[SuzBerg]

Emily was on megastrol acetate for an appetite stimulant after her last surgery. It really worked she ate more than I thought possible. The problem for us is it was NOT a long term solution. We were told it was only to be used for less than 6 months (because of side effects), so of course as soon as she went off it she went back to eating like a little birdie. It's hard for me to know what side-effects were related to the megastrol and what side-effects were from having major open heart surgery and what side effects were from all the other 10 different meds she was on. BUT, I'm pretty sure her very swollen puffy cheeks were caused by the megastrol (my pediatrician said this too). And her belly was very swollen too but some of that could have been from fluid. I just know that now that she is off it she is not swollen but she lost 5-6 of the 9 pounds she had gained (again could have been fluid caused by other things). So I would say try it (if your doc agrees) but be aware that it might not be a real solution.

I like benecalorie WAY more than duacal (we have tried both). The benecalorie we use adds I think 300-400 calories (?) maybe not that much I could go look in the cupboard if you want me to. But the duacal the hospital gave us only added 60. It was much easier to add the benecalorie than the powdered duacal also. BUT I would only add the benecalorie to pediasure formula, thick soups etc. I tried it in orange juice once and Em could tell by looking at it that "That's not orange juice"! Of course if this is for Teeter he's younger and it might be easier to sneak things past him. Benecalorie is pretty expensive and had to be special ordered for us but I really like it and think it's worth it.

We haven't used it a lot lately but I'm going to start again as we are having "weight issues" again and I'm starting to worry. I also have started feeding her the "YoBaby" prducts again (although she hates that they are "for babies, she likes the taste). The drinkable yogurt has more calories than "Nutri-Pals" and I think just a little less than regular pediasure. It's the only product I can find that uses whole milk thus the extra fat and calories which are a bonus for our kiddos.