Hey everybody, it seems like I am the one usually giving out advice, but this time I need some help in a big way. This entry will not be witty , wordy , or funny , just straightforward and to the point.
My five year old is a vomiter….. he has been this way since birth , usually vomiting 2 or 3 times a week. Some weeks there will be more, and some weeks we will have none at all. Since he is autistic, the doctors first assumed that this was due to a dislike of certain textures, or tastes, and in some cases I would agree. As he grew, we were diagnosed with Acid Reflux (http://www.healthcentral.com/acid-reflux/symptom-checker.html ) , a diagnoses that I strongly disagreed with and I, therefor refused to medicate him. The diagnoses was based on the frequency with which he swallowed? Very scientific…..
Now that he is able to communicate pain and discomfort, he claims to have pain right around his belly button immediately before vomiting, and appears fine shortly after. The vomiting always occurs right in the middle of a meal, and try asI might, I have yet to figure out the cause. We keep a food journal, to track and see what may be causing the “upsets”, but can find no culprits…. except for maybe milk, and chicken. He will be going for allergy testing soon to determine if he has any food allergies.
So here is where I need your help…. he frequently stops eating because of the vomiting, he is losing weight and I think the doctors think that I am crazy!!! I would appreciate any ideas, or theories that I can research because I am at a loss!!!
Thanks in advance for all your help!
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi.. not sure if this may be helpful.. I hate giving my kids unnecessary meds.. However, to help dr’s rule out Acid Refulx you may want to try the meds… If it’s zantac (I use it for Allergees as it’s an H2 blocker) it’s fairly gentle and a few weeks of it won’t hurt anything.. then when the vomiting starts again.. you can say .. See I gave the meds regulary and it’s not working.. Now the dr’s have ruled out one possable problem and instead of thinking your an over protective parent (which don’t get me wrong Dr’s should NEVER think.. Mom’s always know there kid best) They will start to look in other directions. I don’t know if that will help you at all.. I can’t immagen how frustrated you must feel and how your little one is struggling. I don’t know how well your son communicates but that to can be a huge chanlenge… My thought are with you for a quick and easy solution.
I have a freind who has autistic twin boys. She moved to alberta from ontario in hopes of optimal care for them. She has a blog http://www.willowjak.blogspot.com/ . Maybe she has been through something similar and can help?
Does he tend to eat a lot, or quickly?
I know when I vommit I too feel it above my belly button…. so I don’t know if his pain above his belly button is just the vomit reflex begining, or if he’s feeling pain there that’s causing the vommiting…
I asked how much he eats and how quickly, because I know a little boy who’s 3.5yrs, if you give him a glass of milk (small, regular size, probably 4-5 oz) he’ll chug it then vommit it all up right away. It seems he doesn’t want to drink the milk but does anyway, them pukes it up c’z he makes himself gag! However, if you only give him a sip at a time, he’ll keep it down. He also tends to vommit the milk back up when he’s excited & wanting to play with friends who may have already left the lunch table…
Sorry I don’t have any experience with this kind of thing. I hope you find some answers tho!!
Have they checked to see if he has a hernia? My husband has one and his symptoms are those of acid reflux. Sometime they are fixed with an operation and sometimes they just treat the symptoms.
Thanks for all of the advice so far….very helpful and a lot to think about… interestingly enough Crystal, he was born with a hernia, which resolved itself…. oh and as further food for thought…. he was born with gallstones, which also resolved on their own…. You guys are great!!!
There are several types of hernia’s did he have a hiatal hernia? My husbands is only a slight hiatal hernia and the doctors think it’s nothing however to my husband it’s quite bothersome at times and really depends on what he eats. I would find out if it’s completely healed or not. It does make it difficult to swallow and he swallows more, though he does not throw up, he gets really bad “air bubbles” in his esophagus. Which then results in his need to swallow (swallowing the air bubbles). Which results in his upset stomach and plenty of burping (occasionally food comes up too.)
Hope this extra info helps…
You are wonderful!!! We will certainly look into this!!!
As an adult i threw up anywhere from 3 to 25 times a day for 3 years straight. My doctors said i had acid reflux.. after spending thousands on a naturopath and many other remedies i was not only not getting better but getting worse.. i finally got to the point one day of throwing up almost continuesly for 3 hours at a walk in clinic. they sent me for blood tests and it turned out to be gall bladder.. it was so blocked that the gall was actually backing up into my blood stream… i was being poisioned… the day i had my gall bladder removed was the beginning of a whole new life… i also had hives for 3 years and strange facial swellings that looked like allergic reactions..
if there already was some gall bladder issues in your sons backround, that may be something to further investigate….
Gall bladder disease is one of the most common midiagnosed illnesses around and almost always diagnosed as acid reflux…
Thanks so much!!!! We are on our way to the doctor now…..
Hi there,
my son had acid reflux as a newborn, he’s now 10 months old and we took him off the meds at around 8 months. He continues to vomit also and have many food eversions and puke up many things with texture also! I am planning on putting him back on the Zantac (Ranitidine). Although he is at a healthy weight he is slowly losing weight and eating less and not willing to try different foods. He cries when ever he gets put in to his high chair. I’m a RN (not currently working)
ONe thing came to my mind while typing this out, as an adult I had suffered from H-Pylori gastritis. Before I knew I had it my symptoms were great pain after eating, a pain that seemed like it went around my bellybotton almost like a belt of pain and constant nausea. I also had problems with reflux and continue to have them as an adult and take a medication called Pantaloc to help with the symptoms!
Hope this helps,
God Bless
OH had to add, my soon was born with a gall stone, they found it at the age of 8 weeks also! Rare but they found it by accident while doing an ultrasound for pyloric stenosis.
What did they say about the gallstones….. does he still have them?