Low Weight Due to Medication

I really wouldnt worry to much about it. My daughter is 10 and is 57lbs. The doctors do not seem to be concerned. They said when puberty hits she will start to put on weight... I just pretty much let my daughter eat whatever she wants in her lunch even if it is all fruit... She has gotten better the past few months. She was 50lbs this time last year. So there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Hope this helps...

Also i read the one below me Adderal is probably more known for that then Concerta. My daughter was on adderal wow what a zombie she was. COncerta is great!!

Adderol by an chance? My son was on it for just a couple months and lost 3 lbs. It got to the point where he wouldn't eat or drink anything (not even water) while he was on it. We switched him to Concerta and haven't had the appetite probs. It did however take a little more experimenting with the correct dosage.

Carnation instant breakfast - choc
Slim fast - rich choc etc. are very good and will give him nutrients and fat
Adults drink ensure and I am told it tastes better then pedisure
Use the pedisure in a milkshake...

Is the culprit Adderall? I emphasize. My son was on adderall and lost a significant amount of weight. In our case, he was overweight, so it was a desireable side effect.

There are two options. If the dose is working, you can try to provide grazing food that he likes to try to entice him to munch.

You can also talk with your son's dr and try another medication. Another medication may work just as well but without taking away his appetite.

Let me know what happens!

My son was the same way on meds for ADHD and not gaining weight. We use to make him double milk milkshakes. All you do is add powered milk to your milkshake mix and you can even add instant breakfst. My son would drink these all day long that way you are giving them extra calories and they don't know that they are getting them they think its just a milkshake. Also try cereal bars, granola bars and things like that. That way if he wants a snack or is a lil bit hungry he can just grab and go. It is a long road but by the time my son was in the 4th grade he was off his meds and controlling his attention on his own. You can also talk to his doctor and see if over breaks from school if you can take him off his meds we use to do that and it helped him gain during the summer. Hopes this helps

My daughter was on medication that caused her to not eat. I watched her weight and when she started losing, I made the doctor change it. Some meds make the eat all the time and that is when she gained to much. My daughter has ad/hd and odd and they have her on Strattera, so far, no side effects. Watch his weight, if he starts losing, tell the doctor, they might have to change it. If not, as long as he isn't losing, he might be going through a phase. He will eat when he is hungry. Hope this helps.

Hi! I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you are having. I understand all too well the frustration you are feeling with this. My nine year old used to take a pill for his A.D.H.D. He has always been on the low side on the growth charts between 10 to 25% However after being on his meds for awhile he dropped down to 5% He had no appetite during the day. Like you I fed him breakfast and he would eat that but then the rest of the day it was like pulling teeth. He did seem to make up for it at night because he woud eat ALOT then. However it always concerned me. I tried pediasure which he drank but still he was tiny. Last year he dropped below the chart. At that point I told the doctor I would have to take him off his med. What could I do. I hated to do it. On the med my son had no behavior problems at all. He was a strait A student. He was great. But off it his grades plummeted. He had an extremely hard time staying on task. He would get easily frustrated and cry. My heart was breaking for him I just didn't know what to do. Then my pediatrician suggested this new medication called Daytrana. It is a patch you put on in the morning and take off each night. It eliminates having to take the pills. I put his on at 6 am and when he wakes up it is so much easier for both him and I. So I agreed to try it. At first I almost gave up. They didn't want to stick. Then for a few days he just didn't seem himself. However, I knew when he firsted started his other med he did the same thing. And being an R.N. myself I figured I would give it a few more days and see. I am so glad I did! It works wonderful! His grades are great. No more crying. He is staying on task and best of all he is eating!!! His weight is back up to where it should be. I am very satified. At first the insurance company didn't want to pay for it. But the Dr. gave me a coupon for a month's worth for free and once we showed the insurance company his weight gain they approved it immediatly. I know you are going to get a lot of backlash, me too probably from people saying meds are not the answer and for them they might not be evrey child is diffrent and therefore should be treated so. I am just trying to share a little of my expierience with you in hopes that it may help you a little. Also because it is a fairly new med. But all Daytrana is is Ritalin except via the skin through a patch. Ritalin has been around for 50 years. I hope some of this helped you. If you want you can message me. Or im me at ____@____.com Good luck to you and your little one!!!
~A.

I wouldn't worry about his weight at this point. Being in the 50th percentile of means that he is in the average for his age group. My son is about 52 lbs at almost 9 years old and he comes up in the 40% percentils for his age group. My daughter is 50 lbs at almost age 7 and comes up in the 80%. My doctos says they are both healthy and at a good weight for their age. He said you have to take in other considerations with that ranking scale, muscle mass,family weight history. For example, my husband was short and skinny until he hit 13 and then had a six inch growth spurt. I would continue to try and get him to eat as you are, but don't worry too much about the percentile rankings. Also, is he drinking regular chocolate milk? If so, milk is a good, healthy way to put on weight and if you use something that is vitamin fortified, like ovaltine, as the chocolate and as the other woman suggested, keep him on a good multivitamin. I hope this helps:O)

Most of the pediasure is the same thing as a yahoo. Try giving that to drink and keep offering him a snack food like dry cereal or fruit thru the day. Do you give him vitamins? That is one thing I would definetly give him.
My daughter is 8 now and she only weights 65 lbs. She has only gained weight this pass year. She has always been little. But I give her vitamins everyday and it helps to keep her healthy.
I hope that I have helped in some way.

Hold medicine on no-school days. You might have to bear with the hyper, but appetites are better on no-pill days. Use Carnation instant breakfast instead of pediasure...cheaper and better tasting..add ice cream to it for fun! Good luck!

Instead of the pediasure try the carnation instant breakfast it has all the iron and vitamins but it tastes better. Maybe you should try small snacks through out the day instead of whole meals. Or you could ask the doc to change his meds there are other med options.

I don't know how you can get your son to eat more but a suggestion that I was given when I was pregent because they told me to drink ensure the taste is nasty. The nurses told me to make it into milkshake with a little bit of ice cream. It really covers the taste and it will also give him some fat to help him gain some weight.

Hi N.,
I have the same situation. My son is 11 and weighs 64 pounds, I believe this is because of his medician. Here is a new "patch" medician out there but it is really expensive. I have excellent insurance but it still doesnt cover it. I have the same concerns about talking him off of his meds, but he needs to concentrate in school. Let me know what you find out.
T.

My son has Ulcerative Colitis and he has to drink the Pediasure. He seems to prefer the other flavors. My friend's daughter loved the vanilla. Maybe you could try the other flavors and see if he likes it. If npthing else you can do what I had to do and make him a milkshake with it. My son loves his strawberry milkshakes!

Pediasure?Ewww.Grose.LOL.I would try Ovalteen or carnation breakfast. I think it is great that you are feeding him before giving him his pill.I would also get him on a multi vitamin.If he is not eating, I suggest letting him snack.I am only suggesting though.Not that you have to do anything that I recommend.PB crackers, celery w/ PB, fruit, ham and chz with crackers, little things.Still offer all the meals.If he says,"I am not hungry" then just say,"Well then here is a snack".Give it to him.Dont ask him if he wants it.Just give it to him.

N.,

My son was also put on medication for ADHD when he was 5. He is 8 now. We ran into the same issue in the beginning. Feeding him breakfast before or with his pill is the right thing to do. If he is not hungry until 6 or so, then maybe that is when dinner should be. Let him eat and snack all he wants in the evening as long as you balance good food with the "snack" food, let him eat the cookies etc if he wants. We also do not give him medicine on Saturday. That is his "free" day so he can eat all day long.

It is so scary when this happens. Happened to us as well. Not only did I watch my son become emaciated but become depressed and cry all the time as well. He is now 12 years old and a perfect model of the correct weight. The ritalin he was taking was a dosage of 120mg! I tried telling the doctor but he wouldnt listen! Then I remembered that doctors work for US and I fired him and found a wonderful doctor at a.i. dupont for kids who actually told me (after extensive testing) that my son DID NOT have a.d.h.d. However he still struggles with school and being hyper and focusing so we have him on a very low dose of strattera 10 mg. just enough to take the edge off. His grades are not great but I had to weigh it against his health and that is more important to me than straight a's
He is now eating us out of house and home! I sure know how scared and frustrated you are. For me at the time I didnt have a wonderful support group as this. Hang in there and question everything!
Blessings, A.