Wednesday, March 25, 2009

What were/are your LO's symptoms? How long have they been suffering?

My DS started out with just green poo. I thought it was a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance at first. Then about 3 days into it, he had his first bloody/mucousy diaper. Of course, this is where I freaked out, started crying, and called the on-call nurse (because of course these things only happen at night over the weekend!) She told us to just watch it and call back tomorrow to make an appt to see the pedi. That was a Sunday.

Monday comes, we call the pedi and we go in that same day. He says it's probably a virus. I even took diapers into the office with me so he could see them. Okay - just a virus, it will work itself out! Went home thinking "I can handle this"

Tuesday comes, more bloody diapers. Now I'm freaking out. Virusus should not cause blood. Of course I call pedi and we go back in! This time pedi suggests that it might be MSPI so I cut out all dairy from my diet that day.

Fast forward to today.

I have been dairy-free for over two weeks now. I also have been primarily soy-free (won't eat soy sauce, soy milk, etc) but just realized that I may be consuming things with soy lechithin in them like whole wheat bread. I am thinking that I will have to be more careful because we are still pretty much all green poo and some blood still (about 1 diaper a day has blood).

I am also wondering if the green poo in general may be because of a forceful letdown. I have a funeral today/tomorrow and will be primarily bottle feeding EBM. If his poos go back to yellow after these 2-3 bottles of BM, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I do not want to stop BFing because I love the bonding experience and it's so convenient...but do I sacrifice DS's poo because I'm being selfish? Not sure if I'll have to exclusively pump. I am selfishly hoping the bottles do not change his poo color.

We have an appt with a pedi GI specialist next week Tuesday. Not sure what they will do...but maybe they will have more answers than the regular pedi since he says that the blood should have stopped by now.

All in all - it's very confusing to me and I'm ready for things to go back to normal!

15 comments:

  1. We found out about DS's milk/protein allergy last Wednesday after giving him 2 bottles of formula. He had never had it before and I only gave it to him b/c I couldn't get enough pumped milk to send with him. After the 2nd bottle (given right before I picked him up) he turned bright red and his skin was hot to touch. He didn't have a fever. Of course, it was after hours so we went to the ER.

    The doctors there didn't tell me to cut out dairy, just to give him soy formula in the future. I called the pedi the next day and the nurse called me back. She told me to cut out all dairy, but didn't give me any other information. I have had to research everything on my own.

    In my research I found that DS did have other symptoms, but I thought they were normal baby things. He was a really fussy baby, he didn't sleep hardly at all...ever, he had green poop occasionally (never bloody), and excessively dry skin. I have been dairy free for 5 days now and I can already tell a major difference. He is sleeping much better and is hardly fussy during the day.

    I feel so bad that he was probably in pain this whole time and I had no idea. But, I am glad we are fixing it now.

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  2. The only symptom I had was that Ava was extremely fussy all the time. Especially after she ate. Sometimes she would even fuss at the breast and pull away. Her diapers have always been an orangey diaper. I have never seen green mucousy diapers or any blood. The pediatrician took a swab of it and was able to detect traces of blood.

    Friday I will be dairy/soy free for 2 weeks now. She is a completely different baby since cutting out dairy/soy - as quickly as the 2nd day. I occasionally have items that have soybean oil or soy lecithin in it and have not noticed a change in her fussiness. It is just so hard since that is her only symptom. When she is fussy, I can't tell if it's just because she is and they fuss, or she is tired, or if I have eaten something that might upset her.

    How quickly have you guys noticed a reaction to eating something that doesn't agree with them? Hours? 1/2 a day?

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  3. This is what confuses me the most. Almost everyone says that as soon as they cut out dairy/soy they saw an immediate change. Also-my DS hasn't really been fussy, not even with the bloody diapers!

    So, L&P - I don't really see a reaction per se to anything I eat because I haven't noticed a huge improvement since changing my diet. Although today - we have our first yellow/seedy since a couple of days now! That's a victory in our household!

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  4. Oh-and I agree with the non-information about MSPI. The pedi didn't even give me a list of "hidden dairy". He just said "no milk, cheese, yogurt - you know, dairy" Oy!

    I'm glad I know how to research on the internet!

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  5. Our pediatrician said it could take up to a month before the blood is totally gone. We are two weeks in and haven't seen any blood in the last week or so.

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  6. Sometimes DS is fussy 30 min- 1 hour after eating and I think it might be something I ate, but just like you I never really know.

    Also, how did you know that soy affected your LO as well? The ER/ pedi said it was just a milk allergy, but they didn't do any tests. I have noticed a difference with just going milk free. I don't know if I should limit soy too or not.

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  7. HarrisonsMom-
    I had to ask my pedi about the soy thing after researching online and it saying that most babies that are allergic to milk are also allergic to soy. I chose to eliminate both from my diet instead of eliminating one and then the other....prolonging the "get back to normal" time. But like I said...I think I've been eating stuff on accident with the soy lechithin (sp?) in it. I have been keeping a food diary now and have pretty much stopped eating processed foods (except Oreos! LOL)

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  8. oreos have soy in them!


    OREO SANDWICH COOKIES OREO

    Ingredients: SUGAR, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), HIGH OLEIC CANOLA OIL AND/OR PALM OIL AND/OR CANOLA OIL, AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA AND/OR CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), CORNSTARCH, SALT, SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER), VANILLIN - AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CHOCOLATE.

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  9. DD was fussy from the beginning; I thought it was normal. At about the 3 month mark I decided it was silent reflux. She was arching her back, fussy at feedings, painful gas, greenish/brown diapers, and eventually eczema. Shortly after 4 months I decided to cut out dairy and it's made a world of difference w/ her! She sleeps well, fusses less and is overall a much happier baby. I feel bad I exposed her to the allergen for so long. :( And I should have known, dairy and soy allergies run in the family; luckily DD does not seem affected by soy.

    When I have dairy I can tell almost immediately w/ her and it takes about a day to get out of her system.

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  10. Damn it - I thought I read that Oreos were good. Maybe dairy free but not soy free. Damn it anyway - there goes my treat!

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  11. DS had symptoms started when he was just under 2 weeks old.

    He had random congestion, very fussy, very gassy, diaper rash, he arched his back and pulled away from the breast screaming. We thought it was reflux. Then the green, mucousy poop started & his rash developed into an open sore diaper rash, especially near his anus. He's also had rashes on his chest and very dry skin.

    I've been dairy and soy free for almost a month. I still ate things with soy oil and soy lecithin in them until 2 weeks ago. He had terrible diarrhea (it looked like shaken up orange juice coming out of him). I called the pedi and they suggested to cut out the last 2 soy products.

    Last week we had a stool sample tested. It tested mildly positive for blood but no infection. He STILL has mucousy poop but most other symptoms have cleared.

    Nearly every processed food has soy oil or soy lecithin in it. Be sure to check your vitamins, cooking spray, and gum too.

    I have ordered grilled chicken while eating out and realized that I probably can't even do that anymore since their cooking sprays probably have it too.

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  12. I have done quite a bit of reading on the internet about MSPI, I am on my 2nd child with it. From all of my reading I have found that soy lecithin and soy oil is okay to eat, because they just contain the oil, not the protein. Anything with soy protein, soy isolate, etc, you can't eat. Hope that helps!

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  13. My little one is 12 weeks old and we've been struggling since week 3. At first I just thought it was colic (as I was colicky as a baby), so I just tried to suck it up and deal (I did take her to the docs twice, just to have them check to make sure something wasn't wrong, both visits they said she was perfect). After mentioning to the doc at her 2 month appt that she cries all day, especially after feedings she was diagnosed with acid reflux and put on Zantac, when that didn't work they put her on Previcid as well. I mentioned to the doc that I had briefly read about MSPI online and said I cut out milk/cheese/yogurt for a few days and didn't see any results and asked if that could be the problem. I was told that I would have saw a difference :( Once we hit 10 weeks and little one started having super mucousy diapers I researched MSPI myself and found that ALOT of food has the milk or soy protein and cut it all out of my diet. We are on week 2 of the diet and she seems a bit better, but still more fussy about an hour after each feeding. We'll see how the next couple of weeks go!

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  14. , my baby is 6 months 10 days old now. She has always been a cranky baby since beginning. She used to howl before passing stools and extremely fussy. I used to give her colic aid thinking that she is gassy.
    In March, i saw blood in her stools and we went to the doctor and he said that she might be lactose intolerant, thanks to some blogs I went through and the symptoms matched more to MSPI.
    I have been dairy, soy, peanut free since then. Her bleeding stopped in between. My doc advised me to have eggs for my protein, I had eggs and almond milk and bloody stools again.
    I gave her banana when she was 5 and a half months old, she had rashes and loosies, she reacted the same way free having rice, sweet potato and potatoes. I gave her nutramigen and she bled so much. And rashes all over her body again. She has been bleeding since 4 days regularly. I don't know what to do!!! What to feed her. I would appreciate suggestions

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ruchieca,

      I understand your frustration. I went through the same thing with my baby when she was 7 months old. Unfortunately, there is no known cure and you have to be patient.

      I changed my diet completely and got rid of all soy and milk products. She gradually became better and so did I :-)

      90-95% of babies outgrow mspi by the time they are one year old. Just hang in there.
      One of the surprising things the doctor told me was that my stress levels also affected the scenario.
      I know it is not easy but talking about to someone makes a hell of a difference. During my time, someone close to me had passed away and it was all bottled up inside.

      Things will be better with time. Different babies react differently to mspi. Usually a change in diet helps but you can try Elecare or Neocate if Nutramigen is not working.

      Melanie.

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