What’s A Mother to Do????? | Autism PDD
Hey Everyone!!!!
Just got back from a gruelling day of doctors appointment with Ethan
Honestly, that is not surprising though and it breaks my heart to say this. He is 7 year old just turned 7 seven last week. He is 4ft 2inches tall and he weighs 96pounds. I am a health nut with him. I give him fat free milk, high fiber cereals, wheat bread, lean turkey, no mayo no mustard, a meat and a veggie at din din. His snacks are either fruit, or low fat or fat free. He gets one box of gatorade juice per day and the rest of his liquid inake comprises of water. I measure all of his food and battle with him whenever, he tries to cross the food lines
With all of this he still manages to keep packing on the pouds. He is not getting it in school beacause I pack his lunch. The rest of the time is with me. After speaking with the endocronologist, I have concluded that it is his medication-Abilify. He takes 7mgs a day. After starting that medication, he has managed to pack on about 15 pounds in the past year. Despite what his psych has said I know he has to get off of that abilify for it is the culprit. My only concern is what else could I possibly give him to help him. As all of you feel about your little ones-I love this guy to pieces and just want the best for him. In my heart I know I am doing my very best with his diet and excercise regimen, so I don't feel guilty like if I am to blame when the docs are asking me about his weight. I am just FRUSTRATED!!
Please can anyone give me some suggestions on the med piece? He was prescribed Adderall, but I chickened out of it because he had a bad experience with Concertta-he became extremely depressed and I could't take it. Also, the idea of a stimulant also freeked me out. I feared that as he got older he may abuse them. Maybe watching too much t.v.
Thank You All So Much My son gained 10 lbs. in 2 months on abilify. We had started on Risperdal, but after 18 months felt there was to much wieght gain. So we tried geodon...absolutely horrible !!!! my son was crying and super emotional all the time and started talking about not wanting to live...he was 7 years old. We then tried just a combo of trileptal and chlonodine. It wasn't a big impact. We went back to Risperdal. We started at a very low dose, and kept him on trileptal and chlonodine as well. The thought being that some benefit from the other 2 would keep us at a lower dose of Risperdal. So far, so good. We have had to increase from the initial dose, but after 9 months he's still only on.5mg of Risperdal. He is 8, 58 inches tall and 124 lbs. His wieght gain in 9 months has been about 6 lbs. More than we would like, but it's at a slower rate now. I will mention going through the trial to find the right mix was a really bad experience. I still don't like that he is on 3 meds, but I do like the fact that the risperdal is at a lower dose. I don't have any experience with meds personally as my child is not on any, but I do work in the pharma industry so I do have some experience sifting through the fine print. Here is a link to the product information sheet for Ablify, weight gain is discussed on page 5 and based on what I'm reading, I'd have to concur that weight gain like you're seeing is not a typical side effect. Sorry I don't have more to add, hope someone with more experience jumps in to help out! Weight gain on Abilify is NOT atypical. Many kids gain much weight on this drug. Adam has gained 40 lbs since being on Abilify. However, we cannot take him off of it. He is also on Adderral. It has been really good for him no side effects at all. Edited to add: My NT son is 8 and is 54 inches tall and weighs 62 lbs. and that is considered normal. Just average, not over not under. My other NT son is 5 feet tall and 100 lbs. That is also average for his size. I was thinking Prader-Willi testing too ... And barring that, talk to the psych about his second choice of meds after Abilify! Poor guy. Constant appetite is a tough thing to battle, obesity or no. I am sure the MD looked at his build and BMI, not just the number of his weight ... I THINK YOU NEED TO REMEMBER THAT ALL KIDS ARE DIFFERENT. MY SON IS ALSO ON ABILIFY, AMONG OTHERS AND WEIGHT GAIN IS A SIDE EFFECT. HEY IT IS GREAT IF SOME CHILDREN DO NOT GAIN WIEGHT ON THSES MEDS, BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS IT IS A SIDE EFFECT, LIKE IT OR NOT. I AM ALL FOR GETTING CHILDREN OFF OF DRUGS, BUT BE CAREFUL, HE MIGHT NEED SOMETHING, I WATCH WHAT MY CHILD EATS, YET HE STILL GAINS WEIGHT...I REFUSE TO DIET HIM, WHEN I AM CONVINCED THE DRUGS ARE THE PROBLEM. DON'T GET ME WRONG. JUSTIN'S FOOD IS MONITORED AND CURTAILED IF NEEDED...BUT THE MEDS CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN..ABILIFY IS ONE OF THOSE..I TALKED TO MY SON'S PHARMAIST WHO AGREES/CONFIRMED THIS. GOOD LUCK..WE ALSO TRIED ADDERRALL..IT SEEMED TO WORK OK..STRATTERA DID NOT.
"weight gain in not common" I see other wise. Oh! I forgot the best part; he takes 100mgs of topomax to decrease his appetite. Guess what? He is still HUNGRY
the docs are amazed at her sensitivity. I'm not sure of your son's history,
especially before meds. But, has he been tested for Prader-Willi? Just
something to consider, but again, I do not know if that would fit him at all.
Did the endocrin run tests to rule out anything else, other than the meds,
causing the weight gain and hunger? I don't know anything much about the
meds, all I do know is that our psych said that down the road should dd
need ADHD meds, she would go w/ Ritalin first (based on experience &
studies, some kids w/ PDD do much better on this vs. the new drugs). Not
sure about weight gain with that though. Wish I could be more help, I'm
sure other moms will chime in & offer some support to you. Sorry to hear
how your day went, but am glad he checked out a-ok at the cardio. 
Forgot to add that! Take care!!Thank you for the post. The endo suggested a test for this I believe. I just looked it up and he certainly fits the profile to a t. I will keep ya posted.
My son (26 months, 38 1/2 inches and 39 lbs.) started taking Keppra and
Topamax in Feb for seizures. He has always been in the 95-100
percentiles for height and weight but he is constantly hungry.
When we saw his neurlogist this past week he was very surprised that
his appeitte was so good because of being on the Topamax.
Good luck and I am sure that you have had his thyroid checked since he is seeing an endocronologist.
Good luck
My son is on 6mg Risperdal - it is supposed to make him add weight, but hasn't so far. He does eat though - the kid is CONSTANTLY eating. He was on Topamax for about a year - just took him off of it last week b/c it was making him too groggy and uncontrollable. No weight gain except around growth spurts...about every 3-6 months. He is 7 and about 65-70 #...he stays around that usually.
I do not feel your child is obese.. my son just turned 8 and he is 95
lbs the doctors are saying he is fine.. So i would really just consider
if you think it is the meds.. then maybe changing to something that
would not cause that much weight gain.. You seem like you are doing
evrything rght Keep up the great work.. he is lucky to have you .. Good
Luck
Would he be ok without the Abilify is the real question here? Which is the better of 2 evils, but I agree with Danyell782 I don't think he is obese either.
I think our kids sometimes have side effects to medications that are
atypical. It's still a tough choice if the benefit he gets from the medication
outweighs a (potential) weight gain.
The other thing I consider is calling school and ask that someone
watches at lunchtime and let you know if he really only eats what you
sent. I have known adults with Prader Willi - I am not saying your son has
that but he seems to have the same insatiable hunger - and it was almost
impossible for them to not take left-over foods if they had the
opportunity. One man I knew gained 30 pounds in one month while in the
hospital on a reduced diet. Despite trying his best he could not resist the
urge to scavange of other patient's trays. Constant hunger is very hard to
ignore.
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