ADHD kids...weight loss?

[lcarlson90]

DS1 (6) has ADHD and has been on Concerta for about 6 months. We took him this morning for a weight check and he has lost 1/2 pound since his last well check in February 2011. The doctor said he is supposed to gain about 4 pounds a year. Thankfully he still grew 2 inches.

So I am really worried now that he is malnourished. The problem is that ever since he started the Concerta he no longer eats at school except for maybe a pack of Annies fruit snacks. I guess this would be okay if he ate a great breakfast, dinner and night time snack but this is not the case. I guess I am hoping there are some other Mom's of ADHD kids who have BTDT and have advice on how to get more calories into their kids.

To make things worse...DS is super picky about food. He only likes to eat the typical kid-friendly foods. We still give him whole milk and he drinks quite a bit of that. Any ideas, tips etc. would be appreciated.

[pinkmomagain]

When dd2 was on FocalinXR she was super skinny. She was never off the chart, but everyone would comment how very thin she was. However, the psychiatrist who monitors her would weigh/measure her every 6 weeks and he (along with her ped) were not concerned. Just encouraged me to encourage her to eat. I would get alot of full fat ice cream for her. But really she just wasn't hungry and she's picky. Since she's been on Intuiv (nonstimulant) she gained plenty of weight..she's also grown too...but I'm sure puberty has contributed to the growth too.

I never worried because her doctors were not worried. Are your ds's doctors very concerned?

[crl]

We just started Adderall. When I expressed concern about the weight issue because ds is skinny already, his psychiatrist's advice was load up on breakfast, dinner and after dinner snacks. Well, ds has been mostly refusing breakfast for a long time now so that's not easy advice to follow. I have been offering smoothies (with some Greek yogurt in them), instant oatmeal (which I hate to give because of the relatively low nutrient value and high sugar value, but which ds LOVES) and full fat flavored yogurt (again not thrilled with the sugar) I also lifted my only fresh fruit after dinner policy and ds has been happily munching on pretzels and the like. I'm not thrilled, but it is all calories.

Sorry I don't have better ideas for you.

Catherine

[lhafer]

Mine isn't on medication, but she's been diagnosted with ADHD. She will be 6 in March. She's very very skinny - about 36 pounds fully clothed. She's gained about 1.5 pounds in the last 2 years. She's growing taller though. She's VERY picky about her food. I'm happy if she eats anything at all.

She's one of those kids who eats 5 bites and says shes so full her stomach hurts (no matter how hungry she might have been before dinner). And she does this with her favorite foods. She can wear DD2's shorts and they only look a *little* small - and she's not even 2 yet!

She likes pancakes and the like, so she gets butter with those. She gets whole milk with her cereal. She loves yogurt and cheese sticks, so I get full fat of those.

ETA: last time DD1 was at the pedi's office for a check up, she was in the 4% for her age/weight.

[HIU8]

We just started Adderall. When I expressed concern about the weight issue because ds is skinny already, his psychiatrist's advice was load up on breakfast, dinner and after dinner snacks. Well, ds has been mostly refusing breakfast for a long time now so that's not easy advice to follow.


This is exactly what our devel ped said. We try to give DS a larger breakfast (sometimes he eats it and sometimes not). His big meals are now dinner and after dinner/before bed snack. Plus, DS seems to like to nosh afterschool on different items and we let him. DS also drinks a Boost Kids Essentials vanilla flavored nutritional drink every single day. Plus, and I do not like this, but if DS wants McD's we allow him to get it b/c he eats the entire meal (would eat the box if we let him).

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

ok, here we go...

DD1 was diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety in 1st grade at age 6. We've tried Adderall and concerta.

She was 60lbs in 1st grade and weighs 58 1/2 lbs now in 3rd grade.

Yes i'm always concerned but continue to remind myself that she's in the 25th percentile for her age and that's enough for me. I'd prefer for her to be at a better weight but then again i'd also like her to be able to sit still.

Here's what we've learned.
1.Don't make eating an issue.It's very easy for them to simply shut down and not eat at all. I became neurotic about dd getting enough calories and unintentionally started a whole eating issue between she and i that we're finally on our way to resolving.

2.Keep his fav's on hand. Let him eat whatever he'll eat and try not to worry too much about heathy eating choices. I'd love it if dd would eat better and make better food choices but I can tempt her in the afternoon with a chocolate boost and a poptart. I've sent her to school with Pb&J sandwiches,fruit and milk and it ALWAYS comes back uneaten with the excuse of "i wasn't hungry". But she'll drink the meal supplement drink and about 1/2 the poptart.

3.Feed him at night even after bedtime.I know it drives parents crazy to have children up out of bed after you've put them down but dd's meds wear off like clockwork and she has a snack at 10:30 every night. It's a quickie but a packed on. I put a pasturized egg in carnation instant breakfast,hit it with the immersion blender and give her 2 graham crackers and it's back to bed.

You said that he likes the typical "kid foods". Then let him eat them. And the other biggie i can suggest is the Boost brand kid essentials. You'll find them with the baby food at target and walmart. They come in a box that looks like a milk box so your child won't stand out from the crowd at lunch and have around 300 calories or so. DD loves them and I know that if she doesn't eat anything else she'll drink that because she's thirsty.

Good luck.

[ladysoapmaker]

My DS#2 is on Concerta. He hasn't had any weight issues but I also started him on a high protein breakfast right about the time he started taking the meds. I read a book on children with ADHD and one of the things the doctor recommended was a high protein breakfast as it seems to help the kids and their medicine to work a little better. And I let him snack on good foods after school. I find if there are too many distractions he tends to pick at his food and school lunch is very distracting. Though now that's he's closer to puberty he tends to eat much more then he use to and so I worry less.

Jen

[Katigre]

Weight loss/lack of weight gain while on ADHD medications is a very common side effect b/c it is also an appetite suppressant. I have a relative who has been on them for a decade (from childhood and now is a teen) and it has always put him on the very.very.very skinny side b/c of the meds.

[LexyLou]

My DD1 is in the process of being DX'd with ADHD.

I've been on the fence with the meds. This makes me a little nervous. I mean she's currently in the 90% for height and 80% for weight so it would make her malnourished, but she has such a good appetite.

Why do the meds decrease appetite?

[Katigre]

My DD1 is in the process of being DX'd with ADHD.

I've been on the fence with the meds. This makes me a little nervous. I mean she's currently in the 90% for height and 80% for weight so it would make her malnourished, but she has such a good appetite.

Why do the meds decrease appetite?
It's related to the fact that it is a stimulant.

[cchavez]

My friend uses this your her adhd kids that are on meds....
http://www.myduocal.com/info/index.asp

It may be worth looking into and the ingredients might be better than some of the high calorie nutritional drinks....for example....mixing this into organic milk might be a better choice than the nutritional drinks.

[mom2binsd]

Some meds will definitely decrease their appetite, most noticeably at lunch...a few friends do like others have said, load them up at breakfast and dinner.

Breakfast can be anything, chicken nuggets, pizza, my DD loves Carnation Instant breakfast, OP I'd give him whatever he'll eat, does he like Mac and Cheese, go for it....add in some yogurt or fruit and it'll help.

[bisous]

We've definitely seen a decreased appetite.

I set up a "different" kind of eating schedule. We eat a big breakfast BUT on our medication (Metadate CD) there is a warning not too eat too much fat in the morning as it delays the efficacy of the medication. It doesn't really define what "too much" is but we try to keep breakfast low-fat regardless.

So we eat a big breakfast. DS eats almost nothing at school. Really, it is a joke. It doesn't help that he has Type 1 Diabetes and HAS to eat sometimes (because his blood sugar is low) so his lunch is full-o-junk. (It is from TJs and WFs but it is still junk!) Then, because Metadate is only an 8 hour med, he is usually hungry for a snack when he gets home from school at 2:30 and I make that meal sized. Seriously, it is huge. And healthy. He's usually hungry by then! We will eat ANOTHER full meal around 6:30 or so.

Breakfast, "Snack", and Dinner are full sized meals full of normal foods that we always eat. So far, weight loss hasn't been too terrible.

ETA: We picked an 8 hour med as opposed to a 12 hour med on purpose!

[Indianamom2]

DD is on a non-stimulant ADHD med (this is only her second month) and even that seems to be somewhat affecting her appetite. Of course, she has food issues anyhow, so she doesn't eat well even without the meds.

Unfortunately I don't think the Strattera is working much at all (we just doubled the dose, so I'll give it a couple more weeks), and I'm extremely hesitant (as is her doctor) to put her on a stimulant med because she really can't afford to lose weight. However, the doctor has also mentioned possibly trying her on some Zoloft for anxiety, which can cause weight gain...so maybe they'd cancel each other out?

No suggestions, just commiseration!

[cuca_]

2.Keep his fav's on hand. Let him eat whatever he'll eat and try not to worry too much about heathy eating choices. I'd love it if dd would eat better and make better food choices but I can tempt her in the afternoon with a chocolate boost and a poptart. I've sent her to school with Pb&J sandwiches,fruit and milk and it ALWAYS comes back uneaten with the excuse of "i wasn't hungry". But she'll drink the meal supplement drink and about 1/2 the poptart.

3.Feed him at night even after bedtime.I know it drives parents crazy to have children up out of bed after you've put them down but dd's meds wear off like clockwork and she has a snack at 10:30 every night. It's a quickie but a packed on. I put a pasturized egg in carnation instant breakfast,hit it with the immersion blender and give her 2 graham crackers and it's back to bed.

You said that he likes the typical "kid foods". Then let him eat them.

:yeahthat::yeahthat:

My DD is on Focalin XR and she eats next to nothing when she is on it. She was not gaining weight at all and she looked really skinny, so last Spring I just started buying stuff that she would like, and I would basically walk around the store looking for the items that had the highest calorie content. I did not even bother looking at the ingredients, which is very unlike me, but at that point we had tried everything else and nothing was working.

When we can we give her breaks from the meds during vacation. So if she is not in camp and is just hanging out with the family or traveling she does not get medication. These breaks are essential for us, as she usually puts on weight during them.

Finally, I agree with feeding them at bedtime. It drives me crazy that we will be ready for bed and DD will start asking for food, but if that is the time she is hungry, I feed her. I had a really hard time with this, but her doctor was always emphatic that we had to feed her whenever she was hungry.

Good luck!

[LexyLou]

Thankful for this thread. This never even crossed my mind.

Uggg, it's not like we don't worry enough about our ADHD kids!

Great ideas from you all. Thank you.

[cuca_]

I was just re-reading this thread, and saw that OP mentioned that her son drank milk. At one point, when we were really desperate, I added cream to her milk. It was a way to really up her calories without getting into any struggles about food. We only did this for a limited period of time, but it did help a lot.

[lcarlson90]

Thank you so much for all your insight...this is why I love these boards. I feel like I have a lot of ideas to try. Since this seems like an issue for many of us I will update and let you know how things go.

[LexyLou]

Do you guys give your kids their meds even on the weekends? Our Dr was telling us we can just do it once a day in the AM on school mornings. Does it need to have a constant stream in the body to be effective?

[cuca_]

Oops! double post!

[cuca_]

Do you guys give your kids their meds even on the weekends? Our Dr was telling us we can just do it once a day in the AM on school mornings. Does it need to have a constant stream in the body to be effective?

No it does not. We usually give short acting (lasts 4 hours) as needed on weekends, because DDs play sports and they need it to focus. Other than that we avoid giving meds on non school days. I have noticed that DD1s appetite is not suppressed as much by this one.

BTW I have two DDs diagnosed with ADHD and they are both on the same medication (different dose), but food and weight gain is only an issue for one of them. It really depends on the kid.

[m448]

I'm an adult on meds since late last summer and unintentionally have lost 5-7 lbs. It definitely supresses my appetite and add the factor that i'm also able to focus thus more productive and sometimes I work straight through breakfast+lunch.

I do take my meds 100% of the time as coming off of them is chaotic and it does take a bit for me to get out of the fog once I'm on of them and that's with a very minimal dose. I had a couple of issues with meds being out of stock due to the shortages and it was not fun at all.

[pinkmomagain]

I've always given dd her adhd med consistently everyday and throughtout the year. Her adhd affects her in and out of school.

[crl]

Do you guys give your kids their meds even on the weekends? Our Dr was telling us we can just do it once a day in the AM on school mornings. Does it need to have a constant stream in the body to be effective?

We just started, but are only giving it during the week. The doctor told us it is like an on/off switch, no need to build in the bloodstream. Our main concern is focus at school so we aren't giving it on weekends at this point.

Catherine

[kboyle]

ds1 has been on Vyvanse since May 2010, we don't give it to him on weekends or breaks, just school days. (he has ADD, no hyperactivity).

he gains weight during the summers and pretty much nothing throughout the school year. he did initially lose weight in those first few months, but i just make sure he eats whatever he wants for breakfast and dinner, he's been eating more this year than last, hasn't seemed to lose anything since summer so far. i also give him carnation instant breakfast for every at-home meal. just one packet a day when he eats his breakfast and dinner.

[LexyLou]

I've always given dd her adhd med consistently everyday and throughtout the year. Her adhd affects her in and out of school.

Oh, it definitely affects her at home. I just wonder if I can deal with it a bit to give her a break from the meds or if it's even worth it to do that.


We just started, but are only giving it during the week. The doctor told us it is like an on/off switch, no need to build in the bloodstream. Our main concern is focus at school so we aren't giving it on weekends at this point.

Catherine

Good to know. We have issues at home, but it's mostly in the classroom and at gymnastics/dance that I have the concern. She just lives in her own planet.


ds1 has been on Vyvanse since May 2010, we don't give it to him on weekends or breaks, just school days. (he has ADD, no hyperactivity).

he gains weight during the summers and pretty much nothing throughout the school year. he did initially lose weight in those first few months, but i just make sure he eats whatever he wants for breakfast and dinner, he's been eating more this year than last, hasn't seemed to lose anything since summer so far. i also give him carnation instant breakfast for every at-home meal. just one packet a day when he eats his breakfast and dinner.

Thank you. I'm pretty sure that's like DD. She's a little hyperactive but her teachers say she isn't rude or disruptive to other students. She just zones out immediately and kind of just lives in her own planet. She'll just get up in the middle of circle time and start walking around the room but she isn't "hyper" in the sense that she's climbing or jumping around. She just can't still her body, mind, or mouth.

[Elilly]

I've always given dd her adhd med consistently everyday and throughtout the year. Her adhd affects her in and out of school.

Exactly that. Life is easier for everyone with Graham on his meds :)