Failure To Thrive

[Chefwife8]

My almost 2 year old was recently diagnosed with FFT seeing a GI in April I am waiting on test results for myself. He weighs 20 pounds and is 33 inches he still breast feeds and trying to get him to eat anything is like pulling teeth. He chews the food then spits it out or flat out refuses. He has had 4 crowns on his front teeth and needs more fillings on his molars. 4 of my other kids have the same teeth issues I also have a 13 year old who was diagnosed with abdominal migraines. When we go to the Gi what should we expect? Sorry if this is jumbled I hate seeing dr and getting no real answers been dealing with my Heath issues for yeas and all the dr are clueless. Hopefully my little one will get some answers

Anyone else have a FFT child that was diagnosed with Celiacs?

[formygirl]

My DD wasn't FTT, but she was tiny, and that combined with chronic diarrhea is what led to her being tested.  At the GI, she basically just reviewed the results and recommended endoscopy to confirm.  She also recommended seeing a dietician, which we did, but it was a waste of time and money, as she basically said we could google stuff.  thanks lady.  anyway, she had the endoscopy two weeks later, and although it all appeared "normal," biopsies confirmed celiacs.  that was about 7 weeks ago, and she has been doing well on the gluten-free diet -- even gained  pound!    

 

good luck with everything.  i hope you get some answers so your little one can feel better.

[nicolebeth]

If it makes you feel any better, our GI told me that the extended breastfeeding was the best thing I could have done for my son (not FTT; he fell off his curve, and kept dropping between ages 3 and 7).

 

Good luck to you! I hope he's feeling better soon, and you figure everything out!

[Nikoletta]

My almost 2 year old was recently diagnosed with FFT seeing a GI in April I am waiting on test results for myself. He weighs 20 pounds and is 33 inches he still breast feeds and trying to get him to eat anything is like pulling teeth.

Hi,

Sorry I can't be of any help, just wanted to say: I'm in almost exactly the same boat. My child is the same age, also 20 pounds (9 kg) and less than 33 inches (80 cms) given the label "failure to thrive", still breastfeeds and trying to get her to eat anything is as difficult as you say. She also has big dental problems, though I have avoided the dentist I can see her teeth rapidly wearing away. She will eat some things (pistachio nuts or pumpkin seeds for example) but I'm don't think these things are helping her mineral absorption for her teeth!  I know that breastfeeding her has helped her in loads of ways (she never comes down with any colds or flu), and perhaps she has some digestive disorder with which the breastmilk is helping her,  but I do seriously wonder if she would simply be a stronger child without dental problems now, if she weren't breastfeeding.  Please let us know how you get on. Sorry again that I can't shed an ounce of light.

[nicolebeth]

Hi,

Sorry I can't be of any help, just wanted to say: I'm in almost exactly the same boat. My child is the same age, also 20 pounds (9 kg) and less than 33 inches (80 cms) given the label "failure to thrive", still breastfeeds and trying to get her to eat anything is as difficult as you say. She also has big dental problems, though I have avoided the dentist I can see her teeth rapidly wearing away. She will eat some things (pistachio nuts or pumpkin seeds for example) but I'm don't think these things are helping her mineral absorption for her teeth!  I know that breastfeeding her has helped her in loads of ways (she never comes down with any colds or flu), and perhaps she has some digestive disorder with which the breastmilk is helping her,  but I do seriously wonder if she would simply be a stronger child without dental problems now, if she weren't breastfeeding.  Please let us know how you get on. Sorry again that I can't shed an ounce of light.

 

As I mentioned above, my son's GI doc said the breastfeeding was the best thing I could have done for my son. Some kids are susceptible to dental caries; it has nothing to do with breastfeeding. Some tout grassfed butter as something children with this issue should eat (that would also be high in fat, which is good). Have you investigated celiac or non-celiac gluten intolerance for your daughter as well? Or allergies? I think what you've done for your child has been great. She may have had even more issues without the breastfeeding. Maybe nut butters? Avocado? Greek yogurt (with honey?)

 

Best of luck! I hope everything is resolved soon.

[Chefwife8]

My son has had 4 pulpectomoies and of course the dentist blames the breast feeding. I come from a long line of digestive issues in my family most of my bro/sis has some sort of tummy issue as do my kids I have been to the hospital with at least 3 of them in horrible tummy pain only to find out they were extremely constipated we also have food allergies and horrible eczema. I am not only trying to figure out his issues, but also my own. Which has been a ok g process with no answers yet and it's been over 2 years.

We got his CBC back and his blood work was good that was the blood work is pediatrician ordered I am sure the GI will do more i am scared they will want to do a feeding tube. Just hoping to get some answers and get everyone healthy

[nicolebeth]

My son has had 4 pulpectomoies and of course the dentist blames the breast feeding. I come from a long line of digestive issues in my family most of my bro/sis has some sort of tummy issue as do my kids I have been to the hospital with at least 3 of them in horrible tummy pain only to find out they were extremely constipated we also have food allergies and horrible eczema. I am not only trying to figure out his issues, but also my own. Which has been a ok g process with no answers yet and it's been over 2 years.

We got his CBC back and his blood work was good that was the blood work is pediatrician ordered I am sure the GI will do more i am scared they will want to do a feeding tube. Just hoping to get some answers and get everyone healthy

 

I really hope your son doesn't need a feeding tube! I hope they can figure things out before then. This must be such a stressful time. I hope that by figuring out your own issues, it helps with your kids.

 

Dentists do blame breastfeeding, it's true. They sometimes conflate nighttime nursing with nighttime formula-feeding. I would trust kellymom over any dentist (and have when I was told my daughter would get cavities for nursing at night--she never did). Open Original Shared Link This article mentioned nutrients/vitamins/minerals. I would guess that the FTT and the cavities result from a nutritional deficiency (like from celiac or fructose intolerance or something). Does your son nurse a lot? Is it possible to nurse him more during this time? It sounds counter-intuitive, but perhaps going back to those days would help with calorie-ingestion at least (while potentially avoiding what might be causing the problems). Are you cutting out foods, too? Have you tried eating the basics only? (Turkey, lamb, cucumber, carrots, white rice--or something like that--those are the least allergenic foods--if I remember correctly. Obviously, it doesn't work if you're a vegetarian.)

 

Has anyone checked him for celiac yet? I guess it means keeping him having some gluten until you have that blood work drawn.

 

Good luck!

[Nikoletta]

As I mentioned above, my son's GI doc said the breastfeeding was the best thing I could have done for my son. Some kids are susceptible to dental caries; it has nothing to do with breastfeeding. Some tout grassfed butter as something children with this issue should eat (that would also be high in fat, which is good). Have you investigated celiac or non-celiac gluten intolerance for your daughter as well? Or allergies? I think what you've done for your child has been great. She may have had even more issues without the breastfeeding. Maybe nut butters? Avocado? Greek yogurt (with honey?)

 

Best of luck! I hope everything is resolved soon.

Yes, I went to see a new pediatrician and she said that you were right that breastfeeding was the best thing for my child and I should keep going for the moment anyway. We are looking into gluten intolerance as a possibility but first we are trying to rule out a milk-protein intolerance as the cause (she was also consuming some cow's and sheep's milk products). To be honest she has some GI issues but nothing severe (although this could also be mitigated by breastfeeding) so sometimes I wonder if I am putting her through trial diets and testing etc. for nothing. The truth is though that she hardly eats anything and she is not growing/putting on weight as she should so I suppose it's worth checking it out. We'll see.