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No desire to eat- any suggestions
Tue, 08/14/2007 - 13:39Topic: Parents & Caregivers
Good afternoon! My daughter has petit mal (absence) seizures that are fairly well controlled on Ethosuxamide. She has had these since at least the age of two. She is now five and is getting ready to start preschool. She has never been a good eater. But at least prior to starting a school program, I could baby her appetite by offering a second breakfast, if you will, an hour after our regular breakfast and sometimes get her to eat a little more. But now with preschool schedule and meds having to be taken before school, I am very concerned about sending her to school hungry. We do get her to drink the Carnation Instant Breakfasts but I want her to have something in her belly that will get her through a couple of hours. If she is hungry, her seizures act up even more, causing her to eat even less it seems. How do I get her to eat? The other problem is that based on her weight, she cannot up her meds again until I get her to gain 3-4 pounds!! I really do not want to switch meds since this one has been working so far with little side effects.
We have tried: fancy dishes to eat off of, irregular food for breakfast (eg P and B sandwiches with Cheetos), bullying, rewarding, begging and pleading. She just does not seem to have an appetite, especially in the morning.
Thanks!
Jean
Comments
Re: Re: No desire to eat- any suggestions
Submitted by eanj on Tue, 2007-08-14 - 21:44
Thanks for the reply. I had not thought to try mac and cheese for breakfast! She loves mac and cheese. We signed up for a half day pre school so that I could still get a nap in for her. (She is too old for naps but still needs a 1/2 hour to 1 hour nap to help dissolve the drowsiness from the medicine.) So I am hoping that maybe I can get lunch in her before she gets too tired. I will take a snack for the the ride to pre school too. That is a good idea.
I am just relieved to hear that others have trouble getting their children to eat. It makes me feel like I am doing something wrong when she is so stubborn. But then I have to remember a lot of it probably is the medicine. She is still just too young to understand why she is not hungry. Maybe when she gets older, she will be able to understand why she has to eat.
Thank You!
Jean
Re: Re: No desire to eat- any suggestions
Submitted by eanj on Wed, 2007-08-15 - 13:24
Emily,
Mac and Cheese hit the spot this morning. My daughter ate a whole bowl of Easy Mac! Then she drank a whole glass of Carnation Instant breakfast. (Mac made her thirsty I think.) Anyways, thank you for the idea. She has had more energy this morning than she has had in a long while. May not work tommorow, but I will continue to try non breakfast foods with her. Maybe I was just getting too hung up on the traditional breakfast type foods.
Thanks Again!
Jean
Re: No desire to eat- any suggestions
Submitted by kaitlynsmom on Tue, 2007-08-14 - 16:28
Jean, Is your daughter going to be attending all day preschool? Is it possible to maybe wake her up a little ealier to allow for more time to eat? I know with Kaitlyn when her appetite is being affected by meds and seizures and not feeling well, we have to allow for an extra hour or so for her to snack on stuff. We have also offered the non-breakfast foods just to get her to eat. She will eat mac and cheese for breakfast some mornings. It really is a trial and error thing with the eating and finding what works. Some days Kaitlyn does great and some days she doesn't. Maybe on the way to the school, she could have a snack in the car to help her have a little in her stomach. Is it possible to talk to the school or the nurse and maybe provide them with a snack to give her if she is feeling hungry? Does the preschool give a morning snack? Some do. Hope you can find what works, its hard. Good luck! I wish I had more advice for you. Emily