Obsession with food

[Dara]

Do any of your difficult child's have this obsession and if so, what do you do about it? Sammy wants food 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Even right after eating a full meal he wants food. When we say no obviously we have a full rage. I was just interested to know everyones take on this and if any of you have experienced this before!

 

[Wiped Out]

To an extent yes. We are having a really hard time with difficult child and food. Seems he is always hungry and has gained 35 pounds in the last year but only grown 1 inch. difficult child has gone into rages over being said no to over food. Now we will try to put it off to later or we try to offer him healthy choices but we need to get better at it. I do buy the ww ice cream for him to eat and we have lots of yogurt-of course-then he wants three or four of them.

Wish I had some advice but we are dealing with it and haven't had great success.

 

[klmno]

Sometimes it is the medications that they are on. Certain mood stabilizers and AP's apparently effect it. I don't know about the other ones. It is an issue- unfortunately, I don't have a solution.

 

[ML]

My son does this too. I wish I the answer. I just wanted to tell you that you aren't alone. xo

 

[smallworld]

Dara, did it get worse when Sammy started Depakote? What other medications (if any) is he taking?

 

[Dara]

He has always been obsessed over food since he could eat normal food. It has gotten a little worse since the Depakote. he isnt taking anything else right now allthough that might change after his appointment in september. I really try to get him focused on something else but he has the will of steel so...
The food of obsession this week is Cheez it party mix...real healthy! I limit how much he can have per day and I try and offer healthy choices...
We have started a token system so in time this behavior will be addressed but we are only on day 4 so we are really trying to give him only success with it.

 

[klmno]

Can you "push" fruit as an option? My difficult child has started with gum as an option to eating- although I've heard that gum makes the stomach juices flow that keep you hungry so I can't honestly say that is a good option.

 

[Josie]

My younger daughter can be this way. I think it is part of her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She has fallen apart over not getting any food even when she has just eaten. Now that I think about it, she isn't doing this as much any more.

I make sure she eats a healthy meal and offer healthy choices for the snacks. She will accept healthy choices and doesn't have a weight problem so I just let her eat when she says she is hungry. It's easier to deal with because she is older and can get her own food.

One thing I tried for some of her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) compulsions was to extend the time. So you could try getting him to wait 10 minutes if he'll rage with a no and work up to longer.

 

[Christy]

When my son takes his evening medications he gets extremely hungry and seems like he can't get enough food. He will eat an entire box of cereal if you let him. If possible, I try to distract him from eating with another activity but there are times when he meltdowns over being denied food even though I know he has had plenty to eat. Popsicles sweetened with splenda are a no cal alternative that takes awhile to eat. Popcorn is pretty healthy.

 

[jal]

My difficult child is kind of the same about food, but always has been. I did not notice an uptick with Depakote though, as it has always been the same. He eats in the am, but does not finish his breakfast, then an hour later he wants something else. Then by 10 am he wants luch, tell him no to wait and its full meltdown. Usually, wants chips by 11 - no I say, with lunch. Hangs onto around noon for lunch then doesn't eat it all. Wants something after lunch then usually there is a respite throught the afternoon. Wants a snack before dinner, eats dinner and then IMMEDIATELY wants dessert. We try to get him to wait and he goes into full meltdown. I asked him to wait a minute the other night for an icecream and I got punched in my breast. Then later before bed he usually wants something else.

On days I pick him up from daycare he IMMEDIATLEY wants to eat when he gets in my car. If not he rages. UGH.

We just try to limit how much of each thing he has and try to incorporate good choices like yogurt and fruit (luckily he likes those things). Fortunately, he's like his father - eats what he wants and doesn't gain a pound. Da*n them!

 

[Tiapet]

My middle difficult child is. To the point she will steal food. I'm not sure at what level exactly you are at and if you've experienced any at this level as you didn't mention this.

She will demand, and I do mean demand breakfast the moment she wakes (or wakes us up if we are not awake when she gets up). Shortly there after she demands more food stating she is hungry again. She will seek out lunch around 10 and keep bugging for it until she gets it even though she knows what time she will get it. Then she will bug for more food in the afternoon several times over even if given a snack (often we've had to limit that when her weight went up). Then it's dinner and immediately after that demanding dessert right away. She gets up in the middle of the night as well and steals even if she's had dessert.

We have tried having healthy choices for options in place of other stuff. Leaving out as much of the healthy items so she can have them when ever she wants (on advice of docs). Doesn't work. We are now into lock down of everything. We have a closet that we had to buy simply to put all kinds of food we know she will steal into. She progressed to can goods, ketchup (unopened and open), sugar, confectioner sugar, cake mixes, etc. You name it she didn't discriminate (even things you wouldn't think of). We also have to lock up the refrigerator. She would sneak into that and steal. She became so good at it that I could be sitting right in the next room and she was able to get in and out with out me noticing. It's sad and scary.

We don't know why she is doing this as of yet and have been working on the answer for 1 1/2 years now and have come up empty.

 

[SRL]

Dara, is his weight a problem? One of my son's friends was extremely hyperactive and was constantly asking for something to eat. He was thin though so I just think it took a lot of food to fuel all of that motion.

Have his speech teachers fixed you up with a PECS communication system yet? Seeing a visual schedule of when to eat and not eat helps some kids on issues like this.

 

[Dara]

He does not have a weight issue as of yet and are hoping not to start one. Sammy will be evaluated by a speech pathologist on July 1st. She doesnt do a whole lot of session in the summer because she is home with her children. THe problem we have with Sammy is that he is completely apathetic to all discipline. he flat out does not care. He also gets so focused on whatever it is that he is trying to get or obsessing over, there is no redirection. You can try to redirect and offer many neat things but it doesnt work he is too focused at the task at hand. Now he is starting a fake language regression and comprehension regression. We know it is fake because 1) he was tested last month for a test where he had to sit and focus for 3 hours at a time using his listening skills, speech skills and comprehension skills and performed beautifully. 2) he doesnt have the lack of speech or comprehension anywhere else but home with us. His therapist saw this on monday and was fuming. He said "this is so infuriating! He is acting like he has no comprehension" I said " I know!!" He has this fake language and finally when the therapist said Sammy stop. he did and communicated just fine and amazingly understood everything. When people come over to the house they cant talk to him. He will just make noises and run in circles and roll on the floor. His therapist said that is absolutely unacceptable and to remove him from the room until he is ready to act appropriately. The thing that is so weird about Sammy is that he will act like a completely normal child at school and therapy but acts like he has severe Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) for us. It is the most bizzare thing I have ever seen. He takes everything to the extreme! In fact, We are working on potty training and because he is how he is in our house for us they have to come pick him up and do a potty party at one of the therapists house to teach him how to go potty and then hope to god that he actually will transfer this skill at home and school. I cant wait until he is a teenager. He loves to debate and argue now can you imagine at 13....I am in so much trouble!!!

 

[change]

Dara...thanks so much for beginning this thread. I've NEVER seen so many people all at once that have this unusual problem with their children. Both of mine have had it on and off (severity level) over the years. Even though my son is a true CD and got arrested, etc., this is the single most annoying problem we have with my daughter. If not for this problem, some of her other problems would be alleviated. No one seems to be able to help us with this. The combination of medications she's on is always to try and counteract her binging. They definitely help but she still needs constant monitoring. When traumatized with something, she TOTALLY falls off the wagon. We have been in the exact same situation with both children as Tiapet. Right now, she is not stealing (that we know of) feom the refrigerator, etc. however, I have to totally follow her around at social functions and stay around for breaks at her fine arts academy or she'll beg other kids for food or money and if they don't give in, she'll rummage through people's bags for food. It's been so bad that she even gets caught and still keeps digging. Her neuro doctor says it's very Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) related. Our talk therapist says many adoptees have issues with food because of attachment disorder, etc. She is no longer diagnosed with attachment disorder so we don't get it.

I have no solution but none of you are alone. My daughter is 12 1/2 and the rage for food HAS gotten better. I'd rather have that than the socially isolating behavior though (stealing, rummaging, begging).

HUG...HUG...HUG...HUG...

 

[Gayle]

My son is 11 and he has been like this for a year. I beleive it is the depression. He is diagnosis Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), ODD, ADHD Sensory, Anixety disorder and a few other to throw into the po. He is 5'7 and 185 and keeps gaining weight. I heard about something called Leptin. It is a gene fat cell. I am in the process of trying to find more info on this. Is is best decribed that the kids eat and the receptor is suposed to tell thim they are full. But something is wrong. My son just eats and eats and never fells hungery. It could be both the leptin and depression. It is nice to know that other kids are like my son.

 

[Sara PA]

Gayle -- The Haloperidol your son is taking is shutting off the receptors that tell him he's full. It's a well known downside to taking antipsychotics.

 

[gcvmom]

Whenever my difficult child 2 has been on antipsychotics, we've had issues with this as well (and are dealing with it now). At one point, he took food from the school trash can because he said he was so hungry -- and he'd already eaten his lunch.

But in your case, he's not on that kind of medication. It sounds similar to the driven, goal-oriented behavior we saw in difficult child 2 during a hypomanic phase. Does Sammy see a psychiatrist, and if so, what do they say about it?