Thursday, February 26, 2009

No more thin liquids!




I took Katie to CHOP today to meet with the ENT doctor and the speech pathologist. This was an "emergency" type visit, b/c they were concerned with her last swallow study. They did a test today in which the doc put a scope down her nose into her throat to watch her swallow. They wanted to see exactly what happened when she swallowed and why she was aspirating. Katie did well. She screamed a bit when the tube was going down her nose, however, once in place, she drank like a big girl! :) Apparently, the test showed that when she drinks, she tends to "hold" some of the liquid in some part of her mouth, and then there is spillage into her airway. We do not know why she is doing this, however, it was not done with thickened liquids. We tried a "nectar" type liquid, however, she was still cou ghing and sounding congested on that consistency. So, we moved on to a "honey" type consistency, and amazingly, she did much better. No congested sounding, no coughing. She sounded great. So, I did get a few samples of thickener that I add to her liquids, and I also found some recipes to make that will make a drink a honey consistency. I went shopping tonight to pick up the ingredients and also to CVS to pick up some "powder" thickener. Interestingly, the speech pathologist mentioned that there has been found to be a link between aspiration AND poor weight gain. Katie is my #1 eater-she eats anything and everything, but does not gain weight like she should. According to the speech pathologist, when a child aspirates, their little lungs are working so hard that it increases their metabolism, and then the kids have a hard time gaining weight. This is fascinating to me----I am curious to see how her weight gain improves. :)


6 comments:

Misty said...

UGH! I'm sure that wasn't the news you wanted, but I hope that the therapist is right & that maybe she gains some weight now.
She looks sooooo cute in teh pics!
Hugs,
Misty

Anonymous said...

Even though these may seem like a little step back (no thin liquids), it really sounds like it may be a huge step in a positive direction (more weight gain & no aspirating). Hope it all works well for her. :)
Hang in there, Momma! :) Sending you hugs...

Tricia said...

Oh- ANnie- that will be great for her to gain better...I hope this is short lived and she gets better about this swallowing business!
You're doing great!

MamaDenny said...

My Alexis is the same way ! "Cheeking" her liquids if they aren't cold and thickened with "simply thick" gel - amazing - haven't met anyone else with one of thier HOM's like that .......Alexis too is a good eater however she takes a year to actually finish the whole plate - lots of other distractions, etc.....know that you aren't alone with the swallow studies and speech paths !@ We've been seeing them for over a year now ! Hang in there and hopefully you'll see some improvement!

Dorinda said...

I certainly hope it helps! Thanks for updating us on her progress. I will keep you guys in my prayers.

Denise said...

Well, at least you are finally getting some answers. I sure hope all this works out for little miss Katie and that she is able to finally starting gaining some weight. I willing to share some of Lucy's in the mean time. :)