DD has had D&V for nearly a week now, GP says nothing he can do, please come and help me.

[DustyTv]

DD is nearly 11mo, she has been ill since a week last Sunday.

She started with a cold, but on Thursday she began to have D&V. She still has D&V today, it will be a week tomorrow since she started with the D&V.

I have made an appointment with the GP again, but according to the receptionist it is pot luck who we get to see as the appointment is short notice. SO if we get the Mr again out of our team of GP's as opposed to the Mrs, please tell me what to say to him.

I know he thinks I am some nurotic first time mum, but it isn't right is it that an 11mo has D&V for nearly a week and has been generally ill since a week last Sunday.

DD has lost over 3 lbs she was 22lbs before she was ill, she is now 18lbs 11ounces.

You are not a neurotic first time mum. You are a parent, same as any other, with concerns for your child's health. Keep that in mind.

And then maybe call your HV for some advice?

our gps tend to say give it 7-10days to clear up and then come back. hows her fluid intake?

Thanks IAte . I have called my HV and went to see her yesterday at the weigh in clinic (I hate those places) but she also said she wasn't worried because DD seems fine inbetween bouts of being sick and sh*ing through the eye of a needle.

I just feel it is not fair on DD to alow it to go on as long as it has. I was wondering if she has gastroenteritis or something.

Hi twinkly, her fluid intake is sporadic to say the least, I am offering her water very often, occasionally a bottle of milk. She drinks a little water sometimes but pretty much none of the milk.

Also, although I am not so much worried by this, but she hasn't had a proper meal for well over a week.

bump

Anyone have any more advice, DD's appointment is at 10 past 12 today, I would like to go 'armed' and ready.

I don' want him to fob DD off because he thinks I am a nurotic first time mum.

DTV,

My DS had D&V for 11 days when he was 11mo so I feel your pain (they diagnosed gastroentiritis (sp!)). I went to the doctors 3 times during that time. The first time he didn't even see me just spoke to me on the phone and told me to give it another 24 hours by which time DS was starting to dehydrate and we ended up in hospital for the day. He was clearly getting better by day 7 but still had D&V so I went back again just to be sure he wasn't dehydrating. I am not trying to scare you, just assuring you that you are not being neurotic.

I would ring NHS direct and tell them the symptoms, they may get a different doctor to call you back or get you seen in an out of hours type place.

There isn't an awful lot that they can do for D&V other than watch for dehydration, but it is sooo stressful when they won't eat either. FWIW my DS didn't eat for all the time he was ill either.

Trust your instincts and if DD doesn't appear right and you want to get her checked out then insist that you see someone either through the docs or through NHS direct. The worst thing that can happen is that they can see her and tell you she's fine. I learnt my lesson from the first doctor who advised me to give it another 24 hours. I am now insistent if I am in the slightest bit worried (and I am not a drama queen).

My DS had D & V for a week. The Dr gave me a bottle to collect a 'sample' (a nice Daddy job) and it was sent for tests at the hospital. He did start to get better following this... Hope she starts to feel better soon. I let my DS eat what he wanted to and what he felt like. His favourite is fish fingers or sausages and then yoghurt. So, I just cooked what I knew he would want to eat. Hope this helps.

Unfortunately there isn't much that can be done to stop a D&V bug running its course.
Sweet drinks are a good idea: my GP recommended flat coca cola for DS when he had D&V at around 15 months, but DS didn't like it. However, a GP that dismisses the concerns of a baby's mum is being a bit of an arse, most medics say it's fine to ask if you are worried and better a false alarm than a sick child not getting treatment.

i've just been through similar with dd2 (D no V). having checked on nhs website i knew gp unlikely to do anything before five days but when she got worse on 6th day i took her. he didn't do anything on the grounds that she was clearly not dehydrated, was bright and alert and otherwise her usual self.
the only thing he suggested is cutting out cows milk as a drink (she 13 months and still bf twice a day cows milk in between) and maybe rehydration fluid if it made me feel better (no, she unlikely to take it).
she started getting better the next day.

please don't worry about being labelled a 'neurotic mum'. i do too but in my sane and strong moments i think it's their problem if that's what the think and better to be on the safe side than not.
go in there with your head high, ask questions and trust your instincts. don't do yourself down just to save him doing it - hell, make him work at putting you down, don't make it easy for him!

one last thing - you can get probiotics for babies and breastfeeding mums (not sure about the efficacy of ones for mums - don't good bacteria live in the gut - how would they get to breastmilk?). i bought some for dd2 but i think the jury is still out on this sort of thing so depends on your point of view. also punishingly expensive (£15)! which is a lot if your lo won't take them!

good luck

Hang on in there..my DD had the same for 8 days, she was already skinny and by the end of it you could see her bones...she then ate like a horse and regained all the weight quickly!!

I found Dioralyte was very good, and she loved it!!

Oh Yes, also remembered that they told me not to give milk (it can irritate the system) but give juice with dioralyte in it. Also, let her sip the juice little and often as she's more likely to retain it rather than vomit it all back up.

My DS (18m at the time) had the winter vomiting bug last December and eventually couldn't even keep water down so he ended up at the hospital.

I was told this by the nurse at the hospital and it worked:-
Get the natural flavour dioralyte and mix it in quite a strong solution of blacurrant squash (the type with sugar in - they need the energy and not to worry about teeth for a couple of days). Little and often is 1floz every hour. I was told to syringe the above mixture 5ml every 10 mins for about half a day to get his stomach used to coping with fluids again. It was a complete pain but worked. I syringed from about 7am one morning until about 1pm and after that just put a really small amount in the bottom of his cup and left about 30 mins between re-filling it.

Hiya,
Even though it's been well over a week now, I still wouldn't worry about her not eating. The main priorty should be keeping her hydrated. Could try (soft) fruits and vegetables for food, as they too contain an awful lot of water.
With re to wotnopulling's suggestion about taking probiotics, I've found a really good one called Protexin Restore. Link attached:

www.protexin.com/health-care/product_detail.php?pID=16

Hope you DD feels better soon!

Oh thank you so much everyone I really aprreciate it.

I saw Mrs GP , she was as lovely as always.

She has given DD some dirolyte (blackcurrent flavor) and told me not to give her any milk/formula or food for 24 hours and just give DD the dirolyte.

DD doesn't like it so should I mix it with some juice or something.

What does the dirolyte do? , does it help them to retain fluids or something.

She is gonna be so hungry with no formula, I wish I could go back to breast feeding I bet she could still have that.

The sugars and salts in dioralyte are at the right levels to give her energy and help the water be absorbed into her system and used where it is needed rather than staying in her bowels and going out with the diarrhoea.

The blackcurrant one is vile - it is not prescription only and can be bought from the chemists (for about £7/£8 for 20sachets if my memory serves) you might do better getting the natural flavour. If she won't take the dioralyte then try dilute juice or squash so she can get the energy from the sugar in that. Willmouses advice is good - 5ml every 5-10min is about right. She will vomit - that can't be helped but the little and often rule works as it gives a chance for a small amount to be absorbed before the rest bounces.

She won't be feeling hungry, don't worry think about when you had D+V in the past, food was the last thing you wanted and sips of water were all you can manage. She might not manage at 11months but when they are a little older ice pops can work wonders

Good luck - D+V is horrible whatever your age but unless she is getting dehydrated there is not a lot that can be done to solve it (if she was dehydrated she would need fluids in her veins or down a tube in her nose but there still isn't a pill to make it stop sadly). It is gastroenteritis but in the UK gastroenteritis is mostly caused by viruses and it is a case of sitting it out. It sounds like you are doing a brilliant job!

www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23068743/

(you'll see the advice about feeding is slightly different here, basically it is debatable and there are arguments for both approaches. 24 hours off at this stage is reasonable advice from your gp)

my dd2 had this - no diarrhoea but was vomiting for around 10 days when she was coming up to 2 yrs old. She lost so much wejght she would topple over when she tried to stand - so weak. But eventually she did turn the corner and ate like a horse - your dd will be like this. I have found that avoiding all dairy, citrus and fried things meat etc is best until they are properly better.Diorylite is very good as it contains the minerals and salts they need. Mix it with some ribena and give very little and very often.

Thanks everyone, DD seems so much better today, no more v and d is getting better yay.

I think she may be hungry now, she has just fished out a banana from her changing bag brought it over to me and said naanaa lol.

Should I give her something now, it hasn't been 24 hours yet, but she seems like she would eat if I were to give her someting, WWYD?

I think bananas are one of the best things to eat when recovering from D&V - bananas, plain rice and toast. Might be best to give it as close to 24 hours as poss if she'll hang on, but if she seems so much better...

Probably best to carry on steering clear of dairy for a bit though, and keep going with the dioralyte if you can for today.

Hope the improvement continues .

Glad she is getting better
DS had D&V on and off for 6 weeks when he was about a year - the last bout was really bad and ended in him getting an infection. Still, they refused to do anything, and just said it had to run its course. It's so stressful, I remember it well. not to mention the washing.
Eventually they agreed to take a urine and stool sample, and gave ABs for the infection. Stool sample was clear (????) every single urine sample was contaminated but he was gettting better and so we gave up

Gawd SMB, 6 weeks how awful for your DS (and for you of course). It is horrible to see your LO suffering and not be able to do anything about it isnt it.

Yes the washing, I've had to put DD in disposibles as I cannot keep up with washing her nappies, at her worst she was going through about 12 nappies in the morning, but not so many in the afternoons ( not sure why though)
I am so glad that I bought loads of bedding for her before she was born because it has come in useful, you can never have too much bedding when your LO's have D&V.

definitely! we had towels everywhere (folded) on his bed, our bed so when he was sick we'd just whip them off and not have to change the sheets.
his was on and off, each time he got better we'd start to think we were over the worst then it would come back with a vengeance. V was alwas in the moprning or evening and D was worse then too...strange!
anyway, hope your dd continues to improve. you won't believe the relief when you have to chnage her sleepsuit because she's had it on for a while as opposed to it being dirty

lol, yes that will be a relief, I have just changed her nappy and it is the first one I have done that is only wet and not dirty . She has had a little piece of toast and a couple of bites of a banana.

Good idea about the towels I will remember that one

What is it with the V only in the mornings and evenings I don't understand that.