Question for parents of pre-teens/teens

[Guest guest]

Everyone - Sorry for so many postings from me, but I had to get

through 4 weeks worth of listserve postings in two nights....

Question for anyone with kids 8 and older....

has intermittent SEVERE delayed gastric emptying. Normal

emptying rates are 30-60 minutes. One test was upward of 280

minutes; the other was basically 0. Meaning there was ZERO emptying

in the entire 90 minute test (extrapolated, they said her emptying

time was 2500 minutes).

Combine this with her reflux, and I can't figure out why this kid

always wants to eat!

Here is my problem, or possible problem to be. is 8 1/2.

She is suddenly VERY angry at any discussion about her weight. She

doesn't want to be told to eat, she doesn't want to get weighed

around anyone else.

She is VERY self conscious about her protruding stomach (which to be

honest looks like a pregnant belly because she is soo thin, and then

it looks like a balloon, like you could stick a pin in it and it

would pop the skin is so tight).

My worry is what is going to happen in 2 years or so. She is

certainly NOT going to like her stomach sticking out like that.

Living in a beach community like this, where kids are in bathing

suits year round.... my worry is she will develop an eating disorder

because she won't want to eat because she knows she will get

that " stomach. "

That being said -- has anyone ever had an older child have a

pyloroplasty age age 8 or 9? We are going to make a new appt with

our fabulous GI here locally, that we haven't seen in a year. But I

would love to hear from any other parents of older children.

[Guest guest]

,

If you recall, Max had a pyloraplasty last year and he was 15. But

I would not rush into that surgery just yet unless there is nothing

else to do. Max STILL has delayed emptying despite the procedures

he had done, so it may not be the solution to 's problem.

Then again, it could help a lot and your problem would be solved.

It's hard to tell.

Has Dr. H. ever considered for Cisapride? That med is

supposed to increase gastric emptying and help with reflux. The

downside to it is that you would have to see her every 86 days or

somewhere in there for a year. Then it increases to every 112 - Max

is there now. It has been a tremendously helpful drug for Max. He

was on it as a baby when there was a double blind study for it to be

approved by the FDA and now because of Dr. H. and her efforts, he is

able to be on it again.

The other thing to consider, and it may be minor to you and me, but

major to , is the scarring that she would have on her

abdomen. Would that bother her? And if you are going to do that,

would you also do the fundo because of her reflux? But if you do

that, you have to have a button placed because it is needed for

venting for a few months - I believe about 6.

There is a lot to consider. Have you talked to your

psychologist/family therapist that Tyler is seeing? Perhaps with

counseling she will not have the eating disorder that you fear.

Surgery should be a last resort. (Remember what happened the last

time she had surgery, too.)

Jodi Z.