Early elementary child losing weight while on ADHD meds

[Anonymous]

Just started a month and a half ago and he’s down about 2 pounds. He’s already a picky eater. Does anyone here have experience with weight issues? I need tips.

[Anonymous]

DS is on concerta and it suppresses his appetite. We try to get good calories and fat in him before and after his pill has made him not feel like eating. We get a good healthy fats and protein breakfast in before his pill has kicked in. He isn't hungry most of the day but has a small lunch and decent dinner. His appetite reappears near bedtime so he has something like cheese or yogurt.

[Anonymous]

It's a struggle. My DD is 10 and we still struggle her meds kill her appetite and she was never much of a breakfast eater to make it worse. My husband was also very thin as a kid with no meds. I try to get her to drink plenty of milk. Unfortunately she hates cheese and nuts. She will eat peanut butter sometimes. NOt much an meat, but she loves Wegman's turkey frozen meatballs. We do a lot of pasta and sauce with meat as she will eat that. I can get bagels in her but no cream cheese or butter is acceptable. She like muffins usually so I'm looking at some healthier pnes of those that I might get her to eat. Also won't eat eggs but I can get french toast in her. So I'm looking for ideas too. I commiserate OP and I have the opposite problem of struggling with weighing too much. Turning to keep everyone in this house from ending up an eating mess.

[Anonymous]

We had to shift dinner to a later time.

[Anonymous]

We also have a picky early elementary child on ADHD meds. Because his ADHD is so severe, stopping the medication is not an option. We coordinated with the school to have an accommodation that he can eat lunch whenever he feels hungry. That has helped tremendously. He now eats lunch when he gets hungry at 2 instead of eating nothing for the entire school day.

So during the week it looks like this: breakfast before meds, eats his lunch at school around 2 and/or at SACC ~4. Dinner around 6/6:30, 2nd dinner or snack around 7:45, sometimes comes downstairs ~8:30 saying he's hungry again so we allow another snack of peanut butter crackers. Asleep no later than 9. Rinse, repeat. We also let him eat whatever he wants whenever he wants on the weekend and supplement all meals with Boost/Ensure/Pediasure (whichever he's in the mood for, we do not care and have all on hand) per pediatrician recommendation. This has helped him stop losing the weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We also have a picky early elementary child on ADHD meds. Because his ADHD is so severe, stopping the medication is not an option. We coordinated with the school to have an accommodation that he can eat lunch whenever he feels hungry. That has helped tremendously. He now eats lunch when he gets hungry at 2 instead of eating nothing for the entire school day.

So during the week it looks like this: breakfast before meds, eats his lunch at school around 2 and/or at SACC ~4. Dinner around 6/6:30, 2nd dinner or snack around 7:45, sometimes comes downstairs ~8:30 saying he's hungry again so we allow another snack of peanut butter crackers. Asleep no later than 9. Rinse, repeat. We also let him eat whatever he wants whenever he wants on the weekend and supplement all meals with Boost/Ensure/Pediasure (whichever he's in the mood for, we do not care and have all on hand) per pediatrician recommendation. This has helped him stop losing the weight.

Great idea on eating at SACC. My SACCer doesn't always like SACC snack they try to keep extras of the non-perishable stuff but since she hates cereal and goldfish she doesn't have a lot of choice, I may try to see about keeping something there for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also have a picky early elementary child on ADHD meds. Because his ADHD is so severe, stopping the medication is not an option. We coordinated with the school to have an accommodation that he can eat lunch whenever he feels hungry. That has helped tremendously. He now eats lunch when he gets hungry at 2 instead of eating nothing for the entire school day.

So during the week it looks like this: breakfast before meds, eats his lunch at school around 2 and/or at SACC ~4. Dinner around 6/6:30, 2nd dinner or snack around 7:45, sometimes comes downstairs ~8:30 saying he's hungry again so we allow another snack of peanut butter crackers. Asleep no later than 9. Rinse, repeat. We also let him eat whatever he wants whenever he wants on the weekend and supplement all meals with Boost/Ensure/Pediasure (whichever he's in the mood for, we do not care and have all on hand) per pediatrician recommendation. This has helped him stop losing the weight.

Great idea on eating at SACC. My SACCer doesn't always like SACC snack they try to keep extras of the non-perishable stuff but since she hates cereal and goldfish she doesn't have a lot of choice, I may try to see about keeping something there for her.

I'm the pp. We keep Pediasure and a huge Costco size container of very specific crackers there as well so that if he eats his entire lunch at 2 he will have something available at SACC. Since they know our concern re: ADHD meds and weight, they are very amenable to it.

[Anonymous]

For us lunch becomes more of a snack and we offer a before bed snack to make up for that "lost" meal

[Anonymous]

When my DS was on stimulants he ate a very large breakfast before he took the meds. At school he did a light lunch. After school he would have a small snack. Then at dinner his portion would be fairly small. Then a couple of hours later right before bed is when he was really truly hungry and had his, bigger dinner. We also did pediasure and/or smoothies every single day for years. we got to the point eventually, where his weight was stable. Then, even on stimulant meds during puberty, he gained weight.

[Anonymous]

We were advised to increase butter, oils, gravy, cheese, etc., and even to give nightly bowl of ice cream. DD liked croissants, so I kept them on hand. We’d occasionally make very fattening milkshakes with ice cream, peanut butter, and a bottle or two of Carnation Breakfast Essentials for protein. When dd really struggled, she needed to take Cyproheptadine (Periactin) to stimulate her appetite, and it helped.

Concerta suppressed her appetite more than any other stimulant she’s tried. She now takes a short acting stimulant twice per day instead of one dose of a long acting medication, and she’s more hungry. She’s also had less appetite suppression from stimulants since going through puberty.

[Anonymous]

This is OP. Thank you for the suggestions.

DS isn’t a fan of cheese, peanut butter, most meat, fried foods… etc. He eat so slowly.

We started giving him ice cream and chocolate milk.

[Anonymous]

Has the weight stabilized?

I have two kids on stimulants and one lost 5 lbs during the first two months but then put the weight back on again (3 lbs of it) over the next three months and then back up to previous weight a year later. DC looks slender but fine.

My oldest DC lost 3 lbs the first two months and stabilized. But they were already very slender so the weight loss put them very underweight and they looked unhealthy. It took a year to put 2 lbs back on, we started working with a nutritionist and feeding therapy to put another 3 lbs on - so net 2 lb weight gain over 2 years and BMI is under 5%. DC still looks much more slender than their peers, but has stayed on their growth curve. DC does daily homemade milk shakes - the issue is not nutrition, it’s calories. Also, picky eating and very low appetite - the food theory has helped a bit with the picky eating (a bit!) but the lack of appetite makes things hard - even before the stimulants, DC has never “overeaten” anything - when DC is full, DC stops eating. Great trait in life, terrible when you are trying to gain weight.

So how much the weight loss matters depends on where your DC started and if they are able to regain easily.