And it just keeps getting better...NOT

[luvmy3jewels]

My oldest dd was below the charts last year for BMI (she is very tall and thin). We started her on Boost/Ensure and she didn't care for the taste of either. What dh and I found was when we mixed it with whole milk and/or half and half (which is even more fattening) it made it tolerable for her to drink it. We also made milkshakes with it, like a pp suggested and that worked out well. Another big hit was high cal smoothies with ice cream, half and half, and fruit.

This type of diet supplementation works well apparently, because at her most recent visit dd had graduated from below the charts to a BMI of 5%.

Hope that Christian is gaining weight soon.

 

[jx3smom]

My oncologist had me drinking Carnation instant breakfast instead of Ensure and Boost. You may want to try them if he doesn't care for the others.

 

[RadioFanatic]

Good luck to you OP. My heart really goes out to you. I wanted to let you know I noticed this morning that there were $3 coupons for Boost; and I immediately thought of you:

http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=13903&nid=10&zid=xh20

 

[minkydog]

Isn't Christian 15? I think that's what 15 year old boys do. If you think about neurotypical 15 year olds, they're eating non-stop and most of what they are eating is pure junk -- McDonalds, and chips, and sugary soda. I'm willing to bet you feed Christian healthier stuff than that.

You're right, Christian does eat a much healthier diet than the average teenager, mainly because he can't just go get his own food. I have to fix it for him and feed it to him. I rarely have junk food in the house.

Am I reading this right? A boy at 15 being only 108 lbs seems small to me. My SKINNY 13 year old daughter is only 4'11" and weighs about 95lbs. I'd think that your older son at 16 and 6'1" would look very sickly at 100lbs.

I hope that you find out this is just some kind of a growth spurt, lengthen then thin out... but have they checked his thyroid?

No, DS23(my oldest) is now 6'1" and about 140, so he's slender but not skinny. Christian(DS15) is 5'8" and 108. He has lost almost all his fat--his hiney is gone, his tummy is gone, his cheeks are thin. If he weren't so active, you'd think he was sick.

We're going to the ped today at 3pm and I think I will ask her about doing some thyroid studies. My DH and both his sister & mother have hypothyroidism.

My oncologist had me drinking Carnation instant breakfast instead of Ensure and Boost. You may want to try them if he doesn't care for the others.

OH, I had forgotten about Carnation Instant Breakfast! Breakfast of College Freshmen! I bet it would be cheaper too. I'll ask the ped what she prefers: Ensure, Boost, Carnation, or Pediasure

 

[minkydog]

Good luck to you OP. My heart really goes out to you. I wanted to let you know I noticed this morning that there were $3 coupons for Boost; and I immediately thought of you:

http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=13903&nid=10&zid=xh20

Thank you for passing this on. You know I'm always looking for bargains.

 

[Handbag Lady]

My oncologist had me drinking Carnation instant breakfast instead of Ensure and Boost. You may want to try them if he doesn't care for the others.

I was JUST going to suggest this.

You can have it for him at breakfast to go along with his breakfast and then at lunch along with the lunch.


When I was sick, CIB was the best flavored thing!

 

[torinsmom]

It is more likely he would have HYPERthyroidism. That is the type that makes you hungry, but you don't gain weight.

Hope you find something to help. My son is 6'0 and weighs 180 and he is pretty average sized looking.

Marsha

 

[pilesoflaundry]

OH, I had forgotten about Carnation Instant Breakfast! Breakfast of College Freshmen! I bet it would be cheaper too. I'll ask the ped what she prefers: Ensure, Boost, Carnation, or Pediasure

They are similar but ensure has a little less sugar but much more sodium compared to boost, boost has 10 more calories per bottle. Pediasure has the most calories and less sodium than the other two.

When a family friend had cancer, boost was the best to help him keep on weight.

I hope you figure out why he's losing weight.

 

[NotUrsula]

Christian(DS15) is 5'8" and 108. He has lost almost all his fat--his hiney is gone, his tummy is gone, his cheeks are thin. If he weren't so active, you'd think he was sick.

While that is thin, I don't think it's catastrophically thin. My DS13, who is as fit as can be (he has a 6-pack, if you can believe that of a very pale gamer), is also 5'8", and weighs 112. He's thin, all right, but he's solid muscle; there is essentially no fat on him, and there hasn't been since he was about 2. I don't think that only 4 fewer lbs. would make that much of a difference in his appearance. My ped isn't worried about him.

Can it be that there is an expectation that Christian will accumulate fat because of his disability? I'm assuming that he doesn't do much lifting or climbing, so perhaps the doctors are assuming that he's more sedentary than he actually is? Still, growing adolescent boys who don't eat a lot of fat tend to stay whipcord-thin -- I don't think it is really odd at all.

 

[piglet too]

OK, this may seem far-fetched, but it happened to my own son. When he lost a lot of weight despite eating great, and then us feeding him even more to "fatten" him up, it ended up being pin worms. Gross, I know, but they say that just about everyone ends up with them at some point or another, just most people don't get them so bad that they show side-effects.

 

[minkydog]

Took Christian to the doctor at 3:45. She was very surprised at how thin he is. She did a fingerstick real quick, his blood sugar was 81, so not diabetic. Nothing is really jumping out at us, so she's ordered some liver tests, thyroid, kidneys, and a CBC. I'll keep giving him a higher cal diet until he picks up. She wants to check him again in about 4 weeks, before school starts.

Diagnosis: Heckifino

 

[minkydog]

While that is thin, I don't think it's catastrophically thin. My DS13, who is as fit as can be (he has a 6-pack, if you can believe that of a very pale gamer), is also 5'8", and weighs 112. He's thin, all right, but he's solid muscle; there is essentially no fat on him, and there hasn't been since he was about 2. I don't think that only 4 fewer lbs. would make that much of a difference in his appearance. My ped isn't worried about him.

Can it be that there is an expectation that Christian will accumulate fat because of his disability? I'm assuming that he doesn't do much lifting or climbing, so perhaps the doctors are assuming that he's more sedentary than he actually is? Still, growing adolescent boys who don't eat a lot of fat tend to stay whipcord-thin -- I don't think it is really odd at all.

No, Its' not that I *expect* him to be fat. It's just that he has rocked along at a normal weight for a long time(50% percentile) and now he has dropped a lot of weight in a short period of time. My oldest son went through a growth spurt at the same age where he grew almost 6 inches in less than a year. He looked thinner because he was growing,but he never lost weight. John's weight kept up with his height. Christian has grown a couple inches this year an has LOST weight. In fact, he is now wearing clothes that he outgrew 3 years ago!


I don't think I need to hit the panic button just yet (though, I admit,I felt pretty panicked a few days ago). The ped is concerned, but not worried so I'll take my cue from her. Maybe this is just some weird anomaly that will correct itself with enough ice cream.

OK, this may seem far-fetched, but it happened to my own son. When he lost a lot of weight despite eating great, and then us feeding him even more to "fatten" him up, it ended up being pin worms. Gross, I know, but they say that just about everyone ends up with them at some point or another, just most people don't get them so bad that they show side-effects.

Hadn't really thought of that. Christian isn't have any other symptoms of worms(diarrhea, stomach ache, constipation, itching, etc.) It won't hurt anything to look, though. I'm a nurse, I've seen worse.

 

[cm8]

Took Christian to the doctor at 3:45. She was very surprised at how thin he is. She did a fingerstick real quick, his blood sugar was 81, so not diabetic. Nothing is really jumping out at us, so she's ordered some liver tests, thyroid, kidneys, and a CBC. I'll keep giving him a higher cal diet until he picks up. She wants to check him again in about 4 weeks, before school starts.

Diagnosis: Heckifino