Hi,
You guys will be happy to know that I emailed the surgeon some questions about Elis wretching the other day and he emailed me right back :cheers:

I told him I called his nurse and chief resident and they still hadnt called me back. I told him Eli got to big a bite and now I think he is swelled up again so he told me to go back to soft foods for a few days and if he still has trouble that he we would could take him to LA and he would do an esophogram on him to make sure he is just swollen. He said he didnt believe there was any damage. Oh, and he told me that I can put sugar under his tongue for hiccups and that will take care of them :laughing:

Take Care of the hiccups. Sorry, got a little excited with that last post.

That's great he was so prompt and reassuring!

Wow, great news!

I should have mentioned before about the hiccups too, if the sugar doesn't help, I remember reading in a medical encyclopedia once to swallow, small bits of liquid repeatedly for a minute. It works every time for me, even if I don't have drink, just saliva works. Although, this might be hard to explain to a 2 yr old :P .

Hi,
You guys will be happy to know that I emailed the surgeon some questions about Elis wretching the other day and he emailed me right back :cheers:

I told him I called his nurse and chief resident and they still hadnt called me back. I told him Eli got to big a bite and now I think he is swelled up again so he told me to go back to soft foods for a few days and if he still has trouble that he we would could take him to LA and he would do an esophogram on him to make sure he is just swollen. He said he didnt believe there was any damage. Oh, and he told me that I can put sugar under his tongue for hiccups and that will take care of them :laughing:
That's great, Erin! I've never heard about putting sugar under the tongue for hiccups, though. I think I'll have to try that sometime. Please let us know if it works.

How do they do the esophagram?

Oh, I just looked it up and its says its the same thing as a barium swallow. Isn't that the same thing as an upper GI?

Yes, it is the same as an upper GI, but they use a different mixture than barium for it. It's a very simple one.

Now that you have had the surgery and found it successful, do you wish that you had done it sooner?

OK, I didnt want to start a new thread since this section is filled up with me and my fundo issues. So, here is the update. We got up yesterday morning and called and let them know that Eli still couldnt even swallow jello since the "breastick incident". Which had then been 8 days. So, they told us to get in the car immediately and head straight to UCLA, which we did. We got there and went to radiology and had a Upper GI done. First thing I noticed is that he was emptying (wew-hew, we are talking about a kid whos lunch was still there at lunch time the next day). Next I noticed he now had a valve at the top (fundo). And, it was working and intact ( not sure I was happy about that). They said his fundo looked like it had some swelling (duh). They said the DR was concerned that there was some food blocking it. So, there wasnt. I almost wish there was, well I realy wish there was, because then they could of removed whatever was blocking it and he would be fine.
But, after the Upper GI we ran over to the office and the Doctor on call, who I didnt care for said to put him on complete liquids for 2 or 3 weeks and then try to feed him again. Which if you guys think about it you can figure out what that will be like for us. So, I am disappointed. I told them something is wrong and I didnt want to take him home. And, that I wanted them to just take the fundo down because I am still unsure that he needed after they found this huge problem with his pyloric sphynctor. He blew us off and told us just to be patient since he just had the fundo we shouldnt expect to much. And, I reminded this guy that he was eating pancakes, waffles, spagetti, pasta, bread, green beans, all these things until the day of the dreaded "breadstick" so this is a little different. He didnt care. So, we basically drove 4 hours there and back for them to tell us to keep on liquids for 2 or 3 more weeks. Oh, well, thats it.

I'm sorry that your appointment and the long drive to get there were such a waste of time, Erin, and I hope and pray that Eli will soon be eating again and back to his normal, healthy, and cheery self.

((HUGS)) Sorry the appointment didn't go so well. The problem is they really can't do anything about the fundo now that it's done...it's not like it's really reversible. That's probably why they didn't seem to help much, simply b/c they really can't.

Bummer, the poor kid, it's going to be a rough couple of weeks!!

((HUGS))

I am sorry to here about his complications. Poor little guy!!

Aiden is scheduled for surgery on Monday, March 7. I am really nervous but hopeful. The doctors have all said that it is imperative that we go ahead and do the procedure as soon as possible. Since he has the hernia, he will never outgrow his reflux. They are really worried about aspiration and damage being done to his esophagus. The good news is that since he is so young, the recovery process should be a little easier on him. So hopefully by next week I will have a success story to post for everyone!!

Well, hopefully, since Aidan is so young you atleast wont have to change the diet, with liquids it should go better in that department. Eli can drink probably (not kidding) 15 cups a day. I hope this surgery does what it needs to do to help your son. Please keep us posted.

Good luck on the upcoming surgery! Please let us know how it goes.

And Erin, Brandon (my non-refluxer) drinks like that, too. I actually have to make sure that he doesn't drink for a half hour before meals so that he'll eat. :lol:

Yep, it'll be a tough couple of weeks keeping Eli on liquids only. Poor kid! And poor Erin.... I do have to admit I grinned when I saw your reference to the "breadstick incident."

Ashley, I hope things go well for Aiden!

Yep, from now on I am sure it will be called that. I just read on the list of liquids he can have and strained soups and cream of wheat are on there so I guess that makes things a bit better. :?

Oh, I am so sorry that this is happening. I know from experience how disapointing this can be. It can be so frustrating. All, I can say is that as hard as it is going to be to stay with the full liquids give it 100%, because each time it swells back up the longer it will be before he can eat again and you don't want him losing weight.
Does he like milk shakes ? I used to make Noah milk shakes with Ensure to help keep his weight up. You can also get protien from GNC and add it too the drinkable yogurt or milkshakes as well. It will help Eli to get enough nutrition, as that's a whole other problem to worry about.
Without proper nutrition it can take him longer to recover from his surgery.
Your story is so heart wrenching to hear for me becasue I have been excatally where you are before. My prayers are with you and Eli. Be viligant with the liquids and press the Dr.s for help for him, before this turns into a vicious cycle, and winds up impairing his nutrition, I know he's a little chunk monkey right now, but once they start going down they can go fast.

Hi,
He drinks alot, I am giving him pediasure drinks several times a day and milk and juice, and capri suns, and he had some applesauce and jello smoothie for dinner. Do you guys think he needs protein suppliment or do you think what he is getting is enough for now? I didnt even think about him not getting what he needs, he has lost 3 pounds but I assumed it was surgery loss. Oh, and he refuses anything yogurt and will not go near any milkshakes although we keep trying both everyday.

Thanks!

You could always add the protien to his pediasure and his juice. Noah will drink it in about anything, I started him with strawberry juice from Juice it Up and would have them add the protien then once he was used to it I bought my own juice and protien from GNC and made it myself. I would watch the weight loss. They do lose weight after the surgery but, they also get used real fast to not eating as much which like I said make him go down quick. Also, the better is weight the better he'll heal. Be sure to give him his vitamins too.

Erin,

I don't think that having less protein short term is a problem. Can you try giving him beef or chicken broth? If you're able to, why not see if you can buy just one can of protein powder rather than having to buy a whole case. Also, doesn't pediasure have protein in it?

I will check...

The pediasure has 7.1 grams per 8 fluid ounces... is that enough?
Oh, and I have been trying to give him broths too, I may step that up a bit now.... :D Thanks Guys!

The extra protien will just help him balance his weight out, in other words he burns so much protien in one day walking, talking, thinking, playing, ect. So, now he has a major surgery toheal form so his body has to "step" up to keep up with everything so getting extra calories in him e=then normal even if it's not through protein will help him out tremendously.