We need eating help! | ADHD Information

Hi there, when my daughter who by the way was just recently diagnosed, started her meds I told her no matter what you have to eat so your belly doesn't get queasy. I bought food I knew she liked and she would eat even when she didn't feel like it because she knew she liked the food at one time and also that her belly wouldn't get yucky. Late night (8-9) snacks are practically a meal just so she'll eat. I believe the fat is good try cheeses, yogurts, frozen yogurt watch out for high fructose corn syrup and my pediatrician said to make sure her late night snack was high in protein too. Costco has chicken nuggets that are all white meat, and try jerky that works too. I know you said he doesn't like pediasure but it may work mixed with frozen yogurt and whole milk add some ovaltine that has vitamins too. Good luck

You guys gave me some great ideas! I feel like my son doesnt eat enough because of the meds...he so skinny that he thinks his ribs are a six pack. Wow..i am soooo running to the grocery store after work!

Ok, my son started Concerta 18mg about a month ago and we were to recheck near the end of the 30 days to check weight, side effects etc.

My son got the flu this past weekend, and we ended up at the dr on Monday for that, so we just did the check up appointment for the ADHD at the same time. Now, as of Monday he had eaten a total of 5 saltines in 3 days - so I know he lost some weight from being sick and not eating.

But, in the 30 days since starting the Concerta he went from 54 lbs, to 45 lbs. That's 9 pounds lost! ACK! Some of it I know is from being sick, but they are VERY concerned about him losing weight as he is a rail to begin with. Literally you can see every rib, every spine bone, etc.

My son has SID as well, and eating has always been an issue - even before the ADHD diagnosis and meds. He is a HORRIBLE eater, and even when he likes what is being served sometimes he just won't eat.

The dr wants to see him back in 2 weeks for a recheck and if he continues to lose weight, they are probably going to take him off the ADHD meds. He has done so well in school, and with focus and behavior since starting these meds - I don't want them to take him off of them.

My son describes the feeling he gets when he is off the meds as "the crazies" (his words - not mine). He says he feels all jumbled up inside. I explained to him that if he doesn't eat, they will stop letting him take the medicine that keeps the "crazies" calmed down. But, he still isn't eating well.

I am terrified that the dr is going to want us to stop the meds. Oh my gosh - if you only knew what life was like before he started the meds - I don't think I can take it. I really don't. He was miserable, everyone in the house was miserable, he was in constant trouble at school, and I couldn't even go to bible study at church because he couldn't control himself for an hour in the kids area!

If anyone has any suggestions on getting this child to eat - I am all ears. He isn't ever hungry - even before he started these meds - he just never says he is hungry. How can I convince him that he has to eat?? Help!!!!

Thanks Diane and edbson! My son loves the Shamrock Shakes from McDonalds around St. Patricks Day - it is the only milkshake he will drink. Too bad they only have it one month out of the year. I am thinking maybe a carnation packet, whole milk, and some mint chocolate chip ice cream might be a good combo for success.

I am going to the grocery store tomorrow - and you can bet I will be picking up these ingredients to give it a try! Thanks so much! I will let you know how it goes!

Schedule a medication break during spring break and take him for fast food every single day. Hamburgers, french fries, milk shakes.I found this recipe for Shamrock Shakes on a few sites. we don't do
green food coloring since it's a petroleum product and freaks me out -
yum! gasoline! lol (There's a company called India Tree that makes veg-
derived food colorings if you really need them.)

2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 1/4 cups low-fat milk
1/4 teaspoon mint extract (not peppermint)
8 drops green food coloring
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until
smooth.

Maybe that mint extract would be the key to making all drinks yummy?

Thought I would update. I bought vanilla ice cream (all natural), organic whole milk, mint extract, and vanilla carnation instant breakfast packets when I went to the store today. I used 1 scoop vanilla ice cream, 1/2 cup milk, 1 packet of carnation instant breakfast, and 1/8 t of the mint extract - blended it all up and served it to him as an after dinner dessert tonight.

Everyone else had shakes too, but they didn't have the carnation in them, and I used 2% organic milk for those - none of the rest of us are skinny as a rail. =)

He drank it down quick! Man, it was an awesome sight to see! Never even noticed the carnation in it. I am definately thinking this will be a good way to add up some good protein and calories for him.

I will probably also add them to his breakfast routine, but I wanted to try it the first time at night when we weren't under time constraints in case it didn't go well.

Thanks so much to everyone for the ideas! I plan to also use some of the other tricks like adding whole milk, and butter and such to his regular foods as well. And see if I can fatten this kid up a little! HAHA!

He won't eat nuts - not even peanut butter - and he will pick nuts out of brownies even. I wish he would - they have so much to offer in such a small convenient package - but alas - no. Thanks for the idea though - I am open to any and all ideas for sure!

Most of my solutions have been written, especially letting him have a late dinner at 9m - hot dog, anything with fat. I thought about buying cream to make milkshakes and I slather the butter on his cinnamon toast. I want him to get nutrition, but sometimes calories and fats are all I can manage. Maybe you can lessen the dose on weekends so he will be hungry? Also, let him eat salty food, then when he's thirsty you can give him a rich chocolate milk. My son snacks on pepperoni pieces and that helps too. Good luck. What about nuts? They are high-calorie and contain protein, healthy fats, and some minerals. Plus they are easy to snack on. So I would think they would be a good choice if your child likes them at all. You know you may be right. When I buy mint chocolate chip ice cream at the store I buy Breyers all Natural - and it isn't green. It is mint flavored, but there isn't any food coloring in it. I think I will see if I can find that flavoring at the store. Thanks!

Thanks so much for the responses! I hadn't thought of Carnation Instant Breakfast. My question is - does it taste like chocolate milk, or does it have that taste to it that things like Slimfast have? My son will drink chocolate milk, but not pediasure, or any of those things because they "taste funny". So, I am curious what you who have tried it thought of the taste.

I wish I could make him a milkshake or a smoothie, but he won't drink them. I might try the protein powder though, it would be worth a shot.

Whole milk we already do, and I let him eat whatever he will eat already. Some days I feel like a short order cook! But, it is worth it if it will get him to eat. I have noticed that when he is hungry it is usually later - after dinner time - and we have been letting him eat later so he gets the extra calories. We also REMIND him to eat dessert! HA! That is something I never expected to do in my lifetime!

Oh, the things we find ourselves doing! You have to laugh! =)

I will keep the tenex in mind - I don't know anything about that med - so I will have to research it. The Concerta does well for him controlling the impulsivity and stuff, so he probably doesn't need it for that. But, he does have sleeping issues about half the time so definately something to keep in mind.

Thanks again - and if anyone comes up with any other suggestions - I am still listening!

gatorsmom39493.6145833333we do basically what Edbson does. The kids had them for breakfast today. 2 packets powdered chocolate carnation instant breakfast, whole milk and ice cream in the blender. It was GONE. 2 kids. They were in heaven milkshakes for breakfast. My oldest knows they're protein shakes, but not the 5 year old, she just thought she was getting dessert for breakfast.

Carantion instant breaky and slimfast are the same thing, made by the same company, and they both taste pretty good.

This is what we do for my niece who has FTT, 1/2 C whole milk, 1 Scoop Choc SLim fast( or one envelope carnation instant), 2 OZ whipping cream( heavy), 1 scoop vanilla ice cream OR 1 Cup vanilla yogurt. Mix in blender.

I would be careful of any instant products. Look at the ingredients and avoid any with preservatives, high fructose corn syrup and food coloring. It may be that your son is sensitive to these products and/or some other food ingredients and is staying away because it makes him feel bad.

Try going to a health food store and get a protein drink with a lot of calories. You can freeze it until it is mushy like a smoothie and see if he will drink it.

Good luck!

when the Shamrock shakes come out, bring them home and throw them in the blender with a packet of Vanilla carnation................you can get those calories and protein in him .

You might want to have him try tenex/guanfacine. It helps relax them, helps my son eat and sleep. Controls his impulsiveness and anxiety.

DS takes it along with his concerta. It is the frosting on the cake. His day would NOT be as successful with his concerta alone.

Try foods that you know he likes and then add fats to them, butter, whole milk, Ice cream etc. Try carnation instant breakfast, or slimfast, ( Same thing, but cheaper) added to WHOLE milk, and even add a bit of heavy whipping cream.

Milk shakes, with ice cream, and protein powder added are a big hit here.

I alos allowed my son to eat "whatever" he wanted. he would be starving around 8-9pm and we let him stay up to eat.

He also had rebound and I gave him a hershey bar. That helped because his blood sugar was low. It helped relieve the rebound.

Hi- don't worry too much yet. 3-5 lbs. of that is probably water weight from being sick- it will return just as soon as he's better and totally hydrated. How tall is your son and where does he fall on the growth charts? Sometimes the docs gets so focused on the kids not losing that they forget that the child may very well still be at a normal weight. My son always looks like a malnourished waif and you can count all his ribs, but he's in the 50th percentile for both height and weight- it only occured to his doc this past year that it's his bone structure that makes him look that way.

High calorie breakfasts before he has his meds are a good way to start the day- carnation instant breakfast made with whole milk along with whatever he'll eat can be helpful since it's also high in nutrients. I never worried about the middle of the day, instead we pushed dinner back an hour so that his meds had worn off before we ate. That helped a lot.

My son has some sensory issues as well so I'm very familiar with the picky eater routine. Thankfully the appetite does come back after a while. I think it was about two months for my son. It also helped to tell him that it was the meds making him not hungry and we talked about how we need calories to fuel our bodies, even if the meds make the hunger go away. I also told him he couldn't play football in the fall if he lost weight. That was very motivating.

[QUOTE=edbson]

Milk shakes, with ice cream, and protein powder added are a big hit here.

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What kind of protein powder do you buy? I want to try this with Ryan. He will eat milkshakes..

We found the milkshakes in the produce aisle and we just added whole milk and fruit. My son loves bananas. So we did vanilla w/banana, straw w/banana, chocolate w/banana AND whole milk.

It is healthy and filled with good calories!!

I got some at GNC, bodybuilders use it.