loss of appetite on concerta

[ladybug45]

I have a ten year old son who is not eating. He complains all the time that he is not hungry, has no appetite. He has lost wt. We have made all kinds of food available for him, what ever he has asked for but still not eating. Has anyone else had this problem. I have read alot about concerta and side effects but no articule goes into detail about the loss of appetite. My questions are 1) should the effects of the loss of appetite return, and how long should it take to return while still on the meds. 2) Could the refusal to eat be a behavoural issue not related to the medication. If anyone else is having this trouble could you please let me know. Thank you for your help

[tromom]

I also have a ten year old son who used to be on Concerta. He was on it for one year and then we switched medications. He ended up losing over 30 lbs while on Concerta. He was on the chubby side when he started the meds, but now is pencil thin. He could go literally days without eating. He was never hungry, and would only pick at his food-even his favorites. He never complained of his stomach hurting or anything else bothering him. He started losing weight so quickly that we were in the Dr's office once a week for weigh ins. Other than the weight loss, the medication worked great for him. That is why his doctor didn't want to stop the meds right away. But when his weight dropped to 87 lbs (he started at 118), the dr stopped the meds. We waited a couple of weeks to make sure something else wasnt causing the weight loss before starting him on a new medication. He gained back 6 lbs in 2 weeks. We are now giving him Adderall and he is doing great on it. He has a normal 10 year old boy appetite and now weighs a healthy 96 lbs.

[badkat]

I also have a ten yr old, boy on Concerta, he has no appetite either. We tried a few other meds, but Concerta seems to work the best - other than the appetite... My son is pretty thin, but he doesn't lose weight anymore due to feeding him "Ensure"... He eats a really good breakfast - that is about it.... We offer lunch,,,healthy snacks and of course dinner....He most of the time just picks eats very little, so after eating we make him drink an Ensure.. He drinks 3/4 daily....---They don't taste the best---(actually my son likes them) but my doctor said you can mix them with stuff, ice cream,,,ice,,,whipped cream,,, anything to get him to at least get the nutrition they need.

Hope this helps - good luck!!

[index.html]

While my son was adjusting to Metadate (a long-acting methylphenidate, like Concerta), he lived on Yoplait Smoothies. He couldn't stand the taste of Ensure, but liked the smoothies. Someone had told me that they may not be hungry on stimulants, but they still get thirsty, so get as many calories in as possible that way. (Good advice).

In addition to the smoothies, he had milkshakes periodically. Also, I encourage him to eat as much as possible when he was hungry (generally, first thing in the morning and late at night).

[nickkaylee]

My son has been started on an appetite stimulant to try to help make him eat. He apparently hasn't really been losing much weight but not gaining either. He is also 10.