How to get him to eat on meds? | ADHD Information

 

I recently changed what I pack for my son... mostly protein... things like: small bag of cashews, protein drink, beef jerkey, fruit, health nut bread with little butter on it... says this was his favorite... and he loves all the other things??  I have gone from a whole meal to just snacks... tell him whatever he does not eat leave in his lunch box so I know how he did...  today he came home with almost everything... but hungry when he got home...

I can not seem to get much food in him in the morning... I have to give him meds as soon has his feet his the floor... his is severe... adhd/odd, so then I hurry to feed him and he will take 2 bites and get up???  He gets up between 6- 6:30 am every single day... not sure why so many say their kids sleep in they have to drag them out of bed to go to school... this is why I can not give him meds 30 mins. before he wakes up like some do... he wakes up and is roaring to go within 2 mins. 

I like the strawberry milkshake in the morning idea... guess when I think of milkshakes I think chocolate!! LOL!   My son only gained 1 inch in last 12 months.  he is 9 and has dropped to 50th percentile in height and weight.

Keep offering the food... Our doctor told us to let him go to mcdonalds as often as he wants etc... my son also eats like crazy from 6 pm on... all I do at night is get him food... sometimes it is so aggrevating but then I have to realize he did not eat much during the day and his risperdal is making him hungry too...

Good for you for being able to handle the Sundays!!

Yes! Protein is the way to go! It stays with you and helps with weight gain.
Also, protein is the fundamental building block for the brain. You are getting
good advise.

I also find myself constantly offering food....time of day does not matter, nor
does the amount of time that has passed since the last meal. If they accept, I
dish it up.

I agree with Jessica.  We try to have very large, protein filled, breakfasts.  Bacon, eggs, sausage, omlettes, etc.  Then, I pack things for school that can just keep going back every day, like juice, crackers, bag of chips, a whole apple, a whole orange, etc.  I often make home made muffins etc. in hopes they will eat something.... Then, when they get home, I give them "lunch".  They usually don't want it but they don't get a choice, they walk into the house and go straight to the table and eat, but they are not hungry yet.  The meds wear off at around 5:30 and they are starved.  They eat dinner at 6 and just keep eating until bed time.  I think overall calories for the day are actually pretty good - I just know it is not good for them to go from 7 am to 4 pm with nothing at all to eat, often not ever a drink of water!

The good news is this system has been successful in keeping weight on and growth fine - one of my twins had a 6 month period with no weight gain and the doctor had us giving him milk shakes for breakfast, after he had already had a massive breakfast we would make a banana or strawberry milk shake and he gained enough weight again.

Hello,

My 10 yr old son is currently on vyvanse, as you know like all stimulants appetite is nonexistant. Has anyone found a way to get their kids to eat anything during the school day? Lunches always come back so I just pack snacks fruit, applesauce, drinkable yogurt (which he does sometimes drink), homemade muffins with added protein powder, juices or chocolate milk which he may drink once in awhile. He will usualy eat supper about 6pm. Sundays are a medication holiday and I let him eat all day, I just deal with it!!

Any suggestions are welcome!!

Lunch is now at 3:15 when he gets home. "Lunch" at school may consist of
nothing or one select item. It's been like that from the start. For school
"lunch" I also pack stuff that can come home and not be thrown away --
drinkable yogurt, applesauce, power bars -- the same as you. Sometimes he
asks for a snack right before bed, which we do as well.Thanks for all the tips.....still trying everything, he eats when he wants to. At least he isn't loosing weight anymore so that's a good thing!  My dd's doctor rxed an antihistimine that in small doses increases the appetite. We are suspose to give it to her 2x a day but she has done well just taking it in the am. I think it is Periactin. (not positive on the spelling).  She went from 42 lbs last summer to 52 pounds now. Mine are so skinny, too. Barely registering on the weight chart. Our dr said milkshakes. They have fat and protein and calcium. And it takes a lot of ice cream to make a milkshake, but as anyone can tell you, it doesn't take long to slurp them down. Especially when they are watching tv. Of course, I wonder what kind of habits I'm setting them up for as they get older. One day at a time, I guess!I don't know either!

My 9yo (well, he'll be 9 tomorrow) is a tiny little beanpole. He's 49lbs and
51in tall I think? Maybe it was 52in.

He's LITTLE.

But, he eats breakfast here at home and breakfast at school (most days..
but not always) and then eats a bit at lunch and then nothing until about
7pm where he becomes a non-stop eating machine til bedtime. I think
because he wears the patch it hasn't kicked in yet until about 8:00 (we
apply it around 6:30am) and he gets breakfast at school at 7:30. So well
within his morning window to eat.

However - we let him eat what he wants; but the kid LOVES healthy foods
and isn't much in the ways of protein; he's a veggie/fruit lover :) Gotta
love it! Oh.... however, he can drink chocolate milk by a gallon-ful a day if
I let him!

But, mine just doesn't seem to gain any weight or if he does, he loses it.
Willl have to see what his doctor says come May when he has his wel
check.

will try to use some of the ideas posted hereI use frozen yogurt in the milkshakes, an egg, protein powder (not a full scoop cause he can taste it)and, lots of fruit so it is healthy. When I took him off his meds (cause the school wanted to see what would happen) hehehe....big mistake he gained about 20lbs in a month! so he's loosing all that now. Hes been on meds for about 5 yrs now and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with this issue.

Thanks again everyone for your input!
when I said I give mine milkshakes for breakfast I didn't mean with icecream!  I blend milk, fruit, and sometimes yogurt and honey.  It tastes great, you don't need the icecream.  You get plenty of fat with whole milk, protein, calcium, and the vitamins from fruit, without all the sugar.  I agree also with the protein powder and the egg (as long as they don't see you!).  Use frozen strawberries or other frozen fruit to make it thicker if you want.  My kids don't actually know that sometimes milk shakes have icecream, they just think they are made with milk!lol I understood....I don't use whole milk, we use 1%, that's why I add the frozen yogurt.

Thanks

See, I was doing that too, but it wasn't working. My dr asked me about the milkshakes and I was using frozen yogurt, skim milk, fresh fruit, etc. That's a drink for a kid not trying to gain weight. He also said not to add protein powder because the protein fills them up. If it's full of carbs, they get hungry again faster. Now we use full fat ice cream and chocolate milk.

From the atkins diet, we learned that protein fills you up and you lose weight. Carbs are the way to make kids fat.  But my normal weight kids get the healthier milkshakes.

I make my daughter milkshakes  -

1 packet any flavor carnation instant breakfast, peanut butter, 1 whole banana, & either heavy whipping cream or half & half, plus some ice for texture. Usually it's enough that we can save 1/2 for an afternoon snack.

My pediatrician recommended this recipe and my daughter loves it!

We've been using 2% milk (my son won't drink full-fat, he's been
previously used to skim) and mixing carnation instant breakfast into it. I
think we're going to start adding a dab of chocolate syrup (it's apparently
not chocolatey enough LOL) and maybe a scoop of ice-cream too. If he
doesn't eat it all in the morning then he can have the rest as part of his
afternoon snack.

YESTERDAY he had carnation drink (about 6oz), 2 scrambled eggs with
cheese for breakfast and then had school lunch and in the afternoon once
he got home he had juice, apple slices, pack of cheez-its, brownie, turkey,
and some chips.

He turned around at dinner time and had the rest of the drink from the
morning and had 4 chicken nuggets with a couple of fries and then had
some crackers with cheese afterwards. He ATE A LOT! LOL

I have to laugh when we start counting french fries. It's such a common conversation we have. "Just eat a few more fries." is met with "Can I just eat one?" How many people are begging their kids to eat one more french fry?

Sounds like you got a lot of food in yesterday, though. Oh, another tip from our dr was to look at the whole week, not day by day. Kids will eat more on some days than others, but if you look at the entire week, it should be pretty balanced.

momto4boys - oh I do look at the whole week and not any one single day.
But it showed me how MUCH he can eat in a day when he really wants to.

TODAY he started off with 2 1/2 scrambled cheesy eggs (made 5 total and
split them between him and his brother) and 2 pieces of bacon and a whole
serving of carnation instant breakfast mixed with whole milk and some
chocolate syrup.

I think I would have puked if I ate as much as he did! LOL