help with symptoms please

[anonymous]

I hope i'm posting in the right spot. My 3 month old DD has had some funny poops and her dr. mentioned the possibility of CF. Neither my or my husband's family has a history of it that I am aware of. I need someone to please explain what a greasy or floating stool is. My daughter is breastfed and not on solids yet. Her poop colors run from yellow, green, orange to brown. they have been foamy yellow a couple of times and sometimes have had an egg-white substance to them--almost like jelly. What do I need to be looking for? someone please help explain this to me in words that are understandable. Thanks!
Michelle

 

[anonymous]

Hi Michelle. When my son was an infant he was also breastfed. At that time, he was having 6-9 BM's a day. The bottle would go right through him and he was starving all of the time. He had a failure to gain weight, but the appetite of my 3 yo daughter. Loose, bulky and greasy stools may seem hard to determine with just bottles, but the amount of his stools were my first sign that 'something wasn't right'. The stools would come right out of the diaper every single day. To me it seems like the fat would separate and absorb differently into the diaper with an orange color along the edges of the diaper. Also, his diapers would sometimes seem stringy or mucusy. Kind of hard to explain, but something you don't want to take lightly.

Are there any other symptoms that are alarming to you? Coughing, wheezing, salty tasting forhead or a runny nose that is persistent? What I did after my regular Dr would seem to blow off my concerns is keep a journal of everything that he consumed and when, and then I kept track of his diapers, BM's vs. just wet and what time they were happening. By the time I made it to the GI Dr, I had a good record for them to look at.

Good Luck!
SB

 

[anonymous]

When my now nineteen year old was 2months and undiagnosed I was breastfeeding only and her poo's had little lumps in them. She was in hosp with dehydration and failure to thrive and the dr tested her for cf cos he said the lumps could be fat globules. Yes, this was the case and she was then given a sweat test and diag with cf. I then learnt why she was always so salty and in hot weather her head would be white with salt crystals. I hope that all works out ok for you and your little one. Things are so much better for kids with cf today. I have a beautiful daughter who completed school, works full time and leads a pretty good life with lots of little hiccups along the way. Best of luck.

 

[anonymous]

Thank you both for your replies...they were very helpful. My daughter does have the stringy/mucousy stools, but only occasionally. The rest of the time they are just like liquid poop. She does not have them frequently either--she'll have 1-3 a day and then none for a few days. When you say salty do you mean overly salty or just a hint of salt. We don't give my daughter a bath daily, more like every 3rd day due to eczema and by the third day after snuggling under the covers with me each night she has a hint of saltiness to her but nothing that I find overly salty. She's only had the sniffles twice, nothing persistent. My main concern right now is just her poops. She has an appt. in 3 weeks for her 4 month checkup and I think I'm going to ask the ped. to request a test even if it just for peace of mind. Please, if anyone has anymore input I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm like a sponge taking all this information in so I can be armed and educated when we get to the dr.
Michelle

 

[anonymous]

I think it is good to be concerned about the stools. If they do a Sweat Test, make sure that it is done at a CF Clinic. My son had it done at a regular hospital the first time, and they actually ruled it out and told me it was a phase. Of course that didn't make me happy so I went to a CF clinic and they diagnosed it through a blood test. Don't give up if you still feel something is wrong!! Good Luck!