Very Worried, and needing some help!!

[Anonymous]

I am new to this group, and was so happy when i came across this website.

My daughter Leah is 6 month old, and since birth she has had a steady decline in weight. Was in the 80th percentile, now in the 3rd. She is a HORRIBLE eatter….and what we do get her to eat (in terms of bottles) she throws up most of it. We were switched to a specialist, and Leah has been labled “Failure to Thrive”, and this specialist is sending us for an Upper GI Series and Urinalysis to figure out whats going on.

The specialists concern is her decline in weight, she’s also not hitting some milestones (currently not rolling over, and no where near sitting up on her own), and her head size (its still growing ok – while her body is declining in size) – with a possibilty of it being GERD. Are those normal GERD symptoms?

What I am also wanting to know…is if it is GERD, what are the standard measures taken to help babies with GERD?

Online websites generally end up scaring you with the potential negative things that come with having some ailments…which is why i’d rather hear from experienced moms who are dealing with this 🙂

Any advice would be great….this waiting game is killing me…as the upper GI and urinalysis are scheduled for Monday….Thanks so much!

[hellbennt]

HI & welcome!

you’ve surfed on in to a fabulous site, full of information so that you can research and be the best advocate you can be for your baby!

The upper GI is not for diagnosing reflux. It is to look for structural abnormalites. It CAN ‘see’ reflux, but this is ONLY IF baby HAPPENS to reflux at the time of the test- it’s a snap shot in time, as it were, so if baby does not reflux during the test, it does not mean that baby doesn’t have reflux- it just means that baby didn’t ‘show’ reflux at the time of the test…

If during the Upper GI your baby doesn’t reflux and a doctor tries to tell you that this means that baby doesn’t have reflux: Get another dr!

I’m not saying this to scare you! I’m simply preparing you, because you’d be surprised at what some doctors tell parents…

Looking for GI: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=660

there are recommendations for ped GIs in your area…

I have a LOT to say and most of it’s here, in a link called ‘groupie intro.‘
it’s looong but TRULY will help you- read through it, refer back to it, scroll through it/skim through it. You’ll find yourself coming back to it!
https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853)

I would think that perhaps your dr would want to do take stool samples, too? Perhaps an endoscopy? An endoscopy sounds invasive, but all the parents whose babies have had this procedure all report back that they’re glad it was done…the endoscopy can tell you if there’s irritation in the esophogus and when it’s done, biopsies are taken and they check for EOS cells- the presence of these cells indicated an allgery/intolerance to proteins in baby’s diet- and also the biopsies can check for thrush- yes, there’s such a thing as esophogeal thrush and it can only be ‘seen’ this way (via a scope)…

I am NOT a medical professional and I cannot tell you what to get done. I am ‘only’ a mother who has been on this board for just about 8 (!) years, so I know my research…

What formula is baby on? breastfeeding?

How are poops, gas, etc?

Is baby on any medication? what and how much?

when you get a moment, please go to the top of this page, click on Settings and please then click on Edit Profile, then scroll down to

Signature & put:

baby (name if you want or nickname), age (can put month & yr of birth), meds, doses & forms of meds, breastfed or formula fed

thanks!

so glad you found us!
laura

hellbennt2011-05-27 19:53:54

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