This could get long, so bear with me...
In early December, my husband, son (2 yrs old) and I all caught the flu. DH and I threw up for about a day, then felt nauseous for a couple of days after that. DS threw up for several days, and never stopped.
At first, he'd have some vomiting episodes and seem totally fine afterwards. He'd throw up three or four times over the course of a day or two, then nothing for two/three days. He was always in good spirits, and didn't complain of an upset stomach until moments before he threw up. As soon as he was done puking, he'd feel better again.
Shortly after the puking started, DS developed horrible diarrhea. Over the course of a few weeks, it went from soft to pudding to liquid-y, to yellow water. Soon DS was throwing up on a daily basis. We had had enough of waiting for the "bug" to pass, and brought him into our family doctor.
Dr. ordered a stool sample, and told us to give him Gravol while we waited for the bug to pass. We collected a sample from DS, but the lab would not accept it because Dr. had given us the wrong collection container. DS adamantly refused to give up another sample. Nothing we did was successful. We tried for over a week to get another sample from him, fruitlessly.
As we tried and tried to get another sample from DS, he was getting sicker and sicker. Dr. had us believe that the stool sample wasn't all that important because it would only show bacterial & parasite problems, and she suspected DS had a virus. During a second visit, she told us once again to take him home, give him Gravol, and wait for it to pass.
Well, we never gave him Gravol. The day after our second Dr. visit, DS could no longer keep liquids down. Everything that went into his body came back out. He became lethargic and lifeless. I panicked and took him to the ER. The ER doc told me that he wasn't dehydrated & probably had the flu, so take him home and give him Gravol.
At this point I was furious. Here my son had been throwing up for a month and a half, and two different doctors were telling me to wait it out. I yelled at the ER doc, who only then ordered blood work, which all came back normal. He sent us home.
The next morning, my son refused to take any liquids, solids, anything. He lay on the couch barely moving, pale and skinny. I brought him back to the family doc, begging her to do something. I said that it is not normal for a virus to last a month and a half. I said I couldn't watch him deteriorate any longer without someone taking some action to find out what was wrong.
Her response? "I'm certain he's nearing the end of this. If he won't take liquids, have your husband pin him down while you use a large syringe to squirt water down his throat. He will likely cough most of it up, but SOME of that water will go down. If he won't take Gravol, stick it up his bum and don't let him go to the bathroom for at least a half-hour. He'll be better before you know it. Give me a call on Monday to let me know how he's doing."
ARRRRGGGHHH! By this point I was thinking my son was going to die. I took him home, and finally caved and gave him Gravol. I was desperate for him to keep anything down, and the Gravol did the job. However, his diarrhea only got worse once we introduced the Gravol, and his appetite did not return.
Finally, I called a naturopathic doctor. By the time we got in to see him, DS had been throwing up for two months. The naturopath spent an hour with us, going over everything you can imagine. By the end of the appointment, he suggested that DS may be dairy intolerant and set him up on an elimination diet. Naturopath said that giving him Gravol was a horrible idea in this case, because it was keeping whatever was making him sick in his system, instead of him clearing it by throwing up, hence the diarrhea getting worse.
To cut to the chase, we eliminated dairy first and foremost. Within two days, DS's poops went from water to pudding. His appetite returned, and he started getting some colour back in his cheeks. Soon a week had passed without a single vomiting episode, and in two weeks' time his poops were back to normal. He's been taking probiotics to help heal his gut, and now seems to be the healthiest I've ever seen him.
We are a vegetarian family, and never had milk to drink. We did, however, have cheese & yogurt on a daily basis, and never worried about dairy ingredients in pre-made foods. Oh boy, do we ever check ingredients now! It has been a big adjustment to be sure, but DS is handling it like a champ. He knows what he can and can't eat, and if DH or I forget momentarily, he will quickly remind us!
I am still furious with my family doctor. That she could watch him deteriorate like that and do nothing more than continually advise me to give him Gravol.... it makes my blood boil
To me, that is extremely irresponsible, negligent even. I have lost what little trust I had in her, and will not be going back to her ever again. I'm still trying to write up a letter to her telling her exactly why she won't be seeing us again, but I'm too angry to be coherent just yet.
I skimmed through three pages of the most recent threads on here, but didn't see much about dairy allergy. I'm totally new to all of this, and never worried about food allergies before. I'm still not very educated at all, and working to fix that. Any advice you may have, anecdotes, information, support, etc. is greatly appreciated.
In early December, my husband, son (2 yrs old) and I all caught the flu. DH and I threw up for about a day, then felt nauseous for a couple of days after that. DS threw up for several days, and never stopped.
At first, he'd have some vomiting episodes and seem totally fine afterwards. He'd throw up three or four times over the course of a day or two, then nothing for two/three days. He was always in good spirits, and didn't complain of an upset stomach until moments before he threw up. As soon as he was done puking, he'd feel better again.
Shortly after the puking started, DS developed horrible diarrhea. Over the course of a few weeks, it went from soft to pudding to liquid-y, to yellow water. Soon DS was throwing up on a daily basis. We had had enough of waiting for the "bug" to pass, and brought him into our family doctor.
Dr. ordered a stool sample, and told us to give him Gravol while we waited for the bug to pass. We collected a sample from DS, but the lab would not accept it because Dr. had given us the wrong collection container. DS adamantly refused to give up another sample. Nothing we did was successful. We tried for over a week to get another sample from him, fruitlessly.
As we tried and tried to get another sample from DS, he was getting sicker and sicker. Dr. had us believe that the stool sample wasn't all that important because it would only show bacterial & parasite problems, and she suspected DS had a virus. During a second visit, she told us once again to take him home, give him Gravol, and wait for it to pass.
Well, we never gave him Gravol. The day after our second Dr. visit, DS could no longer keep liquids down. Everything that went into his body came back out. He became lethargic and lifeless. I panicked and took him to the ER. The ER doc told me that he wasn't dehydrated & probably had the flu, so take him home and give him Gravol.
At this point I was furious. Here my son had been throwing up for a month and a half, and two different doctors were telling me to wait it out. I yelled at the ER doc, who only then ordered blood work, which all came back normal. He sent us home.
The next morning, my son refused to take any liquids, solids, anything. He lay on the couch barely moving, pale and skinny. I brought him back to the family doc, begging her to do something. I said that it is not normal for a virus to last a month and a half. I said I couldn't watch him deteriorate any longer without someone taking some action to find out what was wrong.
Her response? "I'm certain he's nearing the end of this. If he won't take liquids, have your husband pin him down while you use a large syringe to squirt water down his throat. He will likely cough most of it up, but SOME of that water will go down. If he won't take Gravol, stick it up his bum and don't let him go to the bathroom for at least a half-hour. He'll be better before you know it. Give me a call on Monday to let me know how he's doing."
ARRRRGGGHHH! By this point I was thinking my son was going to die. I took him home, and finally caved and gave him Gravol. I was desperate for him to keep anything down, and the Gravol did the job. However, his diarrhea only got worse once we introduced the Gravol, and his appetite did not return.
Finally, I called a naturopathic doctor. By the time we got in to see him, DS had been throwing up for two months. The naturopath spent an hour with us, going over everything you can imagine. By the end of the appointment, he suggested that DS may be dairy intolerant and set him up on an elimination diet. Naturopath said that giving him Gravol was a horrible idea in this case, because it was keeping whatever was making him sick in his system, instead of him clearing it by throwing up, hence the diarrhea getting worse.
To cut to the chase, we eliminated dairy first and foremost. Within two days, DS's poops went from water to pudding. His appetite returned, and he started getting some colour back in his cheeks. Soon a week had passed without a single vomiting episode, and in two weeks' time his poops were back to normal. He's been taking probiotics to help heal his gut, and now seems to be the healthiest I've ever seen him.
We are a vegetarian family, and never had milk to drink. We did, however, have cheese & yogurt on a daily basis, and never worried about dairy ingredients in pre-made foods. Oh boy, do we ever check ingredients now! It has been a big adjustment to be sure, but DS is handling it like a champ. He knows what he can and can't eat, and if DH or I forget momentarily, he will quickly remind us!
I am still furious with my family doctor. That she could watch him deteriorate like that and do nothing more than continually advise me to give him Gravol.... it makes my blood boil
To me, that is extremely irresponsible, negligent even. I have lost what little trust I had in her, and will not be going back to her ever again. I'm still trying to write up a letter to her telling her exactly why she won't be seeing us again, but I'm too angry to be coherent just yet.I skimmed through three pages of the most recent threads on here, but didn't see much about dairy allergy. I'm totally new to all of this, and never worried about food allergies before. I'm still not very educated at all, and working to fix that. Any advice you may have, anecdotes, information, support, etc. is greatly appreciated.
So if there was any doubt before, there isn't anymore!
