What is going on?

My 7 month olds who have bad reflux were finally getting better with it and then they got a bad tummy bug. Now that that is over and they are eating again, once a day they empty the entire contents of their little tummies. On top of that neither of them want to eat. At most they are taking 18oz. over 3 bottles a day. At least one bottle comes right back up.

I would say they are keeping between 10 and 12 oz. down a day. The PED is not particularly concerned as they are not dehydrated. My thought it why wait to deal with it until they are dehydrated. I am at a loss. I am depressed and I do not know what to do.

Last week alone we spent close to $300 on PEDs appointments and meds. This cannot continue. I wish I knew what was wrong with them. I have no idea what to do.


HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

 

I think you need to request a Ped GI if you have not already. I too, would not want to wait until they get dehydrated. I guess you could try smaller meals more frequently ( the reflux mantra, i know.). I hope they feel better soon.

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ Feb 20 2008, 09:26 PM) [snapback]632487[/snapback]
I think you need to request a Ped GI if you have not already. I too, would not want to wait until they get dehydrated. I guess you could try smaller meals more frequently ( the reflux mantra, i know.). I hope they feel better soon.



I thought at 7 months this would not be making a bad turn for the worse. Lord give me the strength.

 

Maybe they just need another day of two because of the reflux issue complicating things to help settle their stomachs. Hang in there and dont hesitate to call your Ped again :hug99:

 

Tammy, maybe the tummy bug is still hanging around, or has re-aggravated the reflux? If they are not eating as much as usual, something is still bothering them. Are they back on the reflux meds? I agree with Rachel, smaller, more frequent meals. :hug99: I know it's hard not to worry, but if they are still having wet diapers, you are still doing ok, and it will most likely pass. :hug99:

 

Tammy - two things came to mind when I read your post. #1 My pedi said any illness will aggrevate the reflux, and #2 I recall reading you had stopped the reflux meds while they were sick. We stopped Ellie's for a while, and it took a full two weeks to see the change. I was not expecting that because the Prevacid worked so quickly we we started it the 1st time.

Good Luck!
Suzi

 

QUOTE(SusieQ @ Feb 20 2008, 10:02 PM) [snapback]632587[/snapback]
Tammy - two things came to mind when I read your post. #1 My pedi said any illness will aggrevate the reflux, and #2 I recall reading you had stopped the reflux meds while they were sick. We stopped Ellie's for a while, and it took a full two weeks to see the change. I was not expecting that because the Prevacid worked so quickly we we started it the 1st time.

Good Luck!
Suzi



MY Ellie is actually gagging on her prevacid. Both of them hate me putting anything in their mouths these days. IT IS AWFUL! I guess I will wait and see if this gets better. But man is my couch ruined!

I cant stop crying!

 

Now mine were older when they got the tummy bug, around 15 months, but they did not eat much of ANYTHING for around 2 weeks. I know they lost weight, but there was nothing I could do to get them to eat, and when I tried to push it with milk/spoon feeding they just threw up.
I finally learned I had to wait for them to be ready, and then they were back to thier old selves.

During that time I did a lot of syringe feeding, letting them sip out of real cups, etc. I was CREATIVE lol.

Hang in there!!!

 

That sucks! Poor babies (and poor momma)!!

There is nothing worse then when they wont eat, or they do eat and puke it all up. Have you had an upper GI done? I finally got an appt to see one next week. My pedi says to give the reflux meds 1 week to work so maybe its combo of the bug and the rflux.

I hope they feel better soon!!

 

QUOTE(cohlee @ Feb 20 2008, 10:12 PM) [snapback]632613[/snapback]
That sucks! Poor babies (and poor momma)!!

There is nothing worse then when they wont eat, or they do eat and puke it all up. Have you had an upper GI done? I finally got an appt to see one next week. My pedi says to give the reflux meds 1 week to work so maybe its combo of the bug and the rflux.

I hope they feel better soon!!



We have not seen a GI at all, but I have a friend who is a GI. She thinks, without doing any tests, that they are suffering from post-viral gastroparesis (slow emptying). If increasing their dose of Prevacid doesn't work than we would probably start them on a small dose of Reglan two to three times a day.

REGLAN scares me. I have read it is not for children under 15. Mine ar eobviously WAY under 15.

I sent an email to my PED moments ago demanding to see a GI. If she does not refer me to one, I am finding a new PED period!

I am so sick of this. It is actually making me sick to the point I cry all the time!

 

:hug99: I have no idea what is going on, but I'm thinking about you and hoping your pedi will work with you to help your kiddos.

 

REGLAN..I was given that while I was pregnant and the babies were exposed..I was told it is very safe...HMMMMMMMM

Definitely, smaller feedings and like one mom said get creative..and make your DR. listen or I'm with you switch dr's. Hang in there. I know parenthood is scary. Especially when the babies are sick. My prayers are with you momma

 

My Conner has been doing projectile vomiting of one bottle every day or so & we went to see our Ped yesterday. He's still growing well on his growth chart, but I was still concerned. We've been off Reflux meds (Zantac & Prilosec) since they were 4-5 mos old, so it's not that we just took them off or something. My Ped said that it's still lingering RSV (which I THOUGHT we were over)...he said it can take 2-4 wks to resolve. Apparantly he thinks that his nose is probably draining back into his throat/tummy & making his tummy upset. He doesn't have a RUNNY nose, but he is slightly congested. He also said that his reflux could've been reaggravated (sp?) from the illness. If he doesn't improve in 2 weeks, I'm supposed to come back. My little guy's intake is also low, but the Ped said as long as he's making wet diapers & not appearing dehydrated, he's fine. I think he's getting a lot of his calories through his solids, which he's taking just fine.

Be creative....try formula in sippies or in syringes (which I did a lot). I'd give it a little time before seeing a specialist myself...but if it'd make you feel better, then by all means do so! You're the Mama & you know best!

Hope your little ones feel better soon!

PS I can't see your ticker anymore, but I think your babes are around 7 mos....I was told that 20 oz/day is pretty typical around that age. My one does about 30 oz/day & my other I'm LUCKY to get 20-24oz. Amazing how different each kiddo is, isn't it???

GOOD LUCK!

 

Last night was a nightmare. They are not drinking enough during the day to sttn so we are back to having newborns. Ugggggggggg!

 

Tammy,

Hang in there! You've been one of the most positive and upbeat posters on here, so I think we all hate to see you so down. You are doing a good job for your babies. It's so stressful when they won't eat, but unless they're really losing weight or dehydrated, don't worry. (hard to do, I know). My "reflux" daughter went through a period just like what you're describing with your two. She got a cold and then puked constantly for almost three weeks. She was her normal fun loving self after the cold went away but still had no appetite and barely got 15 ounces a day. I tried everything and what worked for us was sipping out of an adult cup and making the bottles feel like playtime. She loves watching my husband and I drink out of our regular glasses, so I put water and formula in a regular glass for her and let her try. She spilled more on herself than she slurped down, but at least it was *some* liquid. I also played silly games with the bottles, like flying the bottle like an airplane and landing it on her mouth. She also liked when I took the bottle and ran it all the way down her body. She would giggle and open her mouth. Beleive it or not, once we started to make eating fun again, she stopped refusing to eat. She still puked, but she ate.

All that said, who knows what will work for your kids? But something will. They will not refuse to eat forever. They are healthy and growing babies who have a mother who is doing everything she can. I hope that the increase in Prevacid helps. Like previous posters said, try more frequent bottles with less in them. It's a pain but for us it helped with the throwing up. Finally, and this is just a personal opinion based on my research, Reglan is a potentially dangerous drug. It is absolutely necessary for some children who aren't gaining weight, but given that your kids have had such a good start, you might want to wait. Before you start your kids on Reglan and deal with the potential long-term side effects, please meet with a GI. Get some studies done to see if they really have chronic slow emptying that can not be managed in some other way.

Good luck!

 

QUOTE(Trishandthegirls @ Feb 21 2008, 09:17 AM) [snapback]633015[/snapback]
Tammy,

Hang in there! You've been one of the most positive and upbeat posters on here, so I think we all hate to see you so down. You are doing a good job for your babies. It's so stressful when they won't eat, but unless they're really losing weight or dehydrated, don't worry. (hard to do, I know). My "reflux" daughter went through a period just like what you're describing with your two. She got a cold and then puked constantly for almost three weeks. She was her normal fun loving self after the cold went away but still had no appetite and barely got 15 ounces a day. I tried everything and what worked for us was sipping out of an adult cup and making the bottles feel like playtime. She loves watching my husband and I drink out of our regular glasses, so I put water and formula in a regular glass for her and let her try. She spilled more on herself than she slurped down, but at least it was *some* liquid. I also played silly games with the bottles, like flying the bottle like an airplane and landing it on her mouth. She also liked when I took the bottle and ran it all the way down her body. She would giggle and open her mouth. Beleive it or not, once we started to make eating fun again, she stopped refusing to eat. She still puked, but she ate.

All that said, who knows what will work for your kids? But something will. They will not refuse to eat forever. They are healthy and growing babies who have a mother who is doing everything she can. I hope that the increase in Prevacid helps. Like previous posters said, try more frequent bottles with less in them. It's a pain but for us it helped with the throwing up. Finally, and this is just a personal opinion based on my research, Reglan is a potentially dangerous drug. It is absolutely necessary for some children who aren't gaining weight, but given that your kids have had such a good start, you might want to wait. Before you start your kids on Reglan and deal with the potential long-term side effects, please meet with a GI. Get some studies done to see if they really have chronic slow emptying that can not be managed in some other way.

Good luck!


Thanks! Your words are so kind and helpful. I have been reading a lot about using Erythromycin. I like what I read below. I do not want to hurt my kids any further than they already are. My poor babies! I feel so bad for these little guys!

Erythromycin - An antibiotic with the side effect of increasing gastric motility. This is currently being widely used in low doses (not the higher antibiotic doses) for delayed gastric emptying as this does not have the unfortunate side effects that are possible with metoclopramide (REGLAN).



It seems that a flu or cold can aggravate the reflux and I am going to give it until Monday and see what is going on.

Thanks guys!

 

I JUST thought of you as my DS, Conner, completely projectile vomited ALL OVER ME & our POOR POOR couch! I think I MAYBE caught 1/4 of it on the burp rags, but the rest I just kinda sat there & was like...where do I start? He took 8 oz & probably 3/4 of that came back up. He's happy as can be right now, but was super fussy prior to his bottle (he was really hungry). He hadn't spit up ALL day, so I'm not sure where that came from.

I'm in a similar boat as you, although my DS is STTN, but he never has required a lot of intake during the day. I plan to try solids with him here in like a half hour...hopefully at least THOSE will stay down! Yuck!

Hang in there & stock up on laundry detergent, huh ?

Question, do your kiddos throw up RIGHT after their bottle or later? Conner seems to do it within 15 mins of finishing his bottle if he's going to. Just curious.

 

:hug99: I know how you feel. My twins have/had terrible, terrible reflux. I had to throw away the couch after the reflux period was over...I'm not kidding. I used to cry every day from the stress of it. I can say that it did come back after DS was sick with a really bad cold. He stopped eating for weeks. It was a struggle and those familiar tears came back. He just recently got his appetite back and stopped puking all day. It did last for a good month though. The pedi said that any sickness can cause the reflux to temporarily return for a while. I guess that's what happened to DS! And I'm guessing with yours as well. Just ride it out - It will get better! :love0028:

 

QUOTE(nurseandrea02 @ Feb 21 2008, 04:59 PM) [snapback]634139[/snapback]
I JUST thought of you as my DS, Conner, completely projectile vomited ALL OVER ME & our POOR POOR couch! I think I MAYBE caught 1/4 of it on the burp rags, but the rest I just kinda sat there & was like...where do I start? He took 8 oz & probably 3/4 of that came back up. He's happy as can be right now, but was super fussy prior to his bottle (he was really hungry). He hadn't spit up ALL day, so I'm not sure where that came from.

I'm in a similar boat as you, although my DS is STTN, but he never has required a lot of intake during the day. I plan to try solids with him here in like a half hour...hopefully at least THOSE will stay down! Yuck!

Hang in there & stock up on laundry detergent, huh ?

Question, do your kiddos throw up RIGHT after their bottle or later? Conner seems to do it within 15 mins of finishing his bottle if he's going to. Just curious.



OH the poot little guy. It is just no fun. Mine are quite happy as well. They do not appear sick or in pain. Sometimes the spitting is immediate and sometimes it is hours and hours later. Once as much as 8 hours later!

I hope he feels better!

 

Thanks. How are your pumpkins? Any improvement?

 

QUOTE(nurseandrea02 @ Feb 22 2008, 03:25 PM) [snapback]636078[/snapback]
Thanks. How are your pumpkins? Any improvement?



Kinda I guess. I started solids with them again and the did not gag on them the way they were. We are back on baby food though, no table food or finger foods. I think we will try those in a couple days.

The PED has us coming in Monday as apparently I screamed loud enough she has decided to listen.

The good news is they are playing well, happy and the last 3 days they have met several milestones. I am proud of them. DS is finally up on all fours.

The puking seems to be reduced some.

We shall see what the next few days brings.

I feel like I live my life on pins and needles.

 

Glad to hear that they are doing better and are at the least happy. Keep screaming at your Ped until they give you what you want. You are your childrens advocate and you are doing an awesome job!!!!