Hi: I just posted a response under concerta concerns and discussion around appetite... this has more 'stuff' to consider. I also use ensure for our son and he chooses different flavours each time so he doesn't get 'bored' (I already tried off and on for years making 'our own' with him choosing fresh/frozen fruit, etc. to add but he didn't like the protein mixes (we tried many and it gets expensive with trial and error as the containers are never small enought to trial [do you hear that protein mix companies!]... any way look at that posting.
clm
My son is also on Concerta 36mg, and he usually only eats a good breakfast.Another thing many parents faced with this situation use is "Ensure". It is more expensive than Carnation, but has more nutrients also. So if he isn't hungry for a meal, have him at least drink one of those. It comes in Choc., Vanilla, and Strawberry. It is good enough that it is usually recommended to people going through Chemotherapy to try to help them not loose as much weight. I believe they keep it in the HBA area at stores like Walmart, not the grocery section. Ask the Pharmacist where it is located.
Mamabear
Here's what we do:
1. In am we give him his meds along with a full glass of chocolate Ovaltine (can also use Carnation Instant Breakfast). My son drinks 1 percent milk, but you could make it with whole milk to add calories. After he takes his meds, sometimes he'll eat breakfast, sometimes not. Waiting to give my son until AFTER he eats breakfast is not an option for us. We have to give meds early so our morning will run smooth. Otherwise its mass chaos.
2. We let him eat ANY time he's hungry.....even if that means eating a bedtime snack late. My son loves those PBJ Crustables that you keep in the freezer. He takes one to bed with him sometimes.
3. We don't force him to eat. We do offer milkshakes frequently. He loves to make them himself at home using ice cream, milk, and crushed Oreo cookies.
4. We try to pack as many calories into the foods he does eat.
Okiemom
I use carnation instant breakfast as a smoothie drink along with his regular breakfast...I just try to pound in as many calories as possible....I have notice this with the stimulant med his appetite is reduced and he does not gain much weight...without the stimulant meds he is hyper and the extra movement ( hopping, jumping, running) burn off any extra calories that he might have taken in.and he does not gain much weight....so I can't win, he is a thin kiddoya definitely a hard one for us too. Making sure they have a high protein breakfast before the med kicks in. Depending what your child is on long-short acting...........my son is on Concetta. He eats breakfast usually and then is never hungry for lunch. Dinner time rolls around and he is still not hungry.
Usually appetite returns around 8pm so it's dinner time for him then. I never deny him when he is hungry no matter what the time is. I try to pack the calories in each meal.
He prides himself on being strong, but I tell him his body will begin to break down his muscles if he doesn't feed it even though he does not feel the hunger. He is only 8 ( still can wear 4-6 size pants) and is not grasping this concept yet. Hopefully at some point he will understand he does not get the same hunger cues from his body on the medication but still needs to eat some kind of protein. Right now it's a big struggle; I tell him it's time to feed his body he says he is not hungry and I can't force him to eat when he's not hungry.............what do ya say to that?
ang
Our DS gets up, gets his breakfast, and while he's eating bkfst takes meds with Ovaltine. Ovaltine is packed with lots of vitamins and minerals, and we drink 2% in our house. I usually make it up in an old Quik bottle, so it's always available in the morning without me having to make it. While he's eating, I pack his school lunch with baby carrots, an apple (he loves his grow food!) a package of cookies, a fruit roll-up, 2 bags of chips, a Capri-Sun drink, and a PB&J sandwhich. He has the fruit roll, the carrots and a bag of chips for after-school snack. He sometimes comes home with half of his lunch, but he's pretty good at eating most of the time.
Dinner is the one we have problems with. He'll say he's really starving before you start, but before he eats half his meal, he complains he's full. Then, just before bedtime, he says he's starving, again. At bedtime is the only time we deny him food, because he likes to drag it out. He'd stay up until around 10:30 if we'd let him!
We do experience problems in the morningzs, though. It's never a really smooth going. Rather, it's me constantly pleading or telling him to get dressed, make sure his backpack is ready to go, etc. Sometimes, it's really rough. It breaks my heart when we have a really rough patch. I know it's the symptoms and not him, but it's still stressful.
RamblinDad and I were both ADD, but that's long before it was ever diagnosed as a real condition. Our report cards all say "Does not pay attention in class," "Always daydreaming" "doesn't finish work. Back then, we simply learned to live and cope with the feeling that we were, somehow, less than our classmates. We learned to work with and around our ADD to accomplish what we have. I've been with my current employer for 18 years, & DH has been at his for 10 years.
Sorry for the long post!
I have also used Ensure with my daughter (she does not like Pediasure). It also seems to help her when I give her a good multiple vitamin. This not only gives her the vitamins that she needs, but it also seems to perk up her appetite.does anyone have any suggestions how to get around the loss of appetite that occurs with stimulant medications?