17 Month Old to Have Endoscopy

I don't know anything about endoscopies but my son(3 years old) goes through frequent medical procedures, mostly spinal taps, IV hook-ups and blood draws/transfusions. For his very first procedure (spinal tap and bone marrow aspirate) the doctor described who would be in the room, how they would numb injections sites, how they would sedate him, what instruments they would use, what recovery would be like, and the purpose for each of the procedures. Knowing the details helped me to remain calm and know what to expect as well as how to comfort and care for my son when it was over. If your child's doctor hasn't given you the details about the procedure you may want to call before your appt and ask.

I would make sure your daughter has plenty to eat and drink up to the cut-off time.

Take a few of her favorite things to comfort and entertain her - blanket, toy, book, etc.

Dress her in clothes that are easy to get her in and out of.

If you are allowed, take snacks and drinks for afterward - my experience is that a light snack after sedation is better than a meal.

Have a plan for how to deal with your daughter if she is sick on the way home - spread blankets all over the back seat area, have someone sit next to her with a container, etc.

Be sure that you eat something before the appt (without your daughter seeing you). You will want to be well-rested and well-fed so you can better deal with the events of the day and help your daughter through the experience. I tried to "stick it out" as long as my son had to and I ended up hungry and cranky and wasn't able to comfort him like I should have.

Is there someone who can go with you to keep you company and to help care for your daughter while you are getting discharge info, discussing results with the doctor etc? If your daughter is fussy afterward it may be hard to concentrate on any discussions.

Most kids seem to recover quickly from procedures. My son will be groggy for a few hours after his procedure, but by the next day he is back to normal.

I hope this helps alleviate some of your anxiety. It is hard not to worry, but being prepared and having information makes the experiences a little more tolerable. Good luck and be sure to let us know how it goes.

Hi

My son just had an endoscopy on 5/15 at Dupont Hospital. He began vomiting solids at 7 months and has no interest in food and poor weight gain. He is 3 yrs old. Honestly, we viewed this test as a last resort. No one could tell for sure if his food adversions were behavioral or medical. He received food therapy in the home. This made things actually worse. Every time he was evaluated he exceeded the normal age range (speech, cognitive, social, fine motor, etc.). He has no visible allergies.

Anyway, after we met with GI they said the only way to ensure his food adversion was not medical would be an endoscopy. I resisted at first, but then realized we need to address this issue now. How is he going to adapt in preschool if he can't face any foods? The anxiety he expresses when food is placed in front of him is intense.

We went for preop one week prior where they just checked him over. Day of test he could not eat or drink anything. I requested an AM appointment. They gave him a relaxer which they put in his nose. Kind of like a nose spray. Within one minute he was in la la land. He was very silly and we held him. Then the anestheologists and nurses came to talk to us. The the doctor performing the test spoke with us. Then it was time for them to take him to OR. My son was fine with it since he was medicated. I was very emotional. In the OR, they gave him gas and he fell asleep within one minute. After he was sleeping they started the IV. Then we were escorted to another waiting room. I really had a hard time keeping it together. The docotor came out broguht us in the back and showed us pictures of the esophagus, stomach and intestine and explained his findings. My son has been diagnosed with eosinphilic esophagitis. I immediately started asking a lot of questions and the doctor did cut me short because he wanted me to get to the recovery room. As soon as I stepped into the area I heard my son screaming. The recovery nurse was taking very good care of him but he was extremely confused and upset. His vitals were fine but he was vomiting a lot. My son's hand was wrapped in a lot of tape and a small plastic cover was taped over the IV (so he would not pull it out). The last thing she did was take out the IV. The released us in one hour. He vomited in the car all the way home. He vomited so more for the next 6 housrs. He also ran a low grade fever. Was hoping he would sleep when we got home. He was not steady on his feet for a couple of hours and we just tried to keep him low key with dvds. By the next day he was 100% back to normal.

My suggestions would be:
1. Request an AM appointment
2. Make sure the person doing the test you are comfortable with. Ask how many endoscopies they have done-100 is not enough. Also make sure they speak your language and you can clearly understand what they are saying. First GI they scheduled us with was a fellow. Our doctor was DR. Shaffer (he is chief of GI at Dupont). Very straight forward and knowlegeable.
3. Make sure you eat and drink. The anxiety, medical equipment and stress can effect the strongest of stomachs.
4. Be prepared. Bring extra clothes for you and child. Bring child's favorite items. Line your car with towels. Bring a sippy of juice - for after the procedure.
5. Bring a strong support person with you. My husband and I went. We saw a lot of Grandparents there. They could not go in with the parents and it seemed that they were making the parents more nervous.
6.Plan a low key day when you get home. Turn the ringer off.
7.Do some preliminary research on line regarding endoscopies and results.
8. Dupont emails a tutorial on the procedure.

We really had a great experience at Dupont.
Hope all this info helps
if I can help you out in any other way email me at ____@____.com

My son had to have an endoscopy and colonoscopy when he was 3. It's not that bad. The worst part is having to stop food so they can look around in there...the kids can get pretty cranky when you with hold food. They'll give her something to make her sleepy before she goes then they'll take her back and it shouldn't take more than 1/2 hour. Then the surgeon will come tell you how everything went and usually in a few minutes they call you down to come stay with her in recovery and you can hug and love on her all you want. They really don't feel a thing so there's no need to get all worried about. Good Luck!

Hi all!

I would just like to add that it is very typical for these types of symptoms, allergies, poor weight gain, eczema, etc...to be a sign of a disease called Celiac Disease. It is an auto-immune disease and occurs in 1 out of every 110 americans - however, about 99% of amercians don't know that they have it. I just got diagnosed with it in 2005 and growing up I had those types of symptoms. My mother stated that when I was a baby, I would projectile vomit - no matter what type of formula I would drink, get severe cramps and the big D, could not gain weight, etc....When you have Celiac Disease, it causes the villa in your small intestines to become damaged and can mess up the whole system (because you are not able to absorb nutrients). What causes this? Gluten. Meaning wheat, rye, barley, malt, and oats. AND a baby can be tested for this disease at two years old. A good way to tell prior to 2 years is to elimnate ALL gluten in the diet. The baby would thrive at that point. I just wanted to let everyone know - irregardless if it has anything to do with the question at hand. I just saw a lot of Celiac symtoms pop up in this conversation and of course, I have it and I am passionate about spreading the news. :) Many (if not all) doctors don't think about testing for this disease. If your child is going through tests after tests and nothing is showing up - or if you get a diagnosis that is general (i.e. colitis, IBS, failure to thrive for no reason), I would just inquire about it. It doesn't hurt to check. And it is easy to remedy - NO DRUGS, NO SURGERY. All you have to do is have your child follow a diet. If you want more information, just google, or go to webmd, etc... There was also a really good show about it on The View (Elisabeth has Celiac Disease). I think you can read the transcripts online. Good luck Rene with your baby! I know this is a stressful time and please keep us posted as to how it goes! I will be thinking about you on the 29th - hopefully they can keep the water main breaks to a minimum that day!

I just had an 'upper endoscopy'. What are they looking for in her? In me they were looking for just about everything and found it ( ulcers, duodenitis, GERD, but no strictures, which is the reason I cannot swallow.) For me it was soooo simple. I was only 'alseep' about 8 minutes and had no sore throat. If it's the same procedure. it really is a breeze.