Dd8 is starving all the time, even wakes up hungry in the night

[Normalornotidunno]

I have older dc, but none have ever done this.

She is a sporty girl, sports clubs every day, and she eats well, she's pretty much the perfect weight, she is tall though.

The last month or so she is starving all the time, and has taken to getting up at 2/3am telling me she is too hungry to sleep.

She eats well, there's a constant source of fruit and veg and homemade flapjacks that she has access to, I'm even giving her an extra meal not long before bedtime, and it's still not enough.

My older ds went through a hell of a growth spurt at her age (had a consultant to keep an eye on it as the pain was so bad and he was growing so fast) and he's now 6ft 5, and he was a bit hungrier at that point, but with dd it's a whole other level.

She is growing a lot at the minute (the pains are fairly minimal thankfully) but what should I be doing about her appetite? Is this totally outwith the realms of normal?

How about a thick glass of milkshake before bed? Seems to do the trick with me and mine! Keeps hunger at bay without actually filling up on food before bedtime

Also, regarding the need for snack overnight, I used to keep boiled eggs in the fridge. Maybe that for a snack before bed, or another protein snack.

I think the symptoms of T1 can develop later, I know two people diagnosed in their teens with no prior symptoms or illnesses.

Could it be somehow related to her period of serious illness? Anyway the GP is a good shout to get her checked out.

Yes. I've also started to eat a smallish avocado for the healthy fats an hour or so before bed (instead of the buttered toast I used to have) with lemon, salt and pepper as I'm trying to reduce my carbs as I just can't sleep if I'm hungry. And I'm losing weight - intentionally.

Otherwise have a portion of porridge with full fat milk and seeds/nuts in the fridge to warm up in the microwave for quick comfort. Be careful of protein bars - some of them are full of sugar. Also no "instant" porridge pots - which provides an extra sugar hit. 🌹

DD grew like a weed between the ages of around 8 and 11 and she needed so much food. I would meet her at the school gates with a chicken leg because she would be so hungry. I encouraged her to snack on protein which helped, but she did genuinely seem to need around 3000 calories a day during those periods of fast growth, and the portion sizes for school meals were the same for the 4 year olds and for the sporty girls who were taller than some of the teachers. Eventually she stopped growing so fast and her appetite went down again.

My Dd is 99th percentile for height, very active and has big bouts of being very hungry (she’s probably on the higher end of a healthy bmi). We load her up with protein to keep her going. Whenever she’s eating we try to make sure theres enough protein and forget about calories/fat etc. if she’s hungry veg is probably not going to cut it and if she’s going though an extreme growth spurt I would try to feed her whatever makes bone and muscle. Youghurt, milk, cheese, and whatever fish/meat you can get in there.

Agree with others about giving her a lot more protein, including at breakfast.

Would she drink Horlicks at bedtime?

@femfemlicious worms are visible to the naked eye, either around the anus using a torch at night, or in the stools. Not the nicest job looking for them though!

This was a symptom for me as well. Could you get her checked by your GP?

Yes, it can develop very suddenly.

Ideally, she'd have a urine or blood test before you start giving her extra fast carbs like a banana sandwich, because that would really drive up blood glucose.

Too much fruit and veg

She needs more protein, carbs and fat

Peanut butter sandwich before bed etc

Check for coeliac disease too, easy with a blood test. She may not be absorbing all the goodness from her food if she has coeliac

Has she had a virus recently? That can sometimes kick start diabetes. Do you have history of it in the family?

I assume she’s not on any medication? My dc was on meds when she was a similar age and a side effect was extreme hunger.

I would see the doctor asap as it sounds a lot like diabetes. It can be dangerous if you ignore these symptoms, OP.

Try a protein shake with banana. Whey protein is perfectly safe for kids, it's not a bodybuilding thing. Helps massively. Most kids don't get enough. Definitely get her to a GP if she's also thirsty just to be safe.

When I met my husband when we were teenagers he ate like this - I don't think it's very unusual for sporty teens to be this hungry at all, especially when they're growing. He used to eat an entire family bucket of KFC without too much trouble and he was skinny as a rake. Even my little 7 year old ds would be able to put away that much food on a busy day during a growth spurt. I think some people lack imagination when it comes to appetite. Just because you only need to eat like a bird, doesn't mean everyone does.

???

@Normalornotidunno

What kind of things is she having for lunch at school?

She is eating her lunch, isn't she?

Mention diabetes when you're after the doctors appointment. If it is that then it's very urgent.

My dc was like this, diagnosed with diabetes type one.

Get her tested.

Full fat Greek yoghurt, not Greek style or low fat. Add muesli/granola or fresh fruit, have it for breakfast or on a meringue nest with tinned mardarins or sliced strawberries as a pudding.

Full fat Longley farms cottage cheese (tastes nothing like all the other cottage cheeses its proper good!), on crackers as a snack or on jacket potato.

Hard boiled eggs as snacks, scrambled, fried, or poached for breakfast or a quick lunch

Omelettes with ham, cheese and some veg or spicy scrambled egg in a wrap.

Could she be mistaking hunger for thirst? If she's very physically fit and drinking a lot of fluid, she may be getting enough fluid but not enough electrolytes. You could try an electrolyte supplement

Threadworms aren't the sort of worms that cause you to be starving hungry and incapable of putting on weight! The ops daughter is unlikely to have a tapeworm.