projective vomiting?

Question

My son was born 4 months premature. He is 6 months old. He stayed in the nicu for 3 months. Considering his condition, it was a smooth transition for him. He only had problems associated with his very premature birth. Since about two months, he has this projective vomit thing going on after every feeding. I have taken him to the doctor several times, but all they tell me is that its normal and babies spit up.

I know babies spit up, but its so much more than that. I know its not normal at all and I can tell that he is in pain. But all the doctors tell me that he is gaining weight and there is nothing to worry about. They wont look at him, or nothing. Let me add in that we are on tricare and i cant pick and choose who I want. They wont even let me talk. Before I even finish my sentence they burst in with "oh thats normal". But i know that its not.

I have tried all different formulas but its the same result.

He is on neosure 24 calorie formula

Answer 1

I had a son that was born about 3 weeks early with the same problem. Our doctor kept telling up that it was "normal" because he was gaining weight and "thriving". But he was absolutly miserable. He cried during his feeding and he cried for hours after them. His stomach would get very hard and uncomfortable and he would throw-up right after EVERY feeding. He would soak through 3 to 4 recieving blankets and my clothes after every feeding. There were times that he would start projectile vomiting.
He was eventually diagnosed with GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). We ended up putting him on two different medications: 1) Reglan (makes the valve between the esophagus and stomach close more tightly, which helps prevent stomach juices from getting into the esophagus) and 2) Nexium (reduce the amount of acid in the stomach; often help when acid reducers have failed to control symptoms of GERD. They are also used to treat severe GERD symptoms or inflammation of the esophagus. The transformation was quite amazing and dramatic after the first few doses!
I had to be very insistant. I made MANY MANY calls to the doctors office and MANY MANY office visits before I finally got someone to listen to me. Even if you can't get a prescription, you can get an over the counter medicine like Prilosec and give him some. (I was told by a NP friend of mine that if you pull the pill apart, you give them about half of the little white balls. You mix it in cereal. You do this once a day. You should see amazing results!)

Answer 2

Oh, how I love the tricare doctors! BTW, you CAN change doctors and/or clinics... you merely need to go to the Tricare service center at your nearest military facility or contact Tricare directly (through the 800-number on the back of your card) for your region/district and tell them you want a new pediatrician referral. Oh, and go with a woman; men don't seem to be quite so empathetic toward new mothers.

As for what's happening, there are several explanations. The first and most probable is this:
At the bottom of your stomach, there is a little sub-pouch called the Pyloric antrum. In a great number of cases in newborns, this pouch spasms and the food is regurgitated with exceptional force, hence projectile vomiting.

My son had this condition; yes, it is alarming, yes, it is messy. However, the doctor is right to the degree that as long as your son's gaining weight, he's going to be fine. My son didn't outgrow this condition till he was probably 7 or 8 months old and entirely on a solid diet.
He too was premature. However, today at 14, he stands 5'-6" tall and weighs about 130! Your boy's going to be fine.
The way I coped was to use bath towels to catch the vomitous, and to feed him in a nearly upright position, feed him more often for lesser periods of time and not let him gulp. When he wanted to eat a lot, I would stop him for a few minutes, burp him gently, and then let him go back to feeding.

Answer 3

Love military doctors! NOT!!! First, where are you located? Go ask for Zantac and Raglan. The first is for acid reflux and the second is a muscle tightener. What is happening is there is a flap at the bottom of the esophagus that goes to the stomach. It is not working properly. (I know all this because we just went through 4 months of this with our son). It should be tightening or closing and it is completly obvious it it not. We tried cereal, sitting him upright changing my diet (I breastfeed) using formulas and nothing worked. After the first dose of Zantac - no spit up or projectile!!! It's been 2 weeks and he is a happy baby and hs vocal cord are healing. From all the spit-up, it was splashing over to his vocal cords and the stomach acid was irritating them, which gave him a very horse cry. Bottom line - it's not normal. If the medicine does not work, which it should, there are other answers to this. Hopefully you are at Bragg and I can tell you who to go see.

Answer 4

While projectile vomiting (vomiting forcefully that shoots 2-4 feet from the body) can be associated with GERD I think in this case it most likely is not, why you ask? because your baby is gaining weight appropriately. I would first guess that your baby is eating too much or to fast, switch to slower flow nipples and feed less at a sitting and more often. if that doesn't help make sure you are preparing formula according to the directions (so its not too strong). If you still haven't found the problem and your doctor still isn't listening to your concerns, you may need a second opinion. you could also have a stool sample tested for blood (that will diagnose milk allergy and tell you if you need to change formula).

I will also give you the guidelines for figuring out how much formula your baby should be eating

To estimate energy requirements and recommended formula intake for an individual infant:

* Obtain infant's weight in kg. If measurement is taken in pounds, convert ounces to a decimal value of a pound (each ounce is .0625 of a pound) and multiply by .454.
* Multiply weight in kg by 98 kcal/kg to get estimate of total energy needs.
* Divide by 20 to get number of ounces of 20 kcal/oz formula.

Answer 5

I would get a second option it is not normal for an infant to projectile vomit, he might have a stomach condition that needs further evaluation since he was a preemie. our daughter was 3 weeks early and only did it for a few weeks after wards but eventually grew out of it. but since hes been doing it constantly I also suggest trying to find a different doctor since they will not take your concerns seriously. I don't mean to scare you but this could be a sign of a condition called pyloric stenosis, in which the muscles at the bottom of the stomach thicken and don't allow food to pass into the small intestines. my sisters baby had this and had to have surgery.

Answer 6

It's called Acid Reflux, My Daughter was born in February she is 8 months old and was exactly the same. The doctor give her Carobel made by Cow & Gate to thicken her milk and Infact Gaviscon for the burning. I would approach your doctor again and if possible see another Doctor and Don't worry about being rude or pushy after he's you son.

Answer 7

I have heard that you shouldn't be changing formulas as that can cause problems in and of itself.

My Goddaughter (now 14) did that all the time.....she is fine now....I mean she'd hit a wall a foot away! Are you sure he is in pain? It may be normal.

I'm not sure what tricare is? I assume a health plan.

I think you have to go back to your doctor and be RUDE....state....."I do not feel you are hearing me....DO NOT cut me off." "My child is vomitting and I think he is in pain. I want him tested. Are you denying him, a medically fragile child, proper treatment based on his tricare status?"

Seriously....be a B*()#. They will get scared of a lawsuit and do something, or won't like you and refer you.

Sometimes we mommies have to do what we have to do! There are things I'd never do but for my children.

Answer 8

After you feed your baby, please make him burp (thats the sign of digestion in babies). Put the baby on your shoulders and gently rub him on his back, the baby will burp then he will not vomit. Take a good book on childcare, dont expect that doctors would tell you everything. you learn all by experience. All the best

Answer 9

My son had somethign very similar to this, the doctors told us that it was acid reflux. They suggested adding small amounts of rice cereal to the formula to thicken it up. It worked for us.

Answer 10

I especially doubt it, because it may be like banning college cafeterias, in the different case tension them to get greater advantageous foodstuff! purely kidding. i do no longer think of it rather is, even with the incontrovertible fact that, purely as all of the different actual purposes are seen completely criminal!