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Low weight/ weak


Thu, October 17, 2013 10:03 AM

Hi, I'm Erika. My son is eleven years old and has Ulcerative Colitis, diagnosed about 4 yrs ago. While he only has flare-ups about 2x a year and is stable on the medication 6MP, he suffers from low weight and feels he is "weak" and "not strong" like his peers. He has lately been more upset I guess b/c he's a tween and has started middle school. He notices more that other kids are taller, stronger can do more athletically etc. Is anyone else dealing with helping their child with these issues? any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Also, what strategies do parents use to help their kids gain weight? I'm thinking we should meet with a nutritionist but we did that in the past and he didn't like the taste of the powder they gave us to add to his food.
Thanks!

FPO erikadoug26
Joined Oct 17, 2013

Thu, October 17, 2013 12:23 PM

 Reply posted for erikadoug26.

We've dealt with the same issues when liz  was dx w/cd @4 she was tiny and they diagnosed "failure to thrive".  The good news is boys usually hit puberty later than girls so time is on your side.   Meeting with a nutritionist is an excellent idea.  We've also tried many of their powders and gels, etc. and agree not very appetizing.  What we found over a number of visits is if my daughter eats smaller but more frequent meals with snacks in between she does much better.   We learned how to enrich the calories with every meal, think of all the things you typically limit when dieting, add them back in.  Butter to mash potatoes, gravy to roasted chicken, if he isn't lacatose intolerant, mix up a shake.  We used to mix Carnation Instant Breakfast w/ice cream, milk, sometimes add a banana ooh so good and chock full of calories.  Good luck

FPO lizzies mom
Joined Sep 9, 2009

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