can I get hight calorie formula without a perscription?

entropy · 2006-12-13T17:37:44+00:00

does anyone know if I can buy high calorie formula? dd is on hunger strike again folowing her injections, I know it will only last a couple of days and I can't get any medical help(!) and she is already below the 2nd percentile for her weight. each time she has a hunger strike she drops down a line and I don't want her off the chart! also does anyone have experience of high calorie formulas or know brand names of them at all??

DizzyBinterWonderland · 13/12/2006 17:45

why can't you get any medical help? do you have a health visitor? is she any good? gp?

noseynora · 13/12/2006 18:36

Surely you should be able to get medical advice on this from somewhere? I've been advised by hospital doctor to give my lo a few oz's of high energy formula a day as she is on 2nd/3rd centile like yours. It's SMA but says on it needs to be given under medical supervision only!

MerryPiffmas · 13/12/2006 18:38

you need to get it from a paediatrician or dietitian
Has your dd been referred for her low weight gain at all?

MerryPiffmas · 13/12/2006 18:39

you can get supplements that go into her milk
off the top of my head from dd, we had maxijoule and duocal - FWIW neither made any difference she is was and always will be petite.
WE got ours from the dietitian btw referred there by paed.

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 13/12/2006 18:41

We used maxijoule like Piff and calogen. Both on prescription and under instruction from a dietician.

blueshoes · 13/12/2006 18:55

My dd was prescribed Infatrini by a dietician - 0.4th percentile. She rejected bottles so never did manage to get much down her and even then it was with much screaming. She is still very petite. Made no difference. Not worth the effort.

Original poster

entropy · 13/12/2006 20:00

thanks for all the brand names. at least I know what to ask for now.

We have been waiting 8 weeks for an emergency referal to a dietition. HV can't do anything other than pester them for me (which she is doing but it isn't helping) the gp wont prescibe as she is awaiting the referal. our paed did some tests and gave us a follow up appointment for late january as we would have seen the dietitian in the mean time...... I tried to get someone to help today as dd has only eaten 12oz all day (she was bad last time after her injections and it lasted 3 days) but my GP surgery was closed for staff training, my HV was on holiday. I spoke to another HV but she said there was nothing I could do as it wasn't enough of an emergancy to bother a&e (which it isn't in all fairness) I just want to help her as she doesn't want to eat and finds me trying to get food into her distressing but I feel that she doesn't have the reserves to go without food. I thought if I could get hold of some high cal stuff she could eat smaller volumes without it doing her any harm.

we were advised by our last dietitian to give her the high cal suppliment before we moved 2 months ago due to her generally poor feeding and slow weight gain (and she was above the 9th percentile then) Its very frustrating not being able to get any up here....

OP posts:

Original poster

entropy · 13/12/2006 20:02

thanks for all the brand names. at least I know what to ask for now.

We have been waiting 8 weeks for an emergency referal to a dietition. HV can't do anything other than pester them for me (which she is doing but it isn't helping) the gp wont prescibe as she is awaiting the referal. our paed did some tests and gave us a follow up appointment for late january as we would have seen the dietitian in the mean time...... I tried to get someone to help today as dd has only eaten 12oz all day (she was bad last time after her injections and it lasted 3 days) but my GP surgery was closed for staff training, my HV was on holiday. I spoke to another HV but she said there was nothing I could do as it wasn't enough of an emergancy to bother a&e (which it isn't in all fairness) I just want to help her as she doesn't want to eat and finds me trying to get food into her distressing but I feel that she doesn't have the reserves to go without food. I thought if I could get hold of some high cal stuff she could eat smaller volumes without it doing her any harm.

we were advised by our last dietitian to give her the high cal suppliment before we moved 2 months ago due to her generally poor feeding and slow weight gain (and she was above the 9th percentile then) Its very frustrating not being able to get any up here....

OP posts:

belgo · 13/12/2006 20:08

entropy - it is very stressful when you have a thin baby, especially if you feel you aren't getting the support you need from the medical authorities. My dd2 has always been very tiny, underneath the growth curves for weight, when she was three months old she had a cold and lost weight and her ribs stuck out. Ribs sticking out on a three month old is scarey. As I was bf so it's hard to say how much she ate, but she has never had much of an appetite. Fortunately now she is 15 months, she's still tiny but developing fine and very healthy. Hope the same thing happens for your baby.

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 13/12/2006 20:43

Enteropy - how old is she? 12 oz really isn't much is it? Does she have wet nappies on that little fluid and does she feed normally at other times?

MerryPiffmas · 13/12/2006 20:49

entropy she sounds VERY much like my dd.
Dd also used to get a dip in feeding after jabs so I held off her jabs after the first two.
FWIW I used to worry like mad about ehr weight gain - it turned out that she has a rare genetic condition ( not a scary one, she is mild and perfect in every way) but one that causes poor feeding and low weight gain - dd would only feed 5 mins off me every 3-4 hrs, but slept well, was happy and had wet nappies.
My dd spent her 1st 3 yrs well low on the 0.4th centile, despite eating well as she got older.
We learned that weight gain wasn't everything
So if your dd is otherwise content and settled, be reassured that she is probably ok

snugglebumnappies · 13/12/2006 21:12

Hi entopy, I really feel for you, my daughter was on the 75th centile at birth and dropped to the 25th within a few weeks, HV freaked, although she was breastfeeding regularly, plenty of wet and dirty nappies etc, took her 10 weeks to get up to her birth weight and then I stopped getting her weighed as the HV had really stressed me out, dispite the fact that I knew she was well. I did a sneaky weigh of her when she was 17 month old on my own scales (I am a midwife) and found she was down to the 9th centile, she is a very active petite child and is never still, my HV did mention something about her weight at the 18 month check so I confessed to weighing her, to which she said....well she was never going to be a big child, her birth weight was deciving!!! Aghhhh, I was slightly annoyed to say the least! What I am trying to say is you know your daughter, just because she is petite does not nessecerily mean that she doesn't have the reserves, you don't feel it is an emergency or that she is ill or you would be taking her to a&e like you said, is she weaned yet? Can you tempt her with milky puddings etc if she is? I know it's hard but try not to get hung up on the growth charts (I know I allowed myself to be swayed into this) and look at her as a whole, ie if you think she is well then she probably is, there always have to be children on the 1st and 100th centile to get an average at the 50th, hope she is feeling more perky soon xx