Appetite Stimulant

[BeckyW]

Hi, my daughter was recently given a RX for Periaetin to help stimulate her appetite. She has lost alot of weight since Christmas and is having a hard time eating. She has only been gluten-free for about 2.5 weeks and showing a small improvement. The doctor is worried about her low weight and wants her to gain so he gave her this medicine. We haven't started it yet and wanted to research it first. I would appreciate any thoughts you have on this!

Thanks,

Becky

[lorka150]

Hi Becky,

When I got extremely ill, I lost 60lbs quite rapidly, and was literally about to die unless I didn't gain weight. Whilst I did not have an appetitite stimulant, a lot of people recommended me Ensure (very high calorie, used to gain weight), but I couldn't use it because I am casein free. However, I focused ANY sort of appetite on high calorie foods and add-ins, which helped. If she can only eat a little, make sure she gets a lot of calroies in what she is eating. That will help, at least a bit. Good luck!

[par18]

Hi, my daughter was recently given a RX for Periaetin to help stimulate her appetite. She has lost alot of weight since Christmas and is having a hard time eating. She has only been gluten-free for about 2.5 weeks and showing a small improvement. The doctor is worried about her low weight and wants her to gain so he gave her this medicine. We haven't started it yet and wanted to research it first. I would appreciate any thoughts you have on this!

Thanks,

Becky

Hi Becky,

I did not take an appetite stimulate when I first went on the gluten-free diet 14 months ago today. I was about 30 lbs underweight and I was pretty depressed so I did not have an appetite. To me it was a catch 22 situation. I did not feel as though I could exercise to stimulate my appetite because I did not want to lose any more weight than necessary. I also had a hard time sleeping. It was as though I did not know where to start. Well the first thing I did was eat every couple of hours regardless of whether I was hungry or not. I also took short walks between the meals. I did this every day for about a month and a half. Slowly I began to put on a few pounds. I don't think I missed a meal or snack for about the first 3 months. I did not have any of the previous symptoms a couple of days into the diet. To me this was a positive sign. I don't know how much I was absorbing in the beginning but I still ate because I needed to. Looking back I don't know how I could have done it any differently. I had to get something (weight) to work with so I concentrated on just one thing in the beginning. The thing that really helped me in the end was once I proved I could gain anything I started to relax and the appetite and my sleep returned. I probably would have used a stimulate if I could not have made myself eat until I got hungry. I wanted to take as little medicine as possible. I did use some sleep aids for about a month but gave them up as soon as I started to relax. I don't know how old your daughter is and I guess it would be difficult to try to get anyone to eat something if they are not hungry but I think you should try to get her in a routine or rhythm of eating small amounts at certain intervals. I would not be inclined to use the stimulate unless I had to. You never know what the side effects of any medicine may be. If she heals fairly quickly then I would expect to see some positive results soon. I actually gained back all I lost and then some to get me at a very healthy weight for my age and height. Good luck.

Tom