URGENT Blood sugar/calories/behavior problems/???

[Guest guest]

Hi,

As we are early in the diet and doing well as you know with seizures, we're

having some behavior problems at school. The past 2 days, I have gotten

calls from s school saying that he has been " crazy and defiant " . He

had to go the prinicipals office 2 days in a row. This is not like him. It

seems to happen at about 10:30 or 11:00 in the am. When I picked him up, he

was ghost white and lips white again. His teachers are viewing it as behavior

of course and I'm like-something is not right here b/c he loves school and

never does this. I think that he may be running out of gas as we speak and

need more calories. I think his calories are " on the fence " I guess anyways

and he is sooooo sensitive if he doesn't get his meals right on time perfectly,

we are in trouble.

Do you think that him being hungry could do this?? He tells me as soon as

we get in the car take me home I'm hungry and gets upset if I turn the wrong

way or anything because he wants lunch and wants it now. He scarfs it down

and is hungry still. Mentally, he just seems fatigued and irritable. He gets

breakfast at 745 b/c the bus gets him at 815 and then snack at 1030-1100 time

frame. Lunch is at twelve. As you know, he is 1290 cal 26 g protein,45

inches tall, 47.5 lbs 2:1 ratio.

The nurse said that if I got an order, she could check his blood sugar at

school if we run into troubles and see if it is low. I really feel like this is

calorie related and may need to adjust things. THe thing is, anywhere I

take calories from causes problems at other times during the day. Any ideas???

He is doing so good and I don't want to see him struggle again.

Thanks

[Guest guest]

,

The timing on this makes me think he's running out of fuel, too.

Maybe he does need a calorie increase. You said his snack is usually

at 1030. Had he eaten before the " behavior " occurred or not? Would

it be possible to try moving his snack up a bit, say 10:00 ish? If

that doesn't help, I would probably do a small calorie increase. AT

a 2:1 ratio, he isn't getting as much fat as is " usual " on keto. Fat

lasts a long time, while carb and protein are burned up pretty

quickly. Since he's doing well so far at 2:1, no need to mess with

that, so I think a calorie increase would be the best move. If mid

morning is the problem time, maybe just adding a 50 cal snack. If

he's famished at other times as well, you would probably want to

spread the cal increase over the day, maybe give a little extra

weight to that " bad " a.m. time.

was in a similar situation when she first started the diet. She

started in August so I had one week at home to get things straight

before she went back to school. She started with 4 meals and no

snacks. But, because of the way her school day went, it was hard to

space them out evenly. Her teacher called several days in a row

saying was sick (headache, stomach ache, weak, etc.) Our

dietician told me to split one of her meals into two snacks, so she

could have some food before lunchtime. Problem solved.

Good Luck... keep us posted.

Cammie

> Hi,

> As we are early in the diet and doing well as you know with

seizures, we're

> having some behavior problems at school. The past 2 days, I have

gotten

> calls from s school saying that he has been " crazy and

defiant " . He

> had to go the prinicipals office 2 days in a row. This is not

like him. It

> seems to happen at about 10:30 or 11:00 in the am. When I picked

him up, he

> was ghost white and lips white again. His teachers are viewing it

as behavior

> of course and I'm like-something is not right here b/c he loves

school and

> never does this. I think that he may be running out of gas as we

speak and

> need more calories. I think his calories are " on the fence " I

guess anyways

> and he is sooooo sensitive if he doesn't get his meals right on

time perfectly,

> we are in trouble.

>

> Do you think that him being hungry could do this?? He tells me as

soon as

> we get in the car take me home I'm hungry and gets upset if I turn

the wrong

> way or anything because he wants lunch and wants it now. He

scarfs it down

> and is hungry still. Mentally, he just seems fatigued and

irritable. He gets

> breakfast at 745 b/c the bus gets him at 815 and then snack at

1030-1100 time

> frame. Lunch is at twelve. As you know, he is 1290 cal 26 g

protein,45

> inches tall, 47.5 lbs 2:1 ratio.

>

> The nurse said that if I got an order, she could check his blood

sugar at

> school if we run into troubles and see if it is low. I really feel

like this is

> calorie related and may need to adjust things. THe thing is,

anywhere I

> take calories from causes problems at other times during the day.

Any ideas???

> He is doing so good and I don't want to see him struggle again.

>

> Thanks

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I don't remember if I wrote but I meant to ask before if you had checked

blood sugar when you talked about him being white. I would definitely

check his sugar, its easy enough to do yourself with the glucose monitor

diabetics use.

We ran into this with Jess, seemed like her body wanted to grow but she

didn't have the glucogen stores necessary to do so. WE added calories

and carnitine at the same time, which turned out to be a very bad idea -

carnitine was a disaster for her. But the calories did seem to help

although it still happnend occasionally.

So I would say either check sugar or just have them feed him earlier at

school for a few days and see if there is a difference. Of course I

would recommend chekcing the sugar as the better choice otherwise you

won't know if its just coincidence.

Isn't your dietican suggesting upping calories? BTW although carb will

cause blood sugar to rise quicker, it will also fall quickly. Protien

stabilizes it better over the long term

, 's mom

lloydandleslie@... wrote:

> Hi,

> As we are early in the diet and doing well as you know with seizures,

> we're

> having some behavior problems at school. The past 2 days, I have

> gotten

> calls from s school saying that he has been " crazy and

> defiant " . He

> had to go the prinicipals office 2 days in a row. This is not like

> him. It

> seems to happen at about 10:30 or 11:00 in the am. When I picked him

> up, he

> was ghost white and lips white again. His teachers are viewing it as

> behavior

> of course and I'm like-something is not right here b/c he loves

> school and

> never does this. I think that he may be running out of gas as we

> speak and

> need more calories. I think his calories are " on the fence " I guess

> anyways

> and he is sooooo sensitive if he doesn't get his meals right on time

> perfectly,

> we are in trouble.

>

> Do you think that him being hungry could do this?? He tells me as

> soon as

> we get in the car take me home I'm hungry and gets upset if I turn

> the wrong

> way or anything because he wants lunch and wants it now. He scarfs

> it down

> and is hungry still. Mentally, he just seems fatigued and

> irritable. He gets

> breakfast at 745 b/c the bus gets him at 815 and then snack at

> 1030-1100 time

> frame. Lunch is at twelve. As you know, he is 1290 cal 26 g

> protein,45

> inches tall, 47.5 lbs 2:1 ratio.

>

> The nurse said that if I got an order, she could check his blood sugar

> at

> school if we run into troubles and see if it is low. I really feel

> like this is

> calorie related and may need to adjust things. THe thing is, anywhere

> I

> take calories from causes problems at other times during the day.

> Any ideas???

> He is doing so good and I don't want to see him struggle again.

>

> Thanks

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Are you weaning 's meds? My son's behavior was atrocious

during the medicine wean.

Also, being hungry all the time is very hard, as you know. I don't

think we can overestimate just how hard this diet is for kids, maybe

especially school age kids. He is dealing with a lot. Hunger, not

getting the foods he likes, etc. I'm not sure what you should do.

A calorie increase might cause his ketones to lower and therefore

make him more hungry. But, on the other hand, maybe he needs more

calories, and therefore he would be less hungry. What about just

adding a little more cream to his breakfast? It would raise his

ratio a bit, but it would also give him more calories. The

dieticians might want to see what is happening with his weight

before recommending a calorie increase. I'm just going in circles,

here. My son was always extremely hungry early in the diet (once he

got used to the high ketones), but after several adjustments we did

get the calorie/ketone balance just right. He is hungry at meal

time, but not before. I think you should raise his calories. In

the meantime, I really hope those teachers remain understanding of

his situation. This is no small thing is doing--the

diet, I mean.

OK> More rambling. Maybe different kids react differently to the

stress of the diet. ;My son started having 'freezing episodes'. It

was pure stress. I think I caused them by dragging him off to

school early in the diet when he felt so miserable. He would be

crying and I was forcing him to go. He never acted out in a

purposeful way, like perhaps is doing, but

subconsciously he started having 'freezing' episodes--totally

unconsious and unaware of those around him. But what an effective

way of 'checking out' and avoiding reality. Certainly, this diet

must seem like a nightmare to our school age kids.

I say these things while still firmly believing in the diet. I

guess I am just trying to see it from the children;s perspective, in

an attempt to understand them. Thats why I think s

teachers need to be especially patient with him.

Gretchen

> Hi,

> As we are early in the diet and doing well as you know with

seizures, we're

> having some behavior problems at school. The past 2 days, I have

gotten

> calls from s school saying that he has been " crazy and

defiant " . He

> had to go the prinicipals office 2 days in a row. This is not

like him. It

> seems to happen at about 10:30 or 11:00 in the am. When I picked

him up, he

> was ghost white and lips white again. His teachers are viewing

it as behavior

> of course and I'm like-something is not right here b/c he loves

school and

> never does this. I think that he may be running out of gas as we

speak and

> need more calories. I think his calories are " on the fence " I

guess anyways

> and he is sooooo sensitive if he doesn't get his meals right on

time perfectly,

> we are in trouble.

>

> Do you think that him being hungry could do this?? He tells me

as soon as

> we get in the car take me home I'm hungry and gets upset if I turn

the wrong

> way or anything because he wants lunch and wants it now. He

scarfs it down

> and is hungry still. Mentally, he just seems fatigued and

irritable. He gets

> breakfast at 745 b/c the bus gets him at 815 and then snack at

1030-1100 time

> frame. Lunch is at twelve. As you know, he is 1290 cal 26 g

protein,45

> inches tall, 47.5 lbs 2:1 ratio.

>

> The nurse said that if I got an order, she could check his blood

sugar at

> school if we run into troubles and see if it is low. I really feel

like this is

> calorie related and may need to adjust things. THe thing is,

anywhere I

> take calories from causes problems at other times during the day.

Any ideas???

> He is doing so good and I don't want to see him struggle again.

>

> Thanks

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

Our neuro ordered a glucometer so we'll be starting the checks. Our

dietician ordered a calorie increase of 10% or 130 calories and we increased

protein

by 3 grams to 29 grams. We stated the increase by 75 calories and yikes I'm

afraid but we'll just have to see what happens. He is acting really

strange. I don't understand what is going on with him. He is distracted,

agitated,

defiant and crazy. Last week, he was perfect. Still no seizures. My gut

is that it is this calorie thing and that he needs more or less of something

but I don't know what. Do you have any ideas?

Also, he has lost 2 pounds in a week. I know that he should not be doing

that.

Any thoughts

[Guest guest]

,

No we jumped 75 calories and are holding. We have not gone all the way up

to the 130. I grrrrrrr when I tell you this about supplements.

Sat, Sun and Monday am my husband gave 1 dose PRO EFA and

increased his cal mag zinc and gave them all at one time. As soon as I figured

this out, we stopped the PRO efa, went back down on the cal mag zinc and went

back to the usual which is giving

for am

125 mg depakote

500 mg carnosine

1 bug bunny sg free vitamin

2 dha omega capsules

and pm

250 mg depakote

1 cal mag zinc tablet

I am wondering if the supplements he gave are causing the behaviors and are

not calorie related and the pale, wight loss are calorie related so its 2

things.

I know, I know.......this is why I need to make a meds chart. I keep track

of the med changes and he heard the dieitican talk about giving fish oils and

increase calcium and just did it.

Could this be causing the problems???

THanks

[Guest guest]

So you jumped up the whole 130 calories?? Big jump for all at

once......I think I would monitor blood sugar (to see if there is any

correlation with the behaviour) and if not....I don't know, that big of

a calorie jump makes me a little nervous, maybe try cutting back some

first. I think he needs more calories, but I would try 50, no more than

75.

But do the blood sugar first

Good luck, I know how hard those times can be

, 's mom

lloydandleslie@... wrote:

> ,

> Our neuro ordered a glucometer so we'll be starting the checks. Our

> dietician ordered a calorie increase of 10% or 130 calories and we

> increased protein

> by 3 grams to 29 grams. We stated the increase by 75 calories and

> yikes I'm

> afraid but we'll just have to see what happens. He is acting really

> strange. I don't understand what is going on with him. He is

> distracted, agitated,

> defiant and crazy. Last week, he was perfect. Still no seizures.

> My gut

> is that it is this calorie thing and that he needs more or less of

> something

> but I don't know what. Do you have any ideas?

>

> Also, he has lost 2 pounds in a week. I know that he should not be

> doing

> that.

>

> Any thoughts

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

PS No other changes?? You haven't upped the carnosine or started any new

supplements have you?

MIchelle

lloydandleslie@... wrote:

> ,

> Our neuro ordered a glucometer so we'll be starting the checks. Our

> dietician ordered a calorie increase of 10% or 130 calories and we

> increased protein

> by 3 grams to 29 grams. We stated the increase by 75 calories and

> yikes I'm

> afraid but we'll just have to see what happens. He is acting really

> strange. I don't understand what is going on with him. He is

> distracted, agitated,

> defiant and crazy. Last week, he was perfect. Still no seizures.

> My gut

> is that it is this calorie thing and that he needs more or less of

> something

> but I don't know what. Do you have any ideas?

>

> Also, he has lost 2 pounds in a week. I know that he should not be

> doing

> that.

>

> Any thoughts

>

>

>

>