Are there any ADHD meds that do not supress appetite?

[Anonymous]

DS is on Focalin xr. The appetite suppression is really starting to worry me. So far DS has not lost any weight, but we had to add Boost into his diet b/c he just isn't eating as much as he used to. FWIW, he is 7 and before the meds he was eating like a 15 yr old boy (had been for about a year). He has gone from a voracious eater to eating maybe 1 meal a day plus 1-2 small snacks. I'm not familiar with any other ADHD meds out there. Is there something that doesn't cause such a HUGE decrease in appetite?

[Anonymous]

I hear that the non stimulant ones, such as staterra, don't suppress appetite, but per our ped, they don't work as well. We just deal with the appetite suppressant issue by offering food at different times. My son eats a huge meal right before bed. Sometimes even then he can't fall asleep,because he is hungry so I have to make a second before bed meal.

[Anonymous]

I have found that Concerta extended release supresses my appetite less than the short acting Ritalin did.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you. We have an appt with the dev ped next week and I will be asking about other med options. My DS eats mostly dinner and after dinner. His before bed snack is more dinner - like portion. He does have an AM and PM snack at school and lunch. He normally will come home with one of the snacks eaten and maybe 1 item from lunch (but usually lunch is not touched). It just worries me b/c he literally went from eating me out of house and home.

[Anonymous]

We make sure that our DS eats a high calorie nutrient dense breakfast before taking his meds and then has a good dinner after the meds have worn off. He knows that he has to eat something for lunch even if he isn't hungry--he doesn't have to eat a lot just enough to keep his blood sugar stable. We are not having any issues with growth. He takes straterra and focalin. Be flexible about eating times. It doesn't matter so much when your child eats as long as he/she does in fact eat.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks. We have been flexible. DS takes his meds at 6 am. We had to adjust his time so that he could function when he woke up in the mornings. I've attempted to get him to eat something with the meds but right now he refuses. Breakfast is a yogurt right now. After school until bedtime seems to be when we can get him to eat.

[Anonymous]

Our DS started on Focalin and excessive weight loss was one of the reasons we had to switch. Weight loss is more often seen with the stimulant meds than the non-stimulants. DS has been on Intuniv, a non-stimulant, for the last 2 years and other than some initial daytime drowsiness (which passed), we've seen no negative side effects. I understand Intuniv may not be as effect as the stimulants meds but we and DS's teachers have seen improvement in his ADHD symptoms when he's on it. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

My ds is on concerta. He often comes home from school with a lot of his lunch uneaten. His doctors have told me that I just have to keep the "kitchen open" at all times. He eats a fair amount after dinner as well.

[Anonymous]

Plus one for intuniv -- same deal as PP, we dropped the stimulant after 1.5 years because of excessive weight loss, tics and lack of sleep. We don't see that fabulous focus that you get with ritalin products, but intuniv does enough to get by. No side effects for the most part; the sleepiness passes or if it doesn't dial back the dose to the next lowest.

[Anonymous]

The appetite effect has been mixed in our experience. There are times when DS eats very little but many days, he'll eat a bowl of cereal, a pop tart (yes, we allow them!), and a waffle or two spread with peanut butter for breakfast. He often eats little for lunch but then can come home and eat a ton for dinner or right before bed. There has not been a consistent impact on appetite and DS does continue to grow. Good luck - yes, this is one of the effects of medication that isn't fun to deal with but it does not seem to be a permanent problem.

[Anonymous]

Our dev. pediatrician said that unfortunately virtually all of the meds cause loss of appetite and, if you aren't seeing this then it's probably not working as well to help focus. We started our 7-year old on Focalin XR 10mg last year and she lost 5 pounds in the first few months. The lunch would come back intact and no morning snack. She dropped from size 7-8 to 4-5, it was scary. We started this with our regular pediatrician until we realized we needed someone more specialized. We then tried Concerta and Metadate, both of which did not cause such an appetite loss but not great in terms of concentration. So now we are back to Focalin but not the XR version. Instead, we are doing 10mg, which lasts about 4 to 5 hours and does not cause as bad an appetite loss in her and then at 12:30pm she takes 5 mg to help get through end of school and homework. This has helped a lot in terms of the appetite. Our ped also recommended carnation instant breakfast in her milk, which adds calories, vitamins, etc. and I make her eat a big breakfast, sometimes I even feed her myself while watching TV. I know it sounds extreme but after seeing my daughter look so thin, dark circles around her eyes and not good energy I got very worried. At first it was tough, she did not want to eat but slowly she ate a little more, we made sure she got a good afternoon snack and ate as much as she wanted after school. She gets a big dinner and like one of the PPs, we would give her a night snack after dinner. This went on for several months and she has put on 7 pounds and has a good appetite now. She still eats only half her lunch but is doing better. I also went to the grocery store and gbought all her favorites. Hope tthis helps. Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

My son (on Adderall) stopped eating lunch, and he's always been on the skinny side. I've been trying to amp up breakfast a lot - I make him a smoothy with greek yogurt (more protein than regular), banana, some kind of berry, kefir (probiotic yogurt drink - I use it in place of milk for the smoothy), coconut milk, a heaping scoop of protein powder, and some honey. He's been sucking it down as a drink to accompany regular breakfast. This week for breakfast I've been pushing Eggo "High Protein" waffles with peanut butter and nutella on them... not the healthiest, but it's more food AND protein than he'd otherwise eat.

[Anonymous]

Intuniv does not suppress appetite and works fairly well for my son.

[Anonymous]

focaloin eat to me is then loss of appetite. she too thin to not eating there food in morning or atnight. my worry is to be tooo skinney . must eat they food into meat, potatoa, zand veggiies with milk too.

[Anonymous]

My child has been on Focalin for several years and we've had no weight loss. Generally, he eats a really good breakfast (including an Ensure drink) and something very small like a snack for lunch at school. When he gets home from school he is very hungry and basically eats his lunch. He also eats a good dinner, but sometimes it is later in the evening if he needs a booster pill to finish homework. Basically, he eats at much as he would have without medicine just at non-traditional times. You have to be flexible about food and as someone earlier said, keep the kitchen open at all times. The medication has made a huge difference in his academic and social life so for us the food scheduling issues are worth it.