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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 432496" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>Welcome, hamlet. You've already had some good advice. I second much of it.</p><p></p><p>A point I'm not sure has been made - we can't diagnose on this site, but I do wonder if Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) has been considered. It could explain a lot. Too often the docs tend to look at cause and effect. If a child has depression, has anger issues, has problems with impulsive behaviour, tends to nag perseveratively - I think Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) needs to be checked out. Ruled out maybe... although it was ruled out in difficult child 1 when he was 6 years old and I first asked, "Could this be some form of high-functioning autism?" to be told, "No, not in this boy." Only to have Asperger's Syndrome diagnosed 8 years later. So I would suggest you get difficult child into a neuropsychologist, get him assessed to see what can be discovered. </p><p></p><p>Food - when difficult child 1 was put on risperdal, he went from skinny to chubby very fast. Or as we put it, he went from having a six-pack to a beer keg. Taking him off risperdal - the weight came off. Interestingly, difficult child 3 was also on risperdal, on four times the dose as his big brother, and did not get fat. Risperdal is notorious for making kids fat. It boosts their appetite A LOT.</p><p></p><p>Eating healthily was what we did. And when I say "healthy" - that meant no hot dogs, no chicken nuggets. Instead of chicken nuggets, I would roast chicken and vegetables and let the kids eat that. Snacks - the kids got the same sort of food. I stocked up on fresh fruit and vegetables and would often leave cooked fresh food in the fridge for snacking. As far as possible, the food has to be home-cooked or just plain raw, nothing from a packet. I noticed the hungry kids gaining weight were craving carbs, so as far as possible I made the carbs wholegrain. Brown rice instead of white, for example. Popcorn (hot air popped at home).</p><p></p><p>I found I could not successfully restrict difficult child 1's weight, he was just very hungry all the time. But I COULD make sure he ate healthy food. What also helped was making him learn how to prepare his own meals, because that takes time, and in that time they can often re-think an impulse snack.</p><p></p><p>With my own weight, I have to watch it constantly. But I manage it by limiting access to only healthy fresh food. I also plan meals so I use what we have to minimise waste. For example, we roasted a chicken two days ago. I put the leftover roast chicken into a container in the fridge, along with leftover gravy. The chicken carcass went into the freezer. Then last night I got the frozen carcass out and put it in a pot of water. Simmered it for about half an hour while in another pot I fried some chopped onion and red pepper (capsicum) in butter. Added flour, made a roux then used the chicken stock I had just made plus some powdered milk to make a supreme sauce. I zapped the vegetables and the sauce mix with a stick blender until it was smooth, stirred it until it thickened as much as it was going to, then tossed in the leftover chopped cooked chicken meat and a cup of frozen peas. Another ten minutes of gentle heat and the peas were cooked. Serve with steamed rice. It's a very healthy recipe, very tasty, and doesn't take like leftovers. Oh yes, and the leftover gravy also goes into the sauce. If you have any of this recipe left over, you can freeze it, put it in jaffles or vol au vents.</p><p>One thing to watch for with a healthy diet - fruit is not the same as vegetables. Fruit contains fruit sugar, it needs to be eaten in moderation. Drinking fruit juice is good, but in moderation. If you eat a piece of fruit you get the fibre as well. I never drink juice now (even though I love it) because it is too easy to pile in the calories that way. Kid can get away with it more, but we do tend to give our kids too much sugar.</p><p></p><p>Cutting back on salt can also help - often we eat, when really we're thirsty. It can also be a healthy habit for a hungry overweight kid to always have a drink of water before eating something. They will then be more likely to be satisfied with less, and not need to feel deprived.</p><p></p><p>I would be looking at the risperdal as a likely culprit of the weight gain. Even if the dose is low - difficult child 1 was on the lowest possible dose - quarter of the smallest tablet once a day - and he doubled his weight in six months. Every kid is different.</p><p></p><p>medications - if it works, then you have not done the wrong thing. But sometimes a medication can be working, but the side effects are unacceptable. It's beginning to look like this is the pickle we're in with difficult child 3, the medications that have been helping him stay calm, have possibly been responsible for his apparent deterioration in memory and schoolwork. difficult child 3 has been on ADHD medications since he was 3 years old (boy, did we cop flak for that!) and it has really helped him. In our household, we've been dealing with a combination of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) (autism in various forms) plus ADHD. This then leads right in to other problems - phobias, anxiety, depression (big time!), cutting, impulsivity, sensory integration problems, behaviour/anger problems and more.</p><p></p><p>Hang in there, sorry you need us.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 432496, member: 1991"] Welcome, hamlet. You've already had some good advice. I second much of it. A point I'm not sure has been made - we can't diagnose on this site, but I do wonder if Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) has been considered. It could explain a lot. Too often the docs tend to look at cause and effect. If a child has depression, has anger issues, has problems with impulsive behaviour, tends to nag perseveratively - I think Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) needs to be checked out. Ruled out maybe... although it was ruled out in difficult child 1 when he was 6 years old and I first asked, "Could this be some form of high-functioning autism?" to be told, "No, not in this boy." Only to have Asperger's Syndrome diagnosed 8 years later. So I would suggest you get difficult child into a neuropsychologist, get him assessed to see what can be discovered. Food - when difficult child 1 was put on risperdal, he went from skinny to chubby very fast. Or as we put it, he went from having a six-pack to a beer keg. Taking him off risperdal - the weight came off. Interestingly, difficult child 3 was also on risperdal, on four times the dose as his big brother, and did not get fat. Risperdal is notorious for making kids fat. It boosts their appetite A LOT. Eating healthily was what we did. And when I say "healthy" - that meant no hot dogs, no chicken nuggets. Instead of chicken nuggets, I would roast chicken and vegetables and let the kids eat that. Snacks - the kids got the same sort of food. I stocked up on fresh fruit and vegetables and would often leave cooked fresh food in the fridge for snacking. As far as possible, the food has to be home-cooked or just plain raw, nothing from a packet. I noticed the hungry kids gaining weight were craving carbs, so as far as possible I made the carbs wholegrain. Brown rice instead of white, for example. Popcorn (hot air popped at home). I found I could not successfully restrict difficult child 1's weight, he was just very hungry all the time. But I COULD make sure he ate healthy food. What also helped was making him learn how to prepare his own meals, because that takes time, and in that time they can often re-think an impulse snack. With my own weight, I have to watch it constantly. But I manage it by limiting access to only healthy fresh food. I also plan meals so I use what we have to minimise waste. For example, we roasted a chicken two days ago. I put the leftover roast chicken into a container in the fridge, along with leftover gravy. The chicken carcass went into the freezer. Then last night I got the frozen carcass out and put it in a pot of water. Simmered it for about half an hour while in another pot I fried some chopped onion and red pepper (capsicum) in butter. Added flour, made a roux then used the chicken stock I had just made plus some powdered milk to make a supreme sauce. I zapped the vegetables and the sauce mix with a stick blender until it was smooth, stirred it until it thickened as much as it was going to, then tossed in the leftover chopped cooked chicken meat and a cup of frozen peas. Another ten minutes of gentle heat and the peas were cooked. Serve with steamed rice. It's a very healthy recipe, very tasty, and doesn't take like leftovers. Oh yes, and the leftover gravy also goes into the sauce. If you have any of this recipe left over, you can freeze it, put it in jaffles or vol au vents. One thing to watch for with a healthy diet - fruit is not the same as vegetables. Fruit contains fruit sugar, it needs to be eaten in moderation. Drinking fruit juice is good, but in moderation. If you eat a piece of fruit you get the fibre as well. I never drink juice now (even though I love it) because it is too easy to pile in the calories that way. Kid can get away with it more, but we do tend to give our kids too much sugar. Cutting back on salt can also help - often we eat, when really we're thirsty. It can also be a healthy habit for a hungry overweight kid to always have a drink of water before eating something. They will then be more likely to be satisfied with less, and not need to feel deprived. I would be looking at the risperdal as a likely culprit of the weight gain. Even if the dose is low - difficult child 1 was on the lowest possible dose - quarter of the smallest tablet once a day - and he doubled his weight in six months. Every kid is different. medications - if it works, then you have not done the wrong thing. But sometimes a medication can be working, but the side effects are unacceptable. It's beginning to look like this is the pickle we're in with difficult child 3, the medications that have been helping him stay calm, have possibly been responsible for his apparent deterioration in memory and schoolwork. difficult child 3 has been on ADHD medications since he was 3 years old (boy, did we cop flak for that!) and it has really helped him. In our household, we've been dealing with a combination of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) (autism in various forms) plus ADHD. This then leads right in to other problems - phobias, anxiety, depression (big time!), cutting, impulsivity, sensory integration problems, behaviour/anger problems and more. Hang in there, sorry you need us. Marg [/QUOTE]
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