How much weight loss is of concern?

[lookame]

I know this is a strange question. My son has eoe and adhd. He's currently on Adderall for adhd (it's working very well, concentrating in school and not having the usual school issues), prilosec in the morning and 2 puffs of swallowed steroids at night. I know Adderall can cause weight loss so we're watching him closely. He lost 2 lbs in about 2-3 months and fell to the 5th percentile for weight. He was super skinny to begin with so I'm just wondering if I shold shoot his gi an email in case his eoe is acting up or keep an eye on it and pump up his protein and calories. What foods can I add to his diet so hell start gaining weight?

 

[my little penguin]

You need to let his Gi know
Kids don't lose weight unless they have an acute illness or something else is going on
Are you just doing steriods or steriods plus avoiding top eight allergens?

 

[my little penguin]

http://apfed.org

On current treatment recommendations
When was his last scopes ?
Most scope every 3-6 months in egid kids
High fat food
Avacados
Safe butters
Are you using supplemental nutrition
Such as eo28 splash /neocate Jr or elecare
Most EOE kids need it to gain weight since inflammation fighting takes more calories
And they have limited diets

 

[lookame]

Right now it's just the steroids and prilosec treatment. We were also wondering if the Adderall was causing him to have food aversions or issues (since that's a side effect of them). We didnt do the top 8 food avoidance. His last scope was around January and was clear. I'll send an email to his gi and let them know he's loosing weight. His last checkup he missed since he was at summer camp and the next appointment they had available was in november.

 

[my little penguin]

Track his calories for a week on an app
We use my fitness pal
That can tell you if it's just not eating enough or type of calorie etc....
I would ask for a supplement like pediasure or kids boost if he isn't avoiding milk

 

[lookame]

He eats 2 meals at school. I've started having him make toast with peanut butter before he goes to school but it's cheaper for him to eat breakfast and lunch at school. He said yest that he's not hungry for lunch or he doesn't want to eat his school lunch. I'm not sure. I'm hoping his gi will write a prescription for pediasure or some sort of shake.

 

[my little penguin]

If he isn't eating his school lunch / breakfast due to simple not liking the food( extremely common - my healthy kiddo will never eat the school food )
Then you may have to try making breakfast /lunch for a week or two to gauge calories and see if he gains weight
Which is much easier than trying to adjust meds and taking time off work for appts and tests when he simple is doing a normal kid thing of not liking school food

As far as script for supplements - OTC ones like pediasure /kids boost typically are not covered by insurance
Even elemental is hard to get covered by insurance
But worth a shot

 

[lookame]

This is kind of embarrassing to admit but we are having an incredibly difficult time trying to afford food right now. We make to much to get food stamps but not enough after bills and such to afford groceries. He gets reduced price lunch and breakfast so that was my go-to that he'd get 2 meals a day at school and I'd have to worry about food for dinner. We get wic for my 2 year old bUT they no longer allow her to get whole milk (it's only skim, 1/2% or 1%). Sometimes we can only afford $20 for food. (We've done a local food pantry and we aren't able to go again till October)

 

[my little penguin]

If he has EOE thrn sometimes kids get covered under medical assistance through loopholes in the state aid
Your social worker at the hospital should be able to help or he can get cover for social security disability which would cover food

 

[lookame]

Should I bring it up during his next appointment or should I call children's? When I look at the papers which show his diagnosis eoe isn't listed which really confuses me

 

[my little penguin]

Tagging Farmwife she knows more than a few tricks and her dd had egids

 

[my little penguin]

I would call and ask to speak to the social worker for the Gi dept
They can email youths links and paperwork since those take time to process
And get what is needed from your Gi dx wise
The sooner the better
It can reduce medical costs /copays and might help keep you afloat

 

[my little penguin]

https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/service/c/eosinophilic-disorders/patients/support

 

[my little penguin]

https://www.odh.ohio.gov/odhprograms/cmh/cwmh/bcmhprogs/cmhprog1.aspx

 

[lookame]

Well the kids and I are on state insurance/medicaid so the medical costs aren't an issue since those are covered. The only one who doesn't have medicaid is my husband. (I think they keep allowing me to have medicaid because I have crohns)

 

[my little penguin]

http://oley.org/general/recommended_links.asp

 

[my little penguin]

If your already on state aid for insurance then the social worker probably can't help
That's when you stop the phone /cellphone plan ( they have lifeline for basics which is cheap ) cut cable /internet , only store brands , move to smaller house /apt , get a second job or third etc...
Make stretch meals
Which cooks three meals instead of one
Whole chicken on sale
Boil it
Some for dinner that night
And chicken n dumpling and then chicken noodle soup
Beans ( ok not good for crohns ) eggs and rice adds to stetch things
Toast becomes bread crumbs to stretch meat

There are lots of apps /websites on being frugal which might not help a lot but might help some

 

[DanceMom]

Depending on your health you may be able to donate plasma for extra cash. My daughter depends on generous donors to give their time and plasma. You are able to donate twice a week and most companies run promotions for extra incentives.

 

[lookame]

My husband donates plasma twice a week but his job is half an hr away so he usually uses that little extra for gas. I'm thinking maybe I should quit my job (I only work 0-12 hrs a week but recently my checks have only been about $40 which just barely bumps us out of food stamps). If I quit my job wed be eligible for about $160-170 in food stamps... We've been making all possible cuts and will be cancelling our cell phone contracts and switching Internet providers in the next couple of months. (Well be moving to straight talk where we can buy a yrs worth of service which wed do with our tax return)

*sigh* idk

 

[my little penguin]

http://www.assurancewireless.com/Public/HowToQualify.aspx

 

[my little penguin]

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/lifeline-support-affordable-communications

They have it for Internet as well

 

[JLOptimistic]

I'm sorry to hear about your financial difficulties. It sounds like it may be more beneficial to you right now to quit the part time job in order to collect more in benefits? I've had friends in that position where you make *just* enough to not qualify for low income and benefits but not enough that once you finish paying for everything you're actually making less than the cut-off.

In regards to the ADHD medication, my son was on Concerta for 3 years. His appetite during lunch GREATLY diminished as well as his sleep. Didn't matter what I put in there, he just wasn't hungry. I basically ended up giving him a bigger breakfast and supper when his meds had worn off or hadn't kicked in yet. His pediatrician does do 3-4 month follow ups and weighs him to monitor his weight. When his first flare-up started this past spring, I took him off it as it wasn't working as well anymore and my bigger concern was that he was eating.

I'm not sure what kind of lunch he's getting at school but would it be possible for him to pack it up to eat at home later?

 

[CarolinAlaska]

I think the Adderall is the culprit too. I agree with boosting calories however you can. Peanut butter toast is a great idea.