I posted this last night but it got lost in the upgrade so I am reposting it for those who missed it.

The test was normal. He said that everything look great and right on track for his age. I know I should be happy, but I can’t help but feel like I had to go through all that hassle for nothing. At least I have the peace of mind of knowing everything is normal, but it does not explain the glurpy noise when he eats (which I did not do during the test of course) or why he get congested and chokes during and after eating.

He did great during the test. He was starving and getting really mad at me for not feeding him. We were able to keep him distracted so he was not too bad. I think he would have eating anything that was put in front of him by the time we got in there. The speech therapist was great and very helpful. I could not be in the room for the test because I am pregnant, so he played the video for me after and showed me what was going on. It was pretty cool looking.

Sebastian had a ball being the center of attention and charmed the pants off everyone as usual.

He has an apt with the GI on Thursday, so I will show her the video of him eating and see what she thinks. She said the next step would be the scope, which I don’t think we should do at this point. He is happy for the most part and eating enough to be growing well, so I doubt the scope would show any damage. I don’t feel like going through another test just to have it be normal.

I think I will give him until a year and then if he is still have problems take it from there.

That's pretty good news Katey. I would also wait till he is 1. He looks really healthy and super cute.
May be your GI would be able to suggest something other than scope regarding his eating and the way he behaves afterward.
Good luck with your appointment.

That sounds like a great plan of attack Katey, I am glad all things went well. Let us know what the Drs say about the study.

Katey,

I would agree with you re the scope. Allie's new GI (head of the department at Children's Hospital) said that most scopes done before 18 months don't show damage or evidence of MSPI, etc. If I would have known this, I would never have let Dr. J scope Allie at the young age of 4 months.

Hang in there!

Christyn

Chrystin,
Love your new siggy pic. She looks so mischevious.

Hi Katey:

Did the speech therapist allow Sebastian to tire (drink a typical feeding ~ 3-6 oz) before they turned the fluoro back on? If Sebastian is choking towards the end of a feed, he could be aspirating with fatigue. Most MBS studies just look at the beginning of the swallow when a little one looks "fresh." This does not take into account endurance and fatigue. The coughing after he is drinking/eating is most likely reflux. If he is congested after drinking, however, there is a good chance aspiration was not seen from Sebastian's study. Sometimes we don't get patient radiologists working with us and they just want to get the procedure done quickly!

Robynne

Thanks Robynne, I was a little worried about that. The whole thing lasted about 15 min or less. He only drank about 1 oz of bottle, two drinks of water from his straw cup, and three bites each of oatmeal, baby food pears, and steamed carrots. The dr that ordered the test also did not send any info, so I had to try to explain everything that had been going on in like two min before I had to leave the room. I actually did not even mention that he had reflux. It seems like it is such a given at this point, but obviously they had no way of knowing.


The good news is that he seems to be getting a little better. He has not made the ‘glurpy’ noise in almost a week. He used to do it at almost every feeding. He is still congested sounding after eating or dirnking but it does not seem as loud as it used to. Is it common for kids to outgrow swallowing problems on their own?

We have an apt with the GI dr today, do you think there is anything I should ask about or for her to do? Thanks so much for responding, I really value your opinion.

Katey:

Yes. I am not sure if Sebastian is on thickened feedings or not, but this is where we go with dysphagia, or weakness of the swallow from a MBS study. The other problem that can be happening towards the end of the feeding is nasopharyngeal reflux. Is Sebastian stuffy in the nose post feedings or more gurgly? Regardless, we thicken. You can thicken with Simply Thick, Hydra Aid, rice or oatmeal. I would need to know his background before I tell you which thickener might be best. Jump over to "Ask the OT" if you are interested in trying this.

Robynne