Morning Vomiting

I am sending this out to you to see if you have any ideas about why once or twice a week Adam vomits before going to school. No, I don’t think it is because he doesn’t like school. He isn’t sick either. He gets up, has a good breakfast ~ poached egg, toast with strawberry jam, fat free butter, and his bottle 6oz fat free milk, 3t MCT Oil and 1t Carnitine. Then as I drive him to school or before he gets out of the car (it’s only 1.2 miles there) he vomits up his breakfast! I thought it might be because he has 7-9t of cornstarch with his late night bottle at 10pm or so and maybe his stomach is too full at 8am still to deal with breakfast. I have cut out 2t of cornstarch from these late night bottles when he has to get up early and eat an early breakfast and bottle to try to prevent this but I guess it isn’t working. Have you heard about anyone other FODs doing this? It is very frustrating. Fortunately we keep airsick bags in the car so we don’t have a mess. Sometimes I take him home but he isn’t sick and has no fever. Any suggestions are welcome.

Valerie 

LCHAD mom

My daughter vomited every day with every feeding (and the doctor thought I was nuts) until they determined she had a FOD (at 18 months old) and her diet was restricted to Tolerex. Before that she was on every formula on the market (and every one contains Coconut Oil which she reacts severely to). With every change of formula, it was just a matter of time (usually within 2 weeks) before she would start throwing up again. The doctors couldn’t figure it out either ~ I was the first to stop giving her those formulas and saw an immediate improvement. I only wish I had done it sooner.

You might start checking all the food labels and seeing if there might be a pattern with any type of fat. Coconut Oil comes in all kinds of foods, not just formulas. It’s an idea and sometimes that’s all we have. I had to change Miranda from Safflower Oil recently (she cant have MCT ~ that’s what she reacts to) to Grapeseed Oil because after 5 years, she started having seizures again a few weeks ago. It took many tries before getting to the Grapeseed Oil and getting her seizures stopped. Why after 5 years did she start reacting to the Safflower Oil? I would love for some doc to come along and give me the answers. But, the fact is, they don’t have them all either ~ at least not for her and I am left up to experimenting what works for her.

Cindy

Unclassified FOD mom

My son, Jimmy (13), has LCHAD. He vomited daily (usually several times a day) until he was about 9. He has had numerous episodes of lethargy requiring trips to the ER ~ all but two with normal blood sugars. Every time he responded dramatically to an IV with D10. I’ve heard lots of explanations for this ~ “these kids can be hypoglycemic at the cellular level,” “their blood glucose level may be normal, but they aren’t able to access the glucose” and “their bodies have responded by “dumping” all available glucose into the blood causing a temporary rise in blood glucose readings.” I don’t know what the right answer is but I do know that the IV with D10 has worked for him. Our protocol letter also states that an IV with D10 should be started right away in the ER regardless of blood glucose levels. We also carry around and keep on hand small 4oz. bottles of polycose liquid and a 60cc (2oz.) syringe. Sometimes when we see the signs of an episode starting, we can avoid the hospital. He takes it okay, and has never thrown it up. Also, as someone else had mentioned, my son vomits food that appears to be totally undigested even many hours after eating it.

Mary 

LCHAD mom

My daughter was initially diagnosed with reflux and treated as such after initially presenting with multiple cyanotic episodes (turning blue) during her first 2 weeks of life. They put her on Propulsid to control it, but she continued to vomit at least one entire feed/day. At 2 months of age, she was diagnosed with a carnitine deficiency (major symptoms: vomiting and hypotonia, or low muscle tone). It is my understanding that vomiting goes hand in hand with many of the FODs. In the case of children with hypotonia, it definitely makes sense. The reason they vomit or have “reflux” is because the muscle at the top of the stomach is also hypotonic and doesn’t close sufficiently in many cases. Taylor’s reflux improved right along with her muscle tone once carnitine was started. At 8 months of age, she was off her reflux meds and no longer vomiting. However, I would also like to comment on the idea that it has to do with the type of fat in the diet. About 4 weeks later, the vomiting again started, though it was more like the “morning vomiting” described by the Mom who asked the original question. That vomiting improved after a formula change. At the time, she had been diagnosed with both milk and soy “allergies,” though allergy testing was negative. I now feel that it really wasn’t an allergy, but an intolerance to the type of fat in the formulas. 

Dori 

Undiagnosed FOD mom