How do you handle eating? | ADHD Information
My 8 year old son has been on medication for about three months and it has truly helped him. He is having the typical side effects of loss of appetite and difficulty falling asleep.
My question is: how do you handle working with your child to eat a nutritous diet when they don't feel like eating at all? What I have always heard and done is to just serve the meal, if they don't eat, they will get hungry and will eat the next time. Obviously, that doesn't work for a ADHD medicated child. They could care less. He has always been an extremely picky eater. He will eat sweets, pizza and peanut butter but just doesn't want anything to do with fruits, vegetables or meat.
Should I just not bother and serve him what he will eat in order to prevent more weight loss? I don't want meal time to turn into a battle but want him healthy.
How do you all handle this?
I just cringe that he isn't getting fruits, vegetables and meat but I think I need to get over that and just help him eat. These ideas are great and sound nutritious. Do you all give multi-vitamins?
Yes. All natural multi-vitamins. I give Nutri-Stars by Rainbow Light.Also, I give ds Children's DHA by Nordic Naturals. It 100% Arctic Cod
Liver Oil (supposed to promote brain development and visual function). It
has a strawberry flavor to it. You can find them in Whole-Foods or online
at Vitamin Shoppe.
I try to stay away from supermarket vitamins that have artifical flavors
and coloring.
The Nutri-Stars contain vegetable concentrates of carrots, spinach, celery,
green beans, broccoli, parsley and beets. My ds doesn't eat ANY
vegetables.
In the past I have also had him drink Kidz Super Food made by Amazing
Grass. www.amazinggrass.com It is a chocolate drink mix that you can
mix with water, juice or milk. It is a little chalky, but if he will drink it, it
contains 33 fruits and veggies. Its all natural, non-dairy, gluten free and
decaffeinated. I think I'm going to start making my shakes with this
again.
Post any other tips you might have. My ds eats fruits, but no veggies.
Yes and he also takes fish oils and vitamin b-6. He gets acid reflux (from the stimulants I suspect) and my daughter was told by a midwife that vitamin b-6 helps with acid, and stomach problems....thought it was worth a try...
And there are tons of vitamins in the carnation instant breakfast, and you can blend up fruit and put it in there too....strawberries, blueberries, peaches, all come frozen any time of year, and bananas are all good things to add to the carnation smoothies.
Juices have lots of calories, and if you give the 100% juice versions, are healthy too. If he won't eat lunch, send a juice and a cheese stick....maybe if there is aonly a tiny bit of food to get through, he will eat it. At least it is something.
Another mom on the board has got her 7 year old's teacher on board to give her daughter (who had been losing weight) snacks at recess time...pretzel, juice, cheese sticks, etc. It has helped her daughter to stop her weight loss I believe. You might see if his teacher would be willing to offer some to him at an opportune time...
Serve him whatever he will eat within reason, add fats and calories whenever possible. Make Milkshakjes with extra protein, or add Carnation instant breakfast or slimfast instead of chocolate milk.( slimfast and carnation instant breakfast are the same thing, and slimfast is cheaper)To a point I did just that...I mean I would not let him have cake for breakfast, but if he wanted leftover meatloaf, then I warmed it up for him! One day he had a hamburger for breakfast....it was the only meal that he ate willingly, and I figured it may as well be something he was hungry for. I also give carnation instant breakfast made with whole fat milk, and you can doctor it up with pudding, yogurt, peanut butter....adding a few things can make this drink over 400 calories, and if you only get that in him at a meal, it is better than nothing, packed with vitamins and calories! I would also tell my son that if he did not like what we were having for dinner, he had to at least eat a peanut butter sandwich and some fruit before I would allow him to get up. I stressed to him that his body needed the fuel, even though his brain was not telling him that he was hungry.
You might ask your son's doctor about adding periactin to his meds. This is an antihistamine that has the happy side effect of appetite stimulant. It is often prescribed to children on ADHD meds to counteract the appetite suppressant effect of the stimulant meds, and also to anorexic patients and the elderly when their appetite is waning. It has helped my son to regain his appetite, and that med along with the guanfacine, has resulted in him gaining back the weight he had lost (once the periactin was added) and a 3 pound weight gain this past month (after the guanfacine was added).
There is a very good thread on appetite ideas on the board somewhere, I will search for it and post the link.
Workinghard,I make sure my son eats breakfast before he takes his first dose. I do not limit this to just breakfast type foods. If he asks for a grilled cheese sandwich, and time allows, thats what i give him. I always pack a lunch for school. He rarely eats it. When he gets home from school and his medicine is wearing off, I make sure he eats his dinner then. Even though it is about 4:00. After he eats I let him take his medicine, so that we can get his homework done. Before bedtime after his evening dose has worn off, he eats again.
When i make dinner for the rest of the family, i ask him to come and sit with us for a few minutes. I usually get him to eat three meals a day, just not at the same time as the rest of the family. I usually put a plate in the fridge with what I made for dinner on it, that way when he gets hungry before bedtime I have it ready. When he eats he usually eats a lot.
He used to take ritalin and sometimes would not have an appetite even when his meds wore off. I switched him to focalin (a form of ritalin) it has less side affects. He doesn't complain about his stomach hurting very often and when the meds wear off his appetite returns.
Here is the thread that I mentioned....and my son was the same way...he wasn't hungry all day on the concerta, even late at night! But we switched to ritalin LA, and it wears off around lunch time at school, so he eats, then at about supper time it is totally gone (the dosing is split into two separate levels, one lasts for 4 hours, then another kicks in for the 2nd 3-4 hours...) so he eats supper.
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=25130& KW=not+eating
Hope this helps!
[QUOTE=edbson]Serve him whatever he will eat within reason, add fats and calories whenever possible. Make Milkshakjes with extra protein, or add Carnation instant breakfast or slimfast instead of chocolate milk.( slimfast and carnation instant breakfast are the same thing, and slimfast is cheaper)[/QUOTE]
Are you sure? Maybe the premixed versions are the same.....but if you buy the powdered version of carnation, you can mix it up with whole milk, add some cream, maybe some blended fruit, and make it over 400 calories in one fell swoop! I don't think that slimfast (being a diet drink) would be made with that many calories?
Just curious...
Thanks for all of the ideas. I would love to feed him anything he wants within reason, but the only meal I get him to eat consistantly is breakfast. He does ok with that meal. The other two are almost non-existant. Could the combination of medication be doing this? He is on Concerta 27mg and then takes 10mg of Ritalin in the early afternoon. The Concerta just didn't last long enough and the rebound started early afternoon and was awful. The Ritalin has made his afternoons and evenings very smooth, but we have lost his appetite.
I would try those yogurt smoothie drinks or make your own milkshakes withmilk, yogurt, fruit, etc. Also, my ds likes those Kellogg's meal replacement
bars that have 10 grams of protein in them. They come in double chocolate
and peanut butter chocolate. He will also eat Cliff Bars. My ds is extremely
picky as well. You have to get creative with these picky eaters.I had the same problem with the concerta, but once we added the periactin, he had a normal appetite again. Then many people have had good luck with the tenex(guanfacine) for rebound issues as well....if you can't stop the weight loss with these ideas, you may want to ask your doctor about one of these meds to augment the stimulant.
Hi Working Hard,
I am in the same boat as you!! Today is my first time on this messge board and I am elated to see people with the same things in common as our family. I have been meaning to go to local support groups . . .
About the eating, with PL we have been working on finding the right meds. At first she was on Ritalin LA and her appetite was non-existent. Now, we have switched to Adderall XR (not just for diet) and I have seen some improvement. It seems like you have already gotten a lot of great replies.
I also have 'fattened' up breakfast (since it is her 'best' meal), though our family's diet is fairly healthy. I make cinnamon rolls, turnovers, & eggs. I always insist on a fruit or veggie at every meal. We've always done that so it helps. I also serve that first kind of as an incentive. You have to finish your fruit and then you can have the rest of the meal. As for vitamins, you should probably ask your pediatrician. Mine always told us if we didn't feel the child was getting enough fruits & veggies that a vitamin supplement wouldn't hurt. Currently we give PL Juice Plus.
Since my youngest is still on whole milk, PL had tried it and wanted to drink it. Warmed up even (ha!) I feel a little odd giving it to her, but if it will add some calories and she is willing - my DR. said go fot it.
Yep Chase is 10 and I put him back on whole milk....he has no body fat at all, so I figure it can't hurt...if he ever starts to fatten up, I will put him back on the lower fat milk.Some one I know was telling me this morning that when her son switched meds they told him that one of the side effects of the knew med was increased appetite. She said he's been shoveling it in ever since. 
I guess it falls into that "little white lie" catagory.
babygonz
I looked up the nutri-stars and I see that they have several plant enzymes...are these digestive enzymes? I also see that there is a good amount of vitamin B-6, so if these enzymes are digestive enzymes, I may well be able to help my son in his acid reflux issue....and eliminate some pills.....
Has your son had any issue with the taste of the vitamin? He doesn't balk at the taste or aftertaste?
Thanks
cr12345mr
We have had less appetite issues since the guanfacine was added as well...and there is that 3 pounds he put on last month
, I credit the guanfacine for that!
Ok I must be blind, I went back and read it and it says right there that they are digestive enzymes.
Thanks anyhow....
My Son had the same issue and is on similar meds - he is on 27 Mg Concerta. He actually lost about 5 pounds during the last year - which scared me because he was skinny to begin with. But his doc assured me he was fine and not starving to death. So I just make sure he has a healthy well-balance breakfast (loaded with calories). I really can't do anything about lunch when he's at school, but when he gets home he has whole wheat fish crackers and a PediaSure - even though he is not hungry - he likes fishy crackers so much that he just walks around with a butter tin of them and eventually some of it gets eaten. The PediaSure is great - he thinks its a shake and loves the "treat" - they come in Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry and contain 237 calories and are LOADED with vitamins and minerals. We also suppliment with Omega 3's. We have a "house rule" for both of our children at dinner. They have to eat 3 bites of everything on their plate at a minimum, then they can be excused. This has been our house rule since they started talking so it's never been an issue. I also started giving a snack of yogurt and fruit just before bed which he loves! This used to be a big fight in our house. He would say he was hungry as we were putting him to bed and initially said tough, you should have eaten your dinner and now it's bedtime. We gave up that battle and started providing him with a snack right before bed because he tends to be hungry at that time. Bedtime goes much more smothly now.
Honestly though since we started the PediaSure and the nightime snack, he has started gaining weight again and I can't see his ribs quite so easily now (though he's still skinny). He is 48 inches tall and 48 pounds - I just make sure every time we go to the docs, I talk to her about it.
Good luck and honestly, my best advice is to find what works for him, keep it as healthy as you can and go with it. Every child is different.
I think in my searches online, I have seen somthing called 'greenies' that is a vegetable supplement....I will google it and see if i can find it.
My son will eat any fruits and most raw veggies...cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, carrots, it you cook them the only one he will eat w/o complaint is corn...but only on the cob! He will eat cooked broccoli, but he would prefer it raw. so I keep raw veggies in the fridge and offer them often.
Here is one called 'kidgreenz'
http://www.vitaminlady.com/NaturesPlus/KidGreenz.asp
chasesmom7939115.5205092593You have gotten great advice so far. We also had the appetite problem until the doctor added Tenex(guanfacine). Now appetite isn't a problem at all. We tried all the tricks above, but if she wasn't feeling hungry, she just won't eat, period. Good Luck!We have always had a similar rule...our kids had to take a bite of for every year of their age of each food. And Chase would do that at dinner, then I would tell him if he was still hungry, he could make a PB & J. It drove my hubby nuts, but I just figured it was calories....
Chase does not like the pediasure...but will drink the carnation instant breakfast, so it is okay!
We dont have the appetite issues anymore since the addition of the guanfacine and periactin and the switch to ritalin LA!
Now we are dealing with acid reflux, and him having an upset tummy a couple times a week. It never ends....
My son is fussy too but I realise that anything overly chewy is what causes some of the problems.. lumpy things also.. I couldnt get him to eat vegetables or fruit.. so now my blender/liquidiser is my best friend..
I noticed that he would eat this new ragu sauce for kids several vegetables but blendered down.. so now I make my own and my god he ate every last bit up not realising that it had all the veges in.. I knew he would at a big struggle eat bolognese done the old way- so I cooked the mince or quorn then added my own sauce the new way and he wolfed it down no nagging.. Must admit I did white lie a bit otherwise it would have been a battle.. luckily he would eat tinned tomatoes at a push so I just said it was tomatoes blendered down with some tomato puree.. 
Bolognese sauce - fried courgettes, leeks, carrots, tinned tomatoes and tom puree.. but you can put in anything you like.. I couldnt believe I had managed to get courgettes and leeks down his neck... gob-smacked.
As to the fruit that one is a little trickier but banana milkshakes and strawberry milkshakes with all the pips blendered out go down well. Am going to try the same in muller yoghurt to see if he will go for that.. A lot of it for my son is the textures of certain foods and not the food itself....
Anyway back to it..
I must admit I feel a bit like the witch in hansel and gretal... trying to fatten up my child not so I could eat him but so his trousers will fit !!!! lol fed up of shopping for trousers and finding they fit the length but not around his middle !!!PL was slender to begin with. Now I feel like she is 'skin and bones'! It is great to hear that others are going through this too. The bit about Hansel & Gretel is a hoot. Sometimes you need a good chuckle through all of this! 
Exactly!!! I am the one in the food aisles, looking at the calories for the highest brand! I search all the brands of tortillas, canned fruits, etc...and the one with the highest calories gets my money!
It will be a good day when slim sizes don't fall off his hips!