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3 year old with multiple symptoms
I am not sure what is going on with my 3 year old son. I will list symptoms of his and see if it is something I should be getting checked or not. His is 30 lbs and i want to say about 33-36in tall.
-random vomiting, mostly after or in the middle of eating...for example, he might eat 2 chocolate chip cookies and the 3rd one he ends up throwing up and saying he doesn't like cookies anymore.
-complaining of headaches a lot, especially in the morning or when he coughs.
-everyday he complains of stomache pain or that his stomache doesn't feel good.
-very poor eater. does not like many foods, i think it is the texture that bothers him.
-emotionally, he is very sensitive, and does not like to be alone. he will not sleep by himself and as soon as he knows he is by himself he wakes up almost immediately.
-loves to play and be active
-constipated a lot
He was born 4 weeks early and was unable to breathe on his own at first. otherwise was a healthy baby, weighing 6lbs 9oz. He had pretty severe acid reflux as a baby also, but was not medicated for it. he was put on a thickened formula instead.
i am concerened about him but i am not sure if i should take him in to his doctor. it seems that when i mention these things they don't really seem worrird about it, but these things seem strange to me.
thank you.
-random vomiting, mostly after or in the middle of eating...for example, he might eat 2 chocolate chip cookies and the 3rd one he ends up throwing up and saying he doesn't like cookies anymore.
-complaining of headaches a lot, especially in the morning or when he coughs.
-everyday he complains of stomache pain or that his stomache doesn't feel good.
-very poor eater. does not like many foods, i think it is the texture that bothers him.
-emotionally, he is very sensitive, and does not like to be alone. he will not sleep by himself and as soon as he knows he is by himself he wakes up almost immediately.
-loves to play and be active
-constipated a lot
He was born 4 weeks early and was unable to breathe on his own at first. otherwise was a healthy baby, weighing 6lbs 9oz. He had pretty severe acid reflux as a baby also, but was not medicated for it. he was put on a thickened formula instead.
i am concerened about him but i am not sure if i should take him in to his doctor. it seems that when i mention these things they don't really seem worrird about it, but these things seem strange to me.
thank you.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello,
Two possibilities can be there.Firstly,it can be due to regurgitation of food. Conditions associated with regurgitation are GERD(gastroesophageal reflux disease),esophageal stricture or diverticulum,pyloric stenosis,zenker’s diverticulum and hiatal hernia.
Refusal to eat and fussiness for food is common in children with food regurgitation.Stomach ache and coughing are also related to it.
Diagnosis can only be confirmed after CT thorax and endoscopy.
Secondly,it can be due to food allergies.Diagnosed by skin ***** test,blood test like RAST and food challenge tests.
I feel that your child needs proper evaluation from a pediatric gastroenterologist or allergist.Pls get it done soon.
Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how your child is doing.
Two possibilities can be there.Firstly,it can be due to regurgitation of food. Conditions associated with regurgitation are GERD(gastroesophageal reflux disease),esophageal stricture or diverticulum,pyloric stenosis,zenker’s diverticulum and hiatal hernia.
Refusal to eat and fussiness for food is common in children with food regurgitation.Stomach ache and coughing are also related to it.
Diagnosis can only be confirmed after CT thorax and endoscopy.
Secondly,it can be due to food allergies.Diagnosed by skin ***** test,blood test like RAST and food challenge tests.
I feel that your child needs proper evaluation from a pediatric gastroenterologist or allergist.Pls get it done soon.
Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how your child is doing.
I would definitely find a pediatric allergist in your area. I have one child who had severe food allergies and vomiting during or after eating is a big red flag. Since food allergies can be so dangerous, I'd definitely get that checked out.
What you wrote could have been written by me about my oldest son, and his problems all turned out to be severe acid reflux. He didn't have reflux as a baby but all our problems started when he was three. He was on meds for reflux, but it was under treated. He was extremely picky, sensitive to the textures of foods, vomited more than normal, poor eating and thus poor weight gain, complained of tummy aches a lot especially during meals (it would cause him to stop eating), and so on and so on. I feel pretty confident you know exactly what I'm talking about. For my son his reflux also lead to chronically enlarged adenoids and SEVERE breathing problems. He has asthma and also spasmodic croup, both triggered by refluxing into his airways. He frequently complains of headaches. He was so sick, lost so much weight, and had such severe breathing problems that I really though it was possible that he could die before they figured out what the problem was.
It took us five years and many, many doctors to get to the bottom of his problems. When he was five we took him to Denver to National Jewish Medical Center to be seen (they specialize only in allergy, immunology, and respiratory problems). If you can't get help where you are or if you're close to Denver, I'd highly recommend them. They hooked us up with one of the top pediatric GI docs in the country at Children's in Denver.
That trip changed our lives. My son missed 28 days of school in kindergarten (before the trip to Denver) and 3 days in first grade (after the trip to Denver). And those three days were due to a stomach bug that his class all shared. He went from a sickly child who could hardly eat to a robust little guy who started trying all kinds of new foods. And it was all due to uncontrolled acid reflux.
The other thing they might want to check for is eosinophilic gastroenteritis. This is an allergic reaction that occurs only in the gut. It is diagnosed by an endoscopy with biopsies of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. My son has had that done twice and it's not as scary as it sounds.
I would tell the docs that you think it is reflux and could they just try him on reflux meds to see if they help. If it helps, but doesn't get rid of it all, they may need to adjust his meds. Keep after the docs, your child's quality of life depends on it. I would put my money on acid reflux though.
What you wrote could have been written by me about my oldest son, and his problems all turned out to be severe acid reflux. He didn't have reflux as a baby but all our problems started when he was three. He was on meds for reflux, but it was under treated. He was extremely picky, sensitive to the textures of foods, vomited more than normal, poor eating and thus poor weight gain, complained of tummy aches a lot especially during meals (it would cause him to stop eating), and so on and so on. I feel pretty confident you know exactly what I'm talking about. For my son his reflux also lead to chronically enlarged adenoids and SEVERE breathing problems. He has asthma and also spasmodic croup, both triggered by refluxing into his airways. He frequently complains of headaches. He was so sick, lost so much weight, and had such severe breathing problems that I really though it was possible that he could die before they figured out what the problem was.
It took us five years and many, many doctors to get to the bottom of his problems. When he was five we took him to Denver to National Jewish Medical Center to be seen (they specialize only in allergy, immunology, and respiratory problems). If you can't get help where you are or if you're close to Denver, I'd highly recommend them. They hooked us up with one of the top pediatric GI docs in the country at Children's in Denver.
That trip changed our lives. My son missed 28 days of school in kindergarten (before the trip to Denver) and 3 days in first grade (after the trip to Denver). And those three days were due to a stomach bug that his class all shared. He went from a sickly child who could hardly eat to a robust little guy who started trying all kinds of new foods. And it was all due to uncontrolled acid reflux.
The other thing they might want to check for is eosinophilic gastroenteritis. This is an allergic reaction that occurs only in the gut. It is diagnosed by an endoscopy with biopsies of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. My son has had that done twice and it's not as scary as it sounds.
I would tell the docs that you think it is reflux and could they just try him on reflux meds to see if they help. If it helps, but doesn't get rid of it all, they may need to adjust his meds. Keep after the docs, your child's quality of life depends on it. I would put my money on acid reflux though.
I would pay attention to your instincts and continue to seek answers for your son. Just in case, it wouldn't hurt to elevate the head of his bed a little in case reflux is waking him during the night. If reflux has been an ongoing problem, there could be irritation and maybe affect how he feels when eating.
Does he have very large tonsils and adenoids? Morning headaches can be a sign of sleep apnea, which is not uncommon in children who are allergy prone of have enlarged tonsils. It can also cause moodiness, irritability, and trouble staying asleep at night. Some say the struggle to breathe with sleep apnea can aggravate reflux.
I wouldn't worry too much about his pickiness in eating being caused by a health issue so much as not getting the proper nutrition causing a problem. Kids can be picky eaters as the norm. Preferring to sleep with a parent wouldn't concern me either, as long as nothing is "wrong" with his sleep.
Vomiting, stomach pain, and headaches would be of most concern to me. Have the doctors done any head scans to make sure nothing is going on? My grandson has something called Arnold Chiari Malformation that has caused severe headaches since he was really young, but wasn't discovered until about age 7 when they were investigating his headaches. Food allergies could be a culprit. My daughter threw up a lot all thru childhood. Turned out to be food allergies plus a gallbaldder that simply did not function.
I have no idea if any of these things apply to your son, just pointing out that maybe his symptoms really do have a cause. There's a fine line as a parent between pushing for answers and putting a child thru unnecessary tests. Have a frank talk with your doctor and tell them the level of your concern and ask them their viewpoint on what is merited. If you are not satisfied, maybe get a second opinion.
Does he have very large tonsils and adenoids? Morning headaches can be a sign of sleep apnea, which is not uncommon in children who are allergy prone of have enlarged tonsils. It can also cause moodiness, irritability, and trouble staying asleep at night. Some say the struggle to breathe with sleep apnea can aggravate reflux.
I wouldn't worry too much about his pickiness in eating being caused by a health issue so much as not getting the proper nutrition causing a problem. Kids can be picky eaters as the norm. Preferring to sleep with a parent wouldn't concern me either, as long as nothing is "wrong" with his sleep.
Vomiting, stomach pain, and headaches would be of most concern to me. Have the doctors done any head scans to make sure nothing is going on? My grandson has something called Arnold Chiari Malformation that has caused severe headaches since he was really young, but wasn't discovered until about age 7 when they were investigating his headaches. Food allergies could be a culprit. My daughter threw up a lot all thru childhood. Turned out to be food allergies plus a gallbaldder that simply did not function.
I have no idea if any of these things apply to your son, just pointing out that maybe his symptoms really do have a cause. There's a fine line as a parent between pushing for answers and putting a child thru unnecessary tests. Have a frank talk with your doctor and tell them the level of your concern and ask them their viewpoint on what is merited. If you are not satisfied, maybe get a second opinion.
I would definitely take your son to a physician. One thing you might want to ask his pediatrician about is food allergies.
Best,
PlateletGal
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