Home › Forums › Infant Reflux Support › HELP!!! › What is Delayed Gastric Emptying? DGE?
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November 13, 2006 at 5:35 pm #17900
Anonymous
InactiveHi everyone! I realize that we are not doctors, but another little baby at Sarah’s daycare has some serious spitting up issues…Here is a summary of what I know about him…He is 5 months old…
1) He’s not gaining weight…still in the 10th percentile after trying to thicken feeds, etc…
2) He spits up an enormous amount…even hours after feeding.
3) The spit up is curdled in nature mostly (seems to be partially digested)
4) He does not seem to have any discomfort with his spit up (“happy spitter” I guess)
5) He is still needing to eat every 3 hours.
His pediatrician has finally (after much pushing) said that he does have acid reflux. BUT I don’t think a PPI is going to do him much good because there doesn’t seem to be any acid with his spit ups. They were hoping reflux meds would control/eliminate his spit up, but it won’t…unfortunately for all of us!!!
Anyway, I don’t know much about DGE, but I wondered if this could possibly be his problem? What are the symptoms of DGE? Are there better medicines than Reglan to treat it?
Thanks so much!
AmyNovember 13, 2006 at 5:46 pm #17901InactiveHi Amy,
Bryce has DGE and the symptoms you’ve described sound like that could very well be what it is. Bryce also spit up tons and long after he ate too. He spit up so much he wasn’t gaining well at one point. He is on Erythromycin for it and it did wonders for him. His spitting up decreased dramatically once he was on a high enough dose of it.I think it would definitely we worth having her mention it to her doctor. Prevacid helped Bryce’s spitting up a little bit, but nothing like the Erythromycin.
November 13, 2006 at 5:54 pm #17903InactiveI guess that the key for me would be whether he is at the 10th percentile and has always been around there or whether this is a decrease?? If he has always been there, then the spitting up should be fine and if there is no pain, no worries about it.
However if the baby has fallen in percentages (i think doctors worry when it is over 20%), then it could be DGE. BUT if they are able to keep him at the 10% with no further decline, then it is probably best to do nothing right now??? (the options are Reglan or something like erythromycin maybe which has its effects too??). THe only thing i do not get is the eating every 3 hours – a baby with DGE i believe would not eat that often, their stomachs just don’t empty… ie the last bit is there forever
how much is the baby eating?? Normal, not a lot?
November 13, 2006 at 8:07 pm #17918InactiveJacob doesn’t spit up a lot, but I have been wondering if he also has DGE. So they have to spit up to have DGE?
November 13, 2006 at 8:13 pm #17921hellbennt
KeymasterJohannaC wrote:
Jacob doesn’t spit up a lot, but I have been wondering if he also has DGE. So they have to spit up to have DGE?
I don’t think there needs to be spit up per se…I see no reason why breastmilk/formula just couldn’t sit in the stomach and make baby feel full/uncomfortable for a long time after feeding…
there is a stomach emptying scan (this is not just an Upper GI- it’s a specific test looking for DGE) that is done to diagnose DGE
there’s a lot of bad hype about reglan, but it has worked wonders for some babies; babies with diagnosed/VERIFIED DGE, in small doses. and, there ARE other motility drugs out there such as bethanecol (sp?) and erythromyacin (sp?)…I feel that if a baby has been given the stomach emptying scan and doesn’t respond well to other drugs, then by all means trying reglan is worth it…
November 13, 2006 at 8:27 pm #17925InactiveTaylor has DGE, she is currently on Reglan and it seems to be working well for her. She was placed on e-mycin first but her tummy couldn’t handle it. She doesn’t really spit up but she just doesn’t get hungry, she can go 5-6 hours without anything to eat and when she eats it is only a small amount 2-3 ounces only at a time. The Reglan helps move the food in her body (helps empty her stomach) so she gets hungry to eat.
November 13, 2006 at 10:09 pm #17937InactiveThank you so much for your comments. The mother was taking him to the doctor today and I told her to mention DGE just to see what they thought…
From what I understand the reason his weight gain is a concern is because it’s not following a “curve”. I guess as long as your baby is following their own little growth curve, it doesn’t matter so much if they are in the 10th percentile or the 90th…I guess he is sort of “flat lining” on his chart and it has had his doctor concerned for a few months. Hence the thickened feeds and a few other weight gaining things that haven’t been super successful.
I agree that he has some of the characteristics of DGE…but also some of them wouldn’t make sense. I know he eats every 3 hours, but I’m not sure how much he’s eating at a sitting. I forgot to ask that. It wouldn’t make sense for him to eat that often if his stomach was “staying full” longer.
Hmm, well I’ll be curious to hear what his doctor had to say and I”ll post again tomorrow. Thanks for the replies!!!
Amy
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