Infantreflux.org | At what point do you worry?

This topic has 14 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 19 years, 10 months ago by Anonymous.

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December 10, 2006 at 9:16 pm #19989

Anonymous
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Sorry ladies…it’s me yet again.

At what point do you worry when your child refuses to eat? I THOUGHT Sarah was getting over this stomach bug/possible reaction to antibiotics. Her diarrhea frequency has gone down. She’s only had 2 diarrhea diapers in the last two days. Improvement! So WHY then did she refuse to eat today? She pushed the bottle away and practically threw herself off my lap to get away from it. She wouldn’t even take pedialyte in her sippy cup. I was lucky to get 10oz TOTAL of formula and NO solids. I thought for sure she’d at least take her night bottle (which is usually 9oz)…but when she refused that completely I started to really get worried. I even tried to give her solids as a last resort so she’d have SOMETHING in her belly to get through the night and she GAGGED on them.

I realize she won’t starve in one day…but what is wrong with her?? She is NOT running a fever, and she’s otherwise in good spirits. Active, playing, smiling.

This mommy stuff is really hard! My mom will be coming down to stay with Sarah tomorrow b/c the sitter’s son is still “mysteriously ill”. That’s great, but Sarah can be a finicky eater for other people and now to top off her “illness”…I’m afraid she won’t eat at all tomorrow for my mom. I’m tempted to call in sick to work because I don’t know how I’m going to function when all I’ll be thinking about is whether Sarah is eating, having explosive diarrhea, etc…

I know I probably sound whiny and over-reactive to all you “pro” mommies out there…but this is all new to me and she’s NEVER refused to eat before. (she was always a comfort eater when reflux was out of control)

Of course my ped. is out of the office until the 12th, but there are other doctors and of course the ER if nothing else. At what point do I take her in to be seen? We are on day 4 of diarrhea and day 1 of food strike.

Thanks for listening,
Amy

December 10, 2006 at 10:38 pm #19996

Anonymous
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Is it possible she’s getting her top two teeth? Isn’t it true that those can be more difficult/painful? Would that make her refuse to eat? It’s not even like she’ll suck the bottle a few times and stop…as soon as she even SEES the bottle she’s turning her head away. She’s not fussy at all though, like she was with her bottom teeth…oh I just don’t know.

Amy

December 10, 2006 at 10:38 pm #19997

Anonymous
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You will probably get tired of hearing this but it makes me think she might be teething. It causes diarrhea and bottle refusal. I think as long as she isn’t running a fever and she is peeing enough then it should be ok. Listen to your heart. If you feel she needs to be seen then I would say take her in.

December 10, 2006 at 10:40 pm #19998

Anonymous
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LOL…guess we were typing that at the same time! I’d be relieved if it was teething!!!!

December 10, 2006 at 10:48 pm #19999

Anonymous
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Hi, Amy…I was, too, going to suggest that it sounds like teething. Hope Sarah’s feeling better soon.

December 10, 2006 at 11:05 pm #20002

Anonymous
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Could the severe diarrhea for 4 days be a result of the teething though? I wouldn’t be AS worried about not eating if I wasn’t SO worried about her becoming dehydrated. I think my main problem is I’m dealing with too many problems at once! I can’t figure out what is causing what and which symptoms came from where and how serious to take all of this! Grrrr! I just went in to wake her up to try to feed her before I went to bed (NO LUCK) and she had another full diarrhea diaper. Glad I went in to check her…had to change her clothes, the sheets everything! Ugh!!!!!

Amy

amy00132006-12-10 23:17:16

December 10, 2006 at 11:17 pm #20003

Anonymous
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My guess would be she’s either teething, or she’s having a lot of drainage in her throat from the sinusitis & ear infection. A lot of times that will make their throat hurt a little or just feel weird and they won’t want to eat. All that drainage can cause a stomachache too, although I’m not sure about diarrhea. She may have just had a stomach bug too.

December 11, 2006 at 3:15 am #20007

Anonymous
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Hi Amy, it does sound like there are lots of reasons Sarah (who is super cute by the way) might not be interested in eating.

Alana had a little stomach bug last week- and she started refusing formula totatly- she was still doing bottle refusal (not all of them, just half of them) for two days after the diarrhea stopped. She has only got back on track today (mon) and the diarrhea stopped (fri). So it is possible that if she did have a stomach bug she is still feeling a bit ordinary.

Is suppose regardless of the reason it is important that she keep hydrated- I was so worried because we had two super hot days. Maybe give it another day, keep offering her fluids etc. If she still hasn’t drunk/eaten for two days I would take to Dr- just to make you feel a little better. I think the rule of thumb is if no wet nappy in 8 hours, then they are dehydrated and time to take them to Dr.

I hope she starts eating soon

December 11, 2006 at 8:50 am #20013

Anonymous
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i agree with the teething! is she drooling at all?? or more than normal? the drool that gets swallowed can upset their stomach.. and they might not want to eat, and the teething as others mentioned can cause their gums to hurt when drinking. shane is sort of going through the same thing, he is drinking a lot less than normal. and he has always been a comfort drinker as well. but my neice is 9 mos. and for the past month she hasnt wanted to eat or drink, but mostly not want to drink. my sister-in law got really worried too, and the doc said to just make sure she drinks something. and thought there was nothing else but possibly teething that is wrong (she does not have reflux). soo.. it prob is just that, and on top of it recovering from not feeling well. ibut yes, i would make sure she is wetting her diapers today.. if not i would call your doc as well.. but i am sure its nothing too serious as to why she isnt eating.

December 11, 2006 at 10:11 am #20022

Anonymous
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Hi Amy,

We’ve been in the same boat since Wednesday with Myles. Today he ate his breakfast but for the past 4 days it’s been a struggle to get him to eat or drink anything. His diarrhea has slowed down but it’s still bad. I talked to the ER doc on Saturday because it was so bad.

Anyway, dh and I had the same bug for a few days and I can tell you you don’t want to eat. We both LOVE food and we ate nothing for two straight days and next to nothing the third day.

Babies have no immunity to these bugs so their first exposure is much more severe than an adult’s or older child’s.

If it is the bug that’s causing her to not want to eat it should pass pretty soon. For now try to keep her hydrated but don’t worry so much about actual meals or calories. I’ve been giving Myles very small amts of fluids at regular intervals all day for the last 5 days. For him it works best to give it to him on a spoon like medicine.

The ER doc said to just worry about hydration, but add some bulk to the diet if possible (saltines, bananas, toast to help firm up the stool). She the diarrhea could last up to two weeks. It probably won’t last that long….that’s the extreme….but it’s normal for it to go longer than it would for an adult.

Are you giving her any Pedialyte? You can buy the plain one and add her Alimentum Powder to it and then feed her as much as she’ll take by spoon, bottle, syringe….

Well, I hope it passes soon. I’m so tired of Myles being so sick, so I sure know how you feel.

December 11, 2006 at 11:29 am #20032

Anonymous
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I agree with Christine. We’re in the same boat… Hailey doesn’t want to eat anything and will only drink a few sips of water. Everytime she tries her formula she vomits it back up, and yesterday was so bad that she was vomitting bile. Her reflux meds aren’t working since she just pukes up the CaraCream, and I’ve been able to syringe solutabs, but can’t get her to feed to activate the med. I’m also concerned, but hoping that as it passes soon she’ll be more like herself. She’s getting lighter and lighter every day I pick her up. It’s scary. I hope it passes for both of you soon.

December 11, 2006 at 12:47 pm #20036

Anonymous
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Christine – She won’t even drink anything. She pushes the bottle away or completely turns her head when she sees it. My mom is with her today and I’m anxious to call home over my lunch hour to see if she’s eaten anything.

I took her off of the antiobiotics a day early. If that was causing the diarrhea…I want it to end. I talked to the school nurse today and she said if she STILL has diarrhea 24 hours after being taken off the antibiotic then I need to take her to the ER (with a dirty diaper in case they want a stool sample). I agree…I can’t let this diarrhea go on any longer if she’s not even going to eat or drink anything.

Sounds like I’m not the only mommy struggling with this sickness stuff…it’s no fun. I hope all our little ones feel better SOOON!

I’m PHYSICALLY at work today, but my mind is definitely at home with Sarah.

Amy

December 11, 2006 at 1:33 pm #20040

Anonymous
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Yes, you definitely need to take her to the ER if she’s not drinking anything and she’s still having diarrhea. I narrowly avoided keeping Myles out of the hospital. The doctor wanted to admit him on Saturday but I pleaded to let me keep trying to keep him hydrated at home. I was fortunate only because Myles is so used to being spoon fed all of his fluids since he gave up the bottle at 7 months of age. But it was a round the clock job. I had to spoon feed him fluids every 15 to 30 minutes just to keep him minimally hydrated. I feel like I lost 4 days of my life because it’s all a blur now. He’s finally improving. I hope Sarah does too, but definitely take her to the ER if she’s showing signs of dehydration, (crying without tears, dry cracked lips, sticky instead of moist inside her mouth, not wetting diapers) or if she’s listlesss and lethargic.

I’ll keep her in my prayers. Please let us know how she’s doing.

December 11, 2006 at 1:39 pm #20041

Anonymous
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Lori,

I’m so sorry to hear Hailey is so sick. Does she have a stomach bug too? Myles lost nearly two pounds during the six days that he was so sick. Today’s the first day he is eating and not puking or pooping it right out. He probably had more to lose than Hailey does as far as weight goes so I wasn’t concerned too much about that. I was mainly concerned about his hydration. I hope Hailey is taking in enough fluid to stay hydrated. It’s so scary. I’ll keep Hailey in my prayers. Please keep us posted.

December 11, 2006 at 2:33 pm #20050

Anonymous
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OMG, I pray that she doesn’t lose two pounds! She hasn’t gained anything in over 3 months, so I’m afraid what will happen if she drops that low. She has no interest in eating or drinking though.
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