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Gastrostomy/ tube feeding support group...

999 replies

Isitme1 · 03/06/2012 12:01

Hi.
I was looking for a support group for tube fed babies/ children but couldn't find anything.
Come and share you experiences and tell us how you are coping and how you felt when you first started with tube feeds.
I will introduce myself:
I have 1 ds- 21 months old.
Poor eater due to severe reflux and severe food aversion.
At his worst he was fed Baby food via syringe into his mouth like meds. He would take 60 mls a day in high calorie milk and a sip of water or juice in the day with no food in between.
He would scream at the sight of his high chair.

Fast forward a few months and he has a peg feeding tube. Hes on neocate advance ( suspected milk allergy) but have kept him on normal food to encourage oral intake. He still has very little by mouth but thankfully he's getting all his nutrients.
The gp put me down as a neurotic mother.
Ds is being seen by top gastric paediatrician.
He's having gut motility checked as his food is still
In his tummy 10-12 hours later and comes our undigested.

Hes had meningitis and septecmia at a young age too.

Come and introduce yourself!
X

OP posts:
Isitme1 · 14/07/2012 23:41

As far as I'm aware this is it?
childbrain.com/pddassess.html

I've just done it again as there were a few variables.
At lowest he's scored 119 and highest 128.
Moderate pdd and it says above warning this is not last diagnosis or something
X
will you share score toom, very interested in this now
Night night all x

OP posts:
Isitme1 · 14/07/2012 23:42

The toom should be please Blush
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OP posts:
gallivantsaregood · 14/07/2012 23:59

Thanks. Will check it out tomo. Night night. xx

Isitme1 · 15/07/2012 14:20

The more I read into it the more I seem to be thinking yes that's him.
I don't think he's got it servere but moderate. As it said on the test thing. He's not one to be putting things into rows but he is one to 'hold on' to objects. He has obsession with animals ( used to sleep with hard small pig toy now it's elephant and giraffe) 'forgotten' a few words, speech delay, he just doesn't get it most of the times, hates crowds ( somehow not too bad with playgroup but we did go with a little girl who is my nieces age maybe he reminded him of her and felt 'safe' he's with my niece everyday) the food aversion maybe 'worsened by it too. He's very clingy to his possessions, he doesn't like anyone fiddling with his clothes at all, not even me. I can only manage to change his nappy 3 times a day ( morning afternoon and before bed) as he hates having to take clothes off. He hates having shoes and coat off too. It's taken me about an hour to get his coat off. I think the main factors for him are clothes, food and crowds. If he doesn't get his way it's an over the top tantrum ( the other day he screamed for ages and chucked himself around on the floor) the clumsiness and when he hurts himself he's not bothered.

Hmm I might repost that message in sn talk and see what other replies I get.
As always I value all of your opinions too ( you lot have been a massive help to me so Thanks
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OP posts:
Isitme1 · 16/07/2012 16:31

Got hv coming on thursday to discuss my concerns.
Hopefully we will get somewhere
X
Hope everyone is good
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Isitme1 · 16/07/2012 23:27

Hope your all good!!!
Galli what score did you get??
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gallivantsaregood · 17/07/2012 08:03

Scored 117 (moderatew PDD)....Thanks for the link Isitme.

Hope everyone has a good day. xx

Isitme1 · 17/07/2012 17:01

Has he been diagnosed with autism?
Hv coming on thursday.
I finally managed to say to family that I think he's got it.
Mum thinks hes got ADHD too as he just cant stay still
X
Hope your all good
X

OP posts:
sneezecakesmum · 17/07/2012 19:08

Arghh. wrote long post and MN went offline! No time now except to say Thanks to isitme for being a lovely kind neighbour! xx

gallivantsaregood · 17/07/2012 21:10

HI! How is it going with the lady down the road?

DS hasn't been diagnosed but I have it in writing from his community paed that if he were to be assessed she believed he would get a diagnosis of ADHA and Autism........Luckily his school have lots of support in place due to his other medical issues and work hard with me to manage him really well, so no need to push for diagnosis right now. If he starts to struggle and we think he may need medication ( paed thinks he may but I'd rather avoid if possible) then we'll push for diagnosis.

However saying that we are in Scotland so a very diffeent system in place and Luuk's anatomy is such that he needs full time 1:1 to ensure no-one kicks/punches him in the stomach due to the position of his liver which if damaged could kill him. He does also need educational support so it's all working out ok. TBH the routine of school suits him, because it is routine an dhow they organise the school day. It's just a pain for everyone else when it seems he is telling tales because someone has broken a rule....to Luuk a rule is a rule, end of. When I try and talk to him about telling tales he is adamant he is just telling the truth.....which he is. He doesn't get it. I can see him becoming unpopular very shortly within school..:(

Hope everyone is well and relaxed.

Isitme1 · 18/07/2012 19:34

She didn't show so ive left it there atm.
Will start slowly again soon.

Bless him. Kids are such a mystery sometimes!!!
Weve been to town again today and a few shops he really disliked ( dim lighting and over crowded- to him)

He was playing up on the way too so It doesn't look too good on public transport :|
Dla is here too. High rate.

How is everyone????
Hope mums and lo's are all good ( and grandmums too!)
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OP posts:
sneezecakesmum · 18/07/2012 21:33

Grandmum here is OK. Got vomited on big time today. I think procal liquid is just too rich for to LOs stomach and he exhorcisted it all over me! No more procal! Love to all and DD says the jet stream is heading south and it will be 30 degrees here in a day or two. Biscuit

2old2beamum · 18/07/2012 22:14

Isitme regarding the lady you ae trying to befriend bless you (this from a good jewish girl) Let me know if I can help anonymously PM me
Life a "bit" maniic at present ban haveut LO's are in respite 'til Monday so can have Wine. Off to see homegrown DD and will be a total wreck----never been away without them before. Not going until Friday but you may get a frantic post before then Grin
Hope you are all fine. did your suggested test DD scored 169 but has SLD with I think with autistic traits mind you so do I, god help anyone who folds my towels the wrong way Angry Grin
Love to all xx

Isitme1 · 18/07/2012 23:49

Sneezecakesmum I want some sunshine too!!!

Ds has playgroup tomorrow ( the one he actually likes!) so shorts are out for him! Hope the weather is good for his outfit lol.

2old I think your lovely Thanks
I will let you know when the time is right. I want her to approach me So I know she trusts me.
Just spOke to sil. Her ds is 5days older than my ds. He says mama daddy uncle aunty nanni grandad bottle.
She was telling me she taped her other ds hand as he was going to hurt himself (on purpose time after time) so when he did it the last time other ds went up to naughty ds and smacked him twice ( his mum taped on hand once and he had to out do her lol)

Ds has got his 2 year funding form filled and I have to sign tomorrow

2old enjoy the 'nothing to do' moment

Love to all
Sleep well
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OP posts:
HairyMaclary · 19/07/2012 10:40

Can I ask you knowledgable people to help put on a thread in for called 'my 2year old will not eat / gastrosomy'. I have directed the OP here but. Ot sure if she will find it.

I can't link at the moment as on phone but hope you can help her.

HairyMaclary · 19/07/2012 10:41

Sorry, thread is in Food topic.

Evasmum12 · 19/07/2012 11:29

Hi all, thanks hairy :) I am going to have a read through on here then I'll C+P my post from the food thread, if I can work out how on my phone lol.

Isitme1 · 19/07/2012 12:03

Oo new people
Hi :)
What do you want us to do?
Link this thread into another or the other way round?
Hope this thread helps a lot more people
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OP posts:
Isitme1 · 19/07/2012 12:05

Can I say if the child really is not eating and failure to thrive I do think gastrostomy is the best way.
My ds was the same. They are LIFE SAVERS
will post more soon
Got hv coming over and I'm doing dinner before she comes
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OP posts:
Isitme1 · 19/07/2012 12:37

Kids don't eat as they start to get aversions if there are no other medical problems.
Without gastrostomy (for a child who doesn't eat and I don't mean a fussy eater who will eat mc Donalds and kfc but not home food behaviour aversion or something ) the child is no way getting enough nutrients, vitamins and calories that is recommended.
Ds kept getting a bloated tummy as he was not used to the nutrients when he would eat and the consultant described him like a 3rd world child.

Don't make a fuss when cleaning gastrostomy site or feeding.
The child has to accept it.
Ds knew it meant it took pressure of eating and then most of times when child is comfortable they will start to eat naturally in there own time.
If ds holds food I'm happy. If he eats a crumble I'm estatic. It's wonderful it really is.
I felt exactly how you felt before gtube
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starfishmummy · 19/07/2012 13:13

Hi Evasmum

I've been there too - it isn't your dds fault that she has this aversion, although the medical people rarely mention it, it is well known that tube fed children can develop an aversion to food. I am appalled at the ultimatum you have been given, but we found that DS's team were more into managing the tube feeding (and his gastrostomy) than into trying to trying to encourage him to eat. That said we found the gastrostomy so much easier than an ng tube and knowing ds was getting all his nutrition helped us relax about what (little) he eats.

Isitme1 · 19/07/2012 14:32

I agree with starfish

I have some good news
For the first time ds called me mama!!! mama!
Then he came into kitchen and said mama
Grin
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OP posts:
sneezecakesmum · 19/07/2012 17:30

Hi evasmum. I think its apalling too that you have been given an ultimatum! They cant force you to have a gastrostomy fitted. DGS hs a gastrostomy after a year of almost force feeding him and stress +++

He has cerebral palsy but no difficulty eating and swallowing. Just no interest in most foods (apart from chocolate buttons and wotsits!) He just was not interested in food. bf fairly well and put on weight initially, but fell further and further behind with weight. When he started nursery it got worse as the constant colds and vomiting when he got mucusy was a nightmare and forced his parents hands. He began to look gaunt and ill, not nice at all, and the paed had been going on and on about this PEG.

Not a pleasant op at all (none are!) but he rapidly gained weight and is on the charts for weight for the first time and catching up with his height. More energy, better immunity, no stress. We had tried high calorie, fat rich foods etc and no matter what his height kept outstripping his weight.

The PEG is not for always and our hope is that eventually he will want to eat normally like his friends. We think that his stomach was the size of a pea and therefore felt full very quickly so we have been giving him increasing amounts of fluid to stretch his stomach and we think it is working because he is eating more now than before even though he gets around 900-1000 calories in his feeds. Its probably true with your DD that she has a tiny little stomach which feels full quickly, then she wont eat further. Will she eat choc buttons or is everything uninteresting to her?

Isitme. So pleased DS said mama! xx

Evasmum12 · 19/07/2012 19:48

Hi again everyone, I have read the first 6 or so pages and the last 2 so think I have a general gist of eveyone and... wow! You are all amazing and your DC too!

Not sure who has been over to the food thread so I'll C+P and add a bit so sorry if you've read it and it's long!

My DD was born 12 weeks prem, IUGR, FTT, she was NG fed from birth then changed to bottle feeds at around 6 wo. So far so good. She was on the 0.4th centile for her corrected age and by 9 months she was up to the 9th. As soon as I started weaning at 6 months I knew something wasn't quite right, DD had absolutely no interest in food whatsoever. I tried and tried to get her onto puree and baby meals but even the smallest of illness or upset (she has a very weak immune system) and she would refuse food for days, relying on bottles of milk (nutriprem 2) to fill her up.

Any issues I had about her poor weight gain was blamed on her being prem. Any concerns over her lack of appetite was also blamed on that. I went to HV, GP and spoke to people at the weighing clinics, and was told DD was fine and to persevere. So I did.

For the next 18 months every single meal was a battle, she refused to chew food properly, trying to swallow it straight down and then choking and refusing any more, anything that didn't eventually dissolve in her mouth she spat out or choked on. (Sorry to confuse but she CAN chew and swallow food, I have seen her do it, but she chooses not too iyswim?)

I did everything I could possibly think of to encourage her, and slowly but surely she started eating what I would consider meals (10+ mouthfuls), albiet not consistant.

Soo eventually the routine went like this: breakfast of very milky weetabix, lunch of soup, tea of soup and yoghurt/custard. Bottle of milk before bed. I offered her snacks through the day, anything and everything that I thought might tempt her but no, she dosen't even eat chocolate or crisps.

I feel like I've tried absolutely everything, where, when, what and who we eat with.. and she just simply isn't interested.

So anyway, she was only just maintaining weight and I was very worried about her, just before Xmas last year she started getting coughs and colds, her eating got even worse and still I couldn't get a health proffesional to refer her to someone that could help. In Feb she ended up in hospital with Pnumonia in both lungs. She was far too ill to eat by then and was losing weight fast so we started NG feeding her shakes (Frebrini Energy). She recovered very slowly and over the next few months I just concentrated on getting her strength back up and her weight up.

She has recovered now, and I know have a dietitian, SALT, consultant and community nurses monitoring her.. but they all just seem to want to PEG feed her and be done with it. I feel like screaming because I struggled so long on my own and I felt I was making a tiny bit of progress before she became ill. I feel like they have come in 2 years too late and are not willing to look into WHY she is like this. I feel like they are backtracking because in thier own words DD 'slipped under thier radar' and are jumping on the idea of a gastrostomy to look pro-active.

I know she needs the protein shakes to help her and she will drink them, (about 5-600ml a day) in her own time, but the powers that be have given me just 4 weeks without the NG to get her drinking the shakes (which are foul btw) and eating again before they do the gastrostomy.

Phew. Sorry about that. Trying to go through over 2 years of stuff and work out whats relavent. Might have to drip feed more info as and when my tired brain lets me ha.

Brew or Wine after reading all that I think you deserve it!

Evasmum12 · 19/07/2012 19:54

Oh, forgot to say, just to put things in perspective a bit, when DD went into hosp in feb she dropped to under 10kg (between 2nd and 9th) now she is on 25th centile and since coming off the NG she has only lost 150g in 3 weeks, 12kg to 11.85.. and she's had a stomach bug and cold. She frequently lost/gained that in a week on the NG and suffering from constant chest infections.