Baby Endoscopy Tomorrow

[gfgypsyqueen]

Hi Everyone,

I've been reading previous posts and hoped that maybe you had some words of advice for me.

My daughter is 23 months old. She has not grown much in the last year. Her percentages started a drastic drop at 9 months and have not stopped. She is starving and has a distended belly. She eats more than the older child. I finally have a good gastro who agrees that she needs to have a biopsy. Her blood work was inconclusive.

Tomorrow is the big day. 6:00 am we will be at the hospital for the biopsy. She is also having a sweat test, blood work, gene test, and I am sure a few more I forgot.

At this point I would be shocked if she does not have Celiacs. My concerns are that she has been sick this week - vomit, so not much food being eaten or staying down. Dr says as long as no fever, she'll get the biopsy.

I am concerned about what to expect after the biopsy. How are the babies in recovery? Does it take long for them to act normal after the procedure? Is it an all day sick child or are they better witin an hour?

Anyone have questions they wished they asked the doctor immediately after the biopsy.

-gfgypsyqueen

[mominbaltimore]

My 18 month old daughter had the endoscopy in the beginning of January. I was worried about the sedation since she had a bad reaction in November from a brain mri but she did much, much better this time. The hardest part for us was not being able to give her milk or food between waking up and the anesthia. I would pack juice or milk(they were reluctant to let us give her milk since there is a chance of vomiting but honestly we were so used to her vomiting and she wanted milk that we went ahead with it and she was fineJ) and some snacks(gluten-free if you are starting the diet tomorrow). We started the diet the day of the endoscopy and saw such an improvement within days. She hadn't gained weight since her 9 month appt either and she already has gained 2 lbs in a month. I can not tell you how happy and thankful we are for the difference the gluten-free diet has made...she went from being lethargic, cranky, constipated to a happy, energetic, outgoing baby again.

As far as questions I would ask....if you are starting the diet ask for a contact number or email address for the dietician that is affliated with the gi. We had to wait 3 weeks (2 weeks after diagnosis since it took about a week to get the results) to see the dietician and it was a struggle not having anyone to turn to with the tons of questions that come up. Thankfully there are places like this where people are so helpful. If the tests come back positive there are also a few books I would recommend investing in.

Good luck tomorrow and please let us know the results.

take care,

Kim

[TCA]

My son also had inconclusive bloodwork and ended up having 2 separate scopes about 1.5 years apart. Neither showed anything. We ended up putting him on the diet because he kept getting sicker and didn't gain any weight between 2 and 3 years old. In Dec. 2005 he was still wearin 24 mos. clothes and it was his 3rd birthday. We started the diet in Jan 06 and he's now wearing 4T. It's really amazing.

I tell you all of this because the scopes were not helpful for us. I later found out that testing in kids under 5 is often false negative or inconclusive. The GI agrees that he has celiac disease, but wasn't able to prove it. He had all of the classic symptoms, all of which are gone now.

Try not to stress about the scope. It will be harder on you than it will her. Ask that they give her gas to put her to sleep before doing the IV. The didn't with my son and it was bad. I don't think it hurt too bad, but he had a fit when he saw the needle. My daughter was put to sleep first and it was so much easier.

Make sure the make 8-10 biopsies. Damage can be very spotty, especially in the little ones.

My son was asking for fries as soon as he woke up, so I wouldn't worry too much about food. Just take some of her favorites snacks.

I would encourage you to try the diet even if the biopsy is negative. I wish we would have known to do that the first time around.

I have link in my sig line to a discussion on how to get started if that might be helpful. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Just be prepared for some crying, but know that it's really not a bad procedure.

Hugs!