Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

Flip

Original poster

Unable to keep food down - advice please

16 replies

SuperSoph73 · 24/03/2010 13:31

Dear All,

Just wondering if any of you wonderful people could help me with something. Sam (23 mnths Down Syndrome) has always brought small amounts of food up after eating but over the last couple of months this has got significantly worse and he is losing weight. We have been to the docs quite a few times because of this problem and he has been prescribed Omeprazol to stop the vomiting, which it does some days but not others. We are also now waiting for an appointment with 2 specialists - one to check his digestive system and one to check his respiratory system. Sam does get an awful lot of phlegm on his chest, but the doc has said not to worry about that too much as he does cough quite a lot up and even though he swallows the majority of it it should come out when he goes to the toilet.

There isn't any rhyme or reason to the vomiting as we have monitored him in all different situations and it's just that some days are worse than others.

Are there any specific food types that have a high calorific value that we could give him so that when he is keeping food down he's getting more calories.

I have also recently heard that there is a homeopathic "medicine" called lycopodium which can help calm down (stop in some cases) reflux. Does anyone have any advice on this?

Sorry it's a bit longwinded but hope you can help. We do not live in the UK btw.

OP posts:

Original poster

SuperSoph73 · 24/03/2010 13:47

Bump

OP posts:

SJisontheway · 24/03/2010 14:28

There are definitely a number of hi calorie options and if your son is losing weight it seems to make sense. Infatrini is a high calorie milk for infants, although at 3 my daughter still takes it because she doen't like the flavours in the older version - fortini. This is even higher in calories again. I know there are other brands too. There are also drops that you can get to add to food - can't remember the name. Is there a dietician that you can be referred to. They would be able to work out the best option for your son. Best of luck

Original poster

SuperSoph73 · 24/03/2010 14:33

Thanks SJisontheway. I'm not sure about the high calorie milk, would have to ask in the farmacia (we aren't in the UK), but at least it's a start. His doc hasn't mentioned anything about seeing a dietician but I guess it's worth asking. He's going back for his 2 year check in April so will ask then.

OP posts:

jillycats · 24/03/2010 20:20

My daughter has downs and is 9 months old. She has been on a high energy milk since birth and has always vomited most of it back although it got worse in the last month after a tummy bug. She has also had lots of phlegm and catarrh. Last week the dietician changed her milk to infatrini to try and help her gain weight - it was a minor miracle. Within 24 hours on the new milk she wasn't being sick any more and her catarrh and phlegm have gone. I can't say why other than there must be something in the other milk that didn't agree with her. Do you have a dietician who could perhaps help you?

Original poster

SuperSoph73 · 25/03/2010 09:23

Thank you jillycats I will definately ask. I didn't really want to put him back on formula, but if it helps I'll try anything at the moment

Saying that, we had a good day yesterday as he managed to keep all his food down!

OP posts:

meltedmarsbars · 25/03/2010 09:49

I would also add that phlegm can make the tummy prone to vomiting - we get this, as dd2 swallows the phlegm, then vomits.

To add calories: butter everything twice, add cream and high-fat meats (corned beef, tongue) to the diet, and cheese.

Make snacks the opposite of healthy, by giving chunks of cheese and mixing double cream into yogurts.

It also might lessen as he gets older and his body lengthens.

If the vomiting is at night, tilt his mattress at the head end slightly?

Original poster

SuperSoph73 · 25/03/2010 11:22

Thank you meltedmarsbars. Fortunately he doesn't vomit at night & very rarely vomits after breakfast. It just seems to be his lunch that he can never keep down.

OP posts:

meltedmarsbars · 25/03/2010 22:37

Poor thing! Sometimes constantly being sick can put them off eating, hope that doesn't happen.

We have a calorie-booster for my dd2, Calogen which is basically emulsified oil, which we have to add to her feed. It was dietician-prescribed but might be GP prescribed where you are?

Best of luck

jillycats · 25/03/2010 22:46

We were told to try adding butter and cream to everything too, but for us this made things worse. I know it is quite common for Downs children to have intolerance to dairy and this can make phlegm and catarrh worse.

Hope things improve for you as I know how disheartening it is to see your child being so sick and losing weight.

feelingbetter · 25/03/2010 22:51

My DS is a similar age and has lost a lot of weight recently following a never ending chest infection. He has reflux and is often sick after feeds.
After recent hospital admission (bit different as he was ill and refusing to eat at the time) his dietician suggested we try paediasure, which has been brilliant for him.

he has gained the weight he lost and a bit more, it is very similar to a milkshake and comes in 4 different flavours. we have chocolate, strawberry and banana - I think the other flavour is vanilla.

when DS is ill, he just refuses to eat. this is a supplement so as well as being full of calories, its full of nutrients too which works for DS.

it is also full of sugar and E numbers, but is the lesser of 2 evils for us at the moment.

starfishmummy · 26/03/2010 08:42

We had simlar problems with DS. Some of it was due to sensory problems so it might be worth seeing if there is anything "different" about the times when he is sick compared to the meals that stay down - not just the food but the environment, other things that are around?

Original poster

SuperSoph73 · 26/03/2010 11:50

Thanks feelingbetter and starfishmummy. I don't think it's a sensory thing as some days he does it and some days not and his routine is exactly the same. It's really, really frustrating as there just doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. I had to pick him up from nursery yesterday afternoon because he just hadn't kept anything down!

OP posts:

nightcat · 27/03/2010 13:14

SuperSoph, he could be deficient in some digestive enzymes, happens in many DS cases. Do you know what's on the lunch menu generally?
Another thing to consider is breakfast menu -is he still digesting it by the time lunch comes along and simply has no room in his tummy for more? This could happen if he had carb-meal which takes longer to digest in the stomach.
Some homeopathic remedies work by gently stimulating digestive enzymes, can't go wrong with that.
But if you know that he reacts to something specific, then best to avoid. Try giving him light protein breakfast (omelette etc), go easy on carbs.
The order of digestion is that stomach enzymes digest mainly protein, if you give them carbs, then they sit there for hours until they move further down when the pancreatic/liver carb-digesting happens. This might be the cause of being still so full at lunch and rejecting more food.
I would also be inclined not to think in terms of sugary calorie foods, as this will create a bad habit for later.
Keep a food diary if you can.

Original poster

SuperSoph73 · 30/03/2010 12:28

Thank you nighcat. He tends to have fruit for breakfast mainly, but I´ll definately start keeping a diary and see if I can pinpoint anything specific.

OP posts:

FnD · 30/03/2010 13:17

Hey Supersoph! sorry to hear Sam has been having some problems - hope you are all ok otherwise

We have had similar issues with the Littlest prince. He has just had a feeding assessment again from his SALT who doesn't seem to be too concerned. Things that I have noticed which make it worse are

if he is remotely snuffly or has a cold - he is more likley to bring food up, either a bit at a time or projectile.
if he is crawling about a lot after eating he will be sick - I think because he is getting his body into wierd positions and his food hasn't digested properly (or something scientific like that!)
if he is tired (as well as when ill) his muscles slow down and he is more likely to regurgitate.
miraculously cake and custard always stays down

How is Sam doing on his Ds weight chart?

Original poster

SuperSoph73 · 02/04/2010 12:51

Hey FnD, thanks for that. Yes, everything else is OK at the mo. Sam does suffer more when he's got a cold and he is just coming out of quite a bad one at the moment. He has been OK for the last couple of days & I've stopped giving him the tablets as they don't seem to make any difference whatsoever! Did have to at Littlest Prince being able to keep cake and custard down ... boy after my own heart.

I'm not quite sure how Sam's doing on the weight chart & they don't have separate ones over here. He was doing reasonably well on the "normal" chart (sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, just can't think of any other way to put it), but he has a revision on the 27th April so we'll wait and see. He's definately lost weight but don't know how much yet.

Hope you're having a good Easter - we're really enjoying our time off. Have started a major spring clean, which is NOT my favourite thing to do, but am feeling much better now the house is looking cleaner and brighter. Still got a way to go though as haven't even begun to tackle the downstairs. Will probably leave that till tomorrow

OP posts:

Flip