ADHD & Caffeine

I've been reading about using caffeine with kids (and adults) with ADHD and thinking about trying it with Master J. We started yesterday.

Yesterday morning, I made up a coffee smoothie using the Cafe Vienna from General Foods and a protein powder. This was based on directions from a website. It was not a big hit. Master J did finally finish it about an hour after he started. It seemed to calm him down.

This morning, I skipped the smoothie recipe and just gave him the Cafe Vienna cooled down with ice. He didn't complain nearly as much and finished it in 20 minutes. It seemed to work a lot better. He finished it by 8:40 and at 9:15 I saw him yawn. Twice. This child rarely, if ever, yawns during the day. He rarely, if ever, even napped as a 1 year old. So him yawning during the day is pretty amazing. He was very calm for the next three to four hours.

This afternoon around 2:20, I gave him 8 oz of Mountain Dew. Which he sucked down in less than 3 minutes. I may has well have shot him full of meth. Because he was totally out of control of his body. And his mouth. For about 2 hours. After he started going crazy, I checked the bottle and realized that the first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup. Which he's never been able to handle. Whoops!

So what have we learned? Caffiene = good. HFC = Evil Empire (still). Also, that Mister C has more of an ability to tune out craziness and chaos than I do.