An update on G

I mentioned in a previous post about his diet and the problems. Well I don't remember how much I mentioned. He has been constipated most of his life. We first noticed a problem within a few weeks. They told us it was normal with the iron in formula. Told to give him more water. We took him in at about 4 months to discuss the issues. We were told to introduce cereal, oatmeal and fruits to try and give him variety to his diet. This didn't help as he would gag on the food.

Over the last year and a half we have brought him in for the constipation a half dozen times to have a discussion. We always had to see other doctors on call. They would say give him beans, prunes, juice and other things. Sadly the child is picky and likes what he likes. What he doesn't ends up on the floor.

In the last month things have gotten worse. He started getting a bad rash from constant "skid marks". I took him in to a doctor on call to get an opinion. She told me to use vasoline for his bum and to get his diet changed (again with the diet). If that meant holding him down to force a syringe of prune juice down his throat several times a day that is what we should do. We did try this a few times. It was bad enough we had to hold him down to clean his sore bum and the juice only seemed to choke him and make the rash worse. The next week he started random vomiting. He threw up once a day 5 days out of the week for a week. That Saturday I took him to the urgent care clinic where I finally saw someone that agreed there is more to his issue than constipation. She suggested a special pediatric GI specialist and mentioned it could even be Crohns Disease. I called his doctor that monday and she prescribed mirilax by phone. Said to give him a half cap a day and to come in a week and a half later. We did this. He still hadn't gone in 5 days when he kept having cramping that would double him over in pain and scream blood curdling screams.

He woke up screaming this morning early in pain. After not being able to calm him down we decided to take him to the ER for suggestions. This always happy baby has never screamed like this before. Once we got to the ER he had calmed a bit but continued to freak out once an hour. They took blood started an IV and sent him for xrays. We spent 2 and a half hours waiting for the results. The ER doctor came in to tell us he never seen a child as backed up as our little G. He said he wanted to have someone at Childrens take a look and he was making some calls. He said he wasn't sure what to do for him. A few minutes later he came told us that he arranged an ambulance to take him to CHS. We were utterly shocked and scared. Daddy went with him while I picked up bro and sissy to take them with us.

When we got there they hooked him up, took vitals and looked at his xrays and blood tests. They came and had us repeat his life story of hypotonia and suggested this was more than just a kid with constipation. The doctor at CHS said his xray was the most "impressive" (odd word choice) of a constipated child he'd ever seen. He was so backed up that an enima was dangerous. It would likely do more damage than good because his intestines are so stretched out. It will essentually be like giving birth once this stuff comes out. He is underweight as it is. They said the other alernative is a tube by mouth to get it soft from the other end. They want to wait a few days first and have us up the dose of the mirilax. We were told by both ER's that this is way overdue and he should have been on the laxitive from the beginning. They also suggested another underlying issue that hasn't been discovered. Something that is causing everything since birth. This is something Brandon and I have thought all along. Of course we are just parents with no medical degrees so what to we know?? But it is finally good news to have someone agree with us and point us in a direction. He will be referred to a special nuro department at CHS that will help find what the problem is. SO they can help prevent things in the future from becoming so bad before we get help with it. So now we are home and hes taking extra doses and hopefully it will all come out in the end...pun intended. Then we can get his intestines and digestive system working the way its supposed too. For now that is the story. Hopefully we will get some good news soon.

More to come...