not reveal what these effects are which I find appalling. Just think that Ritalin has been on the market for over forty years and we still do not know what the long term effects are !

Many parents are not really concerned though about ADHD medication side effects and they want a quiet life. They dedicate all their attention to trying to minimize the side effects of these drugs at home instead of thinking of the real behavior problems which the drugs are not going to resolve anyway! They are in for a rude awakening. They make sure that the tablets are given with food so that stomach aches and headaches can be avoided. They have to jump all sorts of hoops to make sure that healthy snacks are provided because of the side effects on appetite. Then they have to invent routines for going to bed to get over the awful insomnia problem. It just goes on and on !

Now if parents were to consider (without any bias) a homeopathic remedy for ADHD, they would learn quite a few things which they did not know about. The effects of these remedies , if combined with ADHD behavioral therapy, are just as effective as ADHD meds and there are no side effects and the health risks are non-existent. Choosing a remedy like this saves you loads of time which you can spend with your child and you need never worry about the awful side effects of ADHD medications which are so alarming.

Have you ever considered the number of ADHD prescription drugs that are available? Many people have heard the more common names like Adderall or Ritalin but you might be astonished when you actually discover that there are several others that have been valuable in the treatment of ADHD symptoms. There are three main types of drugs used in the treatment of ADHD. There is non-stimulants, long acting stimulants, and short or intermediate acting stimulants. Each of these, however, comes partnered with the potential of side effects, a great number of which may be severe.

Let’s start with the more readily used option included in the non-stimulant medications. This is Strattera. This drug as well as others in this category are not used nearly as much as their counterpart, stimulant drugs. Often children suffering with anxiety as well as ADHD will benefit from using Strattera. Another reason some children have been know to take this drug is due to the fact that they cannot tolerate the stimulant drugs because of the side effects or maybe even they plainly do not bring about the desired effect.

The next category is the short or intermediate ADHD prescription drugs. To start with, we’ve got Methylin ER, Dextrostate, Adderall, and Ritalin in this particular category. Due to the amount of time these prescriptions last, they’ve became somewhat outdated. With the long acting variety available, they’ve simply become prescribed less often. This type of drug needs to be taken multiple times a day in order to maintain the desired effects. The upside of some of the more popular short acting drugs like Ritalin and Adderall is you can get them in generic form so they will be less costly.

Our final category of prescription medications for ADHD is the long acting variety. These include Adderal XR, Daytrana, Concerta, and Ritalin LA, to name a few. This particular variety only needs to be ingested once per day because they will typically last for 8 - 12 hours. This is also useful if you’re worried about your children needing to self-medicate while at school.

The biggest reason people are investigating alternative treatments more and more, is the side effects that are connected to ADHD prescription drugs. The risks associated with stimulant drugs includes insomnia, social withdrawal, nausea, headaches, and possibly stomachaches. These are just for starters. Often parents think there children seem completely different while on these drugs. Some complain of children acting like zombies.

This next set of prescriptions are not safe from side effects either. Non stimulant medications like Strattera can cause vomiting, dizziness, mood swings or allergic reactions. If this types of results make you leery, you might wish to look at a natural health remedy.

Perhaps the most frightening things to consider are recent studies that indicate children who take these drugs are a greater risks as adults of developing depression or addiction problems. Of course, we all worry about our children now, while they are young but no parent wants to put their children’s future at risk either. Fortunately there is the option of using a natural remedy. Natural remedies are highly effective as well as free from side effects.

So, there it is in a nutshell. If you are interested in providing your child with safe and successful treatments for the symptoms that go along with ADHD, learn more about alternative remedies for ADHD. The short and long term side effects that were discussed here are more than reason enough. Try researching alternative treatments like homeopathy to treat your child’s ADHD symptoms safely and effectively, rather than risk their health.

Why do you think Ritalin is called ‘kiddies’ coke’? Because it is drug based on a type of amphetamine which is known as methylphenidate. As an amphetamine that means it is a Schedule II controlled substance and is available only on prescription and its use is tightly controlled (in theory). Forgive me if I laugh as we now know that it is widely abused by teenagers and adults. ADHD medicine long term effects have been studiously ignored by the manufacturers. They do admit though this drug can lead to dependency although other studies hotly deny that ADHD children who have been on Ritalin and other drugs have no more probability of ending up as drug users as normal kids. This is just one in a long list of ADHD medication long term effects.

Whatever the truth, I, personally would never give my kids those kinds of drugs. I would look for alternative ADHD treatment or medication and I know that ADHD homeopathic remedies, for example, have none of the above risks. Nor do they have any side effects.

Let us take a closer look at Ritalin. Why do you think the FDA had to issue a warning about this drug and their cousins such as Cylert, Vyvanse and Adderall, to name just a few of these hot money making products? This warning was about hallucinations, violent aggressive behavior, psychotic events and suicidal thoughts. But these are some of the very symptoms of ADHD ! So, some people are prescribing a medicine which over time will produce the very symptoms we are trying to cure. And what about the ADHD medicine long term effects which they have not told us about?

What about heart problems? There are warnings on the boxes of medicine about possible cardiac events in children already predisposed to heart problems. We now know for example that drug users will combine this drug with other drugs such as ecstasy and this puts further strain on the heart. We also know that the number of children on Ritalin or other psychostimulants are 20% more likely to end up in ER or the doctor’s office with cardiac problems such as irregular heart beat and/ or racing heart. There are no conclusive studies about cardiac problems but this would seem to suggest that there could well be implications for heart health as one of the ADHD medication long term effects.

Other ADHD medication long term effects are anorexia and other eating disorders which have been linked to Ritalin, as much as 30%! There also seems to be a tendency towards OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which was noted in the kids who were on these stimulants.

Time to take note and look for alternatives. Behavior modification combined with some form of medication such as a homeopathic cure seems to be the safest road to take. I know parents who were delighted with this choice and their children were able to sail through the ADHD challenge without ever having to worry about ADHD medication long term effects.