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So here’s my two cents on all this. First off I have just recently been diagnosed with ADHD (about 2-3 months ago). Also I am currently in nursing school studying to be an RN.
As far as addieup is concerned, I haven’t tried it and as others have pointed out, there doesn’t seem to be any independent info on the product out there. I can say though that people should be careful with herbal products, regardless of if they are alternatives to ADHD meds or any other use. Because herbal products are listed as dietary supplements in the US they are not strictly regulated, their claims don’t have to be approved (and aren’t), and they don’t go through any kind of rigorous screening/trial process like the traditional prescription pharmaceuticals. This is not to say that herbals are necessarily dangerous or don’t work, but both of these possibilities are more likely with herbals than with FDA approved drugs. Also, people often make the mistake of assuming herbals are better because they are “natural” alternatives. Unfortunately this is a very successful marketing ploy. Just because a substance is natural does not mean it is safe. In fact, nature is full of many natural substances that can harm and even kill you. Furthermore, because herbal products are not regulated by the FDA you often have problems with consistency of the product because the production process is not standardized. Another pervasive problem with the herbal supplements are the other ingredients that find their way into them. Things that have been known to cause adverse health effects yet are still found in numerous products, sometimes as secondary or even unintentional ingredients, sometimes as the main herb they are suggesting you take. Just a few examples would include aconite, bitter orange, chaparral, colloidal silver, coltsfoot, comfrey, country mallow, germanium, greater celandine, kava, lobelia, and yohimbe. These are a dozen listed in a consumer reports story that have been independently linked to serious adverse effects and are yet found in numerous herbal supplements. Of the more than 54,000 dietary supplement products in the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, close to 12 percent have been linked to safety concerns or problems with product quality. Many raw ingredients used in herbal supplements are supplied by China, well known for having poor controls and exporting contaminated products.
For instance, Hoodia is a current popular herbal appetite suppressant but the demand far outstrips the supply. In fact, the amount of hoodia sold in the US alone is far above the production capacity of the region where hoodia is grown. As a result there are many suppliers out there producing product they label and sell as Hoodia that independent testing laboratories have shown to either contain a fraction of the hoodia claimed or to contain no hoodia at all.
Also, St. John’s Wort is another example. It has been widely shown to be a natural alternative to prescription anti-depressant medication. Unfortunately, again, because they are not tightly regulated, the amount of St. John’s wort can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, even if they claim to contain the same amount of the herb. In fact, studies have shown that the amount of herb contained in any individual pill from the same bottle can contain significantly different levels of the herb. Obviously this can lead to issues for something like an antidepressant which has to be built up in the system over weeks or even months not to mention the possible side effects of unintentional overdosing.
All of that being said, I’m not saying herbs are not a viable alternative in some cases, just make sure you know what you’re getting into. If you’re concerned about taking Adderall because of it’s lack of long-term clinical studies, why would you want to take an herbal supplement that doesn’t even have short-term clinical studies? That’s my ultimate concern for these herbal products. People take them as a safer alternative but there is no proof that they are safer, in fact, there is no proof that they even work. If they do work, there certainly isn’t any evidence of what type of effects they might have on the body short or long term. They’re not safer, just less studied/scrutinized.
As for the references to “dangerous prescription meds”, addictive, etc. Because of all the reasons listed above, prescription drugs tend to be far less dangerous than an herbal supplement can be. Obviously there have been several prescription meds that have later been pulled off the market due to significant health problems but that is the exception rather than the rule and herbal products have had their fair share of the same problem despite their “natural” origins. Also, although it’s not usually discussed much, most of the drugs that get pulled from the market have been prescribed millions of times prior to being pulled but the actual number of serious incidences that resulted in its removal tends to be very low, sometimes in the single digits, sometimes in the low double digits, rarely into the hundreds. If that serious effect is death, it rarely gets into the double digits before the drug is pulled. That’s out of millions of scripts and tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of pills taken. The well-known herbal weight loss ingredient ephedra is an example. It had to be linked to 155 deaths and thousands of additional adverse effects before the FDA was able to amass enough evidence to ban the product from the market. Although there are many other herbal products out there with known adverse effects, unless they rise to the level of ephedra, the FDA had decided it is cheaper and easier to just requre warning labels on the product, and even that requirement is sometimes disregarded.
All of the information I’ve done over the last couple months tells me a few things. First off the stimulant medications prescribed for ADHD have not shown to be addictive, habit forming, dependence building, or tolerance building as long as they are used as prescribed and at the dosages currently prescribed.
As for your talk of an “exit strategy” for getting off the pills, it is quite common for the prescribing doc to periodically suggest a brief “medication vacation” to see if the stimulant is still necessary. As someone else mentioned, stimulant medication is only one part of ADHD treatment and some people find that once they get a handle on the condition and begin employing ADHD management techniques/strategies in their life, they no longer need the medicine. Others may need the medication while they complete their education but find that once they are in the workforce it is unnecessary. Others are able to change careers to one more suited to their natural abilities and where they don’t have to fight their ADHD so much. For some though (perhaps many or even most), yes it may be a lifelong or at least decades long, medication. If you don’t want to take a prescription med to to health concerns, cost concerns, etc., that’s fine, but an herbal medication probably isn’t any better. If it does work then it’s still a stimulant so what makes it better. Oh yeah, and from what I’ve seen the herbals are usually not cheaper than the prescription meds… at least not the ones that have been around a while and have generic options available. Plus, insurance will pay for prescription meds and defray the cost for many as well. I personally don’t have insurance right now but I was able to get my month’s supply of Ritalin for $4 at Wal-Mart and now that they’ve switched me to Adderall it is more expensive but my one month supply only cost $40… not much more (and sometimes less) than the unproven herbal alternative.
Furthermore on the “exit strategy” idea, I think it’s a good idea for anyone, on any medication, to do whatever possible to avoid taking that medication if possible. That just seems like common sense. Not taking an herbal INSTEAD of the prescription drug, but taking nothing. With ADHD this might be by learning how to manage their ADHD, using organization tools, strategies, etc. to be able to operate without an ADHD med. Same goes for a blood pressure med. If you have high blood pressure, hypertension (HTN), and are prescribed a med for it and that med gets your BP down to healthy levels, then that’s great. But long term, that person should be engaging in a diet and exercise program that may eventually eliminate the need for a HTN medication at all. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Again though, that being said, some people will still have HTN no matter what they do, and those people should still take their BP medicine. Are there side effects of the BP med? yes. Could they potentially be dangerous? Yes. So would an herbal supplement, but regardless, if they need the medicine to control their BP then they should take it because the potential health risks of not taking the pill outweigh the risks of taking it. ADHD is no different. If someone needs the medicine to function, then they should take it because the adverse effects of ADHD can be profound and can lead to their own health concerns (albeit mostly as secondary issues of the ADHD, not primary ones like HTN would).
As to the comments about the medication notice for Adderall, not giving it to a child under 3 (I hope you’re not planning on giving addieup to your 2 yo either), low birth weight, etc. It’s true there can be adverse effects of Adderall or any other prescription drug. In fact every subtance ever taken will have side effects for some percentage of the people taking it, some minor and some serious, guaranteed. That’s true of both herbals and prescription meds. Only difference is the Adderall people give you a nice little insert that tells you all the known possible effects and you and your doctor can then make an informed decision about taking it. The herbal supplements on the other hand, give you no such information. Not because there are no side effects (that would be impossible) but because the side effects are unknown and they wouldn’t be required to tell you even if they were. With the prescription meds, you can decide if the possible side effects outweigh the possible benefits. Emphasis on “possible” as many of the possible side effects are never experienced by any one user and in fact most will experience either no side effects or at most one or two which are often minor and many times resolve themselves after the medication is taken for a few weeks or months and the body adjusts. For those who do experience side effects, they can then make the decision to either discontinue the medication, adjust the dose or dosing schedule, or bear the effects as the benefit outweighs the effect. With an herbal, people may not even associate the side effect with the herbal supplement (often because they thought it was natural and therefore safe) and may therefore suffer needlessly.
All in all, why go for an unproven, possibly unsafe, possibly ineffective treatment option like an herbal supplement when their are proven medications that work and are safe. If you are someone who is opposed to medication in general, or stimulant medications specifically, or whatever, that’s fine but you’d be better off going without taking anything at that point that taking the shot on the herbal. If you are not opposed to medications and are just not getting the results you want from the prescription meds, then I would first make sure I had engaged my prescribing doctor in a thorough discussion of all my medication options (i.e. different meds, dosages, combos, etc.). Once all prescription options had been exhausted, then you could certainly give the herbal a try… just don’t expect the miracle cure from the herbal. Realize that herbals, instead of being safer, are often more dangerous than prescription drugs. Think about it, people point out the prescription meds (weight loss/appetite suppressant ones in particular) that have had adverse cardiac, kidney, etc. effects, and those meds went through a rigorous testing and approval procedure before being allowed onto the market. Now, do you think a less regulated, less tested, unproven and unverified product that goes to market is more or less likely to be dangerous to your health?
Me? I’ll stick with the prescription drugs if I’m going to take anything at all.
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