Combatting appetite suppression | ADHD Information

She probably is not eating lunch at school. So make lunch time right after school, and encourage her to eat as much she can. You give two dinners. The first one around 6pm, and the second one around 7:30 or 8pm, just before bed. Try carnation instant breakfast at any given opportunity--find the most fattening ice cream you can, and blend a scoop of that in. For snacks if she likes peanut butter, put it on everything-- apples, bananas, crackers, celery.Carnation Instant Breakfast in a blender with milk and ice cream was a lifesaver for us! Our son would get  this shake every night before bed. You could also throw some fruit in there if she will eat it. If you google high calorie childrens shakes you will find some great ideas too. We found that it was much easier getting our son to drink something rather than eat when he wasn't hungry due to the meds. And if she is a picky eater, it's a good way to disguise things. Good luck!My 7 YO DD is doing really well on her ADHD medication and everyone is thrilled with how this is going.  All except one thing -- she was thin to start with and the appetite suppressant side effect is really making her underweight.  Since the rest of us are overweight/obese in the family, I don't know how to get her to gain weight.  She's not hungry during the day, though her appetite does pick up in the evenings.  Dr. says that she will probably experience this with any of the medication options, so changing or eliminating med isn't an option. 

Has anyone else found a way to avoid the weight loss?  Suggestions for things I can add to her meals (that the rest of us don't get) to help?  Super snack ideas?

I know this problem well! Isn't it frustrating to have them come home with a full lunch box?!

I start my son on a blender smoothy with fresh fruit and a vitamin/protien powder first thing in the morning. And I encourage a hearty breakfast as well. Of course, that sometimes delays the activity of the pill! His firsr half hour at school is usually rough.

For his lunch, I pack easy-to-eat snack items, preferably with a higher protien/fat content -- like peperoni or cheese cubes, yogurt and stuff like that that he can eat in a very short time.

Even with all this he is smaller than his friends, but not scary skinny anymore!

Whole milk, full fat cheeses, cheese sauce on veggies....and let them eat whenever they're hungry!

Pediasure or Boost drinks - make sure they are really cold so they taste better!

I am pudgy and trying to lose weight, and I was buying 1% milk for the whole family. DS actually fell off the weight chart, and the Dr. said we would have to stop meds if he didn't gain a bit. Now it's skim for me and whole milk for DS.

 

My son had major issues with eating, and I actually dropped his dosage of
meds. It works almost as well. He still doesn't eat all day - I force him to
eat breakfast and he eats 2 dinners. The weight loss evened out. He had a
slightly high BMI when he started (could have fooled me - he looked rail thin
so far as I could see) and now he's exactly where he should be.

Try everything, keep doing what works.

Good luck!We found that the appetite suppression subsided after being on the med for a while and their body had time to adjust, so hopefully that will be the case for you also.  In the meantime, I agree with the above posters, Carnation breakfast shakes, Boost or Pediasure to be sure that she's getting the nutrients she needs.  If there are times during the day that she IS hungry...let her eat as much as she wants, packing in as many vitamins & nutrients as possible.  Our son lost his appetite once his meds kicked in at first too and breakfast time was the only time he was super hungry, cause his meds hadn't kicked in yet.  We let him eat as much as he wanted for breakfast, making sure that he had variety at that time also (yogurt, pancakes, fruit, OJ) so that he got multiple vitamins.  Seriously, he would eat a yogurt, banana and 4 pancakes (some w/syrup & some w/PB) with OJ...I can't even eat that much!  At least then we knew that if he didn't eat lunch, he had plenty in the morning to carry his energy thru the day.  We also gave him Pediasure with dinner cause it's packed with nutrients.  Good luck, hopefully you'll find something that works.   Make sure she gets a multivitamin every morning, then let her eat from whenever her hunger comes back to about 30 minutes before bed. You don't want her body working too hard digesting food at night for her to get a good night's sleep. Let her have high calorie smoothies if that's what she likes, but make sure she's getting lots of good fats, too, like olive oil on focaccia garlic bread, nuts, and full-fat Greek yogurt with honey. Does her doctor think she's thin? Our perception of what's thin in children has really been skewed by the fact that so many children are overweight now. What's normal and healthy looks too thin.Can you get him to eat in the norning before the patch kicks in? How about things that maybe you wouldn't normally give him.  Ice cream shakes, donuts etc...I guess anything is better than nothing! My 6yr old son is having the same issue Annas mom. He had a small appetite even before he was put on medication. He started on Focalin, but once we got to 30mg and that was not working real well he's been doing wonderfully on Daytrana 15mg. At his yearly physical this last week he was 6lb underweight, weighing in at only 36lbs and being only 45in tall. His 18mo old sister is already 22lbs! His primary pediatrician suggested Pediasure, but I can only get him to take maybe a sip or two. He says he doesnt like the taste. We are very worried for him. At his last ADHD check up we only got to see the nurse and she didnt seem worried b/c he was "growing". When I insisted, she prescribed cyproheptadine 10mg but it didn't seem to work. I can not get my son to eat anything, but maybe every once in a while. He's just not hungry. I have also tried Instant breakfast, but again he'll only take a sip or to. Does anyone else have any other suggestions? I'm afraid that he's going to end up in the hospital if we can't get some weight on him  soon. Thanks.Feed her whenever she is hungry. Don't stick to typical meal times. My ds
will eat most during the morning and late evening. After school (3:00) we
go to McDonalds. Mornings are high protein chocolate boost (there is
vanilla and strawberry). We also give him Carnation Instant Breakfast
and/or make a Yoplait shake with milk. You can find the Yoplait shakes
in the freezer section near the breakfast food. They are really good.
Shakes with protein powder, yogurt, etc. seem to work well to put on
weight. They are easier to get down than sitting for a full meal. Try
smaller snacks or meals. Crackers with peanut butter are a good source
of protein. My ds takes a boost and yogurt to school for lunch. He really
doesn't eat much during the day. You will have to see what will work for
her, just try some different things. You can also make shakes with ice
cream. Frozen fruit works well. Just let her eat when she is really hungry.
It will probably before or after the medication wears off.My younger son NEVER ate when he was on Vyvanse and we
hated the rebound and the disconnect he experienced while
on it and not to mention he was so dang irritable ALL THE
TIME!

Switched to Metadate CD (started at 10mg, switched to
20mg within a week) and he's done GREAT on it! Has a good
appetite (well, he's NEVER been a big eater and he does
eat slightly less when meds have kicked in, but he still
eats) and sleeps well (something else that was an issue
on Vyvanse).


But as others have stated.... you may have to reinvent
your way of thinking about meals and mealtimes. My son
eats the best in the early morning before meds have
kicked in, and eats a snack at lunchtime. He will then
eat a sandwich or something like that for dinner and then
near bedtime he'll eat some PB and apples and crackers
and cheese. I know it doesn't sound like much but that's
about how much he normally eats. He's just not a big
eater and never has been.

Mixing up shakes with ice cream and full-fat milk, and
throwing in some fruit is a great idea. Adding butter to
any/all veggies, letting child dip fruits/celery in PB,
etc.