This article was submitted by one of our readers and originally came from: Linda Natali, eHow Contributing Writer.
Eleven weeks ago your kid weighed twenty pounds less. How is that possible, you wonder. Well if your child takes an anti-psychotic drug, packing on the pounds may be hard to prevent, according to a recent study published in the "American Medical Journal."
These anti-psychotic drugs, used to treat a variety of mental illnesses–including bipolar, autism, attention deficit disorder and other psychiatric problems–may seem like a god-send for many parents of children suffering from these disorders. But the risk of explosive weight gain can be extremely frightening for parents and kids alike. Read on to learn some solid steps adults should take to help kids keep the drug-induced weight gain at bay.
Arm yourself with the facts.
Research and learn as much as you can about your child’s illness and the medicines that are prescribed. Educate yourself about the side effects that each drug may cause. Before allowing your child to take medication that can cause weight gain become his advocate and ask his doctor to try other medications that don’t have weight gain as a side effect before settling on the ones that may.
Lead by example.
Modeling a healthy lifestyle will speak louder to your child than any lecture ever will. Make sure that you aren’t ordering the supersized value meal at the drive through window or the extra double fudge sundae for dessert. We’ve all heard, "take the stairs instead of the elevator, park far away from the store." Now is the time to implement some of these suggestions to show your kid how small changes can make a big difference. Make it a habit to do some type of exercise on most days so that your child will follow your lead.
http://www/howdoigetmysonoffdrugs.com
Remove the chef’s hat.
Too many children are eating whatever they want whenever they want it and usually they aren’t making the healthiest choices. Reinstate family meal time and make one nutritious, portion controlled meal for everyone. No more taking everyone’s order. Let your child decide whether to partake in what is being served or to pass. Don’t let it become a power struggle. Sissy doesn’t have to eat, but needs to know that if she chooses not to she will have to wait until it is time for the next meal to fill her belly. It won’t take her long to figure out it is better to eat healthy than to be hungry.
Move it and lose it.
Get your child involved in outdoor activities. Camping, tennis, swimming, snowboarding to name a few. Toss the Frisbee around or take a walk after dinner. If your kid has more of a competitive nature sign him up for an organized sports team. Assign active chores. Vacuuming, mowing the lawn, washing the car, raking leaves, walking the dog. Little Jason can burn some calories, be helpful, and earn some extra cash.
Fortify your cupboards with nutritious foods.
Keep offering healthy choices for snacks and meals. Sissy probably won’t jump on the bandwagon overnight. Experts tell us that you will probably have to offer her a new food eight to ten times before she decides she likes it. On the other hand don’t vilify any food. Everything in moderation. An occasional cupcake won’t cause massive weight gain but if you forbid it you can be sure she will find a way to sneak it. Forbidden fruit always tastes delicious.
http://www.howdoigetmydaughteroffdrugs.com
Teach your child about nutrition.
Take your child grocery shopping with you. Read labels together, and explain the difference between healthy ingredients i.e. whole grains versus unhealthy ingredients i.e. fructose or refined sugar. Show them wholesome alternatives to some of the less than desirable snack foods. Teach them to shop the perimeter of the grocery store where most of the fresh, non processed food items are rather than the center aisles where the processed foods are stored. Post the Children’s Food Pyramid on the fridge and refer to it when you help them prepare a snack of whole wheat crackers with organic peanut butter instead of cookies and soda.
Cheer on your child.
Make sure that your child knows that you are his biggest fan. Assure him that the sudden weight gain is caused from a chemical reaction due to his medication and not due to poor choices or lack of self discipline. Instill in him the sense that you will always be there for him and want to help with whatever life throws at him. Whether it is weight gain due to medication or a crush on a new girlfriend, you’ve got his back.
If your child is addicted to drugs, please watch this short video about drug addiction and how St Gregory can help.
This article was submitted by one of our readers and originally came from: Joseph Shapiro at http://www.npr.org/
FDA Debates Safety Of Antipsychotic Drugs In Kids
A panel of medical experts for the federal Food and Drug Administration is being asked to approve three powerful and expensive antipsychotic drugs for use in children. The FDA panel begins a two-day meeting outside Washington on Tuesday and is scheduled to vote Wednesday on whether to approve the drugs.
The hearing and the vote highlight growing use of these drugs by children, even as questions remain about their side effects.
The medications — Seroquel, Zyprexa and Geodon — are already approved for adults. Many doctors and parents say they can also be life-changing for children and adolescents with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Doctors already prescribe them to kids, even without FDA approval.
A Daughter’s Milestone
Christina Bagno, of Brooklyn, N.Y., will testify about her 7-year-old daughter, who has been diagnosed with pediatric bipolar disorder.
"Back when she was 3 and before we tried medication, I wondered if she would be alive, frankly, you know, or at least living in our home," says Bagno, "because her own rages were so very scary and destructive. She would bite herself — to the point of bite marks up and down her arm, and banging her head. And now she doesn’t have the rages that she once had."
Until her daughter began those medications, she had hallucinations of explosions and dangerous things that kept her in a frequent state of anxiety and terror, Bagno says. Now she’s able to settle down in school. She’s learning to read and do basic math this year.
http://www.howdoigetmykidsoffdrugs.com
And there was another milestone this past weekend: her first sleepover with a friend.
"It was tremendous, and she was just so happy," says Bagno, who belongs to a group called Families for Depression Awareness. "It was a joy to watch — just to see her have a friend like that and have her be able to sit and watch a movie with a friend and have a pillow fight and just do all these things that kids do is just, really, a blessing."
Measuring Side Effects
Last week, FDA staff members released reports saying the three drugs do help kids, but that there are serious side effects. They can cause sedation, heavy weight gain and other problems that can lead to heart disease and diabetes.
"If these children are starting these medications at very young ages, they’re likely to be on them for many years," says Dr. William Cooper, a professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. "So the adverse effects, such as weight gain, increased lipids, increased blood sugar are likely to have potentially long-term and important side effects for these children."
Cooper says bad outcomes may be worse in kids than they are in adults, and there needs to be more study of the side effects in children.
After seeing a lot of kids coming to his clinic who had been prescribed these expensive and heavily marketed medications designed for adults, Cooper did a national survey. He found that the number of prescriptions to children had increased five times over a recent seven-year period.
Over a similar period, another study found, the number of children diagnosed with bipolar disorder had increased 40 times. Still, Cooper says that doesn’t explain all of the increase in the use of antipsychotics among children and adolescents.
teen alcohol rehab Des Moines ia ALPPInstitute
Cooper says he was surprised that, in most cases in his survey, doctors weren’t prescribing the drugs for serious mental illness. "Only one-third of the use was for bipolar or schizophrenia," says Cooper.
Instead, nearly 30 percent were prescribed to kids diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; nearly 15 percent went to children and adolescents 
with no psychiatric diagnosis at all.
Mental Health Groups Urge Approval
Still, Cooper thinks these medications are important tools to help children with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Most pediatricians and child psychiatrists agree. The FDA has already approved two similar antipsychotic drugs for children.
On the eve of the hearing, a coalition of nine national mental health and suicide prevention organizations released a letter urging the FDA committee to keep the drugs available.
"Like cancer, aggressive treatment may be needed for some patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, diseases with a higher risk of death than some forms of cancer," the groups said in the letter. They added that "no one treatment option works for all children," and that physicians and families need "a full range of medications and treatment options." The groups also called for more long-term research about the risks and benefits of these drugs to children.
