He won't stop eating

[jannie]

difficult child 1 eats and eats and eats. Thankfully he is active, but he is putting on the weight. He is tall ( I forgot how tall, but he already weighs 88 pounds). There are so many daily battles with food. I know the abilify makes him eat more...He needs the abilify. He is also very picky. He craves all starches and sweets. If I let him, he'd easily eat an entire loaf of bread and/or of a full box of crackers. He is never full. The only fruits he eats are apples and pineapples. He does not eat any vegetables !! He will eat ground beef with pasta, but not hamburgers...he doesn't eat any poultry except for chicken nuggets from a package. I've tried to bribe him with anything to eat healthier!! I need him to eat less !!

 

[DDD]

Does his Doctor think he is gaining too much weight for his age?
Some kids go in spurts of growth that are scarey but then even
out. If you want to reduce the calories then you'll have to change your grocery shopping/meal planning. I did that for years
and it was a pain in the fanny. DDD

 

[smallworld]

Jannie, my son used to do this, first when he was taking Risperdal and then Depakote. He ate a lot of carbs, too, and gained a ton of weight. He's now on Zonegran, which causes appetite loss. Even though Seroquel has been added, he's not eating like it's going out of style. I don't know that he'll lose weight, but if he stays the same and keeps growing, we'll be fine.

I understand that Topamax has the same effect of appetite suppression as Zonegran. Metformin, the diabetes medication, is also used to control appetite when kids are taking APs. You might want to ask the psychiatrist about these options (I know, not another medication . . . )

 

[BusynMember]

Certain medications cause extreme hunger. I've experienced it first hand on antidepressants and gained eighty pounds, which I lost (not easy because I'm still on the medications and can still get very hungry if I don't completely cut my sugar intake).
My son was on medications for a period of three years and he went from seventy pounds to one hundred and fifty in those three years. He was VERY obese and ate non-stop and nothing we did helped that. He's finally losing weight and growing (he's also off medications). Trileptal and Abilify aren't supposed to cause hunger/weight gain, but sometimes they do anyways. You may want to ask your doctor about it. I used to ask about my son's weight all the time and the psychiatrist just didn't care, even when I got frantic.
We tried switching medications and Topomax and that Metaforum (is that it's name?) Nothing helped his hunger and he got a bad reaction from Topomax. We were quite relieved when he was re-evaluated and able to go off of the medications because he could barely walk.

 

[klmno]

I'd talk to psychiatrist, as well. I have heard that some medications used as mood stabilizers cause a lot of over-eating.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

Janie, I can sympathize and empathize with you all the way!

TInk is also on Abilify, only 5mg, and here is her day. She is never hungry in the morning. I feel guilty sending her to school with no breakfast but she will. not. eat. She does bring a snack (either a granola bar or a yogurt). Lunch is almost always PBJ. She gets home at 3:30, she's hungry. She gets a snack. At 5 she wants dinner (pasta [no meat], chicken nuggets, pizza). After dinner she wants a snack (fruit). Then she wants a "treat" (a sweet). THEN she wants popcorn. This kid would eat all night if I let her.

And nothing exceptionally healthy. No veggies. No meat. Argh. The doctor said that this is a basket C item, and to give her vitamins.

Imagine the looks from my parents...

 

[jannie]

The pediatrician says that he is gaining too much weight...I wish somehow I could get him to eat vegetables....at least then he could eat alot of them. He also eats way too fast.

 

[jannie]

Hey--I'm not on ad's so what's my excuse !! I eat way too much also...at least though...I hide it from him.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

ME TOO!!

Heck I am on Topamax which is supposed to curb your appetite.

HA!

 

[trinityroyal]

Could you try getting him to chew his food a certain number of times before swallowing? It takes a while for the brain to recognize that you're not hungry anymore, and if you eat very quickly there's a lag between when you're actually satisfied and when your brain tells you you're full.

I went to school with a girl whose mom made her do this, and it seemed to work well for her.

With the medications and appetite changes, I don't know if this will help, but it's just a thought that popped into my head.

Trinity

 

[Wiped Out]

I can totally relate. difficult child is the same way. He eats so many carbs and is always hungry. In the last year he has gained 21 pounds. I have not found any way to get him to curb his eating. I often think for him it is medication related. He is on Topamax but also Loxapine and Lamictal.

 

[Sara PA]

The antipsychotics can dull the part of the brain the registers that the stomach is full, just like they dull down other activity in the brain. People who take those drugs and eat a lot do it because they get hungry but never feel full. Why they seem to crave carbs more than anything else I don't know.

 

[Bugsy]

Jannie,
My son had extreme over eating on abilify & invega (a form of risperdal). Not only was it A LOT but it got to the point of disturbing because he was shoving it in to the point he lost all manners and looked crazed. The abilify stopped irritable moods for most things but it was replaced with food battles, meltdowns, & crying. Oh, and it was carbs carbs carbs.

We just started depakote on Thursday. I am expecting the same food thing to happen as it gets raised. The psychiatrist did mention topamax if it does happen.

 

[totoro]

Same for us... It started with the Risperdal and then Abilify... weight gain... food craving... we eat very healthy and K was a very good eater despite her sensory issues... then the CARBS took over. UGH!!!
She gained 15 pounds. At 5 yo and 45 pounds to start it was A LOT... we had to monitor her, it was so hard. We have no, junk food in the house, no soda... It was still hard...
I have kept it slow for the past year... many fights. Since we stopped the AP's she has lost 8 pounds, but she has also gotten taller... she is SO hyper so she can eat a bit more off of the AP's... but now she is not that hungry and sensory issues are worse and she is on the Topamax... it does curb her hunger.

Such a pain... she hated the weight gain, straight to her tummy...

 

[gcvmom]

difficult child 2 didn't really overeat on Risperdal or Abilify, but he did put on some weight, although I think the stimulants he was on helped counterbalance the eating. He topped out at 96 pounds and just under 5 feet tall. When he went off Abilify and transitioned to Depakote, he dropped 16 pounds (and was underweight). I think about 1/2 that amount would have been healthier to lose. He seems to have put a little back on now, seven months later. He's slender, but not emaciated anymore.

Our psychiatrist said to let him know if the eating got out of hand -- like if he was wanting to eat two and three complete meals at a time. We never got to that point, and I don't remember exactly what the solution would be, other than to switch medications possibly.

If switching medications isn't an option, maybe behavior modification would help? Like making him set his fork down between bites. Ensuring that food is thoroughly chewed. Taking a drink of water in between bites. Insisting that he sit at a table with a place setting for all meals and snacks. Getting him to try new foods is not an easy task with a picky eater. I've got three of those! Having mine help choose foods they will eat when I go shopping helps. Enlisting their help in meal prep also helps. We also talk a lot about good nutrition, healthy eating habits, reading labels, etc.

Things are hard enough with difficult child's without throwing food issues into the mix. Hang in there -- hope you can figure this out without too much drama!