Is it CF?

[pepperderr]

My DS (dear son) just turned 6 Feb. 5th. He was born full term and healthy weight. He had no problems that I can remember until he was 4. Then he had a bleeding stomach ulcer and was throwing up blood. He had his tonsils and adnoids out and right after that he had a hernia repaired (so it was all within a few weeks when he was 4) Ever since then, he has had loose stools. My doc said it was probably toddler diarrahea since he seemed fine otherwise except for a cough often. I can also remember that since he was 4 he has thrown up a LOT at night. I remember because he was in preschool and he would throw up at night and be fine during the day so we would send him to preschool. When he was younger, they put him on pediasure to try to help him gain weight but that was at about age 2. He is still skinny but no longer drinks pediasure. He was tested recently for Lactose Intolerance which he definitely seems to have because after the test he pooped his pants (also common for him to have lose stool and accidents because he just can't hold it) and he complained a lot that he was going to throw up but didn't. I now give him once daily lactose pills and for the most part it seems to help I GUESS even though the other day he complained every 5 minutes that he was going to throw up and never did. We gave him an extra pill that day and after the extra pill the nausea went away. He has also had a cough for about as long as I can remember. We would take him to the doc and they would say oh it is a virus or something else and may take a while to get rid of it. His coughs can last off and on for weeks on end. His teacher even complained that his cough would disrupt his class. He finally saw an pulmonary doc a few days ago who gave him meds to see if it is asthma but now he is not coughing! It has probably be 2 weeks or more since he has had his normal cough attacks. He is going to do a sweat test in a few weeks but I was just wondering what you all thought.

Like I said he hasn't coughed like that in a few weeks. Is it normal in CF to have the cough come and go and he doesn't seem to be coughing up mucus?

He had the nausea Saturday like I said and threw up very little bit of clear mucus and felt better for a few seconds. But I gave him the extra lactose pill and it went away.

He threw up Monday morning and again at 2 am this morning but is always fine during the day and no flu symptoms. He was tested for reflux and had an endoscopy and found nothing abnormal. He was on prevacid before that but it rarely worked.

He still has loose stools. I don't know what people mean when they say bulky or oily stools. I just know it comes out in "blobs" is not formed and mostly floats on the water. It is rare that he has formed stools but he does probably once a month if that.

He almost always complains that it hurts to poop and he gets a belly ache and some times after he poops he feels better. They did an xray of that area a few months ago to see if the lose stool was from being impacted and the doc saw almost no stool and lots of gas.

The pulmonary doc said he looked very skinny so that is one reason he is doing the sweat test.

We know he has allergies and they always say he sounds like his nose is always stuffed up.

What do you think? Thanks

Rebecca

 

[anonymous]

CF symptoms can be all over the map with regard to gastrointestinal and lung trouble so diagnosing from symptoms is notoriously unreliable. A sweat test can be pretty conclusive if the numbers are pretty high, but there's a range of results that are considered uncertain and false negatives/positives are also possible.

If the sweat test is negative or uncertain you can ask for a blood test to check for the CF mutations: Press for one by Quest or Ambry because they get LOTS more of the 1000+ varieties than the short version that most labs do.

My son's CF did not show up on the short blood test; his sweat test was off the charts on the positive side and a later Ambry test found the rare mutation combination he has.

If you saw oily stools you'd know it: there's oil sitting right there - it's basically undigested emulsified fat. But not everyone with CF has this problem. And my son almost never has any lung trouble so coughing is not much to go on either.

Good luck with the test: I hope it's negative for CF but that the Drs. figure out the problem better than they have so far.

 

[Mockingbird]

I also had a bleeding ulcer as a baby, but I'm not sure if the doctors all agree it was caused by CF. Another thing about oily stools is the oil tends to stick to the side of the bowl instead of flushing down, so there is a big mess above the water-line.

Also, you mentioned he is not couging any mucus up, but I wonder if he actually is and then swallowing it. That could contribute to an upset stomach, but you would definetely be able to see the mucus in the throw-up.

Anyway, good luck with the test, and please keep us informed.

 

[anonymous]

Like the others have said a test is really the only way to know, we all have such varied symptoms..theres really no formula like symptom A+ symptom B=CF. However i have to say i have not recalled nausea being a leading symptom in a child that I've heard of? Anyone else?<br><br>littledebbie not logged in<br>you'll be in my thoughts, let us know how it turns out. <br>oh also, I agree with tthe 2nd post about the blood test. Go to a CF center to have it done. You can find one near you <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.cff.org/chapters_and_care_centers/">Find a CF center near you</a>

 

[pepperderr]

I think just the nausea came from the lactose problem but I am not sure since he is on lactose pills. Most of the time when he is nauseated though he throws up right away after that.

Mockingbird, I still am not sure about the oily stool but I do know there is always a messly line above t he water line that never flushes down and I kept wondering WHY is it getting so dirty when we make sure to flush the bowl right away plus when he goes, it is not like it is all watery stool that turns the bowl water brown which I would think might cause the line. Anyway, I was just kinda looking for ideas of what others might have been though and what they might think it is since the docs still don't know. I will try not to worry too much about it till June 23rd when he goes for the sweat test. We could have had it done already be we decide to wait till the 23 because he has other appointments that day and if I did it sooner he would have to miss some school to have it done.

Thanks you all and good luck to you all!

Rebecca

 

[Mockingbird]

Yeah, that sounds like oily stool. It won't wash away because oil doesn't mix with water... or something. I've never really asked the doctor about the science behind it.

I also remembered intestinal blockage can make me feel kind of like i'm going to throw up all the time. I does not feel like full-blown nausea, but it certainly feels like upset-stomach.