severe vomiting episodes…reflux again??

[Anonymous]

Hi all! I don’t know if anyone remembers us anymore. It’s been a long time since I’ve posted because I thought we were all under control. Logan’s not really an ‘infant’ anymore, but I was hoping someone here might have some experience with this…

Brief background since I’ve been so long away: Logan was diagnosed as a silent refluxer at 5 weeks old. He was on Zantac, then Prevacid, and Reglan for delayed gastric emptying. He was also put on Alimentum formula. After he was on the meds and the Alimentum, we improved dramatically, and after he turned 1 with no more severe issues, our insurance requested we be discharged from the care of our pediatric GI, who we LOVED. He is still on Zantac as needed for occasional reflux. He is now 18 months old.

About two weeks after his 1st birthday, we had our first SEVERE vomiting episode. Logan started throwing up and would not stop. NO other symptoms at all. We ended up in the ER, got IV fluids and anti-vomiting suppositories. Finally under control after four hours, they sent us home, saying it was probably food poisoning or a stomach bug.

Three months later, same thing happened. Back to the ER. More fluids and suppositories, and again, they said stomach bug or food poisoning. I questioned it, but they were adamant.

Over the weekend, the SAME thing happened AGAIN. We were in the ER for 12 hours before they finally transported us by ambulance to the nearest children’s hospital. They could NOT get the vomiting under control, and Logan became severely dehydrated. This time, they did some testing. Blood panels were normal (except for high sodium due to dehydration) and white count was normal. Xrays showed some areas of gas and swelling in the intestinal tract, but no blockages or twists or other deformations. They couldn’t complete the Upper GI because of the vomiting, so we’ll be re-doing that one in a few weeks once he’s recovered.

Everything was inconclusive. They said they weren’t sure if this was a reflux related issue, and one doctor told me AGAIN that it could be food poisoning. They wouldn’t recommend a referral back to our Ped GI. I can’t BELIEVE this could possibly be a THIRD case of food poisoning (we all ate the same things he did!) and I think something is very definitely wrong. His white count was normal, so it didn’t appear to be an infection, and no one else in my family has been or gotten sick.

After having his reflux under control for so long…I can’t imagine that it’s rearing it’s ugly head again, but I don’t know what else this could possibly be? Food allergy? Some other gastric condition? Does anyone have any experience with anything similar?? In between epsiodes, he’s TOTALLY normal. He does still have some reflux if he eats anything acidic, citrus or tomatoes, but otherwise, we’ve been doing okay.

I’m just looking for any kind of help here…I feel so helpless and they can’t find anything really wrong, but I have that ‘mommy feeling’ again that something is not right…

Jana

[Anonymous]

Personally (and I know you probably don’t want to hear this) I would not have a hard time accepting that it was a stomach virus or food poisoning all three times. I’ll tell you why. My first daughter had several stomach bugs or food poisoning the winter after her first birthday. I know it was at least twice, but more likely three times between the age of 1 and 18 months. My friend has a daughter six months older and her daughter had it even more times than my daughter and was hospitalized twice for it.

My second child had two or three of them in her toddler years. And my son just got over a horrible bout with rotavirus that lasted six days.

Do you eat out a lot? I find that many times these episodes with my children ocurr after eating out. In fact my husband has had food poisoning the last three times he ate at Taco John’s. I told him to report it to the Health Dept but he refuses, but he finally says he will not eat there anymore.

Recently I saw something on the news about this being one of the worst years for the stomach flu in this country in the last ten years. So, it’s really everywhere. Also, it’s not that unusual for the baby of the family to be the only one who gets sick becasue their immune system is still immature and they haven’t been exposed to all the bugs that older children and adults have.

Of course, you should not discard your mommy intuition and if you think something’s wrong then you should pursue it with his doctors. I’m just offering my feeling and how I would probably react. If it happens again in the next few weeks, I’d be more suspcious, but three times in five or six months probably wouldn’t alarm me.

ndrose2007-1-10 18:28:37

[Anonymous]

The doctor said basically the same thing, Christine. But if it were food poisoning, wouldn’t he have had diarrhea as well? And he wasn’t showing any outward signs of abdominal pain…no pulling up his legs or curling up. He had no fever, no diarrhea, no anything besides the severe vomiting. We’re definitely going to see our primary care pediatrician for a follow-up. I just wonder if it could possibly be something GERD related…I know I may just be paranoid, but that just seems like a lot of food poisoning.

We really don’t eat out all that often. When we do eat out, Logan usually shares a plate with either me or his brother, so we’re all eating the same things. When we eat at home, we’re all eating the same foods, too, so it just seems odd that Logan would get sick but no one else would.

You could definitely be right. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see??

[Anonymous]

That is odd that there was no diarrhea and no signs of abdominal distress. Recently though when Myles had rotavirus his sisters had milder and different symptoms. Liza threw up twice but had no diarrhea, and Ellie had a few very loose stools but no vomitting. Myles had both severe diarrhea and profuse vomitting.

I hope it’s only viral ailments that are causing his bouts with vomitting, but it’s definitely a good idea to follow up with his primary care doctor.

[Anonymous]

Jana,

We have been going through something similar with Hailey. She is 19 months and for the most part has had a bad case of silent reflux. It’s still there, but somewhat controlled on prevacid.

We have been going through what you describe- sometimes one severe vomitting episode a day, sometimes 5 or more. Sometimes they are so bad that she’s vomitting bile and retching.

There is nothing wrong with her anatomically or otherwise. Each time this has happened I’ve thought that it must be a tummy bug initially, but then there has been no diarrhea or fever.

Our GI has dismissed it. Our ped has said that she has a sensitive system, and the slightest imbalance affects her gastrointestinally at her weak point- which for Hailey is vomitting.

When he first said this, I thought he was somewhat insane. But then I noticed that each time we had an episode there was something else going on at the same time- sometimes just a mild runny nose, sometimes a full fledged cold, and sometimes an ear infection. I post on other forums as well, and I’ve met a mom whose daughter also has reflux and EE. She is about 2.5 I think, and she often posts about how her daughter suddenly will have vomitting episodes, sometimes from simple viruses that don’t affect her other child the same way, and sometimes out of the blue.

For us, it’s been awfully messy around here lately, but I’m starting to realize that simple viruses hit Hailey’s stomach hard. Even situations that cause her anxiety will cause vomitting. I believe that Thais (matthewmama) has said the same thing about Matthew. I don’t know why, and it seems that I might never know, but for now, that’s just her. I hope that you can find some answers. We are going to try to have another endoscopy done when she’s 2 if she still has these issues. I’m not sure if your son has ever had one, but if not, it might be something to consider.

s&h’s mum2007-1-11 12:14:12

[Anonymous]

I just want to echo what Christine said about different symptoms…we all had the flu virus or whatever around here…I vomited profusely, but Brianna only had diarrhea. I hope you figure out everything soon and that your little one starts feeling better.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the support and info. Our Primary Care Ped said much the same thing that it sounds like Lori was told about Hailey…that Logan obviously has a highly sensitive digestive system and he may be more susceptible to ‘stomach bugs’ than the rest of the family. That could explain why he’s getting sick and no one else is.

Still, to be on the safe side, we’re doing a repeat Upper GI with follow-through, and two more sets of abdominal X-rays just to be sure there isn’t anything weird going on. We had an endoscopy done while we were at the Children’s Hospital this last time, and it didn’t show anything unusual. Our game plan now is mostly to wait and see when/if this happens again. Ugh.

The good news is that today Logan seems back to his old self and seems to feel just fine. I’m crossing my fingers that he stays that way! If I do get any other news, I’ll be sure to post. Thanks again!

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