Child constantly needs sugar

mommyhood

Fri, Jun 04 2021, 12:55 pm

Teomima wrote:

Well, for starters get rid of the junk. Don't keep any at home, even if that is upsetting to the other members of the household. He's obviously not able to control himself so as his parent you need to take it out of his hands.

Testing for PWS is a good idea. Hopefully it will be a dead end because it's a very difficult diagnosis.

It's also not uncommon behavior for children on the spectrum. Is ASD a concern you may have based on his other behaviors?

But for sure start with getting all junk, treats, snacks, candy etc. out of the house.

Getting rid of it at home is only a solution for home it doesn't solve the problem and teach good habits. A kid this young that has strong cravings and is clearly lacking self control is more likely to start stealing from friends or stores than to just move on when the junk isn't available at home.

amother

Forestgreen

Fri, Jun 04 2021, 1:11 pm

This is very neurological. People say parasites and yeast overgrowth contribute, for us it’s strep overgrowth in the gut that did it. There’s also a hypothalamic pituitary adrenal piece involved. I haven’t quite figured out exactly what it is and how it connects to the pathogens, but it’s definitely there, and it’s related to the gut and inflammatory issues. Our desire for sugar and appetite regulation in general is controlled by a very primitive part of the brain that focuses on survival, sugar and sweets were rare and gave a ton of quick energy in small volume. The hypothalamus is largely involved in blood sugar regulation, via insulin and cortisol and when inflammation trips it can trick the body into thinking it’s in danger of starving and lead to uncontrollable cravings for sugar. This isn’t conscious, it’s autonomic. I would work on gut health, addressing dysbiosis and pathogenic overgrowth, taking down inflammation and calming the autonomic nervous system. High dose thiamine is good for this, also vagus nerve work via craniosacral. It’s a tall order but really the only way.
About prader Willi, even if your child doesn’t have it genetically, the pathophysiology can be helpful to understand insatiable appetite. In PWS there is excess ghrelin leading to hypothalamic dysfunction leading to appetite circuitry dysfunction. Dopamine and adhd type neurodysfunction involving under stimulated pleasure and reward centers can be a piece as well.

amother

Saddlebrown

Fri, Jun 04 2021, 2:50 pm

I could have almost written your post. I have a very similar situation with my ds. I also tried natural consequensis, being positive, allowing unlimited access and etc... None worked although I wonder if I would have tried longer maybe it would have? I also don't want him to feel deprived.

What I'm doing now that is sort of working is

1- I locked up unhealthy foods (which scared me to do, but I felt I ran out of other options) and allow him unlimited access to everything else (healthy food plus stuff that aren't so bad like rice cakes and pretzels...)

2- I take out a limited amount of unhealthy food per day ex 3 cookies . I put it were he can access it and he knows it's for him and no one else will take it. He also knows if he eats it now he won't have it left for later.... it's starting to help to teach him self control as he sometimes will save it for later (very important if you do that that your child know with certainty that no one else will take it) This also helps reassure me that he's not feeling deprived.

3 - I make sure to sit in view of him and eat a very appetizing healthy snack (ex two diff color peppers cut up and yummy dressing to dip into) and say how much I love it. More often then not he'll come over to me and want some to. This is getting him into enjoying healthy food a lot more. Seeing me eat it as well does more then just putting it out on the table for him to eat or letting him know there are some in the fridge he that could take if he wants.

amother

Plum

Fri, Jun 04 2021, 3:02 pm

banana split wrote:

I would say yeast overgrowth in the intestine is the cause. Does he have a history of mollescum or excema? Adhd?
I don’t know if you want to pursue the “leaky gut” route but it might be the answer for you.
In the meantime lock up the sweets

I was so surprised to read this. I struggle with my daughter who is always hungry and never seems satisfied. It makes me so sad to see how much she has put on the last year. Her siblings are not the same, they have an internal mechanism to indicate when they are full. My daughter has always dealt with skin issues. She has had mollescum for the last year, her private is often itchy, she had an awful bout of skin infections during one summer after being bitten by mosquitoes. Where can I read more about this being tied together?

amother

Fri, Jun 04 2021, 3:52 pm

amother [ Babyblue ] wrote:

why are you so sure he's not on the spectrum?
Im just curious
we have multiple people in our family on the spectrum and you wouldn't dream any of them were just by seeing them. all of them present with different symptoms, because autism looks very different in every person who's affected.

locking up the sweets is like putting a bandaid on something that needs heart surgery.

As his mother, I don’t just see him like you do other family members. I am very confident when I say he isn’t. I don’t shy away from diagnoses, labels or issues. But this isn’t it.

amother

Fri, Jun 04 2021, 3:57 pm

amother [ Saddlebrown ] wrote:

So he actually isn’t picky at all and enjoys healthy food as well. He doesn’t need much coaxing in that area.

I like the idea of setting aside treats just for him, although I think I’ll do that with the sweets we reserve for Shabbos anyway (he goes to school and has enough unhealthy snacks throughout the day, he doesn’t need more at home). I can set it aside at the beginning of the week, and he can decide to eat them right away, throughout the week in increments, or save them all for Shabbos. I am actually quite confident he’ll save them all for Shabbos (although I wonder if that’ll help him not take more during the week or not…).