What to do for weight loss on Concerta | ADHD Information

My 10-year-old son has been on Concerta for a year.  He has maintained his weight at 75 pounds until this month when he dropped 4.  This has sent his counselor and GP into "warning" mode.  Get him to gain some weight or else we might have to take him off the meds.

He has done so well on the Concerta that I do not want to stop.  What can I do to help him gain weight?  He drinks an Ensure with Carnation Instant Breakfast added to it each day (900 calories).

Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks.

With my daughter, she lost weight right away on stimulants - something like 8 pounds over the first few months.  Then she stabilized and slowly started gaining.  Her weight gain has been consistent with the height/weight charts.  

It's interesting that your son maintained his weight and then all of a sudden started dropping.  Is he eating less than before or getting more exercise?

My suggestion food wise is to pump in calories anyway that you can.  Use whole milk instead of low fat/non fat.   I also let my daughter pretty much eat whenever she wants.  There are many evenings when she is still eating at 10 pm because she didn't eat much during the day.

I agree with HorseMom.  Pack in the calories.  We use night, when the meds have wore off, to get her to eat high-calorie stuff.  It's not always the healthiest but she's gained 4 pounds in the last couple months.   She eats things like Ice Cream, Popcorn (with extra butter), pasta.  Anything that will increase her calorie intake for the day.

I wouldn't worry too much about the weight loss.  Our DD lost some weight at first and then gained it back.  Heck, we went for a couple of years where she didn't gain or lose weight and now she is gaining again.  All kids go through stages like that, on medicine or not.  Our doctor had threatened the same thing as well but according to the charts she's within range.  She's 9 and is only 4' 1/2" and weighs 52 lbs (her dad and I were both small children).  I'm only 5' 3" and 123 lbs so she's not going to be big.

You can also go to GNC.  They have some things there that are safe for kids that will help them gain weight.  We've used them before.

Good luck!!

Ok it's summer.  I don't know where you live but my kids are much more active now that the snow is gone and school is out.  My non adhd son has lost a few lbs on his belly.  I find it weird that they ar panicing.  You've gotten some good advice from these posts.  Try not to let them scare you.  This could be the meds but it could be just a normal kid thing.

He has been swimming every day, so yes he is burning more calories.  I will just keep piling on the food at night.

Thanks you guys.  Common sense reigns, but when docs start to threaten I get nervous.

The doc shouldn't threaten you and make you nervous on top of everything else you cope with.  It would be awesome to find a doctor with child with adhd so they'd understand why we stress out.  I am sure it will work out for you.  Just keep your chin up!

My son is 12 and has been at the same weight for the last two years. He has continued to grow and in fact has grown about 12 inches in the last year. I pretty much let him eat anything he wants. He oftens eats late at night , because the meds seem to wear off so late some days. I often have to remind him to eat during the day.

Since it is summer and we are in Florida, he just doesn't feel like eating during the day. He will eat more when the weather cools off. I keep lots of popsicles in freezer. I give him whole milk, which he drinks about one glass a day in his cereal. He eats 1-2  jars of peanut butter a week. He likes it on his pretzals and apples. Beside those things, he eats rice and meat, very few vegetables. Eating is a issue that I worry about but try not to make it a big issue with my son.

I would rethink a doctor that threatens me. I would rather have doctor that will give me help to solve to problem