How do I get my son to take supplements?I have the same problem we do both omega - I mix the orange flavor in her bottle at night with her other meds. I did start with a small amount and work up- it is in warm rice milk. I also have done P&j with it :) I hope you can work it in to. the STN - I have the rasberry and mix it with water - not to bad - just hard to tell how much she gets sometimes. We did go through bad times were meds had to be forced down with chocolate syrup and syringe. still need to do it sometimes. I use the syringe but mixed the dose with a lil squirt of syrup in a med cup first..then I waited till my dd was on computer or watching TV and came from behind her and squirted it in her mouth so that she didnt see it coming~if she did see it then she would be off and running! It's a mean nurse trick but it works~she was so focused on what she was looking at that she took it perfectly. I did this way for a year every day up to 4x a day and it was the only way I could get it in her. I was a geriatric nurse for years in a rehab/skilled unit with many alzhiemer/dementia patients & I would mix the crushed meds with ice cream, or pudding to get most of my patients to get their meds but my dd refused it this way...If she could detect she would spit it out. The syrup mixture was the only thing that she didnt gag on or spit out. That super nu thera is some nasty stuff! Good luck:) You know, we don't use Super Nu Thera...my son does very well with Kirkmans Spectrum Complete Hypo Allergenic Formula which has a very mild taste. I have always mixed his multi vitamin and his omegas into his drinks from the very beginning (actually I mixed EVERYTHING into his drinks until he learned to swallow pills lol) and I found the easiest way was to start with the teensiest tinsiest bit in every single cup he drank all day...so small he couldn't detect it. After a week, I would up the amount just a little bit for another week. Gradually over time we got up to a full dose over a course of a day and he didnt' even know he was drinking his supplements. Of course the problem with this method was that as time went on he made gains so drastically on biomedical that he KNEW I was putting stuff in his drinks and refused to drink it just on principal. So, then I stopped putting it in his drinks and just tried to get him to take it. No way, no how he wasn't going to take anything that wasn't his idea and we would have stand offs over it that lasted hours. In the end we hired behavioralists this past summer and now he takes his pills like a champ, five or six at a time five times a day with no rewards of any kind involved. I posted this on the other treatments forum too, but no one has responded yet. Do any of you have any ideas? Cooper is 2 years old and has a very limited diet. He also won't let me feed him anything by spoon. He basically eats fruit and crackers. I bought some Super Nu Thera and some Omega 3 to give him but he won't take them. He can tell when I mix something in his drink and refuses to drink it. He won't take the stuff from a spoon. He won't willingly let me shoot it into his mouth with a syringe. I would really like to see if these things and others could help him, but I just can't get it in him. He is non-verbal so I can't explain to him that he has to take it. I need to find a way to hide it in his food, does anyone have any ideas? Is there anything that really hides the taste or any brands that have no taste? We have the tropical flavor of super nu thera and orange Coromega. I have been giving the coromega to my older son (down syndrome) and I see a lot of changes in him. I really want to figure this out! Thanks, Amy I use the syringe and you may want to start smaller size doese to begin with to get him used to the taste (maybe a 1/4 of the dose so he says heh that wasn't that bad). I always give my ds a favorite item after but present it with the vitamins (usually food or drink or it could be a game or puzzle etc). I say "first vitamins and then ----. " I also bring out the item so it's right there and have the syringe ready. And, then I wait ... he tried to sometimes grab the item and I'd say "yes! chips first vitamins" Remember it HAS to be a highly desired item. Gradually increase the dose and do it at the same time if possible and it becomes part of the daily routine. Bribery is a beautiful thing! We sometimes bribe with a favorite treat or video, but mostly, if the supplements are blended really smoothly into his juice, he doesn't notice it. We couldn't get him to take them in the juice at first either, but I realized the taste was just too strong for him. Once I started using pear juice, which has a very mild taste, it all seemed to blend together better. Will your DS eat peanut butter on a cracker? We used to mix flavored fish oils into peanut butter and spread it on bread and my DS couldn't tell the difference. I have to mix everything with something. I stuck anxiety herbs in peaches, bought b6 liquid so I can put it in drinks, and got coromega flavored cuz, they seem to like it and take it willingly. At the group home I work at..if it is in capsule form, they open the capsules, dump them in some yogurt, applesauce, etc and let them it it that way. Just be careful to read instructions..some things wont work if they are crushed or time-released and you empty them--so I am trying things I dont have to worry about, and can do like the group home does--hide EVERYTHING..lol THese are actually cracking me up. My Dr. told me to mix it in Hershey's syrup, but he can try to measure and stir and then try to get the Hershey's to get out of the cup or in the syringe, and...forget about it. We tried the peanut butter, the apple sauce, the soda. Now, I actually secretly doctor up his juice boxes or bags. I use a cake decorating tip to get the vitamins in his box and then switch to the little straw. He won't drink the same juice in a cup- go figure. [QUOTE=netty]Now, I actually secretly doctor up his juice boxes or bags. I use a cake decorating tip to get the vitamins in his box and then switch to the little straw. He won't drink the same juice in a cup- go figure. [/QUOTE] That's a great idea! I'm going to have to try that one. You guys ever wonder what our kids think when and if they ever get to drink regular, undoctored juice? My poor little guy probably thinks everything is supposed to taste fishy! [QUOTE=Janie][QUOTE=netty]Now, I actually secretly doctor up his juice boxes or bags. I use a cake decorating tip to get the vitamins in his box and then switch to the little straw. He won't drink the same juice in a cup- go figure. [/QUOTE] That's a great idea! I'm going to have to try that one. You guys ever wonder what our kids think when and if they ever get to drink regular, undoctored juice? My poor little guy probably thinks everything is supposed to taste fishy! [/QUOTE] My dh is sooooooo lazy, that even though I have laminated lists taped on the counter of exactly what goes in what juice cups, and his morning milk and night time milk, that on the occasional night that I am too sick to do supps and meds myself (cause dh does not participate at all....he LOVES to see the results but refuses to help in any way shape or form and I have become VERY sick this year with chronic epstein barr, chronic fatigue AND fibromyalgia so sometimes I just can't do it) my dh will just give him regular old rice milk for bed and you should see my kids face..... "Daddy, this is YUMMY milk! Where did you buy this yummy milk from?? Tell Mommy so she can get more!!!" Poor baby... He'll wake up the next morning and want to know who drank all the yummy milk...why it's all gone already. lol I have been sneaky with the juice boxes many times. I will squirt half of it out and save for later, then mix sups with water, then syringe it back in the juice box and pop the straw in. Adam thinks he's the luckiest kid in the world that he gets a juice box. lol I used to do that ALOT with Sacc B before he could take pills cause that stuff was hard to get down him.... We use a syringe and a cup but my daughter doesnt mind the medicine cup of omega so i dont have the issue there. The syringe i end up waiting until my daughter is distracted like on t.v. computer and squirt it in her mouth that way. I dont make a big deal if she dont take it one day cause if i do everyday will be a battle. But for the most part i don't have to distract her anymore, they also flavor it with bubblegum but it still smells yucky. Yummy Gummies work for all of my kids -- if they have what you want to supplement (there are MANY formulas -- google it). I have two very picky girls but this works for them. |
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