Endoscopy

Amy,

Have not had an endoscopy at this age. Wanted to pass along something to tink about. Maybe you should mention the possiblity of Celiac Sprue. This aliment mimmics many of the gastro problems and has symptoms as you describe. Just food for thought.

I don't have a child who has had one, but I have personally had many, the most I've had is a sore throat for a couple days and that is all. I would expect that in a child it would be pretty similar. I would say that this will not narrow down an allergy since that is not what it is designed to do. Also, most medical conditions have more than one cause, and I have personally never come across anything that links GER with dairy/processed foods. If they find it is a problem with a valve in her stomach, I think those are pretty easy to fix. If not, it's good to rule things out. Good luck!

Hi I have an almost 10 year old who had had 2 endoscopy's and colonoscopys (sorry sp) by the time she was 1. The second time they did biopsy's of her intestines while in there. Without her having those tests we never would have figured out she lacked digestive enzymes and what she could and could not eat.
Within months she was a different child. Now you wouldn't guess she had ever had any problems.
She of course couldn't tell us if it hurt later so that I can't tell you but not having her scream in pain within 30 min of eating and not having to deal with all of her other symptoms made it worth it to all of us, especially her.
I can't tell you what to do but I can say finally knowing what to do and how to make her life better was worth it to us.

My grandson vomited for a year & they couldn't find anything wrong.3 trips to the chiropractor & he was fine. His Vegas nerve got pinched during delivery,& once they fixed that, he was fine. Find a chiropractor that works with herbs in case it is a food allergy. I was very skeptical when I took my first child to a chiropractor, but they can do much more than adjust the spine. I recommend mine to everybody. He's currently doing cranial adjustments to help my friend's baby breastfeed better. The local breastfeeding clinic hadn't been able to help her, but this has. Good luck

My grandson has Gerd also,, I watch him alot and he is constantly throwing up and his bowels are not fuctioning correcting either,, He is now on a Formal call Neocate and prune juice with a stool softner every day.. My daughter is a young mom at l8 and doing very well with this.. The doctors are waiting another month to do the scope they feel it is just a bad case of Gerd Oh yes he is also on Prevacid and it does not help at all.. If you would like to talk back and forth my regular email is ____@____.com Take care L.

i would do it, i am 29 and i have gerd. i take prilosec on a daily basis. i went to the hospital one night because i was having pains that hurt really bad. and i had the upper gi i think it is called where you drink yucky stuff and they look at you. i have not had the pain since. but it hurts . i have to say my pain from it was worse than having a baby. i have had two. but i think treatment was deffinately worth it.

HI Amy,
My son had an endoscopy done at the age of 14 1/2 months. I think that the entire procedure lasted about 15 minutes. When we arrived at the Cleveland Clinic we were taken to a room where we put him in a little gown. They gave him an oral medication that made a bit loopy and tired. When it was time I was given OR clothing to put on. I carried him to the OR and laid him down. I stood with him until he was asleep which was seconds. I'll have to admit that that was the most difficult thing throughout the whole procedure. I returned to my waiting husband. By the time my husband had run to the cafeteria and brought back coffee and bagels they were letting us know that we could go and see my son. That's how quick it was. When we got to his room he was asleep with an oxygen mask laying next to his head. He was awake within 10 minutes, a bit groggy and very thirsty. We stayed with him for a bit, got him dressed and we were picking up my daughter at a friend's house by 10 am. I hope that this helps you a bit. I would suggest taking a favorite blanket or stuffed animal with you. He was completely himself when we got home. We gave him blander things to eat but you would have never known that he had just had this procedure. They didn't find anything wrong with him. My sons problem is that he can't keep down fluids. Anything thinner than mashed potatoes comes up. We are hoping that he will outgrow it.
Good luck to you and please keep us posted as to how it all goes.
L.

My son was much much younger when he had this done, maybe two months old, and this was actually when he was diagnosed with GERD so it was really good for us, he would turn blue because of how high things would come back up his throat and he wasn't able to get it back out, it was pretty tramatic for all of us, they had to put a tube in him to get him to drink this stuff before the procedure and he was strapped down becasue he was so little and that was rough but it was a short period of time and things got much better once we knew what was wrong and got him on the proper medicine, and he didn't seem uncomfortable at all after the procedure or no more so than normal. good luck.

My daughter has an endoscopy at almost 2. It wasn't for GERD, it was for Celiac disease, but it is probably the same type of scope. It is much harder on the parents than the child. They gave my daughter a drug before they took her back that relaxed her and made her loopy. The procdure was about 30 minutes and they brought her back to us a little over an hour later. She wasn't very happy but she came around within the hour and by the time we got her home she was fine. It didn't seem to even bother her that afternoon or the next night. Good luck.

We thought my daughter had GERD when she was 6 months or so wew tried Culturlle which is a probiotic (we were told specifically to use this brand)she did it for a week (pwder n food oncew a day ) and it cleared her up. She is 19 months old now and still gets gassy but she can pass it very easily (she is so bloated at night---pt belly and then flat stomach by morning. This was pediatrician recommended by the way. I don't know if it would be something to try, but it can't hurt.

Has your doctor suggested taking her off dairy completely?
If not, perhaps trying that would be more beneficial than putting her through an endoscopy.
Or has he suggested celiac intolerance?
She must be reacting to her food in some way.
I would look in that direction first.

Amy, As a mom I think we worry our selves sick when it comes to stuff like this. My daughter will be 8 tomorrow on Leap Day! When she was 6 1/2 she had been sick for a year with a belly ache. She would cry on our way down to the lake for the weekend just wanting to go home. We had treated her for constipation etc but nothing was working. We took her to Riley and they did a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. The worse part for me was when they took her away and when she was waking up out of the surgery. Anyway, on our way home she wanted to go to Circle City so that we could go out to eat!! Kids are that way! Thank God that they heal a lot faster than adults and they don't linger on being ill. Your little will be in a lot better shape than her mommy :)

This type of surgery I've not experienced but when my daughter was 18 months old she was sedated and had to undergo a brain scan and ovarion ultrasound. Her father and I were there the entire time w/ her, although she never knew what really was going on. This was a few years ago but we were able to get thru it w/ faith... and patience... Turns out that she did not have a tumor but still has to endure an injection every 3 months till she is 12...I guess point being: stay in the moment and be grateful it's not much worse. I tend to have the same attitude as you...a few days of babying her after the surgery is well worth it if it keeps her from being in pain everyday...God Bless!!

What blood type is your daughter? For a quick shot at locating a food sensitivity issue, get the book, Eat Right for Your Type by Peter D. Adamo. You may get an immediate idea of some foods/milk that might be bothering her and/or making her problem worse. For example, blood type O's don't do well with dairy... The blood type diet basically says that foods fall into 3 categories for each blood type - beneficial (medicinal), neutral (does no harm) and avoid (toxic). It has something to do with how the proteins react with our blood & body systems. Anyway, my family eats for our blood type - and we have many less issues when we follow the plan. It's worth a shot. Best of luck to you!

Hi Amy, my son had acid reflux for the first year. He had his endoscopy at 5-6 months. He had no discomfort that I could tell afterwards. The hardest part was not feeding him anything before the procedure. We were expecting a major melt down but, he did not seem to notice (I think we got lucky there.) I did have to semi-strongly remind the receptionist at the hospital that I had a baby out there who was already 40 minutes past his appointment. She made sure that we went in next after that. Just in case your waitintg room was as packed as mine, make sure you let them know and then remind them later if necessary that you have a young child. Good luck!

Hi Amy, my daugher is 6yrs old and has been very sick with every illness possible..even now the doctors still don;t know exactly what is wrong with her...She had a similar test as what your daughter is going to have done..Your daughters throat will more and likely be sore for a couple of days but she is still young enought that she will fast forget..
My daughter has had been put to sleep some time that i have lost count since she was two weeks old...She is due to see another specilist on March 11th for yet another posible test or surgary...I wish you luck and try not to be nervous because your daughter will be able to since that you are and that will make her upset...good luck...T.

I've never had a child go through this but I've been through it myself. It can be very beneficial in determining what the problem is. This is how I found out that I had a hiatal hernia. I don't recall being overly sore or anything. In fact, I remember very little of the actual procedure. It is worth it and everything will be fine. Take a deep breath and say a prayer. Good luck to you. I know it's hard but it's so important for you to know what's going on. I'll be thinking of you. Shannon

Do not worry. My daughter at 16 months had an endoscopy done because she was losing weight rapidly and was always upset and crying. When she had it done she was asleep for not even an hour and did awesome. When she came home she was fine. She went right back to her playful self withing a few hours. She never complained about anything. Then at 4 she had another endoscopy done and same thing nothing bad at all. They put her on prevacid and duradryl (thanks to her allergist) and we changed her to rice milk and all organic food and no fructose and she is a changed child.

If you have any questions please contact me right away and I can help you out.

:) The Prevacid site says it is safe for children 1year old and up. Antacids Stop production of stomach acid which is Needed to Digest food. Perhaps a bit of Peppermint tea- you may not even need to sweeten but if you do- no artificial sweeteners which are metabolism destroyers(aspartame) and the others..saccharin , ALL and i mean ALL of the others are Not healthful- don't let the manufacturer tell you they are safe...if so, i think we Need to Change the definition of safe. Peppermint helps an upset tummy. You could also give baby some papaya enzymes..crush the chewable tablets unless she can chew it up..they are digestive enzymes..also if you can find papaya spears..dried papaya strips-great for teething too. Ginger tea also good if babe would like it-might be too hot/spicey thow..fennel also helps digestion. Always read Back labels of digestive enzyme products to make sure there is no animal body digestive enzyme juices as an ingredient. Also i found my kids were Verrrrry in tune with the subtle(and not so subtle) emotions, feelings, states that me and dad were in(and the people around us)- this can upset tummy. Also if you live in a state that allows raw milk- it is SO healing..go to www.mercola.com or just google raw milk- his site will come up with some videos of a mom who started on raw milk...there is also a lovely raw milk site that is Verry educational. Fruits are light and easily digesible. They also make a nice ginger syrup that is sweet and maybe not hot(haven't tried it)-got a healthfood store you can go to? Rub tummy in circles ..counter clock-wise and then clockwise- stimulated the different digestive juices and actions and calms.

Deglycerized licorice is also made in chewable tablet that you coul crudh if needed- this helps to rebuild the tissue and muchoid lining! yea:)

all whole food store stuff. If babe needs calming also may like to get some lavender essential oil and put it in a spray bottle - some drops with non-tap water(Dasani bottled water has potassium choride i think it is and i listened to a man from the movie The Secret (the man with the dreds) tell how bad that is on the metabolism. Also ladies- FERMENTED soy Not unfermented if u r doing the soy thing. If she has been on antibiotics -actually even the prevacid might warrant it- the natural intestinal digestive flora may need to be balanced by taking what they call a probiotic. This also comes chewable or even in a powder. Might lay off O.J. for a while...i could be wrong. We are missing a bit of the old Grandmothers' simple wisdom these days but it is still there ...i don't know why but keep wanting to say oatmeal. Best to you and your family. i truly hope this is helpful...you can always reschedule that appointment to give yourself an extra week or few to see how this works- but maybe you would find significant enough improvement before then. Also a little chamomile tea is good for someone who 'feels sorry for themselves'- children and grown-ups alike. and for moms who need to strengthen the nerves(nerves are shot ~ wearing on the last nerve) Motherwort tea or pills---oh Lord!: Rhodiola
http://www.anti-aging-guide.com/RhodiolaRosea.html a little tea of it for daughter too. i was going to mention another herb or two but i think for moms rhodiola is enough said. i don't see why daughter wouldn't have a tea too-check out the site i mentioned above ... remember, anything you cannot find locally, you can get off the net. peacelightlove

Amy,
My dd when she was 3 months old, 6 months old and again at 23 months old had an Endoscopy. She never had any issues from the Endoscopy itself, only coming out of the anesthetic. Her Dr. was able to determine at the 3 months that she had terrible GERD, to the point of cause apnea, and we were able to treat. At 6 months she determined the Gerd had settled down. At 23 months the Dr. found exzyma and striations, which makes them think of a food allergy. We are still waiting to hear back about the blood work for the allergies. But not to worry, the procedure is over in about 10 minutes and then just spending a little time in recovery. Also, if you are having the endoscopy done at the Surgery Center in Carmel, you can actually go back with your dd. If you go to a hospital you cannot. If after all of this and you feel like you are still getting nowhere, I would recommend seeing Dr. Susan Maisel, she is the #1 Dr. in the state of Indiana for GI issues in pediatrics.
I hope this helps a little.
L.

I would want some food allergy and sensitivity testing done. There is a specific IgG test that can show delayed reactions to 96 foods by a specialty lab called Great Plains Laboratory - you can go to their site, order the test kit (the kit is sent to you free) you take it to your lab, get the blood draw (the tech will follow the instructions) then you enclose your check and use the courier and label that Great Plains gives you to mail back to them. It costs $200 but it is well worth knowing what foods are causing the issues, and upon elimination of them your daughter (and son) could be on the road to recovery without using the meds. Also, most of the sensitivities will be outgrown, so over time you should be able to reintroduce most of the foods.

Good Luck!

I agree with looking into Celiac Disease though, they should check for that since they are doing the Endoscopy anyway. That is something that you don't outgrow unfortunately, but avoiding Gluten and sometimes Casein (a protein in dairy) will eliminate the issues.

Hi Amy. I have responded to several requests on Mamasource by recommending a product called OPC-3. I know when you don't know anything about it, and you don't know the person writing to you, why would you consider trying it? Because of this, I wasn't surprised that no one asked more about it, and I decided I wouldn't respond anymore. But after reading about your situation, the next email I opened was from a business partner of mine, and she had sent me about 10 testimonials from her clients all dealing with acid reflux and GERD! I took that as a sign that I should try one more time, and maybe you were the one I was supposed to reach.

OPC-3 is an all natural supplement containing ingredients like grape seed extract, bilbery extract, pycnogenol...I won't get too technical here. It's in a powder form that you mix with water so it's rapidly absorbed by the body. Anyway, I don't want to sound like a sales pitch, so I'll just attach some of the testimonials so you can read them if you'd like.

I really know that this has worked for so many people suffering with allergies and reflux and a whole list of other health issues. If you think you want to try it for your daughter, just let me know. You can also read about it and the aloe that's mentioned in the testimonials at www.marketamericascience.com.

Hope this helps!
B. ###-###-####

Testimonials from Shila....

Shila

I have Reflux (it is called GIRD*) and had it bad for years and years the only thing that helped me was Priolosec that I had to take every day (sometimes twice a day). I got my first relief from the OPC-3 which I have taken 2 capfuls/day ever since I started it and it helped immensely. Then about two months ago I started on the ALOE first one ounce a day and then one morning and evening and my problem has all but disappeared . Once in a great while I still take a priolosec but eventually I believe that requirement will go also. The OPC-3 helped immediately though and I swear by it.

The Aloe is good but in combination they are dynamite

James Augustine, Team Sunshine Orlando , Florida

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Shila,

My very first customer had severe acid reflux. He began with the Aloe and the OPC-3 together. Now he takes the OPC-3 regularly and the Aloe when he feels the acid indigestion starting to be a problem. He started with one cap at night then moved up gradually until he was taking 3 caps a day for his first bottle. Now a bottle lasts him about 3 months, but he takes the OPC-3 every day and says he won't ever run out of it.
Theresa Thigpen

Sugartown, La

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One of our first customers had reflux so bad that he had sores in his mouth, throat, & on his tongue. He was on Prilosac(spelling?) and said that the side effects of all the medicine he was taking were so bad that he had to stop taking them for a while and then he would get back on them again because his reflux would get so bad. He started taking the Ultimate Aloe and gargling with it then swallowing it along with the loading dose of the OPC-3. Within one week of this, his mouth started healing up & his reflux began to improve. Now he doesn't take any medicine but also only occasionally needs the Ultimate Aloe. He faithfully takes the OPC-3 and says that he thinks that it has helped him more than the Aloe juice. He tells everyone about our product and now is thinking about getting in the business. Maybe your friend could try just gargling with the Aloe & taking the OPC-3.

Hope this helps.

Your UFO friend,

Theresa Thigpen - Sugartown , LA

Have you tried a milk free diet?

My daughter had an endoscopy when she was about 2 1/2 last spring at Cincinnati Children's. I had been putting off the procedure for months b/c I was so scared for her to go under general anesthesia. The staff at Children's was wonderful. So professional and kind and attentive to her, and they explained everything to us in explicit detail. They really put our minds at ease as much as possible. Everything went smoothly and as it turned out for us, her results were negative. She reported no pain or discomfort, and as a matter of fact, our daughter has no memory of the event at all. One day she even asked us why one of her stuffed animals had a medical bracelet on it. She doesn't remember taking it in with her, or anything else for that matter. It was very hard for me to let go of that control to let her be put under, but in the end we had to know for sure. Hope that helps, good luck.