Tummy Trouble

Just got back from the gastroenterologist. Cathy and I both like him. He's personable, doesn't have that "better than you" vibe some doctors have, and was willing to spend plenty of time with us explaining everything in detail. One might even say "excruciating detail" :)

Based on Maria's symptoms, he doesn't think it's a physical problem such as reflux. He thinks it's more likely that it is <sigh> something neurological. Usually I just roll my eyes when doctors say that because they are always so quick to jump to neurological problems (or shunt failure) every time Maria scratches her nose. But in this case, he wasn't judging her by the hydrocephalus, he was talking about the typical profile for an 11-month-old with feeding problems. He thinks she is simply having trouble coordinating the swallow reflex, which is an absurdly complex interplay of muscles.

He's going to order an EGD (put a camera down her throat to look at her esophagus and stomach to see if there is irritation) and an upper GI series (she drink barium then they do x-rays to see the structure of her digestive system) just to rule out physical causes. If those don't show anything, then it's just a matter of working with the feeding therapist to train her how to drink...which is kind of what we've been doing for months.

He also discussed the possibility that Maria's future might include a G-tube, where they actually make a small incision in her abdomen and put the feeding tube directly into her stomach. The NG tube she's using now (which goes in her nose, down her throat, and into the stomach) has problems such as it makes it even harder for her to swallow, increases her risk of sinus infection, is easy for her to pull out (accidentally or on purpose), and interferes with her physical development. For example, we haven't been able to give her good tummy-time sessions in months which is further delaying the whole pushing up->crawling thing. Cathy and I have had a while to get used to the idea as it has been mentioned by various doctors and therapists over the past few months. At first our reaction was, "No way!" but we have started to see the advantage. It probably wouldn't happen for a couple of months, so the little scamp still has time to stop messing around and start drinking her milk like a big girl.