ADHD Meds for Kid - without appetite suppressant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the op of another thread about a newer non stimulant medication called qelbree.

We tried Guanfacine and Focalin so far. Guanfacine mellowed my son out for a bit but did not have a significant impact long term. Focalin had some benefits but also suppressed his appetite, made him more anxious and caused a bad rebound when it wore off.

Our neurologist recommended we try qelbree. It was approved by the fda for adhd in 2021. Has been around for a long time though in Europe and decades ago in the us as an anti depressant. I don’t know how it will work yet as we’re just starting, but we are hoping it helps alleviate his adhd symptoms enough and that it doesn’t impact his appetite the way stimulants have.

My teen has been taking Qelbree for a few years now with no problems. It doesn’t suppress appetite which is why we chose it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree that all stimulants seem to limit appetite. We have tried two short acting doses - one at 7:30 at breakfast and another at 12:20 after lunch. So he is covered by meds most of the day but will eat big breakfast, eat a bit at lunch, and then big snack and dinner.

But my super skinny kid was too distracted by the lunch room environment to eat well there unmediated anyway - we didn’t lose anything there.

This. There are many ways to work around the stimulant’s effect on appetite. You also don’t necessarily need the stimulant very day - some kids only take during school
Day during school year

[Anonymous]

They all reduce appetite and how much will be specific to your kid. My son was top of the charts before starting meds and stopped gaining weigh all together when we went on meds. We had some wiggle room since he was a bigger kid to begin with. But it's definitely something you have to account for. We force a really big breakfast and have had some luck with high calorie items he will eat at lunch like chocolate milk and yogurt. He doesn't seem extra hungry at night, so is definitely taking in less calories over all. For most people this is just what you deal with to get adhd under control

[Anonymous]

Ask your doctor about an appetite stimulant called cyproheptadine. It can help encourage an appetite for kids on stimulants. It’s used as an appetite stimulant for kids with other appetite suppressing meds/conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask your doctor about an appetite stimulant called cyproheptadine. It can help encourage an appetite for kids on stimulants. It’s used as an appetite stimulant for kids with other appetite suppressing meds/conditions.

I mentioned this in the second post -- it really turned things around for us.