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Anyone's baby been referred to Speech and Language therapy? So far undiagnosed problems and feel like tearing my hair out!

13 replies

gowie3112 · 01/08/2018 19:51

A bit of background.. my baby was born after being induced-EMCS at 36+6 after she stopped growing at 34w. She was admitted on to the neonatal ward where she couldn't take breast or bottle so was tube fed for the first two weeks. After her discharge she still struggled to feed, breastfeeding didn't work out as my milk only came through on one side and even then could only pump an oz every few hours so we added EBM to her formula. She was first referred at 2 months old but she temporarily seemed to start feeding so we didn't go after discussion with her dietician. Fast forward to 7 months and her feeding amounts are still described as 'sub-optimal' and she's now began choking on her milk! As you can imagine it is just awful when this happens, usually multiple times per feed. My question is, how can speech and language help and has anyone else experienced anything like this?
She also has an so far undiagnosed bowel problem (she very very rarely passes stool by herself, she has been on glycerin suppositories since 2 months, had a negative biopsy for Hirshsprungs Disease and is now being referred to a Gastroenterologist). She is going for a coeliac screening, still under the dietician, got CMPA and is under the paediatric team at our local hospital and surgeons at the big children's hospital. However, she has climbed from 0.4th centile to the 2nd centile and continues to gain weight.
Honestly, I'm at my wits end, fighting with doctors, gps to make sure my baby is getting the care she needs and deserves. Seeing my child in pain every single day and not knowing how to help. We've had to go to A&E/ out of hours numerous times. We've tried apple juice, orange juice, boiled water etc.
Has anyone please got any advice for me? I feel like I'm failing her, like I should be able to help her and I can't!
This was only meant to be short and now it's all rambling and probably doesn't make sense..

OP posts:
BackforGood · 01/08/2018 22:58

Some SaLTs (Speech and Language Therapists) are specialists in Dysphagia - that is feeding issues. That is exactly what they do - help little one with their feeding. It is the norm, if tube fed, to have a SaLT, and other dc with feeding issues also.

RomanyRoots · 01/08/2018 23:05

I have no advice for you, but had to say You are far from failing your baby.
You sound like a brilliant mum and you have had so much to cope with.
It sounds like your dd is quite poorly, and you exhausted.
Please be confident she is getting the best care she can, and you are doing everything you can. Thanks

gowie3112 · 02/08/2018 11:29

Thank you.. I think mums put too much pressure on ourselves sometimes and I need to realise something's are out of my control. I'll never stop fighting for her though! One surgeon said she will just suffer for the rest of her life and I told him m that I don't accept that, she deserves a good quality of life.
Dysphagia, I'll do a little research on that so I can be prepared for her appointment, thank you so much for replying Thanks

OP posts:
MrsMaisel · 02/08/2018 19:50

Keep advocating for your baby - this is exhausting but you're doing exactly what she needs, someone who will do everything they can to make sure she gets the right medical attention and the best help she can. I'm so sorry you're going through all this & that her problems have been hard to diagnose. I have been through a lot of complex medical issues with my son and I know it's very wearing. Just keep going.

bobblewobble · 02/08/2018 20:53

My son was referred to SALT. He was born at 36+1 and he would choke on water at around 6/7 months but was fine with milk. The referral was to help with swallowing and a possible prescription of something to thicken the water. By the time the appointment came through around 4 months later, he didn't have the issues anymore.

Theresahairbrushinthefridge · 02/08/2018 21:01

I second that SLT are experts on swallowing and feeding. My nephew with diGeorge syndrome has been under them since birth.

gowie3112 · 03/08/2018 09:01

Thank you everyone, we've got an appointment next week so I'm hoping they can help us!

OP posts:
Daffodils07 · 04/08/2018 17:38

We had salt intervention for my youngest when she was 12 months as she would gag and be sick on everything other then breast milk.
They watched her eat different things.and recommend how to help.
Now a year later she will eat anything and everything and has no problems other then her speech is poor (I think it's all connected) she was very advance with crawling and walking though.

Mamaryllis · 04/08/2018 18:05

Dd2 was discharged from scbu with SLT follow-up (she was ng fed for about 4 weeks as she was born with no suck/ gag reflex due to birth trauma). These are specialist feeding SLTs (it was mildly amusing having a newborn with a speech therapist) In my experience they are worth their weight in gold.
Dd2 had a lot of oromotor issues and aspirated regularly. With the help of our truly brilliant SLTs we were able to avoid feeding tubes, and they supported us through various weaning issues. (I did think they had lost the plot totally with quavers as a first food Smile)
It was a long hard road (via on-tap antibiotics for chest infections caused by aspirating, mouth aerobics, Nuffield verbal dyspraxia programme, and 8 years of SLT therapy) but dd2 eats a normal diet and is a normal weight.
I should add - we avoided feeding tubes by avoiding swallow studies. We took a very deliberate stance with the support of our SLTs. There is no doubt that a swallow study would have made it difficult to continue to oral feed - but the SLT felt that that this was something that was important to prioritise. The ‘easy’ route would have been medicalised and harder to return to oral feeding from (tube feeding is absolutely the best and safest option for lots of children - it should definitely be considered if recommended - in our case we avoided it with specific therapy and contingency planning.)
I’ll try and dig up a resource that one of our first SLTs recommended - I haven’t used it in a long time, but it deals with a lot of tips for kids with oromotor issues (facial tapping, lemon swans etc).
It was without doubt the hardest part of dd2s journey. As a mother, being able to feed your child is the single most emotive aspect, and any difficulty in doing so is hard. This stuff goes way beyond the breast/bottle debate - the inability to safely provide sustenance if any sort is harrowing.
Be kind to yourself - it gets better xxx

gowie3112 · 05/08/2018 21:28

Mam- your response has given me time to prepare and make sure I'm not forced into doing something I'm not comfortable with for my daughter so thank you!

OP posts:
Mamaryllis · 06/08/2018 01:39

new-vis.com/p-fym.htm

This site was recommended by our SLT - it centres dc with various feeding and communication issues. Some of it won’t be relevant, but we found some of the information and ideas worth considering.

clairethewitch70 · 07/08/2018 22:27

I have dysphagia, and am willing to answer any questions you might have.

Growingboys · 07/08/2018 22:29

I had a story very similar to yours and what fixed it was seeing a private gastroenterologist. This was ten years ago and cost £100 but was the best money I ever spent.

Don't hang about if you can possibly afford not to. Out gastro man sorted DD within one appt.

Good luck xxx

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