Hospital again-vomiting blood

[Anonymous]

Thought… could it be the aspartame in the Prevacid? He’s on a good
dose to control his acid (30 mg of Solutabs, right?) but if he had such
a problem with the sucrose in Alimentum maybe he has an aspartame issue
too? Maybe something to look into?

[Anonymous]

Tracy, that sounds really scary, we are thinking of you. Hope the doctors can find some answers and he feels better soon.

[Anonymous]

Tracy,

I am sorry this is happening and i am praying that they figure out what is going on soon!

[Anonymous]

Karen, have you heard from Tracy? I hope Ian is ok…

[Anonymous]

I did hear from her and she is going to try to post later. She just
doesn’t have much time today because her parents just came to town to
help and visit and because she had to take Ian to Ped today to rule out
basic stuff like ear infection, etc.

I’m hoping for another update soon – but as of right now, I know that
she saw her regular Ped GI (who she really likes) this morning. GI
thinks it was a tear that has since healed and wants her to use
Carafate until Tuesday (when they will do the tests she had mentioned).
Doc is suspecting stomach virus from daycare as possible case or maybe
just aggravation of reflux. They have to go back to the hospital if he
goes under 20 oz or seems lethargic but she said he seems in a good
mood.

I still wonder if aspartame in solutabs could be an issue? Seems farfetched but …

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

It’s been a crazy couple of days, but here’s the update (if you can call it that). Frustrating as it is, we really still have no answers. We’ve seen the GI, regular ped., and hospital. Oh, and additional bad news-he’s developing an ear infection as well. We’re holding off on antibiotics but ped said to call over weekend if he starts not sleeping or irritability (through all of this, Ian’s in great spirits-go figure). As for the blood, it’s still coming up in small spit ups (Ian’s eating a little better today). It actually happened in ped’s office and he confirmed it’s fresh blood. We’re sticking with the proceedures on Tuesday if we can hold out. Everyone seems to think using an emergency room team to do these is not a good idea (my GI wouldn’t be able to do it any sooner). But they also think we’ll be ok until then if we can keep him hydrated and there’s no major vomiting. Otherwise, hospital. Lots of speculation but they don’t think it’s infection or virus. It could be the esphogas erroding or allergies or ulcers, etc. on and on. We’re using Carafate to help him eat as GI thinks the wound should be starting to heal. That’s all we know right now. Just watch him closely and hold on as long as we can until Tuesday.

Of course, I’m not pleased. My big worry is although he’s only having tiny bits of blood right now, is it possible he’s bleeding internally and not coming up because he’s not really eating enough to vomit (sorry if that’s a dumb question, but naturally a BIG worry)? And GI has us on one ml of carafate 4x a day-is that enough? Doesn’t really seem to be making much difference? This just STINKS. But no fever and happy so crossing my fingers this is the right decision.

I’ll take any thoughts or ideas? Do you guys think this is good advice? They seem to be ok with waiting. Ped seemed the most worried of all of them, but I think that’s because he doesn’t deal with these kinds of problems. But he also said wait until Tues if possible.

My parents are here and that helps because DH is so busy. But this is gut wrenching. My soul is still telling me that I don’t think it’s necessarily an acid problem. I mean, I agree that acid may be a bi product but I think it’s originating somewhere else.

Again, I just seriously cannot thank everyone enough for the sweet, thoughtful and encouraging words. It helps keep you in check and find the strength to bull through. Especially you Karen-above and beyond with your emails and follow up.

Tracy (Ian’s Mom 9-26-05)

[Anonymous]

I don’t know much about carafate so I can’t say whether that is a good
dose. But I do think it’s probably good to wait until Tuesday IF Ian
seems relatively OK. At least then Dr. Moon will be doing the tests and
not a random doctor or technician.

I’m so glad your parents are there to help and give support – that should help get through the weekend.

Why are they holding off on antibiotics with the ear infection? Because it’s not a full blown one yet?

Marisa is sending Ian big fat kisses. Keep us posted.

[Anonymous]

Tracy, I’m glad that the bleeding seems to be slowing down and that Ian is in good spirits. Are they going to eventually treat the ear infection? What you’re going through sound awful, but I’m so glad that your doc is on top of things and that your parents are there for support. I hope that he continues to improve over the weekend and that the carafate brings him some relief. Thinking of you and hoping for good answers only.

[Anonymous]

Tracy – sounds like things are moving in the right direction. Hopefully Ian will do fine though the weekend and you’ll get some answers on Tuesday. Sending lots of hugs your way……. boysmom2006-3-3 22:35:25

[Anonymous]

Tracy, I hope that the carafate starts to work and gives him some relief! I will be praying for Ian and you!

[Anonymous]

Tracy, I haven’t checked in on the board in a really long time… but I saw this post tonight and just had to respond. This happened to Claire AND the story/description sounds identical. She was about 4.5 months old. Turns out, she had a Mallory-Weiss tear from forceful vomitting. It wasn’t an ulcer… acid was well-controlled on Prevacid at that point. After the obvious blood in her vomit/spit-up resolved, the doctor sampled her gastric contents using an NG tube for a few more days to check for any on-going (but subtle) active bleeding. It healed fairly quickly, but it was a really scary time. She was on Carafate, 1 mL, 4x day and that did seem to make her more comfortable. Be forewarned… it is VERY constipating. Hang in there… hope Ian is better soon.

[Anonymous]

Tracy – are the tests still happening today? Good luck – hope Ian is feeling better nd you get some answers.

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone-

It’s been a really hectic few days-Ian’s been projectile vomiting anything over 2 oz so we’ve had to feed him an oz or two every hour on the hour. His spirits are still good but his cough just keeps escalating. We’re pretty sure that’s because of the reflux and not viral just because of no other symptoms (although we could be wrong). It just sounds awful. Ear infection seems to be a non-issue and they didn’t want to give antibiotics because with a weak digestive system already and since it wasn’t bothering him, why not let it run it’s course. No more blood-thank god and finally it’s Tuesday. However, they have warned me if the cough is bad-they won’t do the tests! I’m crossing my fingers that because it appears to be gerd they will do them because we just can’t maintain this. He still has outright bottle refusal and eats about 8-12 oz a day and that cannot last for long. Is staying hydrated though. I know gerd can also cause chest infections and I fear that’s where we are headed if we don’t find out what’s causing all this. Spoke with Dr. yesterday and she said we may switch to prilosec super high dose and she may want to add Reglan (which I so am so not thrilled about hearing some of the stories), but we’ll deal with it when the time comes.

So cross your fingers! It’s a vicious cycle right now-even if we postpone-how will the cough heal if we don’t find out what’s causing it? Plus, I really cannot keep taking this time off from work (unfortunately I do need to work). And finally, he cannot sustain longer then a week on 12oz a day at most-that’s crazy to me!

Sorry, Karen-I got your email yesterday but with folks in town, it’s been difficult to spend time on the computer. I promise to keep everyone updated tonight. Please I need fingers crossed from everyone to get these tests done today!! (SAFELY, of course and only if his little system is ok to handle it).

Tracy (Ian’s mom 9-26-05)

OH-some good news yesterday-Elecare users-it’s FINALLY out in VANILLA flavor! Apparently during tests and trials they did, even some tube fed kids were more responsive to oral feedings because the taste is so much better. I’m praying that will help when Ian feels a little better.

[Anonymous]

Don’t apologize Tracy – there is never any need! My fingers and toes
will be crossed for you and I hope the tests are done today and go
well.

Re meds – maybe it would be better to try the Prilosec high dose switch
before going to Reglan? And ask for an emptying scan before Reglan too
to determine if Ian has DGE?

So if the tests are today, what time would they be? When will you have results?

Good news about the Elecare though!

We’ll be thinking of you guys…

[Anonymous]

Push for Zegerid! It’s the same drug as Prilosec (omeprazole) only it is stable (unlike the compounds). The dosing would be the same, since it is the same drug. I agree with Karen, try the higher dosage of omeprazole before going with the Reglan.

[Author]

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