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Cyproheptadine to help increase appetite

LucyandRosiegrace - 04:14am Sep 16, 2008 EST

Hello,
I am really looking for some feedback from other parents to help me with some of my worries...
My daughter Rosiegrace was born at 26 weeks... she was considered a grower in the nic u she was home with us in a little over six weeks. We did not know what kind of Health issues Rosie would have until she was 18months old... Rosie was diagnosed with Asthma after being sick for most of the first year; she took a turn for the worse this Feb and stayed in the PIC U for a long week trying to get this Asthma under control...
Fortunately, we met an Awesome Pulmonary doctor and have changed our lives for the better... But now Rosie is facing other issues... She was recently diagnosed with Failure to thrive. At 26 months she is only 20lbs. She has not gained weight and will not eat for the last eight months... We have been through different specialists and more tests then I would have ever wanted to put her through.
The GI specialist and the Dietician we are working with today just put Rosie on Cyproheptadine. I am worried about the side effects and does this really cause them to gain weight? My daughter took it today and she was out of it... I can't see giving this to her three times a day... We are also using Resource 1.5 three times a day. and she still does not gain weight.
Does anyone have any suggestions, or feedback? I am just not sure what to do anymore...
Thank you,
Karma


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Encourager For Share - Sep 16, 2008 5:03 am (#1 Total: 3)  

 

Congratulations on your little girl! Welcome to Share. There are preemies that have trouble gaining weight and get the 'failure to thrive' diagnosis. The medicine you are talking about is also brand named Periactin. It doesn't make them gain weight, but it is supposed to stimulate their appetite so the child will eat more. Unfortunately, it can cause sleepiness. If it's awful sleepiness then you might call your Doctor and see if there's other options available for your little girl! I look forward to hearing more about your precious girl!

[Last Editor: Encourager For Share, Sep 15, 2008 10:06 pm. Total Edits: 1]

2 here 2 in Heaven - Sep 16, 2008 2:55 pm (#2 Total: 3)  

Surviving 26 week triplet...2 angels, & a 36 week singleton.  

Welcome to Share.

Wow, a 26 weeker going home after just six weeks? She must have been doing extremely well. My 26 weeker was in for four months.

Our little guy had trouble gaining weight too. Today at 5 years old he is in the 3rd percentile for weight at 34 pounds, and 10 % for height. Here are a few of the things we tried that seemed to help.

Once he started table food, he also stayed on high calorie formula until he was two years. Then he went on PediaSure (2-3 cans a day) until he was three, then on whole milk until 4, now he's on 2%. We also added a lot of peanut butter and butter to his meals, dips with veggies, high calorie foods, etc. Once dietician suggested adding vegetable oil to foods, but that sounded gross to me.

Good luck!

Shonda

newmommy - Sep 16, 2008 5:52 pm (#3 Total: 3)  

 

Hi,

My little guy recently started Periactin. Isaac is just 14 lbs at 26 months, due to prematurity, but mostly a growth disorder called Russell-Silver Syndrome. Anyway, Periactin is given to many RSS kids, to help stimulate appetite, and one thing that our doc said is to start out slow.

So, if she is supposed to get 5mLs a day, for the first week just give 1.25mLs at bedtime. Then, the second week, give 2.5mLs at bedtime. The third week, they get 1.25mLs in the morning, and 2.5 at night and then the fourth week, they are up to thier full dosage. It does seem to help, because we haven't noticed too many behavior changes with Isaac.

Also, she said that we really have to be patient. It is hard to tell if kids are really eating more, and she said that just one extra cracker a day adds up to one pound of weight gain in a year. I am having trouble with this, because Isaac only has six months to put on some weight before they push for a feeding tube, but some days I can definitely tell that he is eating more. Other days, not so much. Hang in there!



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