ADHD / ADD Support Group

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD) are more common than you might think. It is a syndrome that exhibits symptoms such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, mood shifts, poor impulse control, and distractibility. Join others who suffer from these conditions and share your experiences.

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problems sleeping and eating

deleted_user
deleted_user
My son is 5 years old and has ADHD and we think he has ODD as well. I'm haveing the hardest time getting him to eat or sleep. He only weights 31lbs and is nothing but skin and bones. Eating is such a fight it takes him an hour or more to eat his dinner. we have tried sending him to bed without finshing his dinner hopeing that one night of not eating would make him eat. that did not work. I even go as far as only makeing him food i know he likes. I cook two meals some nights one for us and one for him. Any body got any advice to help me. Not only that he will not go to sleep at night. He will play in the bed and kick at the wall for hours before he falls asleep then it is a fight in the morning with him to get him up for school. I'm at my end with this. can any one help.....
deleted_user
deleted_user
Many AD/HD medications have side effects which include decreased appetite and/or insomnia. I'm an adult who takes Ritalin and I have those two side effects as well. They are the most common side effects to the AD/HD medications.

TGG
deleted_user
deleted_user
my son has the same problems and has had for 5+ years, as for his sleeping we consulted his doctor who perscribed he Melatonin wich is a natural drug that your body producess to tell you you are tired, my son was only allowed to be on this drug for 3 months to kick start his natural drug, which has helped a little I can say he does fall asleep around 11pm rather than 2-3am.
My son has an eating disorder which is linked to depression, and he is very underweight he is 10 years old and only ways 27kg, the only thing I can advice from experience is try not to react to the eating as this feeds the attention they want and get him to drink milk shakes and cheese and try minadex tonic to add vitamins and it can help to bring the appetite back. Also remember sleep deprevation has a very bad affect on us all especially us mums so see your doctor. Good luck and hope my advice helps.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Melatonin is very good at getting my 9 year old 57 lb. son to sleep at night. He doesn't sleep perfectly but is not up all night and goes down in about 20-30 minutes versus 3-4 hours. I use KAL brand disolvable Lozenges 5 mg. which is breakble adn approved by our physchiatrist and pediatritian.
deleted_user
deleted_user
The problem with the medication for adhd is that it surpresses appetite but from experience i have found that as they grow and get used to the medication, their appetites return. If issues are made at meal times he may use this as a way of gaining attention. And with the sleeping i have the same problem. Mikey tends to settle when he listens to his radio, it's not the best way of solving it but it works.
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