If your child is taking
Seroquel XR you may want to be sure that they are taking it on an empty stomach, a few hours after dinner. Apparently the
XR part of the drug isn't effective if you take it with food, which we forgot. Caroline was really irritable yesterday, and then I remembered what the doc had said about how to take this
AAP. We weren't following that little rule and I think it makes a difference.
I'm always learning new things about meds from your blog. My son doesn't take XR just regular, so I assume this doesn't apply to us, but the truth is, he cannot stop eating so an empty stomach does not ever happen. Plus Seroquel caused an increase in appetite for both him and his sister (we took her off it and she stopped blowing up like a balloon, we took him down to almost nothing and the midnight munchies appear to have diminished, but I've also stopped searching his room so it might just be I'm not seeing the evidence).
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Mary in TX
Seroquel does tend to make kids pack on the pounds. It did that with our dd, but somehow she managed to lose the pounds at Meridell, then regained ten pounds since but is still a small size 3. I think the Amantadine has a counter-effect of being an appetite suppressant. She still eats all the time, but for the most part chooses fruit, which is awesome. She used to pig out on carbs regularly, and hid them in her room too.
ReplyDeleteIn about 6 months, our daughter gained about 70lbs on Seroquel (from a size 0 to a size 14). Ironically we'd been worried about her being too thin! When we got her off of it, she ended up having apparently permanently switched from never eating (partly the ADHD meds) to emotional/stress eating. She's been about 175 for about 2 years now and completely unable to handle any discussions of diet, healthy eating, or even just saying, "You just ate, sweetie," "Not right now, we're having dinner in less than an hour," or "Give your stomach some time to decide if it's full before you take your 6th slice."
ReplyDeleteOur son gained 5-9lbs A WEEK at Meridell, but it was more likely the Depakote than the Seroquel.
Maybe I'll try to talk the new psychiatrist I'm looking for into giving my daughter Amantadine since the Concerta doesn't seem to have the appetite suppressant effect any more.
Mary in TX