Recommendations for high calorie foods that are easy to eat

[BoofTheFloof]

I posted a message here a while ago asking if my DD had an eating disorder. Got some brilliant support and I think came to the conclusion that she has disordered eating caused largely by 1) not caring about food. 2) playing a lot of sport and 3) being on ADHD medication that reduces appetite further.

As per the advice I've been keeping an eye in things. I've said that if her weight goes below 7 st (she's 5'3") then she needs to stop the gym but she's kept it around 7st 2 for months now. Over Christmas she decided to go off her ADHD medication for a week or so to enjoy Xmas food and to try to gain a bit more weight.

She really seemed to eat a lot for her. Seconds, puddings, chocolate.

She was quite excited to weigh herself- only to find out she'd managed to lose a pound. (How you ask? Well- she's very sociable. She ate a lot when she was at home and meals were presented to her. However when out with friends it doesn't seem to occur to her to eat. I've now had a quiet word with her best friend and boyfriend and they've said they'll remind her. Thing is- they stop for food. DD just doesn't buy any!)

She's now a bit depressed about it. She's back in her ADHD meds as it's her GCSE year and they kill her appetite. I'm making her a big breakfast in the morning and she's eating that and a meal in the evening, but sadly I think she's not able to eat much in the day.

I suggested something like a protein drink she could take in with her and she's quite interested in the idea. Does anyone have any recommendations of drinks that don't taste like chalk and sadness and that are high calorie?

@DrowningDad DS is also taking Intuniv (Guanfacine) as the methylphenidate was suppressing his appetite too much. He put on around 3-4 kg in 2 months which was amazing. Unfortunately it does nothing to help with his concentration and focus and so we are now combining back with the Medikinet which is now suppressing his appetite again! It’s such a delicate and frustrating process trying to find the right balance between efficacy and unwanted side affects.

@Rollergirl11 DS is about to get a tiny bit of methylphenidate on top of the guanfacine to see if that helps with the concentration as he is not finding the guanfacine as effective as it was despite being on maximum dosage for his weight, it’ll be interesting to compare notes.

Has anyone on here managed to get any kind of behavioural coaching to teach strategies that may have been missed in earlier years due to inattention? That is the other piece of the puzzle we’re missing and the school and NHS have not offered anything. I don’t mend helping with GCSEs, and I’m looking forward to A levels but if I’m still helping with homework in 4 years time DS will probably struggle to get me out the student bar….

@DrowningDad Undoubtedly the stim meds will help your son with his concentration. Do you know what brand and what type he will be on? DS takes Medikinet XL which is an 8 hour slow release capsule. You can also have 12 hour slow release too (I believe this might be called Concerta). This has never been an option for DS as he wouldn’t be hungry for his evening meal. You can also get the fast acting tablets which you can take in the morning and again after lunch. Again we never went down this route with DS as extra hassle him having to take at school and reliant on him remembering to take!

With regards to coaching, we have never been offered anything either and we went private for DS’s assessment and diagnosis. It’s the lack of executive functioning that is the real problem when it comes to things like being able to get started and plan your work. Revision is a whole other ball game. DS is in Year 10 and so now in to his GCSE’s. DH and I have pretty much accepted that he will need total support from us when it comes to revising. We are already very much involved in helping him revise for end of unit/year tests and his homework. He simply isn’t able to get started on his own, even when on his medication. I am literally dreading him sitting his GCSE exams in 2024. I’m not sure how sustainable (or if I have it in me) or viable DS doing A-levels is but we have a while before we need to think about that.