Loss of Appetite/Food Aversion with High Dose Augmentin

[momtocole1]

Has anyone seen their child lose their appetite on the "saving sammy" dose of Augmentin. 1000 mg 2X per day.

 

My son is turned off of food! He already is a pretty picky eater. He eats the sames things all the time, which has been a pattern that I have seen on this forum with other PANDAS kids too.

 

He will come into the kitchen ask for something to eat, I will make it and then he will get really upset and not want to eat it.

 

He goes from being not hungry at all to being starving but nothing sounds good.

 

All he wants is fast food which we all know is the worst thing for him. I have been giving in more though, because I am so desperate for him to eat especially right around the time that he is taking the Augmentin.

 

I still have not started more probiotics but I am going to start culturelle tomorrow, I have just been a chicken, because of his adverse reaction last week.

I think the probiotics I have are too heavy duty for him.

 

Did anyone ever read that book, "The Princess and the Pea" about a princess that could feel a tiny pea at the bottom of a hundred mattresses. My son is the prince and the pea, he is sensitive to touch, smell, seams, tags, COMMENTS, looks, fans, tastes, my breathing!

 

It has calmed down a little bit on the antibiotic but we have a long way to go.

 

Thx.

[EAMom]

The eating issues almost seem more pandas-sy to me.

 

I would let him eat fast food for now...a cheese burger isn't so bad for a kid (esp. if they need the calories!)...it has protein and calcium, buns are equivelant to bread. Even a milkshake has calcium. On the other hand, I would stay away from french fries...empty calories IMO (not to mention the whole acyrlamide issue).

[momtocole1]

Dear EA Mom,

 

Unfortunately my son does not need the calories, but we will tackle the weight hurdle when we get him well again.

 

I think I mixed some old behaviors and some new behaviors into my post that made it sound more Panads-sy.

 

The new behavior with the high dose antibiotic seems more that his stomach is bothering him and he does not want to eat. Feeling nauseous, bloated etc. I am going to get the new probiotics tomorrow and start up again.

 

I don't know about the acyrlamide issue, can you please elaborate.

 

Thanks,

Judy...

 

 

 

The eating issues almost seem more pandas-sy to me.

 

I would let him eat fast food for now...a cheese burger isn't so bad for a kid (esp. if they need the calories!)...it has protein and calcium, buns are equivelant to bread. Even a milkshake has calcium. On the other hand, I would stay away from french fries...empty calories IMO (not to mention the whole acyrlamide issue).

[pixiesdaddy]

I can't tell you if our daughter's reaction was due to PANDAS, IVIG, Augmentin or what, but her appetite drastically changed immediately after IVIG when we started the Augmention (250 mg 2x day).

 

She vacillates wildly between starving and not eating. Some days she'll barely touch a crumb of food, and others she'll eat everything in the house. One day, the thought of eggs is enough to trigger a rage attack, then next day she's asking for eggs for breakfast.

 

Pixiesdaddy

[momtocole1]

Wow, that sounds familiar... Thanks for posting, glad to know we are not alone....

 

 

 

 

I can't tell you if our daughter's reaction was due to PANDAS, IVIG, Augmentin or what, but her appetite drastically changed immediately after IVIG when we started the Augmention (250 mg 2x day).

 

She vacillates wildly between starving and not eating. Some days she'll barely touch a crumb of food, and others she'll eat everything in the house. One day, the thought of eggs is enough to trigger a rage attack, then next day she's asking for eggs for breakfast.

 

Pixiesdaddy

[Suzan]

That is what my younder daughter does during a PANDAS episode with the food but it goes away on antibiotics. Have you tried a protein drink like Boost (we buy the generic brands). My dd will usually drink these if all else fails. I would probably feed the fast food too if that was the only thing that worked and continue offering olther foods. We have big sensory issues here too. BIG HUGS!

 

Susan

[faith]

Judy,

my son told me yesterday that he only ate one chicken nugget at school because he felt nauseas. but then it passed. when he came home I gave him half a ham sandwich and he only ate half of that. When I give him the augmentin, which is a white liquid that smells kind of like grapefruit, he doesn't really love it and after last nights dose he did say he felt nauseas again. he did have food in his stomach. I gave him some water and he felt better and didn't complain. I'm guessing the big dose is definitely causing some upset and nausea for your son........so I guess I have no advice, but just wanted to let you know we're kind of experiencing the same thing. and my guy is really skinny, so....

 

 

Faith

[Suzan]

That is what my younder daughter does during a PANDAS episode with the food but it goes away on antibiotics. Have you tried a protein drink like Boost (we buy the generic brands). My dd will usually drink these if all else fails. I would probably feed the fast food too if that was the only thing that worked and continue offering olther foods. We have big sensory issues here too. BIG HUGS!

 

Susan

 

But... PS... we have never been on large doses of augmentin like that so I know I was of no help to you! Sorry!

[EAMom]

Ohh...it was big in the news a few years ago. French fries and potato chips are the foods that have the highest levels of acrylamide, which is thought to be linked to cancer.

 

http://www.examiner.com/x-7160-Sacramento-...ps-cause-cancer

 

Here is a study that found that increased french fry consumption during the preschool years is associated with higher breast cancer rates as adults. Ice cream and other "junk foods" were not associated with this increased cancer risk.

 

http://www.brighamandwomens.org/publicaffa...eastCancer.aspx

[EAMom]

have you tried azith yet? that would be another option if the tummy troubles on Augmentin don't abate....plus you think the augmentin is what is making him itch as well?

[momtocole1]

Hi Faith, Thanks for the note. I just wish Ryan could swallow pills. We keep trying. I did not know until last week that fear of choking can be a PANDAS symptom. My son gags even when we try to have him swallow really small pills. A friend told me to try orange tic tacs to practice he just can't do it. If he can't do a tic tac there is no chance he will swallow an Augmentin pill which I heard were huge!

 

One other thing that I noticed on this forum or I heard it somewhere is that they can develop fears around eating in general. Isn't that strange. My son has had the hardest time eating at school????

 

He had such a tough day. We live near a nuclear power plant called San Onofre. They decided to test the alarms for that plant that is 20 miles away! I did not even know that we had alarms in our city. It was so loud, and he did not know what was going on. We were actually driving on the freeway when we first heard it and I did not know what it was. He went into a full blown panic and he tried to jump out of the car. I finally got him calmed down at home and the alarm went off again. I could not get him to stop shaking and crying until I called 911 to see what was going on and the 911 operator was so rude. He checked and then told us about the alarms.

 

It just seems that when we are starting to make progress something happens and we take so many steps back. Ryan has always been petrified of any types of alarms.

 

There are good things happening too though, he really is shedding OCD behaviors and other fears. He rode his bike today for the first time in many, many months and played OUTSIDE with a neighborhood friend. I guess I have to accept the bad with the good!

 

I'm sorry to hear that your little guy is feeling nausea too. I did get a new probiotic today that is supposed to be more natural and really good. You can see the name of it on this post. I'll let you know how it works. I am a little nervous about yeast die off reactions but I have to do this to help his stomach and replace some of that good flora that is being killed off by these heavy duty antibiotics.

 

I can't wait until you see Dr. Lattimer, you are soooo lucky!

 

Talk to you soon...

 

Judy...

 

Judy,

my son told me yesterday that he only ate one chicken nugget at school because he felt nauseas. but then it passed. when he came home I gave him half a ham sandwich and he only ate half of that. When I give him the augmentin, which is a white liquid that smells kind of like grapefruit, he doesn't really love it and after last nights dose he did say he felt nauseas again. he did have food in his stomach. I gave him some water and he felt better and didn't complain. I'm guessing the big dose is definitely causing some upset and nausea for your son........so I guess I have no advice, but just wanted to let you know we're kind of experiencing the same thing. and my guy is really skinny, so....

 

 

Faith