Methylphenidate combined with herbs

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

The short answer to your question is that while there are people working towards combining western medications and Chinese Herbal Formulas we are a long way off from doing this well (or even knowing if this is a good avenue to pursue for that matter). Two things seem important for me to stress here - one, there are plenty of viable and effective ways to aid the add/adhd spectrum within pure Chinese Medicine formulas that combining them with harsh drugs would be a step backwards not forwards - two, the synergistic effect expressed by these, often very old, herbal formulas is more than just the sum of their individual actions there is a collective action that becomes stronger than all of them used individually - these kinds of discoveries took hundreds and hundreds of years of trial and error to come forward with and it would more than likely take hundreds and hundreds more to work strong chemically produced medicines into that synergistic effect (if that were to ever happen).

If you are interested in herbal medicine for ADHD I would simply consult with an acupuncturist/herbalist directly and work with them directly. I would not be combining strong western medications with random herbs to hopefully offset side effects without a very intelligent herbalist working at your side.

When we treat people (using acupuncture, tuina and herbs in some cases) we treat them long enough to get a change, then they work slowly with their doctor to come off of their meds, then we balance them out afterwards. It can be slow and it can go quite quickly - it depends on many factors. When we are finished treating, however, often people are more or less permanently well with no further intervention required. The goal of Chinese Medicine is always complete balance (i.e. a complete remission of symptoms) - not long-term management. For some conditions this is more practical and easier to come by than others but the majority of psychological conditions are well served with Chinese Medicine.

Comment by Archived User

Western medicine can not combine with herb medicine, it may cause more chemical active. But if you use herbs medicine before or after several hours of western medicine maybe better. If you feel too much yang(firely) energy after you take methylpheridate, sure you can take some tonify yin(waterly) energy herbs to support your body.

Comment by Archived User

Thank you for your answers.

I figured since this medicine had a single component it would have been fairly easy to coordinate it with herbs but I guess not.

Does that mean that while I&#39m taking this drug I shouldn&#39t be taking any herbs or herbal formulas?

And if I am to start treatment in acupunture and herbs should I stop taking the drug?

Thank you again

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

What this means is that you should work closely with your practitioner. All of the answers to these questions are very case dependent....

Comment by Archived User

WOW, I just tried Methalphineadate recently in combination with Grape Seed. It was terrible with or without the grape seed,

just 1.25mg made my heart POUND! and it made me have to pee lots.. Yes very FIRE!

Now I take a capsule of White Panax Ginseng daily. I have not been to a real TCM Herbalist yet, this seems to be working for now and It could probably work for you too Grant but I think should go to a real herbalist.

I will when I have a chance..

Matt