Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Saturday, September 03, 2011 Windra asks

Q: Eating issue with 9 year old son

My son was diagnosed with ADHD a year and a half ago.  He is 9 years old now and going into the 4th grade.  He began taking adderall at first and did quite well on it except for the fact that he was not eating very well.  The dr prescribed another medication to help stimulate his eating and that just didn't seem to work either.  We went to the doctor this past month to see if putting him on another medication would help with the eating and it hasn't yet.  He was 82lbs before he was diagnosed and today I weighed him and he is at 71lbs and I'm getting very concerned.  According to the weight percantile online he is at the 64th percentile so he is still not underweight but his legs are getting so thin and his shorts barely fit on him and it really is upsetting.

 

I have a feeling I'm going to have to call the doctor again to get him in there because he just doesn't eat.  Even if it is something he likes, he only eats a few bites of it.  I'm just so frustrated and don't know what to do at this point.  He won't try anything new to eat as he is a very picky eater and now even the foods he does like he eats very little.  Has anyone else experienced the same issues and how did they get resolved?

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Answers (1)
Eileen Bailey, Health Guide
9/ 6/11 8:29am

Thank you for your question and welcome to ADHDCentral.com.

 

I am not a medical professional and would not be able to give you medical advice.

 

It sounds like you are doing all the right things: monitoring your son's weight, talking with the doctor and staying on top of the situation. If you are concerned, you should speak with your doctor again (and again until you receive an answer you are satisfied with.) Sometimes doctors will adjust the dosage of the medication to help with  lack of appetite and that helps. Sometimes they will try a different medication to see if that works. Sometimes it is a matter of adjusting when your child takes the medication so you can work meals around it.

 

You should continue to work with your doctor in finding a solution so that you can best help your child with managing symptoms of ADHD but not have him continue to lose weight. 

 

Please check back and let me know how you are doing

 

Eileen

 

 

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By Windra— Last Modified: 09/06/11, First Published: 09/03/11