My 8 year old lost about 16 lbs. during his first year on meds. He was a bit on the heavy side, so it wasn't so bad because it got him back in the healthy range for his size. He lost the most weight over the summer when he was in camp and running around all day in the hot Florida sun. His weight seems to have stabilized as he has gained almost half of it back. Right or wrong, I let the kid eat anything he wanted (within reason) during the hungry times of the day. Unfortunately, that was immediately after school and he often filled up so he didn't want dinner. He was starving again later in the evening.

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One of the issues my now 16-yr-old son has with his ADHD is his like/dislike of certain (most) foods. He would eat anything I put in front of him when he was little (8 months to about 3 yrs), but when he started tasting and 'feeling' his food, he started to get picky. I found that this was NOT a priority that I was willing to put at the top of my list for him to accomplish. He was rather 'skinny' (as I am and my genes seem to be stronger than his dads at least for now) so I made sure that any foods I gave him that he would eat had natural fats in them (regular sour cream, regular cereals, no diet foods @ all). Peanut butter and bread is a major staple in my home. Peanut butter and apples, or any fruit is great. Bagels, hot dogs, just for starters.

That is one of the bigger symptoms of medications (especially ritalin). What I found out was that when he came down off his meds he was starving! Whether it was dinnertime or not, I would make sure he would eat at those points and tried to make sure he would eat something healthy and then allow 'snack' foods after. It was a battle at times, but helped keep his weight even. I try to keep diet foods away from him because his energy would burn off so much weight anyway. I found I had to keep foods he liked (which were few) in stock so when he was hungry there were items he would eat.

Choose whether it is more important that your son eat with you and what you are serving at dinnertime or whether it is more important he retain his 'correct' weight level. My son would and still is required to sit at the table even if he isn't hungry when we eat, but I do allow him to help himself when he is hungry and he was coming down from his meds. He is now on Strattera and I don't find that he has the same issues anymore. He is a grazer anyway as am I, and it is only the 2 of us at home so I am not stuck on a specific mealtime and have learned to adjust when at home.

Remember, it is not willful of your child not to be hungry, they just aren't. Too many parents think it is a willful thing that their child does not want to eat at mealtimes. That is not the issue. They are just not hungry and do not understand the need to eat when everyone else does. Try to remember what it feels like when you aren't hungry to try and force yourself to eat something. As adults we have the choice to usually skip that meal, which we most often do. A kid can't make that choice because the adults think they are misbehaving.

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Thank you to all that have responded to my post. I have come up with a solution to my sons weight loss. His meds are daytrana a patch that he wears every morning. I have come up with an idea of a eating patch. I told my son this patch would make him want to eat . Actually this patch is nothing more then a regular bandaid but to him its a eating patch. So far this is working he seems to be eating more and its not a struggle anymore. So we will see what happens.

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way to go!! Wish I had thought of that way back when. Just remember that with AD(H)D, things may work for a long while and things may work for a short (and sometimes VERY short) time. But if it works, use it! I find that I regularly have to 'change' ways of doing things on a regular basis. It might work now and tomorrow, my kid figures it out and I have to figure something else out.

I am always telling people having children keeps me young! At least my brain is trying to stay young because I have to always be 2 steps ahead of my son and at-the-ready for whatever he is going to say, do, etc.

Good luck, and keep thinking. Start preparing something for when/if he does decide the bandaid isn't helping. That way you won't be tearing your hair out trying to come up with something new; you'll be ready to just jump right in there. Tell him whatever it is goes with his growing up or something of the sort.

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kristy said: Any suggestions? My son has lost 7 pounds his little pants are falling off of him I have been desperately trying to put some weight on him. Has anyone else experinced this if so what did you do ?

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My son also lost a lot of weight. Try having lots of high calorie snacks available, we found that granola bars and "shakes" (these were the nutrition drinks, like Boost). Also, snacks before bedtime were encouraged by his pediatrician. Good luck! Keep an eye on his height and weight, he may need to be switched to a non-stimulant drug.

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Ella lost weight when she first went on meds but with Concerta she is eatting better. We tried the Daytrana patch but she had more side effects and it did not work as well. She does not like sweets so eating good snacks has helped her. She has not gained any weight but she has been able to maintain her weight.

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My step son lost weight which he couldn't really afford to lose. His mom does not see his dads concern about the weight lose. He was on Concert but that got changed He takes 70 mg a day and he is going to be 12 soon. But he has been on meds since he was 9 He didn't start losing weight until he got on the Adhd meds. He is so skinny. He weighs 55 lbs. Which is very small for his age. Our middle son is on Adhd meds but he will be 5 in August. he is on Retilan but he don't seem to have any problems with eating. The doctor put him on the meds because he was so hyper and he would get upset and angry and bit and hit his self. Which has gotten better but we still have our days.

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