Need Advice on ADHD 8Yo Son's New Eating Binge

My son must eat 4000 calories a day just to maintain his weight. Is he gaining a lot of weight or staying steady(that's what to look for).

My son eats like that, but has gained 5 inches in height and no weight in the last year. He is now about 5'7" and weighs 102. Last year he was 5'2" and weighed 102. Most days he will eat the 4000 calories but can't all the time, that's why he doesn't gain weight. Keep it healthy as you can, and don't focus on it.

Another thought is that maybe his body isnt just naturally sure what his hunger level is, since meds suppress hunger, so now he is feeling hungry and that is new to him?

My daughter is 9 and has ADHD, I just finished reading a book that I highly recommend.

http://www.amazon.com/Kid-Friendly-ADHD-Autism-Cookbook-G...

This book goes beyond a cookbook, the coking part doesnt even start till like page 80. It explains how 75% (if not more) of kids with these disorders have an issue with some type of food AND WHY.

I would have spent a lot of money to meet with a doctor who could walk me through this information, these ladies (one is an MD) do it wonderfully and I was even shocked that I actually liked 90% of recipes. (I cant stand cookbooks that have strange foods in them)

GL!

Yes my Son has experienced this. The medication that is specific to ADHD causes a severe lack of appetite. When he went off his medication in the past his appetite would increase 10 fold. Mix a new exercise routine in with that and you probably will be shopping every day for groceries. My Son no longer takes meds we address his ADHD nutritionally with Might-A-Mins Spectrum Isotonix Supplements but I remember when he was cleaning out our fridge on a daily basis. If I can help further just let me know. ____@____.com

My 8yo adhd-c kiddo isn't on meds, but is hypoglycemic, so he eats every 2-3 hours. He maybe consumes 3-4000 calories a day. Unless he's in a growth spurt, and then it's double. But his schedule, quick like, is about 4 hours a day of sit down, and 8 of heavy activity. (Meaning either full speed, or constant movement, or strength schtuff. He has no problem jogging 3 miles in under half an hour, or snowboarding -tricks and all- for hours on end, or swimming for 3 hours straight -but 8+ hours of swimming total, etc.) Aka, he's using his body.

HOWEVER

My 8yo nephew is on meds (adhd-h), and a type where they go off of meds for the summer and other school breaks. We just had him for a 10 days, and even though my own son eats 2-3 times what "normal" kids do... this kid... OMG. 2 weeks worth of food in 5 days. I had to borrow against the next pay period's grocery money in order to keep food in him. I know how stretchy the alimentary system is, but he's a skinny (wiry) kid. Just WHERE (physically, not storage) the food got placed I don't even know. I'm dead serious he ate 3lbs of chicken strips I baked in 2 hours. That's over 4 chicken breasts!!! A whole box of cereal, and a half gallon of milk in the morning. Another half gallon that afternoon. 5 lbs of strawberries in a day. That was day one, and NOT including the 5 meals a day that I always serve.

His mum says it's normal for med-vacations. So I bit the bullet in the heat and switched to cooking (ugh) "winter food". High in proteins, fats, & vitamins... with a few heavy carbs (like mashed potatoes with chicken stock and butter, or rissotto, or "good" bread -like Grand Central Bakery thick crusty bread, as opposed to cellophane bread) as the "carbs" option. Nixed cereal entirely, and stuck with eggs & bacon & sausage & waffles for breakfast. HEAVY meals. And a constant veggie tray out, with a big thing of fatty ranch. And cheap popcorn smothered in nutritional yeast (for B vits), and gallons of greek yogurt with honey. Seriously, it was the American Heart Association Nightmare Diet 'round these parts. For several days we had bacon with every meal. Heart attack time. Oy.

BUT

After a day of "winter" food... he slowed down. It was pretty obvious his body was screaming for calories and vitamins & minerals equal to fats and proteins. As soon as I started having "dense" foods available 24/7 (we always have food available... since kiddo's hypoglycemic), he started eating less in volume. Which was a relief for my pocket book. If I could have found winter ration MRE's I would have bought them (6,000 calories per meal), but with the desert warfare being the norm these days, they're harder to come by.

I also broke into my husbands' weight lifting schtuff. He uses protein powder, peanut butter, and icecream to make a nauseating shake that's about 4000 calories. One of those a day helped my nephew out tremendously.

He put on only 1lb (his ped wants him 15lbs or 10% higher in body fat... he's only 4% body fat), so we didn't get as much weight on him as my SIL & I hoped) but it did stop him of "dyin' o' the' hunger"

He does Karate and rock climbing. Does he do anything else (swim, basketball, ride bikes) .These both require huge amounts of energy. When I was swimming I ate everything in sight and lost weight. When you are growing and doing active things, you need lots of calories to grow. Also, If you count his caloric intake, from what you list, he is eating a healthy diet. My son is 6 and very active but big for his age (muscle and bone like your boy). At 6, he needs over 2000 calories to grow when he is moderately active (this is the average for an adult). On very active days, it can be as high as 3000. So many kids these days are couch potatoes and eat junk. When you have an active, healthy kid and you feed them healthy food ( I don't see any junk in your list) it can be tough for them to reach thier caloric needs. I keep lots of cheese, yogurt and fruit around for my kiddos and we indulge in ice cream once a week or so. (By the way, my daughter takes focalin during school, she does have some "make up" eating during the summer because it she has a hard time eating enough when she is on it during the school year. Her mood swings seem to be about low blood sugar because she does not eat at all when it is in her system. When she gets home, I give her some fruit or a cookie and she is usually good as new in 30 minutes or so). Good luck

Sounds like he is really active. When I used to train in martial arts, I would often hit the all you can eat joints! I would talk to his trainers at gym and see if they know of a good nutritionist. All sounds pretty healthy...maybe high on carbs...but many carb load before big events. Only other thing I can think of is maybe he is not DIGESTING the food he eats. Perhaps lacking in enzymes?...May want to check to make sure his elimination is good too,...if diarhea or constipation exist...could be allergies, sensitivities, leaky gut. My little girl was always hungry, but had digestive problems...my older boy has sensory issues and does not know when to stop. My guess is you have quite an athlete,...and a food bill!

I honestly don't think it's related to the ADHD, although I'm not a doctor. Whether the medication is active or not, our son doesn't like to eat. He's always been that way. I haven't read anything about a crazy hungry appetite with ADHD. You might take a look at the website for ADDitude magazine to see if they have anything.

My guess would be growth spurt. If the pediatrician isn't concerned, then I wouldn't worry (although from a financial standpoint buying all that food, I might!). We've found that doctors will be quite vocal when there's something to worry about with eating patterns.

Wow! lol I would think that it may be some kind of growth spurt. If his metabolism is going crazy it could make him have more of an appetite. Also, it sounds like he is an active child in different sports so that could be speeding up his metabolism as well. Gook luck!

I'm gonna say growth spurt. Also is his appetite down while he's on his meds? he may be making up for lost time.

my own ADHD 8.5 yr old that is on meds eats likes a teenage boy.