To force my DS to drink?

[thetonsillolith]

I'm so sorry but I am posting here for traffic because SN Children is v quiet.

DS is 4 and is autistic and had his tonsils out on Tuesday. We are as on top of pain as we can be, alternating Calpol and Nurofen every four hours. We are struggling to get anything into him whatsoever.

We have tried:
Water
Ice cubes
Crushed ice
Flavoured ice poles
Ice lollies (his favourite)
Ice cream
Cold milk
Cold milkshake

He won't drink juice or soda, never has.

Yesterday we had to resort to forcing him to drink, which was incredibly traumatic for all involved.

He cannot understand why he must drink, he just knows it hurts so he doesn't want to do it.

Any ideas? Soon it may have to be hospital and drip, which he would absolutely hate (and fight)

I got my tonsils out as an adult, and I'd never have coped with only paracetamol and Nurofen! It was exceptionally painful.

I'd go back to the Doc and insist on better pain relief. I had Tramadol, and even that only took the edge off.

Could you try some very juiced treats like fresh raspberries?

Or get a little paintbrush and tickle his lips with a wet brush. Make him laugh and see if he will lick his lips as a reflex. Such a tiny amount wouldn’t need swallowing

I'd second the calpol syringe idea we found that worked with DS they actually made us do it at a+e they called it a fluid challenge in essence so long as some is getting in rather than none they were not concerned. Good luck at the GP I imagine they can prescribe pain medication to be taken via suppositories if needed.

Has he ever tried a slushy? The frozen drinks. I know you said he won't take anything orally but right now it really is the only option if you can't take him back to hospital. Alternate paracetamol and ibuprofen. What about giving him it in a fancy cup or a special new cup?

Agree to ask about suppositories. I've found them brilliant for our baby. I'd he definitely swallowing the painkiller? Not spitting out? You can by paracetamol suppositories over the counter at the pharmacy.

It's day 3 since op and the pain peaks and will continue for the next few days. It starts easing off by day 10.

If he hasn't had a drink in two dats I'd let the hospital readmit him and put a drip in. Yes he'll hate it but he needs it.

Slushy or maybe he would suck on a piece of cold watermelon?

Does he like honey ? could you try a warm lemon honey drink ?
I imagine you've told him he needs to have a tiny sip or will have to go back to hospital ?

We had to do suppositories for fever relief for our son when he was three because he refused absolutely everything and had a high fever. I had to phone the paediatrician to phone the pharmacy on a Sunday.

At other times I also resorted at times to just feeding him liquid by syringe to keep him hydrated. Sat there feeing 1 mL at a time!

Later I learned about social stories and that helped a lot for future problems.

It's incredibly hard to raise these kids.

Update: DH took DS to hospital and he has been hooked up to IV fluids. I don't think he will be leaving until he eats or drinks. I'm home with the baby and missing him like crazy.

Ah poor lad, I have a severely autistic nine yr old so I do understand he reluctance to take medication drinks etc hopefully he will be on the mend soon.

@Mabelface paracetamol is 4-6 hrly with no more than 4 doses in 24 hrs and ibuprofen is 6-8 hrly with no more than 3 doses in 24hrs (unless prescribed otherwise by a dr or nurse prescriber). They can be alternated and if due together, can be given together. Saying they are 3 hrly is not helpful and could be misleading
OP glad your son is getting the treatment he needs and will no doubt be feeling better with IV fluids on board. Although that doesn't help you from a missing him POV but he sounds like he will be on the mend soon

Alternating 3 hourly is right. It gives 6 hours between doses of each individual drug and stays within daily maximums. This was advised to me by a medical professional for my child on mute than one occasion.

Could you take the baby into hospital so you can be with your son?

Currently battling with the consultant, who wants to keep DS off IV fluids to make him thirstier and 'encourage drinking' - aka making him dehydrated on purpose for no reason because he's autistic and is not going to drink anyway.

Am furious. He needs to rest up, and they're distressing him.

Sometimes they have no idea does your ds have a,paediatrician? Mine does and I usually go through her for anything medical as she knows him so well.

I’ve had to resort to syringing water for my DS - under assessment for asd. When he had tonsillitis he clammed up and refused anything orally (was having meltdowns about it)

If he was sitting quietly I used the syringe to put drops of water on his lips which he’d lick, and I’m presuming he swallowed some since it wasn’t all down his front! Took forever to get anything much in him.

Agree with asking about suppositories to get his pain relief properly under control. It still may take some time after that for him to start drinking voluntarily so needs the drip right now. Sounds like this consultant has little knowledge of asd- DS is the same, and will refuse to do things even if it’s detrimental to his health once he’s got that idea fixed in his head

DS vomited everything they made me force into him orally, I told them to check his blood sugar and it was low. They then hooked him up to drip immediately.

I'm fuming. This could've been avoided.

@Mabelface I'll take my nearly 30 years acute paediatric clinical experience and nurse practitioner qualifications and sit in the corner then 🙄

It's a difficult situation for everyone so I'm not sure you should be furious with the hospital staff. When my daughter had a tonsillectomy she wasn't allowed out of hospital until she could eat and drink. Surely the consultant's correct in thinking he needs to drink asap.

When I had my tonsils out (30 years ago) drinking cold milk straight from the fridge was quite painful. I remember my dad making me drinks and then leaving them on the side for a while or microwaving them to warm them up a bit. They were not hot, just not cold.

@thetonsillolith does your hospital have a learning disability team?
Our local one has learning disability champions who are there to help people (mostly adults, but I’m sure they’d help) access care and get their point across to the medical staff.
Maybe they could help you advocate for your son? Stop any more silly ideas like dehydrating him and forcing him to drink
I hope he’s feeling better soon

I'm sorry op , it sounds really shit.

DS2 was violently unhappy about receiving medications as a baby/toddler and we had to resort to holding him down and forcing them in. He is 7 now and still vomits pretty much at the sight of the medicine bottle or anything of a similar texture. Funnily enough he is now being assessed for ASD.

Having said that, I did manage to get him to take medicine the other day where I crushed the appropriate amount of drug into powder and mixed it in with chocolate milk. He knew the medicine was there ("What are the white bits Mummy?) but was old enough to understand that they were the bits he needed to cool his body down (high fever). Plus he likes chocolate milk and never gets it so as they get older they can adapt a bit, I think (sometimes anyway - he's still entirely rigid on toothpaste).

Bribery? Star chart? Try some arnica tablets to suck, will deal with shock as well as pain and speed healing. Cue lots of ppl saying it rubbish, but it does help