Guest guest Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 Hi all, We had a great visit w/Dr. H back in September. In mid-October we were able to start following her advice, and (WOW!) it has made a tremendous difference!!! Tyler had a great weight gain in 5 weeks just from following her advice. He was 11.8 kgs when we saw her in mid-September, and 11.9 kgs when we saw our doctor back in NZ in mid-October. Once we returned home to NZ, we were able to start following her advice. From mid-October to mid-November, he went from 11.9 kgs to 12.65 kgs - a huge weight gain in a short time. The two basic things that we have done to get him to gain weight are: (1) Periactin: He'd been off it for awhile, and Dr. H said get him back on it. I believe it's definitely helping, and we're committed now to keeping him on it. (2) G-Tube: Use his g-tube to it's fullest capacity. He just got the g-tube in July 2003. We'd been doing overnight feeds, but not using it during the day. First, we added an extra 230 calories to his overnight feeds. Then, we decided to stop worrying about whether using the g-tube during the day interferes with oral eating (b/c he will eat properly one day ... so why keep worrying now). He eats 2-3 meals a day orally plus a few snacks. Dr. H said that if he doesn't eat breakfast, we should give him 70 mls of whole milk mixed with half and half to top him off after (non-eaten) breakfast. Then, if he doesn't eat lunch, we should again give him another 70 mls of the same mixture. Giving him those extra calories plus making sure he gets two doses of Periactin a day has made a real difference. We can only hope that it continues for another few months. Already, his energy has improved tremendously! I can only imagine how much healthier he might be if we can get him to gain an extra couple of kgs over the next few months. I know, nothing I've said is new. But I wanted to repeat it in case it helps someone else see that following this advice consistently has really helped our child. I've read about the terrible flu epidemic in America. Hope you and your families can stay healthy over the winter. (Tyler's mom - in New Zealand - age 4 1/2; 12.65 kgs; 97.5 cms) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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