Hi, it’s been almost a year since I’ve posted here (silly me accidentally deleted the bookmark! :oops: ) My son Kyle has been on Adderall XR for about a year. It is the only med. we’ve tried, with mixed results. All was well until the spring, when his 10mg dose seemed to not work well. We’re up to 15mg now and things are better at home, but since we’re not in school I don’t know.
Anyway, he weighs about 50lbs and hasn’t gained much weight this past year. I have no idea how much is meds and how much is genetics (both my husband and I were scrawny as kids). His Dr. discussed trying Stratera this fall saying it doesn’t have the appetite suppression Adderall does, but the Stratera adds mentions weight loss and decreased appetite as side effects.
I’d love to hear from parents who’ve faced the weight battle as well. I’m open to ideas for increasing his weight if possible. Did you change meds and did it help or hurt? Thanks for any info!
Re: Weight gain?
We attempted stratera this summer. I would say its effect on loss of appetite was not as strong as when my son was on focalin and/or concerta.
You will need to give stratera time 3-4 weeks to determine if it is right for you. We tested this summer so it would not interfere with school, social settings, etc. Unfortunately, after 6 weeks of tweeking we reverted back to focalin. As recommended by our doctor stratera did work better when taken with a high fat meal - peanut butter, sausage etc.
In regards to weight - When I could I started taking in warm dinner type favorites (ravioli, lasagna,fried chicken- leftovers from the night before) to my son during his lunch hour at school. He loved the surprise visits and simply ate without thinking.
We struggle with this too. I took ds off Adderall for the summer and he has gained 7 lbs and finally gone up a show size(despite the money saved I was worried ;))
But I know this isnt always possible. I kept him on meds last summer-at least the majority of the time-he just seems to have matured this summer and be able to remain ‘in the real world’, participating in family life without the medication.
One thing I am giving him is the premade shakes from the grocery milk section. I insist he drink one of these(or 1/2)with his dinner meal-they are loaded with calories.
Now, I honeslty dont know if he would have coooperated with this while on meds. We did stop after school for shakes a lot in May. It seemed to be just the right time to NOT take away his dinner appetite
I have had no luck with meal substitute shakes like ensure-he hates the taste. It depends, though-someone posted their grandchild would drink them partially frozen. I imagine a regular shake and a multivitamin are probably the same value though.
He eats healthy-he just eats very little. so I felt comfortable going for empty calories
He also has latched onto those cheese cubes-colby/jack.