REFLUX!

Wow! I must say as a therapist who treats babies who suffer from severe reflux, resulting in feeding difficulties, I never thought I would be dealing with my own child and reflux. I did think that if I ever had to face the situation where my own child had reflux, I would be calm, cool, and collected and would definitely know everything that needed to be done! WRONG! It's different when it's your own child I guess. You want to instantly remove the pain you see on your child's face or take away the frequent vomiting episodes that result in screaming. Well...reality hit and I couldn't fix these issues instantly. As his reflux worsened, we spoke with Drew's pediatrician. We put him on Prevacid one time per day and purchased a nap nanny (the best thing ever!) to help battle his issues. The Prevacid helped his pain and the nap nanny gave me comfort during Drew's sleep time as his head would remain elevated in case he vomited, but as the vomiting episodes increased I felt helpless! I wanted so bad to help my little man, but there was nothing I could do.

So...I called the pediatrician and he ordered an Upper GI series. An upper GI series uses x rays to help diagnose problems of the upper GI tract, which includes the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. The duodenum is the first part of the small intestine. He had the tests done this morning. He was a champ too, especially since he was unable to eat from 4am until the tests were completed. He guzzled down that barium and according to the Radiologist his structures looked great. After Drew, suckled down the barium the Radiologist waited several minutes to see if he would reflux it. Of course, while the Radiologist was present in the room he didn't, but as soon as he left and the tests were over, Drew vomited all the barium! Go figure! But the good news is that his structures are fine and that he just has severe reflux. We are doing everything we can for him and hopefully he will outgrow it soon! So as a person who is used to helping people "fix" their disorders and difficulties, I will just have sit back and know that I am doing all I can to help Drew and pray that his little tummy outgrows this reflux soon!