Submitted by LaRoyal on 08/02/2010.
I read somewhere that drinking coffee helps ADHD's concentrate much better. I have seen it work with my ADHD husband... in fact, now, when I have something important to talk about, I wait for the coffee. He isn't on any other medication - we are self-diagnosed at this time.
I haven't seen anything about it on this site- or I'm not looking in the right places.... any opinions?
Don't know if it's been scientifically proven . . .
Submitted by BreadBaker on
. . . but it helped my husband a good deal, if an outside observation is anything to go by. He seemed to be more focused, more calm, and less angry (with himself, with others).
Of course, he may just be a caffeine junkie. ;) I don't have ADD, and I certainly am.
The only time I've read of caffeine as a suggestion for AD/HD
Submitted by Aspen on
was as a suggestion for parents who suspect they have an ADHD child. As a test, they could give the child coffee with no sugar (possibly also no milk , but I still have no idea how you'd get the child to drink it). If the child calmed down, then it is likely that the caffeine is what is counteracting their hyperactivity. I honestly can't even remember where we read it, but when my SIL was at her wits end and suspecting she had 2 ADHD children (she does), my husband mentioned it to her and she tried it and said it absolutely worked.
My husband is not hyperactive, but he has been given stimulants to counteract his inattentive ADD......ritalin and now adderall. Several sources I've read about the process of treating ADD is that once you are on stimulants, you should avoid other stimulants. My understanding is that my husband should cut out caffeine, but he just flat out will not do it. The best we've done is cutting back and he generally works himself back up to where he was before. I believe it is typical as a self-medication behavior, but caffeine does not generally provide enough of the stimulant to really do the ADDer good, besides being generally unhealthy in my opinion & in the opinion of our doctor.
No caffeine
Submitted by callmesusan on
My husband's psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD said, NO CAFFEINE! None. Not even decaf. He said it clogs up the pathways to the prefrontal cortex--the area of executive function. The very same pathways that are opened by ADHD medications. He wanted him off caffeine for a week before he began titrating medication. He said it is a horrible drug, like poison, especially to a person with ADHD.
That was the story we got anyway. We have found some pretty good coffee alternative products that are doing the trick for the morning Joe habit. Before the recent diagnosis, my husband self-medicated his inattentive/low energy ADD with lots of caffeine.