Upper GI for 2 1/2 Month Old

just to let you know.. they do outgrow this...
my daughter had the same diagnosis and we DID put her through an upper gi and an mri... it was awful.. she was miserable... she was throwing up every bottle and besides the mess she was so unhappy...
i would not recommend the test put rather wait it out... unfortunately... the medicine does help but he will outgrow it... just my opinion... good luck

Hi P., my son had this done at MGH, he also was on omeprizole for reflux and has severe food allergies. They are prob doing this for the same reasons as my son, which was for to rule out esnophilic esophogitis (i know I spelled those way wrong) and to see if he has had any damage from the reflux. My son was very young when he did it too and it was so easy and painfree, they use a mask to put him to sleep then they put the IV in after he was sleeping and it probly took about 2 hours for the whole thing and he was fine. I was very scared b4 as well but after going threw it its really not a big deal and finding the results that they are looking for would be worth it. Are u going to MGH or Childrens? Ok good luck

Have your son tested for celiac disease. You can check it out on the web but I just found out in the last year my son also has celiac and elimatated wheat,rye, barley and oats, much improvement. I wish I knew this when he was born because then I would not have had to give him meds.

P.,

I just wanted to throw this out there. My youngest was a very fussy baby and spit up all the time. I was nervous the doctor would tell me it was reflux and put him on medication since I had seen this done many times to others I know. But at his 8 week check-up I brought it up and my ped. did a skin allergy test on him and I found out he had a dairy intollerance. I was breastfeeding and eating a lot of dairy. That day I cut out all dairy and waited a full week before I started to eat any soy to make sure all traces of dairy were out of my system. Within a day he stop screaming and never cried like that again. I don't know how they diagnose reflux but I just wanted to throw this out there as maybe another possible reason why your baby is uncomfortable. I hope everything works out!

Hi P.,
I can feel your pain, My amlmost 4 year old has had severe reflux since birth. She had a particularly difficult transition from breastmilk to formula and food. She just had her first upper GI, as I was somewhat resistive to too much testing and hoping she would outgrow the reflux. The test was very difficult to do on her at this age because she refused to drink the contrast dye and screamed and moved through the test, so all that said, maybe it would be easier to do on an infant, before they can out and out refuse. At that young age, I would imagine they will just lay her down and take the xrays.
good luck
K.

Yikes! This is crazy! There is a great patented children's nutritional product which is outstanding for food allergies, reflux and other conditions. Formulated by the same scientist who developed Enfamil and ProSoBee - why not try it before going through all this craziness and meds? It couldn't hurt, and it might work wonders! I'll connect you with some friends whose kids have been through similar hassles, and have had phenomenal results. You have nothing to lose. It's FDA approved, been around 20 years, safe as a pre-natal even so definitely safe for infants (there's an adult formula too) - and there are hundreds of parents you can talk to too. Let me know. Email me or call me at ###-###-####.

P.,
Both of my girls have needed to have an upper GI, my youngest has actually had several.

Each hospital may perform it slightly different, but I found it much less invasive than other tests that have been performed on my youngest (who was born extremely prematurely and has had tons of problems to overcome).

At the children's hospital where my daughters had their upper GI's performed they had a special little backboard that they strapped her into. It was well cushioned and kept her arms positioned above her head and the softly padded velcro straps held her still while the test was performed. A technician took my oldest child to the other side of the glass wall, and a second technician and I were dressed in lead vests and stayed with my youngest while the test was performed. A Dr. read the scans as the technician and I had her drink barium and rotated her in different positions so the Dr. could get the exact pictures he needed. Overall it was much easier than I had anticipated. With adults an upper GI often consists of having to be scoped and I was concerned that my daughter would not handle that well. When I brought up my concerns, I was told that they don't scope babies as their esophagus is generally too small for them to work on while the child is awake.

The whole exam lasted about 20 minutes from start to finish and the only difficulties encountered were the fasting measures (babies don't understand why they can't eat for a few hours) and a day or so later after the barium has worked its way through their bowels the bowel movements are definitely icky. That part (thankfully) only lasts a day or so and giving the baby plenty of fluids helps it to go faster.

My youngest daughter was 15 mo old when she had this procedure but she is the size of a 3-6 mo old baby weighing in at about 12 lbs. My oldest had this done at 2 1/2 mo of age weighing in at almost 6lbs. Both babies handled it well and it helped the Dr. know hot to better treat each of them.

Some questions you could ask your pediatric GI are the following:

Is it necessary to do the test now, or could it wait until the prevacid has had a chance to take effect?

What does this test help you to see to be able to give my child the best treatment possible?

Are there any risks involved?

What are possible causes of acid reflux? (The most common in infants tends to be a bovine protein intollerance or allergy, so he may suggest changing milk/formula/or your diet if you are breast feeding).

My oldest outgrew her acid reflux rather quickly. By about 6 to 8 months of age she no longer needed Zantac to control the reflux.

My youngest is a whole different case, but a lot of her issues are due to prematurity and the upper GI was needed for more than reflux issues.

If you have any questions or need help figuring out how to comfort him please feel free to contact me.

I do hope it all goes well!

A.

P.,
I don't have a lot more to add then what others have already said. My son is now 4 but had reflux for over his first year. We had a upper GI done when he was between 2-4 months. My son had refused a bottle but for some reason took the medication bottle no problem. We did not know that he couldn't eat prior to the test so we had to wait a long time at the doctor's office so make sure you understand everything you need to know prior to going. After he drank the meds. I helped hold him down while they did their thing. He cried and it was heart wrenching but for us it wasn't much worse than getting blood taken or shots. It was difficult but we needed to rule out whatever medical thing they were checking for (sorry it has been awhile so I don't remember the names, it has been a while). My son was on Zantac for over a year. He went through lots of bibs and we got used to being spit up on frequently. He did out grow it eventually. I guess it really depends on how much you really need to know the information. I don't know it would be more helpful do the test when your son is older that might actually be harder.

Hi P.,

Both my kids suffered from reflux. My second had it much worse and we ended up seeing a pedi GI specialist. After having our reg pediatrican and staff brush off the situation/fussiness (after we were put on previcid) it was such a relief to have the GI doc acknowledge that there was a problem and I wasn't being just a nervous mother! For my daughter it was incorrect dosing which the GI doc corrected and things were much better. Our next step would have been an upper GI if this didn't work.

I think when you are considering a procedure like an upper GI you should weight the risks (or discomforts) vs. the benefits. Reflux that is not under control can lead to erosion and damamge of the esophagus and/or stomach. Surgery is sometimes needed to repair it. I would talk with your GI doc about your concerns and weigh all the issues and options before making a decision.

I can tell you my daughter was miserable all the time and NEVER slept until we got her reflux under control. Our whole family was exhausted from lack of sleep and the stress of an infant in pain.

I hope that you find a treatment that you feel comfortable with and you little one is feeling better!

N.

I feel your pain, or maybe I should say, "my son feels your son's pain."

My son had an upper GI at 5 months old and it was not a big deal at all. The doctor performing the procedure was the pediatric radiologist at Framingham Union and both the doctor and the nurses were fantastic. My son was given a bottle of the barium stuff and really didn't have to drink much at all in order for the doctor to get the xrays he needed. It didn't seem to phase him at all. The Xrays were taken with the nurses gently positioning him on the table. He was totally unaware that anything was happening.

Both my boys suffered from reflux. My second son (the one who had the upper GI) had it quite severely. I can assure you that watching him suffer during and after meals was 10 times worse than watching him have the upper GI test. He basically screamed and writhed for the first 10 months of his life. And he hated to eat - nursing or bottle. I simply found that we held him a lot (and I mean, a LOT) because while we couldn't eliminate the pain, he did find comfort in our arms.

Zantac didn't touch his problem. Prevacid was better, but not a silver bullet.

One thing I would ask before having the test done is, what is the doctor going to do with the information? If the answer is, "yup...it's reflux...stay on the Prevacid" maybe you don't need the test - you're already doing that. However, if you're only guessing that the problem is reflux and you really want to confirm, then you may want to do the test. Afterall, you don't want to keep giving your son medication he doesn't need.

While it's a wonderful thing to get to the point that you're stretching the time between feedings, you might want to talk to your pediatrician about whether feeding more often but with lesser amounts each time makes sense. Also, you probably have his bed at a 30 degree incline already. If he's not a particulary active baby, you could try that. It didn't work with my son bcause he was such a wiggler that he'd end up upside down on the incline which defeated the purpose. We did buy a wedge with an incline and he did well with that until he started moving around and rolling over.

Anyway, long story short - don't make your decision based on worry that the procedure itself will be traumatizing. Make it based on what the doctors will do with the information. And when you ask, realize that if they find reflux, they will categorize it, (mild, moderate, severe). So what will they do with what level they find?

Good luck and hang in there. It's really hard to watch them suffer when you are sure they're in pain. At least with reflux, they will grow out of it. My older one grew out of it at 4 months old. My younger one struggled til he was almost a year. But he is now a cheerful little guy and that first year of screams is but a distant memory.

R.

Is your son gaining weight as he should? If it is a severe problem, and he is losing weight- then it is important that your doctor guide you to find out exactly what is going on so it can be fixed. Otherwise, if he is healthy and growing, perhaps talk to your doctor about first trying:
1. changing his formula to a hypoallergenic choice, such as Nutramigen.
2. If he is breastfeeding- maybe speaking to a lactation consultant about timing, strategies with your diet (like maybe avoiding certain foods for a little while?)
3. talking to your doctor about using a a device to help put him down to nap at an incline, to help discourage reflux.
I know babies sometimes just grow out of it after a few months . Best of luck to you, and let us know what happens.

Dear P.,
Our grandson is going through this right now. He is younger that your child but kept being constipated and also kept vomiting up what he ate. The doctors thought it was reflux but they did an Upper G.I. on him and found that his pyloric sphyncter at the exit from the stomach to the small intestine was not working and had stuck shut. As we speak, he is in surgery having laproscopic work done. They make three small holes near his belly button and go in and are able to take care of the problem. We are waiting to hear the outcome. If your child continues to have problems, don't hesitate to get the Upper GI done. It is not a painful procedure. They put a sweet barium liquid in with some formula and he drank it right down. Hope all goes well. I'll add him to our prayer list. Blessings, J.

I just got off the phone with my daughter and our grandson did marvelously. He had what is called pyloric stenosis. He came through the laproscopic surgery like a trooper. Everything went well and he is sleeping soundly. His color is so much better and he was able to keep down the latest feeding with no problem.

My son is 2 1/2 months old as well! I can't imagine putting him through the process of an upper GI!

To be honest with you, I think the doctors might be jumping the gun (the way they often do). In all the reading I'm done it seems that young infants have a tendency to suffer from reflux due to the immature sphynter in their throats? The same way we suffer reflux when we're pregnant due to the harmones that cause all our parts to relax!

My son doesn't have the reflux so I don't have LOTS of advice about how to soothe him other than keeping him upright after a feeding to help it all settle. If it WERE my son, I'd do some research on how best to "manage" these symptoms and wait it out for a while. It could be that his sphynter will mature in a matter of weeks and everything will be fine (you know how fast they grow and change!). But no, I certainly wouldn't put my son through the GI procedure! God, it was hard enough to watch him get his vaccinations! lol Good luck to you!

P.,

Read my last bit for tips. I have talked many moms through reflux. You can ease your sons pain with a few tips. I had a massive reflux baby boy from birth to 16 months. The tests are foolish, Even the doctors at Johns Hopkins in MD told me a true study to prove reflux is done after several barium swallows. The only reason I would do it once is to look for anatomical abnormailities. We also did the MRI both traumatized our child and he suffered the fear of doctors for years. We of course did the swallow closer to 6 months of age. If your baby is a great drinker via bottle then it should be a slam dunk. If your baby is exclusive breast your best to wait and introduce the bottle for a bit.

My best tip is to feed him dairy free thickened formula once the doctor okays thickening. We started at four months adding rice cereal to his fotmula. Second most important is to feed him small portions. Only one ounce then a rest with burping holding your babies head above 70 degrees. Almost sitting upright. Hold you baby for twenty minutes upright after feeding. Gently vertical against your body. Never in a cradled position. Never in a car seat. The motility of the babies intestines are hindered in a sitting position. When you go to pick him up after feeding you will have the worst volume of vomit you will ever see.

My sisters son grew out of this at 9 months. Hang in there.

-P

Just wanted to put it out there but my son had his upper GI when he was 4 months old beacsue he also had reflux symproms and milk proteina nd soy allergy. His oral aversion was getting worse due to somethign still bothering him and so we had an upper GI done. I was told it was nto invasive at all but that was FAR fromt he truth. Trying to get a baby to drink barium from a bottle, who doesn't like to drink anythign anyway beacsue of the oral aversion is pretty muhc impossible, So what did they do? They forced ti down his throat while he was crying and screaming. That was the day that he stopped drinking anything at all while he was awake. Now i can only get him to drink while asleep beacsue he has this fear of drinking anythign from a bottle now. I do not wish this on anyone! If you think your son will drink the barium, and think the test could be benficial, then go for it, but pleasae make sure taht the astaff doesn't do this to your child like they did to mine! If I ever see taht woman again, I swear! She made ti sound like ti was nothing and he will never remember it, well nto true! he may not remember but he has given up on eating or drinking anything now since that day!

Hi P., We found out my daughter had reflux at 5 weeks old. What a heart wrenching experience. She would scream in pain after feedings and would projectile vomit almost after every feeding. We saw a ped GI specialist and they performed an Upper GI on her around the same age as your son. It's not painful at all. The hardest part is keeping the baby still while they take pictures. They are given a chalky liquid in their bottle to drink. As others have said, it is important to get this treated early if it is reflux.

My daughter was on zantac until she was one year, then we weined her off it. At 5 weeks we switched her formula to soy milk because it's gentler on their stomach's. we didn't have a problem switching her to whole milk at age one. she just turned 6 years old and hasn't had any issues at all.

Some tips that worked for us to help her sleep better were: we elevated one end of her crib so she was sleeping at a slight incline (we simply put some books under her mattress on one end). We would keep her upright for 20 minutes after her feedings.

Good luck!