ADD meds and weight loss

[Renee in NC]

I had noticed how thin my 10yo seemed, but a friend came today and mentioned how horribley skinny he was. We don't have a scale, so I don't have a current weight, but I am worried.

 

I tried giving him Pediasure, but it made him look like someone had punched him in both eyes. As soon as we quit, they went away - makes me think he really does have a dairy allergy. I tried to do a strawberry and soy milk smoothie, but he doesn't like it as much.

 

My ds cannot learn without the meds. It isn't just about behavior - I can handle the hyper (as long as it doesn't become rage.) He does eat, but not as much in the past couple of months because we haven't had as much of the food he likes. With meds, he has learned to read and is now reading on a solid 3rd grade level. He has been released from speech and language therapy even though he was at the 5th percentile back in January.

 

I think I will take him into the doctor ASAP and see how much weight he has lost. Then I don't know what we can do to help him.

 

I feel so bad for him because there is a really smart kid behind the ADHD - it just gets in his way!

[sweetsouthern]

i would definetly ask the doc if there are any options. when my dd was 8 we did stimulants and she was extremely thin to start with. they added in peridone (its an antihistamine actually used off label for increasing weight). that helped, then at one point she also had clonidine for her impulsivity, that helps increase weight as well. she went off stims for a differnet reason and switched to intuniv (which hasnt affected her weight at all) and recently we added adderal back in again. just a few thoughts that maybe the doc will have some options and ideas :001_smile:

[Jamauk]

I went on Ritalin in college and immediately lost 15 lbs. It was a major appetite suppressant for me.

I had the weight to lose, so it wasn't a big deal, but I'm guessing your ds does not. I would try to make sure the little bit of food he does eat is very calorie dense. Lots of healthy fats and lots of protein. You get more bang for your calorie buck that way.

Since he didn't care for the soy milk, maybe try almond milk. Smoothies are great and you can add protein powder to them :)

[rafiki]

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[Renee in NC]

I went on Ritalin in college and immediately lost 15 lbs. It was a major appetite suppressant for me.

I had the weight to lose, so it wasn't a big deal, but I'm guessing your ds does not. I would try to make sure the little bit of food he does eat is very calorie dense. Lots of healthy fats and lots of protein. You get more bang for your calorie buck that way.

Since he didn't care for the soy milk, maybe try almond milk. Smoothies are great and you can add protein powder to them :)

 

I can't find a non-dairy protein powder locally. I haven't tried GNC or anywhere like that yet. Also, healthy fats are hard for a kid who can't have dairy and won't eat nuts, fish, etc. With his appetite suppressed, he will only force himself to eat things he really likes (mostly processed foods!) Filling up on fruits and veggies would be worse for him because then he would get even less calories.

 

Strattera is the only one that they would try with my ds because of him being so thin. Even then it was half of the dosage for his weight. He's no longer on it, but didn't lose weight while we tried it. He didn't like the feel of "being calm", but he also has adjustment disorder. We also have multiple food allergies here, so I know how hard it is to have these kids keep weight on while avoiding egg, dairy, soy, and nuts.

 

Are you avoiding dyes and processed foods?

 

How about starting the day with 20 minutes of cardio? This is HUGE for my ds.

 

His behavior is most affected by wheat, dairy, and red dyes. We are not at the gluten-free or dairy-free stage, but we are slowly transitioning there. I tried to talk to his doctor about testing for food allergies, but didn't get far.

 

He was actually gluten-free as a baby because gluten caused terrible problems for him (he was losing weight very quickly and in very bad shape.) He was never tested for celiac because then we would have had to put him back on gluten (and it wasn't going to happen then!) By the time he was getting gluten again

 

I'm not worried about the behavior so much. He will tell you that without the meds his brain is in a perpetual fog that keeps him from learning. He didn't learn to count to 10 until he was 8yo. Before meds, his IQ measured at 62 (after, it has gone up 20 points already and likely to go much higher as his language processing issues are remediated.) He no longer qualifies for speech or OT.

 

He doesn't eat much processed food and that is part of the problem. Processed food has more fat and calories than natural food. When his diet was more processed food based, he had no problem eating and maintaining his weight.

 

I think we're going to be seen at the doctor ASAP.

[Jamauk]

There are some great protein powders that are based on brown rice. If I were you, I'd avoid soy as well as dairy. Soy has a lot of phytoestregens in it and do all sorts of horrible things to young, growing boys.

 

Adding flax oil to smoothies will help get the fat he needs (if you can find a smoothie he'll like), I've also hidden half an avocado in smoothies. It makes them very creamy (if you can get past the color). Another of my favorite smoothies is: Rice Milk, one banana, handful of spinach, scoop of cocoa powder, about 2 Tbsp of natural peanut butter and a bunch of ice. If you are comfortable with raw eggs (I don't buy store bought eggs, only pastured from a local farmer I know and trust), you could add a raw egg to the smoothie for some additional calories/fat/protein. It comes out a funky color, so I put it in an opaque cup with a straw. It tastes just like a peanut butter milk shake.

If you have an ice cream maker, you can make homemade (non dairy) ice cream in his favorite flavors and hide all kinds of great things in it (more flax oil, fruits, protein powder, etc. We have some really yummy coconut milk ice creams in our local grocery store. If you can't make your own, maybe see if an ice cream treat will entice him to eat?

 

I remember what it was like to be on the meds and have absolutely no appetite (which eventually caused a significant decline in my overall energy levels) and I sincerely hope you are able to find a solution soon for your son. :grouphug:

[Dandelion]

I can't find a non-dairy protein powder locally. I haven't tried GNC or anywhere like that yet. Also, healthy fats are hard for a kid who can't have dairy and won't eat nuts, fish, etc.

 

 

Do you have a Whole Foods store in your area?

 

DS8 is GFCF (and off of a bunch of other foods) and we found a really tasty protein powder from Whole Foods for him. It's Jarrow Formulas brand Brown Rice Protein (chocolate flavor, but I think it might come in other flavors too). It is made with all natural ingredients and has no wheat, gluten, soy, dairy, egg, fish/shellfish, peanuts or tree nuts. We mix it with coconut milk (which they also sell at Whole Foods) and I add a little Agave nectar to sweeten it. The protein powder has 12g of protein per serving, plus you get some additional protein from whatever you mix it with too. It tastes so good that I usually sneak some sips from it before I give it to him. ;)

[Misty]

Just an FYI, soy causes the dark circles under my dd8's eyes. If she gets any amount of soy, she gets dark circles and starts wetting the bed. She also gets aggressive and screams over every little thing.

 

Soy proteins are almost identical to gluten and casein proteins. So watch the soy because you might have to go soy free as well. When we first went GFCF, I upped my daughter's soy intake to fill the gluten/dairy void. The dark circles under her eyes got so bad, they looked like black eyes. She looked horrible and sickly. I was just about to give up on the diet when we decided to do IgG food allergy testing. The test showed high sensitivity to gluten, casein, and soy. Off-the-charts high for all 3! I immediately pulled soy and within a month her eyes cleared up and her behavior became almost normal for the first time in her life. She wasn't aggressive, screaming, raging, stimming, wetting the bed, or doing her OCD compulsions. It was unbelievable!

 

My daughter has been gluten, casein, and soy free for almost 2 years now. She no longer needs any meds for anything. She previously had severe ADHD-combined type and also severe OCD. She also has Asperger's. I strongly recommend diet trials for these types of kids.

[Renee in NC]

Thanks for all the info.

 

He went to the doctor yesterday morning and he sent us to the ER! My ds is only 82 pounds - 10 pounds less than he was just a couple of months ago. (He is 5'0.5", so 82 is not even close to where he should be.)

 

All the blood tests they ran came back normal (they were thinking diabetes.) They don't think it is the meds, though, as he has been on the same dose for 7 months. It's also apparent from the condition of his skin that he lost it very quickly. They are going to test him for celiac based on past history with gluten.

 

Regardless of the results, once the testing is done, we will be going gluten and diary free. There are so many issues in our family that are all interelated (probable Asperger's, ADHD, auditory processing, anxiety, etc.)

 

I'll be asking a lot of questions over the next few weeks!

[Misty]

Regardless of the results, once the testing is done, we will be going gluten and diary free.

 

I completely and totally 100% agree that this is a must in your situation. We are striving to be old ladies with no regrets, right? I had to remind myself of that several times when we first made the transition to GFCF. It was tough! But we are a million times improved in so many areas today. Stay strong through the transition period. And if you really want to see what your son is reacting to, consider IgG testing through Great Plains Labs. They test 93 different foods. Alletess is another good place to do IgG testing.

[rafiki]

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[Renee in NC]

This is your 10 year old ds?

 

My DS is 11.5 and waivers between 63-65 lbs. This same DS was 27 lbs at 1 year. He has multiple food allergies. We've avoided milk, egg, dairy, soy, and nuts for years. We tried going wheat/gluten free several times, but have been able avoid ~ 95% of it, then get stuck on finding substitutes for a few things. Now that he has wheat in his system, they can check for it. He's seen a dietician and we've never limited snacks or meals. It's hard. I hope your answers come pretty smoothly for you.

 

My ds's normal weight is right around 100 pounds, so 82 is horrible for him. His bones are sticking out and he is being swallowed by his clothes. How tall is your ds? At 1 year he was absolutely tiny, but that is because of the Failure to Thrive (probably due to gluten.) He didn't triple his birth weight until 2 years old. Then he seemed to be fine (physically.) A year ago he was 107 pounds, went to 97 after starting Vyvanse, and is now 82 (as I mentioned before.)

 

The only time we limit snacks and meals is when we run out of food.:tongue_smilie:

 

One of the ER doctors was pretty well-versed in celiac issues because his BIL has celiac. If he tests positive, we will have the whole family tested.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

we noticed that zach was eating more when he was off meds compared to when he was on meds......

[Misty]

One of the ER doctors was pretty well-versed in celiac issues because his BIL has celiac. If he tests positive, we will have the whole family tested.

 

Just remember that Celiac testing is not always accurate. Be sure to make the doctors pay attention to the IgG antibodies on the Celiac panel. If those are elevated, even if IgA is not elevated, then consider him to have an issue with gluten.

 

Also, not all of these kids have full blown Celiac disease.. It's usually a non-celiac gluten intolerance. These kids test negative on Celiac blood tests. This is why it's so important to look for IgG antibodies, no matter what the doctors say. Most doctors just aren't very knowledgeable about non-celiac gluten sensitivities yet.

[rafiki]

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