To think this might have been not such a good idea?

[chegirlshadabloodynuff]

Some have you may have seen my angst ridden, end of my tether, needy posts regarding my DS and his eating habits.

He has a mania for anything sweet and will raid the cupboards for anything he can get his hands on including sugar, icing, cake mixes as well as any stray sweets or cakes.

It probably sounds a non-problem but has caused a lot of stress and upset. We have had to lock things away (birthday cakes, presents) to stop him getting hold of them.

He has got LD so it takes a looooooong time to get stuff through to him. Nothing has worked so far.

Soooooo. Had it yesterday. I made the mistake of buying some crisps because they were on special and I am pg and fancied a packet of monster munch. The children are allowed the occassional packet of crisps, bisuits etc, just not in excess.

Well I was cleaning kitchen. Everything had gone. Found around 20 empty packets in DS's room plus the packets from missing cereal bars, chewing gum (taken out of my bag) and choc coin wrappers (dont even know where they had come from).

This is from the last 2-3 days.

I am fed up of going mad at him and it doesnt do us any good.

So decided to go the other way for a bit.

Told him he can take what he likes. Go ahead have what you like (he sucks honey straight out of the container).

So he has.

Bloody hell!!! I have never seen a child so affected by what he has eaten. I have 4 kids and work with kids but this is a new one on me! I have seen kids hyped up on sugar and think its a pretty typical reaction for anyone who eats a lot of crap to feel/act a bit off BUT

What the flying feck have I done? The boy is bouncing off the walls! Totally out of control and I am just watching him in amazement.

So that little bit of reverse pyschology seems to have backfired.

Good job the house isnt full of crap food, I think his head may have blown off by now.

Back to the drawing board I think.

Does he have any other issues, other than the food thing?

Quite a few stanus

He has auditory processing disorder and LDs.

He has shaky attachement due to his early experiences.

But he is basically a happy, loving little boy.

He is much younger than his years in many ways (nearly 7) but age appropriate in others.

The food thing has just caused quite a lot of stress recently and I suppose I was going for a different approach as the ones I had used were not working at all.

Call it desperation.

At least you know, for sure, that you were previously on the right path. That is worth a LOT!

Sounds like he is addicted to sugar. It must be sooooo hard for you. Have you cut out all non obvious sugar sources like bread etc? Can you up his vitamin and mineral intake so he is not "craving" those (eg Vit C craving = orange juice).

Seriously, sounds like there could be more to try than locking everything up. Stress contributes to sugar craving too apparently, and "low adrenal function" -- am a bit mystified by these things but there must be more out there that can help.

I wish there was a qualified nutritionist on mn. They offer more than regular nhs dieticians who just say "five a day" and no sweets. It's the sort of thing they could help with a lot.

If you are really that desperate, you could google "sugar addiction". It will lead you to some ideas that might be considered wild and wacky, but some that might be worth a shot.

Or have you already? Sounds like you've tried all sorts of stuff anyway.

Does he have yeast? There's a good book by natasha Campbell mcbride which talks a lit about sugar cravings etc. She suggests a diet which isn't that easy to follow long term IMO but I found it useful to take into consideration.

Ds1 (sld's) is always trying to steal sugar as well. He would eat a bag of it if he could.

I know it's rare, but have you ever come across this?

I don't know a huge amount about this condition, but it's the first thing I thought of when I read your post.prader-willi Has he seen his GP for a check up?

Thanks for your posts.

I have thought about prader willi but he doesnt really meet the dx criteria.

He doesnt have any of the physical features and was not a floppy baby etc (the opposite infact).

Obviously I wouldnt rule it out totally as not all people with certain conditions have all the features.

I think its a complicated mix of being emotionally immature for his age i.e. I wouldnt expect his two year old brother to resist taking whatever food he fancied if he could get it, DS just isnt at the point where he can do that either.

It could also be down to the need to 'fill a hole' created by a difficult start with lots of loss.

He likes sweet stuff and wants it!

He doesnt retain information well, he forgets a great deal of what he is told.

He, like many little boys, is impulsive.

We are due to see consultant at CAMHS tommorow so its something I will try and discuss.

I think that he will grow out of it at some point, it just takes him longer to grow out of things than NT children of his age.

TBH because we have tried so much and it drives me so mad I kinda try and forget about it until he does something I cant e.g. 20 packets of crisps in one go!

Thanks for your suggestions (and not accusing me of child abuse). I am going to talk to dr tommorow.

Wasn't there something in the news recently linking a sweet tooth to depression? Hang on I'll look...

Here Sweet-toothed children 'may have depression'

I'd definitely get a medical opinion. I also thought of Prader-Willi, but that kind of craving could be indicated in other things too. It doesn't sound normal, imo.

I feel sorry for him and you. It must be exhausting.

I haven't see your other posts, che

have you had him checked by a doctor at all for medical reasons such as undiagnosed diabetes, for example ?

forgive me if that has already been ruled out

Hi, Sorry have been busy putting bunk beds together.

People with Prada Willi tend to eat just about anything and its pretty non stop so dont think its that.

He is very healthy otherwise but hasnt had a urine test so I cant say definate no to diabetes - but wouldnt there be some other problems by now?

No, I dont think its normal tbh. Its just too flipping full on.

My instincts say its behavioural rather than medical but I cant rule anything out. Almost wish (but not quite) it was medical - perhaps something could sort it then.

Thanks again for your help and the links.

I do think he is getting fed up with the honey, cereal bar, hobnob diet. So I may have made a small impact. Fingers crossed.

Sounds like you are having a hard time of it, hope they come up with something for your son and support for you too.

Might be worth asking the doctor what you should do if does manage to eat large amounts of stuff/sugar if it causes problems. Even if he doesn't have diabetes now, I don't know how a body will cope if it has such an abnormally huge sugar rush... (sorry, not a doc). Might be something along the lines of making sure he has enough liquid or salt or something similar, or they may have something they can do. hope that makes sense.

It sounds like he has an unnatural(ly effective) drive to find these things and is pretty successful so even if you are super vigilant there are always going to be times when things get through.

good luck.

Chegirl this sounds like some immune/nutritional dysfunction unlikely to be resolved solely with behavioural control. Can you see a nutritionist as opposed to a dietician? Zinc is marvellous for the immune system, B vitamins and folic acid very calming. It is always difficult with children's dosages but I think it is worth investigating.