From Linda, Child's Age 10 - 08/23/09 - IP#: 74.55.55.xxx Click here to reply
My son takes medication for his behavior problems. The only prescription that works causes terrible weight gain. He started taking the pills a year ago and gained 60 pounds in that time with 25 being gained just this summer. His behavior is good now but he's miserable from the weight. He keeps begging me to stop the medication but we tried that and his behavior problems came back worse than ever. He's short for his age and wasn't fat before so his friends all tease him for getting so fat. They call him pregnant and fat factory. The weight isn't proportional on his body. It's gone mostly to his belly and that's why they call him pregnant. He's always exhausted now from hauling around the extra weight and he complains about his belly being uncomfortable. He says it's too heavy when he's standing up and it feels squeezed when he's sitting down. He had to quit soccer because it's too hard to run now and he can't keep up. The weight gain was supposed to level off but it hasn't yet. He has to stay on the prescription or his behavior will go out of control, but I hate seeing him cry from the teasing and always being so uncomfortable. He's dreading going back to school tomorrow because of what his friends will say when they see he gained so much more weight over the summer. I need advice to help him deal with the emotional and physical discomfort.
Reply from tilz, Child's Age 13 - 01/09/11 - IP#: 80.1.199.xxx surely u'd prefer behavior problems than weight problems and getting so fat he gets bullied and could die THINK ABOUT IT
Reply from Taylor, Child's Age 16 - 09/01/09 - IP#: 75.66.40.xxx I'm aware, but with such debilitating side effects, you can't really stay on a medication that does that. Any good doctor that knew it was causing that, definitely wouldn't let him stay on that medication. It's not exactly working so well if it causes other problems. Medications are supposed to rid a person of an issue, not trade one issue for another. And while behavior problems are an issue, it's something that can be dealt with during the switch. They may come back for a short time, but it's not something physical where if it comes back he could die or get ill. His behavior problems may be hard on you, but would you rather him suffer for an extended period of time, or help him through a short period of behavior issues while getting him on something that works better for him? It seems like he's having a really hard time, and he doesn't have to. You CAN change his medication, you'll probably have no choice so the sooner the better.
Reply from Linda, Child's Age 10 - 08/31/09 - IP#: 74.55.55.xxx Thank you Taylor. Changing his medication isn't simple because it takes a while to know if the new one works. And during that time his behavior problems could come back. But we may have to try that because his first week was miserable. The other kids were really cruel, such as taking his things and making him run after them to get them back and he couldn't ever catch them due to the weight. When they pick on him he tries to reason with them by telling them it's too hard to run and how uncomfortable it is being fat now but that does no good. I told him not to reason with bullies but he still thinks he can make them understand. I think they bully him even more because he used to be thin and kids pick on change. When I meet with his teacher I'll ask her to be on the look out for this bullying and make sure she understands the physical difficulties he has due to his weight.
Reply from Taylor, Child's Age 16 - 08/25/09 - IP#: 75.66.40.xxx There should be another similar medications you can try. You may have tried a few, but there are HUNDREDS of different medications to treat most illnesses, especially mental/behavioral illnesses, so you should talk to his doctor about trying something else you haven't tried, as it would've been almost impossible to try every medication there is to treat these issues.
