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Any ideas why 3yo DD is failing to thrive - no weight gain for 5 months?

19 replies

titferbrains · 14/05/2012 20:35

She was 13 kg in Dec, 13kg in April this year and 12.5kg today Sad

She had cancer (Wilm's tumour, removed at age 7mo) but has not had any problems since. She has had chicken pox recently (in April). She doesn't eat a lot but she does eat 3 times a day and she eats a good variety of food - she is quite fussy these days but I assumed that goes along with being 3.

She eats very little high calorie/calorie dense food but we do add butter to her meals, offer icecream which she occasionally has, and allow juice as well as water, and cups of very milky redbush tea, little biscuits and crackers as snacks, yogurt as often as poss.

I read about gluten intolerance recently but I just think that she would be having severe problems re: pooing and tummy aches and she very rarely seems to be in pain in relation to these. She has no problem pooing as she eats vast amounts of fruit. She sometimes complains of tummy ache but never to the point of tears - you can tell when a child is really in a lot of pain, and she isn't when she says she has a tummy ache.

She does look rather pale and she is very petite all over, no fat anywhere, but she has bags of energy most of the time. She doesn't sleep very well.

She gets colds quite often. We give vitamins but not very consistently.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Onetwothreeoops · 14/05/2012 20:53

My DD is currently having investigations for failure to thrive.

Our first step was to take her to the doctors who monitored her growth for year then she had some blood tests to rule out a whole range of issues.

Now she has regular appointments under a consultant but they have not yet found a reason.

Definitely take her to the gps so they can monitor her, they will be looking to see if she loses centiles but, like I said, it's a slow process.

Good luck

titferbrains · 14/05/2012 21:00

We have been referred to paeds but DH and I would like to get her seen asap to start any tests required. We both want to reassure ourselves that it's not cancer related, I guess. Have emailed her consultant at GOSH. Just not sure why she isn't gaining a little more, other kids just seem that bit more solid and she does eat reasonably, she is difficult to feed but not too bad if we give her her favourites. Terrified that it is some major intolerance, a bit of googling says you have to be utterly ruthless about cutting out gluten if it's coeliac, as body just won't process food properly unless you do. Exhausting thought.

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Onetwothreeoops · 14/05/2012 22:16

Lots of people live with coeliac disease and it was the first thing my DDs doctors suspected. I think looking at my daughters diet the only real issue I would have had would have been finding replacements for biscuits. Having said that it is a really scary prospect but it isn't definitely that, it could just as easily be something that could be treated and cured.

I really feel for you especially given her past links to cancer you must be so scared for her, I really hope you have some answers soon.

titferbrains · 14/05/2012 22:40

Thanks for your kind words. It is worrying, I know there are plenty of skinny little kids out there who are perfectly healthy, but fundamentally, I do feel like there might be something wrong with DD that is making her tired and a bit more prone to illness than most.

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Tgger · 16/05/2012 23:04

Awww. Is excellent she has lots of energy. Not so excellent she doesn't sleep so well- anything you can do about that? That will help her stay healthy. She doesn't sound so tiny- how tall is she? I can see your concern, but I think as they get more active, which at 3 they are more than 2 then some do look skinnier- my DD does- she's 3.5, 100cm and about 14kg I think.

lisad123 · 16/05/2012 23:07

Please kick off at GP and GoSh and get her checked ASAP. Go with your gut and keep on. Sadly dh weight lost was a sign of his cancer and given her history you need to be more careful.
I don't want to panic you at all but wish we had kicked off earlier for dh x

slartybartfast · 16/05/2012 23:09

i remember worrying about my 4/5 year old dd who didnt seem to gain weight for ages. but in the end she was fine. have you checked her red book to see if she is on same centile? i would do that. perhaps she is using up a lot of energy an not having a growth spurt?

slartybartfast · 16/05/2012 23:10

perhaps her iron levels are low? they often get low

titferbrains · 17/05/2012 10:16

We did an iron check back at the end of last year, it was fine and I was really surprised, as she was a bit pale, tired etc. Full blood count and all fine.

She has definitely dropped down the percentiles.

Off to GOSH today so hope to start figuring out what is wrong very soon.

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skrullandcrossbones · 17/05/2012 10:19

yes, ask for a coeliac test. DS1 has recently been diagnosed with coeliac - he was the same weight for over a year. No pooing problems (apart from his poo being pale in colour). They can do the coeliac blood test easily with a normal set of full bloods.

Been gluten-free for 3 months and he has grown 2cm and put on 3lbs. He is a transformed child - bouncy, full of energy & excitement. From being a fussy/poor eater, he now eats a huge range of food (incl meat, fish, sauces etc etc) which he wouldn't touch before. It is well worth the trouble of going gluten free (plus I have lost a few lbs by also eating gluten-free...)

Rubirosa · 17/05/2012 10:23

My first thought was maybe too much fruit/juice and not enough fat - small children's dietary needs are quite different from an adults. Would it be possible to see a dietician?

apricotsorbet · 17/05/2012 10:38

Agree you should ask for a blood test for coeliac disease...at least to eliminate it as a possibility - my dd was diagnosed aged 3, she had slipped from 50th centile of height to below 2nd centile, was pale, and in retrospect had little energy but we didn't realise that at the time as she was our oldest child and we thought it was normal. She didn't really have any noticeable tummy aches and because of this it took a while for me to convince them to test for coeliac (it is in the family so I had my suspicions). A few weeks off gluten and she suddenly started bouncing and running everywhere.

titferbrains · 17/05/2012 11:33

skull, coeliac/gluten intol is what i think also. can u remember how long it takes to get bloods back? i know sometimes they have to grow cultures which van take longer.

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titferbrains · 17/05/2012 11:35

frankly terrified at thought of dd with MORE energy ! apricot my dds symptoms sound v similaR. V HELPFUL POST. whoops on ipad holding baby...

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lisaneedsarest · 17/05/2012 11:41

Obviously you do need to check this out, but it could just as well be nothing, I weighed 3 stone for about 3 years when I was little, I did grow taller but stayed very skinny. I've always been quite skinny and even now I eat like a horse and am still only a size 6-8.

Hope you get it sorted though whatever it turns out to be.

titferbrains · 18/05/2012 09:24

Well massive sigh of relief, no signs of cancer in scans yesterday. Now just have to wait and see what blood tests show.

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winnybella · 18/05/2012 09:29

What a relief.
Just to compare, my DD (3.5) hasn't gained more than a pound in the last 7 months, if that. I sort of assumed that they hit a plateau at this age? They won't be gaining weight the same way they did when they were babies or toddlers. DD's paed wasn't concerned at all.

How tall is your DD?

titferbrains · 18/05/2012 13:17

Thanks winny, I just feel she looks a lot smaller than most kids and I want to be absolutely sure that there is nothing else going on. I certainly would have expected her to gain a little or just to have a sense that she is growing, but she is just getting fussier about food and eating less and less.

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skrullandcrossbones · 19/05/2012 09:13

wonderful news re: no cancer, OP.

as I remember, coeliac bloods took about 3-4 weeks to come back (but ours was over Xmas so might not usually be that long).

good luck with bloods.

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