A healthy snack mid-day can help ease nausea and headaches caused by ADHD medication.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, begins in childhood and may last a lifetime. ADHD medications are useful for reducing the symptoms of hyperactivity, inattentiveness and impulsiveness which characterize the disorder, but in some people they can produce unwanted side effects. Side effects caused by stimulant drugs prescribed for ADHD include headaches, irritability, insomnia, nausea, weight loss and a decrease in appetite.
Instructions
1. Eat a healthy breakfast before taking your first dose of ADHD medicine for the day. This can help prevent weight loss and will ensure that you get some food into your system before the side effects make you lose your appetite.
2. Take your ADHD medication with food. According to Everyday Health, this can help reduce the likelihood of headaches and nausea or abdominal pain caused by these drugs.
3. Eat snacks that contain a high density of calories throughout the day. Healthy foods with a high caloric density include protein smoothies or two tbsp. of peanut butter on a whole wheat English muffin. Other options for kids' snacks include nutritional supplement drinks such as Pediasure or Ensure. Healthy snacks between meals can help counter a decrease in appetite and weight loss.
4. Take a multivitamin appropriate to your age, suggests Everyday Health. Children and teen multivitamins can help people in these age groups prevent vitamin or mineral deficiencies that can make the side effects of ADHD medication worse. Adults may want to choose a general multivitamin or one tailored to gender or age.
5. Change dinnertime to a later time of day to give medication a chance to wear off so you aren't faced with having to eat while feeling nauseous or not hungry, recommends Web MD.
6. Solve sleeplessness by changing the dose of medication used at night in consultation with a doctor. ADDitude magazine explains that for some people sleeplessness is a result of too much medication, while in others it may be a reaction to the medication from the day wearing off and a hyperactive state returning.
7. Consider giving yourself a weekend break from using your medication if a doctor says it is fine. Family Doctor suggests this kind of drug holiday as an option for individuals who would prefer to remain side-effect free on weekends when work and school commitments don't make taking the medication necessary.
8. Discuss severe side effects with a doctor. In some cases, the side effects from a particular drug aren't worth the benefits it gives. Your doctor may suggest trying a different medication or using other strategies to manage ADHD symptoms.
Tags: ADHD medication, side effects, weight loss, decrease appetite, Everyday Health, side effects