I am at my wits end.. I am a bundle of nerves and anxiety. My 4 year old son woke up last Wednesday at 5:30 am throwing up. This went on every twenty minutes until about 12 pm, so 6 1/2 hours of vomiting and laying around. I got worried because the day before he had fallen and bumped his forehead on our ceramic tile, me being the over worrier that I am, took him to the doctor because I was worried about a concussion. He threw up three times during his exam. Dr. said he looked very unwell and wanted him admitted for iv fluids, observation, and a head CT. We get to the hospital and of course he stopped throwing up. His head CT was normal and they watched him over night and he did good. Only throwing up once during the night. They released us Thursday afternoon and they were convinced that this was just a stomach virus that needed to run its course. Here is where it get weird. He is throwing up every night only... Around 1-2 am. He does not vomit during the day. He has only had diarrhea twice on Saturday. He is wanting to lay around a lot and sleep a lot. He will play for maybe two hours a day and then say "Im tired" and lay down. He is not eating. He is drinking. He munches on dry cereal through the day. The weird part is at night he wakes up saying "im not comfy... im not comfy..." he flails around alot. Anywho... today is Tuesday of the next week, so today is day 7 of whatever this is. Im at my wits end. Anyone ever experience something like this for this long? Why only vomit once at night??? They keep saying they have seen viruses do this before.. but I HAVENT. We took him back today and they want to get a stool sample (per my request).
I have seen a virus that went on for three weeks it was horrible and the vomiting at odd times when you thought it was over is so yucky.
I agree with what was said below. Elevate the bed a bit to help him not be so horizontal. That could help, and keep up a lot of fluids and BRATY diet.
Big hugs...stomach bugs are the worst!!
I wonder if he's sick at night because he's horizontal. Did you ask? I wonder if you had him sleep in a lazy boy or more upright he'd do better. We have had to do that with our kids before.
If it's at 1 am maybe that's when his bedtime snack digests or something.
Some viruses go on for close to two weeks.
I know the head bump and CT scan are worrisome, but he is in good hands. It will run it's course I'm sure momma :)
You're right to go back and ask questions and push for answers if you're not comfortable, but also be willing to give your docs some credit. While most stomach viruses run their course very quickly, some do go on for weeks. One of my brothers was out of school for 3 weeks as a kid with a mystery stomach problem (occasional vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, pain, loss of appetite). My mom is a nurse so she's seen a lot but this confounded her and the doctors. Then it went away as suddenly as it came. I had a similar bout of stomach weirdness that lasted a few weeks in high school. Miserably uncomfortable for several weeks, at home unable to eat or sleep due to pain, then all better. Had a bunch of tests that came back fine and never learned what it was.
I agree with the idea of keeping his head elevated when he sleeps. The night vomiting might be from pressure and reflux at this point and will hopefully go away when the virus is gone and his belly is back to normal.
Possibly some acid reflux on top of stomach bug? Try elevating the head of his bed. NOT extra pillows...this makes it worse. Put a folded sleeping bag or blanket under the head of his mattress. Avoid mint, nuts, and chocolate. Have him use a non mint toothpaste before bed.
Thank you all so much for replying. We did a stool test yesterday and he is positive for Norovirus and Astrovirus. So two at once. I guess thats why he is having such a tough time.
Ask them to check for appendicitis. Or get them to keep doing tests. I’ve had to advocate for my children so much here it’s crazy. I had a doctor accuse my son of faking his illness to get out of school (two days later we were in hospital getting his appendix removed). I’ve had the same doc tell me in the ER that strep throat isn’t common in children and nor is mono (total bs, especially strep which kids get all the time). I pushed for blood tests and my son had both mono AND strep. And the list goes on, broken colllar bone etc. You know your son best and this isn’t normal.
drs have seen many children. if they have seen a virus act in this manner then what your child is going thru is normal for this type of virus. keep the foods simple and easy to digest. keep in touch with the dr keep the child drinking to prevent a dehydration issue, and relax a bit.
just because YOU have not seen it does not make it some oddball issue the dr has never seen. trust the dr or get a second opinion.
Try giving his stomach a break - only give him clear fluids for several days.
Soup broth, ginger ale, jello, pedialyte, water - skip dairy and juice.
Don't give him lots all in one go - spread it out so it gets absorbed and doesn't have enough to barf up all at once.
As long as you keep your electrolytes balanced you can go a long while without eating anything solid.
Hopefully his stomach will settle down.
Then very slowly start adding things back into his diet - one thing at a time every few days.
If his stomach gets upset again - slow down even more.
Start with soft easy things to digest - a little yogurt about now will help with getting some probiotics balanced in his gut.
Eventually work up to BRAT diet - bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.
Keep in touch with the doctor.
I saw your update (which strangely ended up in the posts instead of as a "so what happened". SO glad that you have an answer. Poor little guy. Make sure he keeps hydrated!
To Shelley - I would SO get a different doctor! He's a lunatic!
I saw your update. The stomach viruses always hit my kids hardest at night. Especially with the vomiting.
