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Transcript: [spoiler]
Jon Bennett: … Well, hello everyone. My name is Jon Bennett, and I’ve got my good friend Linda Clark with me on the phone. And just to set the call up, just to let you know. I asked Linda to share her story, because I’ve heard bits and pieces of her story for the past seven years. And I really knew that we needed to get this recorded, at some point. And she has graciously agreed to do that.
And I’ve got Linda on the phone here with me. And we’re just going to, you know … off the cuff. This is not scripted or anything. We’re just going to talk, just like she has probably talked to many of you on the phone before, in the same way.
So, without further ado, I’m going to introduce Linda. And I’m just going to ask you the simple question. Tell us your story, and if you can do that, go back to the beginning and kind of start with where it all started.
Linda Clark: Hello. Yeah. I just want to tell you about Bradley. He’s my son, and he was diagnosed with ADHD when he was seven. He was in the first grade.
But before that, in kindergarten, his kindergarten teacher kept telling me that he needed to grow up. That he was immature, and this and that, whatever. And that she didn’t think he would be able to pass kindergarten.
Well, I knew he would be able to pass because he was very smart. But she kept sending sad faces home and stuff every day, because he couldn’t sit still. In circle time, he would get up and do his own thing, while the other kids were sitting around in a circle and doing whatever they were supposed to be doing.
So anyways, she kept telling me that he needed to grow up. That he needed to grow up and this and that, whatever. And so, at the end of the year …
Jon: How did it hit you at first, when she started saying that?
Linda: Oh, I was totally shocked, because I knew he was spoiled because he was the only child. And I knew, I thought his behavior was because he was spoiled and that I hadn’t been strict enough on him, or whatever. But whenever he went to school, I was totally shocked that he brought home sad faces. I just did not believe that.
But anyway, all through the year he brought home sad faces, but he made good grades, or whatever. And she said she was really surprised because that he kept up, even though he was not paying attention, and he was doing something and everything.
But anyway, whenever he passed, she still recommended him to go to pre-first, because she said he was immature. And she thought he would do better if he grew up a little bit before he started into first grade. Which, how grown-up is a first grader supposed to be?
Jon: Exactly.
Linda: So anyway, I thought, OK. She’s been talking this for so long, that I thought, OK.
So anyway, she put him in for pre-first, but there’s only so many that can get in there or something. So anyway, they didn’t accept him. Probably because of his grades or something, I’m not sure.
So anyway, he went on into first grade and things started getting worse, because whenever they’re under stress, that makes the condition worse. And he was getting into trouble at school, and he was getting into trouble at home because he was getting into trouble at school.
Jon: A bad cycle basically.
Linda: Yeah. He didn’t really have bad behavior, and not disrespectful behavior, in kindergarten. But in first grade started getting to that, just because his condition was getting worse and he was starting to be disrespectful, which he had never been before, so.
Jon: Did the teachers suggest that he … because I’ve had a lot of people, parents, tell me that the teachers told them that their … basically diagnosed their kids for them and told them they needed to go to the doctor. Did the teacher suggest that or hint at that?
Linda: I can’t remember the exact words that she used, but she kept telling me how bad he was doing. And I guess, pretty much, saying that he needed something or whatever. And at one time, she then told me he was the worst that she’d ever seen. And I just could hardly believe that.
Jon: So, that’s not what you want to hear as a parent. And it’s easy now to kind of laugh about it but at the time, from a parent’s perspective, that’s tough to hear.
Linda: Yes, I know. And so anyway, it was almost at the end of the first grade. I decided to take him to the doctor, and so I did. He got diagnosed with ADHD and they put him on medication.
Jon: So yeah. Tell me about that, because this is always curious when I hear stories. What was that process of being diagnosed? Do you remember that?
Linda: Well, there was just a short conversation, and that was it. They asked a few questions and there was nothing really, other than a conversation asking a few questions about it.
Jon: Yeah.
Linda: I think there was also a questionnaire for the teacher, if I’m not mistaken. But it’s been a long time ago. I think the teacher also had to fill out a questionnaire, I think. But it was just not much at all, really.
Jon: And at that time, the drug of choice was Ritalin?
Linda: Adderall.
Jon: Adderall.
Linda: Yeah. He took Adderall for three years. And when he first started taking it, it was like wow, big improvement. And I thought, well, they say that if you didn’t need it, he wouldn’t see an improvement, or whatever. So, it made me feel a little bit better, because I don’t like medication.
But I saw a big improvement, at first. And so I thought, I guess he did need it, or whatever. So, he took it, but then after a while the dosage … he started not working as well. It started not working as well. So they raised the dosage, saying that as they grow up, they need more medication or whatever.
And so they raised the dosage, and then I started getting side effects. It got to where he couldn’t go to sleep and didn’t want to eat anything. And he got frustrated real easily, whenever the medication wore off in the evenings. And his focus was even worse, whenever it wore off in the evenings and stuff.
And so, his dosage went up two or three times over the three years, and the side effects went up. And so …
Jon: Did you notice any personality change at all? Or was it pretty much the same?
Linda: Whenever he was on the medication, he was like a little zombie. And when it wore off in the evenings, he was bouncing off the wall, just went from totally one extreme to the other. And you wanted him somewhere in between, you know?
Jon: Right.
Linda: I would go to school, and he would just look so … I just wanted to cry whenever I would see him, because he would just look so blah, you know? And then in the evenings, it would take me all evening to get him to do his homework, because he just couldn’t focus at all, or whatever. After the medication wore off, and it was just totally, you know.
Jon: Yeah, it wasn’t happening.
Linda: Right. And so, he would stay from the time he got home from school to the time he went to bed, just about, trying to get his homework done.
Jon: Yeah, ugh. That’s tough. So, but how did … it worked to some degree for his grades, and pacified him, and pleased the teachers, I’m sure.
Linda: Yeah, the teachers were happy. He had a very good second grade teacher, and whenever I told her that he was the worst that she had ever seen, she did not … she knew the teacher that said it, and she goes, “Well, her daughter is not too good in school, as far as that goes, either!” [laughter]
Jon: There you go!
Linda: But, anyway, she understood a little bit more, and she actually let him have two desks to spread out on because he was just … [laughter]
Jon: It’s funny, there’s teachers that are willing to try to understand the kid …
Linda: Right.
Jon: … and there’s teachers that don’t want to be bothered. And it has got to be a certain way, or … you’ve got to medicate, or get out, or something, but, that’s interesting.
Linda: Right. One of the things she said to me, the second grade teacher, was, she goes, “Bradley always has to fiddle with something. He’ll be at his desk, and he’ll be fiddling with pencils or whatever.” And she goes, “I’ll swear up and down that he’s not paying any attention to me, or whatever.” And she goes, “Bradley, what did I just say?” And she goes, “He tells me every time.” Whatever you know. [overlapping discussion]
Jon: That’s common, and it’s because he’s not being engaged enough at that point. I mean, and people that are listening, you know exactly what Linda is talking about. When you think your child is not listening, or whatever, but they are, they just need more stimulus, or whatever. But, I don’t want to get off on a tangent, keep going. So, he’s been on … you did the Adderall for how long?
Linda: Three years.
Jon: Three years.
Linda: It was almost at the end of the fourth grade whenever I found the Neu-Becalm’d.
Jon: So, OK, dosages started going up …
Linda: Right.
Jon: … because it wasn’t as effective. And, as the dosages began to increase, you saw more of these side effects …
Linda: Right.
Jon: … where he started nagging at you, bothering you.
Linda: Right. He started … he got to where he would go places, and come home, and I would say, “Well, did you have fun?” and he would say, “No, not really.” And so, no matter what he did, he didn’t have fun. So he was starting to show signs of depression. Like I said, he didn’t eat anything, he couldn’t go to sleep at night. I didn’t know until after he got off the medication, he heard me talking about his side effects one day, and he goes, “Yeah,” he goes, “I used to have nightmares, too.”
And I go, “Really? You never told me that.” But I did remember, he used to … whenever he would go to bed, he would turn on all the lights as he went down the hallway. [laughter] And he always wanted the lights shining in his room. Whenever he got off the Adderall, he didn’t do that anymore. He wasn’t afraid of the dark, or whatever, anymore. And he wasn’t before that, either, it was during the time that he was on the Adderall that he was scared of … he was afraid of the dark, or whatever.
Jon: So, as it started to … the signs of … you started to think that maybe this wasn’t the right thing for you?
Linda: Oh, right. I mean, like I said, I didn’t want to put him on medication in the first place, and the more side effects he got, the less I wanted him on it. So, someone had told me that serotonin was supposed to help, and I did not at that time even know what serotonin was. So, I got on the Internet, and was researching serotonin, and I found the Neu-becalm’d, and I read about, and read about it, and read about it, and read about it, and I just decided to try it.
Jon: So, when you were googling, and just I do when I have a problem, and whatever anyone does, pretty much. Because you know if you go back to the doctor, their answer is going to be, “Let’s up the dosage,” or something like that.
Linda: Well, actually, the doctor wasn’t too bad whenever I told him that I was going to … actually, it was a different doctor that actually prescribed it. We had changed doctors during that time, but whenever I went back, it was a female. And whenever I went back to her, I told her that I wanted to try something natural, and she goes, “Well, go ahead. Because I’ve heard some good reports on things, and just let me know how it works for him” or whatever. Actually, I think that was the last time I went to her. [laughter] I don’t think I went back. [laughter]
Jon: Yeah, that’s good, they are understanding like that. A lot of doctors kind of turn their nose up …
Linda: Right, oh, yeah.
Jon: … at the idea of a natural type of solution. So you’re googling around. Now, I know that when you google around for this, there is a lot of stuff that pops up.
Linda: Right.
Jon: What made you decide? Did you try anything else? Did you look at other solutions at all? What made you kind of decide on trying this?
Linda: Well, I had tried some things before I put him on medication, you know, things that I had heard. Grapefruit extract was one, and it helped some, but it seemed like it helped for awhile, then the benefits went away. And some other things, I don’t even remember right now.
But whenever I found the Neu-Becalm’d, I was looking at the 5-HTP, and it sounded … it helps with serotonin, but not the other neurotransmitters, like dopamine and stuff like that, you need them all, or whatever. But I kept going back and forth from the Neu-Becalm’d to 5-HTP for the serotonin, or whatever, and then I ended up trying the Neu-Becalm’d, or whatever.
Jon: So, you found a website, and you just ordered a bottle, I guess, and tried it.
Linda: Well actually I’m kind of the optimistic type. I think I went ahead and ordered four bottles to give it a good try or whatever whenever I started.
Jon: Right, the idea that you can’t just do it for a couple of days.
Linda: Right.
Jon: Yeah. Tell me how that went. How did it go when you started? What was that process like and were you doing it at the same time with the Adderall or how did you handle all of that?
Linda: Yeah, I started out at first, it was close to the end of the year and I didn’t want to just take him off the Adderall because I didn’t know what that would do to him or whatever. I gave him both; it was probably a month and a half or so, you know before school was out. But I started noticing improvements or whatever like he went to his friend’s house and came home and said he had fun. I thought, “Really? You had fun?”
That was the first time he’d said anything like that in years. He got to where he was going to sleep better and he was doing his homework better and that while he was on both of them. Once school got out I took him off the Adderall totally and he’s been off ever since. Now he’s in college and doing very, very good.
Jon: That’s awesome. So you weaned him off of it. I think there’s a good point right now for me to say that neither Linda nor am I a doctor and we do not, whatever we’re telling you here is not medical advice. You need to seek the advice of your doctor so please don’t take what we’re saying and just do it. You need to make sure you do it the right way. Having said that, a lot of people are trying to wean off of these things. I know for a fact you can’t just stop Adderall because like cold turkey a lot of times it can have…
Linda: Yeah, I’ve heard of people that have and I really don’t know which way is better or whatever because I’ve had some people say that they quit the Adderall without weaning but I don’t know which way is better. I would think that probably weaning would probably be better. I’m not sure.
Jon: I don’t even know how you do that. Like just chop them in half or whatever or reduce the dosages or whatnot as you’re introducing others. Now you said something too. A lot of people use the summer as a testing ground so to speak. Is that what you did or when school got out?
Linda: Yeah, that’s whenever I took him off the Adderall totally was whenever school got out. I reduced it a little bit while he was in school but once school got out I just took him off of it totally. I think he didn’t go through any major withdrawals like if you would if he was on some medications or whatever but I’m pretty sure he was addicted to it because he wanted at first to keep taking it and I think it was because he was addicted to it. Now he talks about that he felt like a zombie when he was on it and he’s glad he’s off of it and everything. I think he was addicted to it.
Jon: So he comes back to school the next year and tell me how that went. You said it went well. So that’s kind of shocking actually for a lot of people to hear. [overlapping discussion]
Linda: Right, well even when he was on the Adderall things at school wasn’t perfect. They were just better. They weren’t perfect or whatever and it wasn’t perfect at first even on the Becalmed but it seemed like the longer you took it the more benefits you got and the better he did with it and everything because it just takes time. It’s well worth it.
Jon: Did you see changes in his personality and …
Linda: Oh yeah, he…
Jon: …started to be generally happier.
Linda: Well one of the things whenever he was in the fourth grade, that was whenever I got him off of it, but it probably before I got him off of it or right about the same time I don’t know; his teacher had a party and I took him to it and I was shocked because he was this little bitty kid and all these other ones looked like they should be in middle school or something. They were so much bigger than him. It was like it stunted his growth. Anyway, whenever he got off of the medication he started eating again and started growing and now he’s six foot tall.
[laughs]
Jon: Yeah, I hear that a lot. It kind of stunts the growth or whatnot. Interesting. Well that’s really just an amazing story. It’s kind of funny that you can find something like that just on the Internet. I will tell you that I have a very similar story and I grew up in a ADD home and just to let everybody know, my path and Linda’s path crossed because about seven or eight years ago, or really ten years ago, I began helping people try to eliminate their ADD symptoms naturally and that’s where we kind of met up and we’ve helped a lot of people over the years with that. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Linda: Well, probably after I get off I’ll think of other things but that’s probably the main things that I can think of.
Jon: So what would you say to somebody who is where you were, there’s literally probably a million parents right now that have a kid and a kindergartner or going in to first grade and they’re starting to get that pressure, getting the parent teach conferences, and they don’t know what to do. Many of them won’t think twice, they’ll just go to the doctor and be on the medication. Most of them, there’s something in their gut that will say, “You know, I really don’t want the medication.” What would your advice be from a parent to a parent about that?
Linda: I would never do the medication again if I had it to do over with. The medication in time makes the condition worse because what it’s doing is it’s making your brain think it’s got enough of the neurotransmitters, like the dopamine and serotonin and so when you’re brain thinks it’s got enough it slows down the production of it.
So the longer you take the medication the less you’re brain is producing so the condition gets worse. And it’s not because they’re getting older and the condition’s getting worse. A lot of times it’s because the medication or stress can make the condition worse, because stress depletes the neural transmitters as well. So, I would never do the medication again.
Jon: That’s very interesting. Now, when we talked about the Becalm’d, we touched on it, and we’re not here to pound and sell Becalm’d. But we do want to share why I would take it every day, and why we recommend it. This company’s been around for a long time, hasn’t it?
Linda: Yes it has.
Jon: A lot of what you’re saying about the neurotransmitters and everything, we learned from the company. And the company and the science that has backed it. Can you talk a little bit about what made you feel that the company was credible? Neurogenesis as a company like, you know?
Linda: Mm-hmm. Because everybody was so concerned. They were in it to help people more than anything else. I think. And still are.
Jon: And they … in case you don’t know. Neurogenesis has a line of nutritional based products. They’re not drugs. They’re nutrition based. But they work on basically … I like to call it brain food.
Linda: Right, exactly.
Jon: If you put it in simple terms, a lot of what’s happening is because our brains are not getting the vitamins and nutrients that it needs. And then we’re not getting it in our diet. So, that’s kind of where the Neu-Becalm’d comes in, right?
Linda: Right.
Jon: Now, I have read and heard … was this product used in clinics for like … this companies been around for what, 20 years?
Linda: Oh, it’s probably getting close to 30 years now. But yeah, it was used in clinic and rehab hospitals for alcohol and drug addictions for about 13 years. And it was covered by insurance, and then the insurance quit covering the program. So they started distributing it to the public.
But what they found out during this time, when they’re with people that had alcohol and drug problems, was they started giving it to their kids. And they started getting reports that their kids were getting benefits from the Becalm’d as well, or whatever. And that’s when they realized that it also helped other conditions, like ADD and ADHT.
Jon: Yeah. And I guess it’s a good time for me to say that we’re not saying that Becalm’d helps or treats ADD-ADHT. We’re not saying that it cures it or anything like that. It’s just us sharing our experience of how it has helped, so.
Anything else? I’m trying to think of what people listening to this, the questions they may have. What’s the most common question you get from people when you’re talking to them about Becalm’d?
Linda: Oh wow. I don’t know. Let me think.
Jon: Well, is it safe?
Linda: Well, yeah, is it safe? How long do I have to take it? And that kind of depends. You know, Bradley will probably always take some. He doesn’t take as much as he used to. He doesn’t seem to need as much as he used to, or whatever. But he still takes it and probably will always take it.
I take it too. I take it for sleeping problems. Before I started taking it, I would go to bed at night and I would sleep for two hours, and I would wake up and be wide awake the rest of the night. And that’s from a serotonin deficiency. When you sleep for a couple of hours and wake up, that’s because you’re low on serotonin. And…
Jon: I didn’t know that.
Linda: Yeah. So I started taking it and I don’t have any problem at all staying asleep and stuff now, or whatever. But it helps with stress. It just helps you deal with everyday life. So I take it for those two things.
Jon: And for kids there is a chewable, right?
Linda: Yes. Uh-huh.
Jon: And there’s capsules, of course. And the typical scenario is what? They take it in the morning before they go to school, right?
Linda: Well, yeah. The best time to take it is first thing in the morning before you eat or drink anything. As a matter of fact, I used to wake Bradley up and give it to him while he was still in bed. That way he could eat as soon as he got up. And that worked fine for him. That might not work for everybody, but first thing in the morning is a good time. And then I always gave it to him whenever he came home from school, as soon as he walked in, because his stomach was empty then also.
Jon: Right. Good. And as far as it being safe, I know that’s a concern. But people are always worried that the FDA doesn’t regulate vitamins or whatever it is, that they use that kind of stuff.
Linda: Right. Well all the ingredients are water soluble and they’re all necessary nutrients. They’re all things that you get in your food every day, it’s just it’s hard to get enough out of your food alone. So, yeah, it’s safe.
The only time … and I don’t know if I should go into this or not. People that have panic attacks, it is not good for. But we do have another product that helps with panic attacks.
Jon: Very cool. Now if people want to learn more, what is your website that they can go to?
Linda: Neu-becalmd.com.
Jon: How do you spell it? Because …
Linda: Neu-becalmd.com. [spells]
Jon: Cool. That’s Linda’s and Linda and I have been helping people with this for … she’s been doing it longer than I. We met about seven or eight years ago. I’ve got some information on my site too, at 3stepsadd.com.
And just dig in and start reading and educating yourself. If nothing else, try it. You’re not going to lose anything by trying it, if it worked for you. Do you have anything else you’d like to add, Linda?
Linda: I can’t think of anything.
Jon: Well that’s awesome. I really appreciate you sharing your story. I know that it will help people, when they hear that. So thank you much.
Linda: Oh, you’re welcome.
Jon: We will see you soon, and we’ll talk to everybody later.
Linda: OK. Thanks a lot.
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