My son has ADHD: How can I get him to eat?

Boost milkshakes work wonders

This helped my daughter a lot and helped with constipation

My 5 yr old has ADHD and ODD. He’s always struggled with eating so his medication hasn’t made a difference. But within the last 3 months he hasn’t gained anything and for the entire year he hasn’t gained enough.
His pediatrician said to use Carnation shakes. She said to use it in his cereal instead of milk and with meals as his drink. We haven’t started it yet so I don’t know if it helps but worth a try :woman_shrugging:t2:

We do protein shakes. We tried not medicating my son but it didn’t work for us. So we just do protein shakes and got changed to a new med and he eats more now.

I was on adhd meds from 6 all the way up to 18. I never really had an appetite. The dr. Told my mom to just set out trays of fruits, veggies, cheese and crackers and I could nibble whenever I wanted throughout the day. Always worked. No I have never weighed alot. Hell I broke 100 lbs by going to 114 when I was 16. I was always healthy and just nibbled. As long as you can get him to nibble throughout the day, he should be fine.

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Non stimulant meds… talk to the doctor about milder choices… adult blood pressure meds are often used to treat ADHD… stay away from the stimulants.

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Let them go shopping with you and pick out foods they like/want… my son has adhd and the medicine reduce his appetite but I find letting him pick what he wants to eat helps!

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My son has adhd and when he was younger we gave him carnation instant breakfast

I had the same issue with my son and his new Dr put him on methylphenidate and hes able to eat on this med

Find that protein and nutrition wherever you can get it! Peanut butter, yogurt, smoothies, whatever works. I have 2 ‘snackers’ and I find this helps

Have your tried protien shakes disguised as milk shakes

Holistic approach is amazing!

Have you tried occupational therapy?

Ensure drinks and make it into a milk shake.

Smoothies, with veggies and fruits in it

We make sure she has breakfast in the morning and when her meds were off after school we just kind of let her eat. Sometimes she wants to eat plates of craft dinner and broccoli every night for supper. It’s kind of annoying but we’ve also like given her vitamins and stuff. When she’s on her meds and doesn’t really want to eat it only really wants to snack I kind of let her snack on what she wants to. I have healthier stuff in the house too so we have nights where she’ll have bowls of bananas with milk and them and then plates of broccoli. It’s reasonably healthy and I don’t force her trying a bunch of new stuff. If she gets on the kick where she wants to eat all healthy things and wants to eat the same things everyday we just go with it. The only time I really forced food is if it’s I know something she likes or she’d ask for it. And it’s not really forcing food but like if she doesn’t want to eat it all right then we just put it away and let her eat it later. when she was really small I would give her like half her lunch at 11:00 and then had the other half at 1:00 and I would say hey Georgia here’s your snack. she thought it was great even though it would be like two nuggets and a handful of fries she would say oh this is a snack yay. If she wants craft dinner as a snack and eats a lot of it I just make it. You could fight the food battle but it’s just a real challenge I kind of just go with the flow on that because there’s other things to argue with and ADHD is hard on the kid. imagine not being able to focus on anything in your mind being all over the place.

My son is 21 and has been on medication since he was 7 he had the same problem I used to make him eat his breakfast them give him his tablet then come late on at night he was hungry once the tablet wore off so i would have something made up ready for him to eat.he always had a break of his medication at weekends and school holidays

Supplements are good until he is able to get meds situated and has an appetite again

I have Adhd and I was the same as a child and still like this now not much you can do to be honest xx

Try eat what I cook or go hungry bet he will eat eventually

I had that issue when my son first started meds options are nutritional shakes to fill the gaps while his meds get use to the meds could take a year mine did now he’s been gaining weight and all

Let him help preparing meals & making shakes - If he makes them he might try them…

Sometimes food allergies will mimic ADHD

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I had to take my son off of adderall because he looked like a little crack head. He just looks so doped all the time and so skinny. He is doing great off his meds. Just a half of trazadone a night and a melatonin.

I’m shocked that he was diagnosed at age 4 and medicated at such a young age. Me and my husband are both positive our son has ADHD hes 4 almost 5 and his dr who ive been discussing this with since he was 3 will not consider testing him till he is at least 6.

I let mine free feed. We always have mini cucumbers and carrots and little tomatoes and baby bells or cow cheese crackers and pepperoni sticks. Yogurt and ice cream is food in our house.
As for meds. We don’t do them they have too many sideaffects. So instead when we’re just tooo wound. We take a day off. Just like an adult would. Unless your child is violent or dangerous to themselves or others medication isn’t needed and shouldn’t be given t anyone under 18. I also have numerous friends whose kids were medicated during childhood and when the hormones started they all had to be taken off of the mess due to suicidal thoughts suddenly at 14. Like ten of them. Just be careful patient and attentive. There are also extras you can get from the force to compensate such. Hugs

With my grandson I don’t give him the meds. till I get some breakfast in him. And then he wants to eat at night before he goes to bed and I let him.

I am a medicated ADHD parent to an also ADHD 10yr old please keep them on their meds! Thinking about eating is hard when our brains transmitters are actually firing properly. Eating is usually our last thought! Use some good websites like addysafe for supplements of support on the side and offer plenty of snacks. Work in plenty of omega 3. At night about an hour to 30 min before bed do a couple of nella wafers peanut butter sandwiches and a glass of milk it will help with the weight. Finding a routine is key and that might take time just be patient know that hes not going to starve and continue to educate on adhd because there is sooo much more to it then just inattentive or hyperactive.

I only gave my sin his meds on school days. That way he’d have a break from them and eat

It may not matter but my son has not been tested for adhd but the school believes he needs to be tested. He doesnt eat much but has loads of energy. If my son does indeed have adhd he is not on any meds and we would never put him on chemical meds cause they seem to cause more problems in the future. Not wanting to eat or not being hungry may just be how their body is set up but maybe if you find healthy snack they are really into that’s what helps me to get my son to eat. And a good protein shake would help to and you and always add different things to the shake to change it up for him. But since the school said they think my son may be adhd I have looked up herbal natural ways to help so you might want to check that as well. Hope you find what works for him. Good luck.

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We had the same issue with our son. It was his meds. We switched him to risperdone he finally is getting his appetite back. He’s always been tiny. So seeing him want to eat has been GREAT.

Exact same thing happened to my daughter! Yeah we finally switched meds from Ritalin to Adderall and no more issue!

Can you give him a lower dose? Not give the medication on the weekend or school holidays?

My son was diagnosed in the second grade. He was on the meds. I hated it. Did some research over the summer between, He started 3rd grade on the meds but after what I read I slowly took him off of them. Had him drinking large strong coffee, (Starbucks) yeah 6yrs old with large Starbucks, but?! coffee has a reverse effect. I watched what he ate, took away foods that had like red dyes, and others kept him very active, he played all sports it tired him out. In class had him have a doodle pad and spoke with his teachers. He did good, hes all grown now. 21 yes old and finishing up College. It was hard I was tired, but he was/is my best investment. These are our children we must sacrifice. Do research find what works best for your child the investment you make in them today will work in the future hang in there. Your find your niche. This also helped with his eating too

We’ve done 2 different things. We’ve used the patch and had the nurse remove it at the end of the school day and he was hungry by dinner. We’ve also made sure he had his pill be 7 am and had 2 dinners. A small one with the family and he got another at 9 when he was hungry. Just know that when we hit puberty, hunger broke through the medicine and as he got older and learned coping mechanisms, we could reduce the medicine.

My youngest daughter isnt ADHD but when she was about 3 we had put her on pediasure and it helped she seemed to like it since she didn’t want to eat and the doctor at the time seemed like he didnt care. Give it a try is about all you can do

We went to Straterra. Its not a stimulate but worked well. It had less side effects and didn’t affect his appetite.

Does he like Milkshakes maybe make him some or buy pedicure see if he likes.it make him fruit smoothie with ice cream it’s hard sometimes to get kids to eat Does he like peanut butter ?? You do peanut butter crackers or cheese and crackers

Limit red die. Doritos are not good. I havr heard Mountain Dew was good also.

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My sons on contempla and was like this with anything but veggies

maybe try to have you make something together and say you have to try some

Ask Dr for appetite pill…helped both my boys eat

My sons doc recommended Focalin XR and my son only takes it during school hours. So 1 pill, 4 days a week

I raised a foster child with add and ADHD her meds suppressed her appetite. Her Dr. Put her on a low dose antibiotic to help and it did.

Those drugs are awful…kids with ADHD need plenty of excercise…Martial arts is great to teach self control and focus. Less sugar and more fruits and veggies! Make ice cream shakes with protein powder. Consult a nutritionist

Mary I wish I did I will pray for him

My son was diagnosed too at a young age and they tried putting him on meds. I absolutely refused. Why would you allow your child to.take something that will make them malnourished and weak? There is other ways to go about it. There is other alternatives. I put my child in every sport I could get him in to fill up his time and burn energy. Hes now a very healthy successful 18 year old man. Without that crap. Stop the pills!!

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I was on different types of meds until I loved 1 of them which is guansfine. I was able to eat and focus in school only ghjng I hated was it made me dizzy

My son is very badly ADHD. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 3 and he is almost 16. He has been on Concerta all these years and it actually works for him. He also takes clondine and melatonin at night for him to go to sleep. If my son doesn’t get enough sleep at night the next day can be awful.

Please have your child retested!my son was diagnosed at 4 and retested at 8 and does not have ADHD. He was diagnosed with anxiety, which back in the day we called being shy. He was having problems with meds and not eating. He was having headaches and not wanting to do nothing

Talk to his dr about doing a genetic testing we had this done with my son and they got him on the right medications the first time we struggled for years trying to get him on the right regimen and his weight fluctuated all the time stimulants will make him not want to eat non stimulants are better. Also the stimulants will make the odd worse in some kids it did mine so we switched to the non stimulants. Please if anyone needs to talk please pm me I have alot of info on adhd and odd I can give my son is almost 14 and been dealing with this since he was 4

My 8 year old has adhd, she isn’t hungry around lunch time. I’ve had some issues with her weight. First of all, if a medication gives your child that much trouble, try another one and if the doctor doesn’t listen find a new one. My daughter usually has a big breakfast with lots of protein, vitamins. When she gets home from school I have her eat a snack then have a good dinner. Occasionally I give her a protein shake to supplement. If someone gives you shit over having your child on medication they can shove it. Some children who have milder adhd or add can get away with not using medication. If your child is like mine, they can’t function without it. But whatever you do, do whats best for your child.

My friend’s old school Dr. , prescribed her kids a cup of coffee each morning, no meds, no issues.

Feed him favorite food before medication time even if is not breakfast food

I was on concerta for my ADD. It made me mellow but I still had some energy cuz It made me a clean freak lol

To whomever posted this please pm me