Pyloric Stenosis?

[cjferg]

I posted a thread about a week ago about my very vomity DS. Took him to hospital the other week because he projectile vomited three times in a day but all they did was prescribe ranitidine.

Ds now 5 weeks old, crying a lot more than he has been, still spewing after p much every feed despite ranitadine (not projectile), pooing once a day, if that.

Dh and I are really worried it's pyloric stenosis. He isn't dehydrated and hasn't lost loads of weight, although he hadn't put on as much as last time he was weighed. He is a first born male which I know increases the risk factor.

5-6 weeks is when it usually gets worse as far as I know.

How do I get them to at least check for it. Don't want to be dismissed and asked if I have been 'consulting doctor google'.

Or are we being too paranoid?

GP. Or health visitor. Not Mumsnet.

have gp appointment tomorrow, and health visitor is coming too. They just seem reluctant to say it's anything other than reflux.

Wondering how to get them to check

I'd certainly mention it to the GPs - but it really could just be a vomitty baby. My first two babies were incredibly sicky. I hated going to anyone's house unless they had floorboards or lino because I spent my whole time trying to mop up piles of vomit (and it smelled vile - it wasn't just a little posset).

I mentioned pyloric stenosis - my brother, cousin and uncle all had it, so it was a distinct possibility (although I have read that there's no familial link ), and the doctors did listen. But it turned out my children just vomited rather more than most.

Thanks, I'll ask them.

He does seem to be in less pain from reflux... but the lack of poo is worrying me... I think he's screaming so much cause he can't go. he quite often seems to shut up for a bit after farting.

My DS (now 18) had Pyloric Stenosis.

I got turned away from the doctors three times. I was even told to stop bf and just give him water, I ignored that suggestion. He would only throw up about once or twice a day, and it was very projectile. It started having streaks of blood in it. It started when he was about 5 or 6 weeks, and he did loose weight. Can't remember about his poo. What I remember is that he always seemed restless and wanted to feed a lot, but did not take much.

Finally I was admitted to hospital with him for observation, after turning up in A&E with a bloody vomit covered baby grow and insisting there was something wrong. Then the nurses saw him vomit and suddenly they took it seriously. They gave him a bareum meal and showed me that you could see him tummy ripple when he was suckling and that was a sign of pyloric stenosis.

Once he had the operation he was fine.

If you feel something is wrong, stick to your instincts and keep going back to the doctors till they find out what is wrong.

My friend's dd had this. Despite being a nurse with many years experience she had a hard time convincing the doctors he wasn't just a vomity baby.
She trusted her instinct though and kept persisting.
He had surgery and was fine afterwards.

Sorry - autocorrect changed ds to dd. It was her ds. I think it is much rarer in girls.

My DS had it too. I think I had 2 GP visits - first one diagnosed a tummy bug and the second one diagnosed reflux! Eventually we took him to A&E one night at about 8 weeks when his vomit had blood in it..they were still unsure I think until the doctor observed his vomiting. He was then sent for scans and blood tests which diagnosed it. However we had not heard of pyloric stenosis so it never crossed our minds to mention it, plus his vomiting wasn't particularly projectile either. I think they try and rule out every other possibility first!

You have my total sympathy though as DS's first few weeks were awful as we hated going anywhere and used to feed him with a bowl handy and towels on us and the sofa.

Hope you get to the bottom of it...and if it is pyloric stenosis, the op is straight forward.

My DS had pyloric stenosis. He was always a sicky baby but was growing well. By 9 weeks old he couldn't keep anything down. He was given gaviscon at first. It was when he started losing weight that the Doctors started taking it seriously. He was admitted to hospital for test feeding which just proved what we had been saying. Then a scan confirmed it.
If possible, try and feed your baby just before you go into see the doctor so they can see exactly what it's like. If that's not possible, try and film your baby vomiting.