Hi Lactnetters,

I have been unable to keep up with Lactnet since about March, so I will be
searching the archives to see what I have missed.  In the meantime, I have
been talking with another mom that has a baby with bloody stools.  (I have
posted to the list before about another mom.)  She is feeling extremely
overwhelmed and could use some "loving technical support".  She asked me to
post her story in the hopes that we might learn something new.  Her message
is below. (It's kind of long.  If it doesn't come through in its entirety I
will repost the rest.)  Please feel free to email her directly, but I would
love to be cc:'d.  This has been a big learning curve for all of us.  But I
think that she is started in the right direction.

Gratefully,
Nikki Simmons
La Leche League of Jefferson City Missouri


Savannah's Story
Born 12/30/02

History:
We lived in a small rural town in NW MO when Savannah was conceived and
born.  We had owned our house for 18months before she we born.  We only used
vinegar and baking soda for any cleaning methods. We had an organic lawn and
composted for our garden. We have one inside/outside cat and an outside cat
and dog.

Savannah was my second child, born at 38 weeks.  Savannah was active in womb
but less so then my first.  While pregnant with both children I was repulsed
by the smell of seafood.  With Savannah, I was also very turned off by eggs.
At birth Savannah weighed 7lb 5oz.  The next accurate weight would be at 3
months, 15lb and currently at 5 months, 17lb.  Savannah is definitely
thriving with her weight.  Savannah has had extreme tummy troubles though.
Savannah is EXCLUSIVELY breastfed.  Here is an outline of events to help
discover what could be causing the problem.

Savannah was born with a midwife at a hospital.  After 18 hours of labor and
dilated to 9cm they broke my water.  It was very thick with meconium.  After
seconds of holding her they suctioned out her lungs.  She had the first HIB
shot in the hospital, which is the only vaccine that she has gotten so far
at five months.  We left the hospital the day after birth.

The evening of day four, Savannah was showing extreme tummy discomfort
(crying, kicking her legs and grunting).  I had eaten onions and thought
that that was the problem.  She seemed to do all right for the next couple
of days.

 Savannah was born with clubfoot.  On day nine we had her first Ponsetti
Method cast put on.  That morning she seemed extremely uncomfortable.  We
thought that it could be due to the tension in us.  She slept on the
two-hour drive back from the hospital.  Once we got home she did nothing but
scream.  We called the local pediatrician and went in to see her.  Her
decision was that the cast was causing her pain.  Thinking that we had no
other alternative if we wanted our daughter to be able to walk we continued
with the casting.  The Dr. recommended that we give her Tylenol every six
hours to relieve the pain.

By day 14 I had decided that although the cast may be causing her pain, her
tummy was definitely bothering her.  She constantly grunted while sleeping,
would kick her feet and cry while seeming to try to poop and seemed somewhat
relieved once she pooped (after hours of trying).  I eliminated diary in all
forms.  There was a definite improvement but the problem had not gone away.
Returning to the doctor the day after the second cast was put on, the doctor
again dismissed the pain for casting.

At four weeks we returned to the Dr. with the same compliant, extreme pain
and tummy discomfort, which seemed to have some relief after she pooped.
Around this time, diaper rash started following the tummy troubles.  This
time she had had the same cast on for 8 days.  She agreed that it could be
due to her tummy and then noticed that the veins in her chest were
protruding, which none of us had noticed before.  Our Dr. consulted with a
gastrointestinal specialist who recommended that we start her on Zantac (for
her reflux, thinking that that was causing the irritation).  The Dr also had
us go to the hospital for an Upper GI to make sure that there was no
blockage.  The Upper GI showed that she was refluxing.  We then started her
on Zantac.   We gave her Zantac for three weeks.  After this we discontinued
giving it to her by our own decision.  By this time I understood enough that
I knew that the reflux was due to my diet and wanted to change it.  I kept a
food diary for a few weeks.

On February 22 Savannah had an outpatient surgery to length her Achilles
tendon.  She was put under for it.  She was very uncomfortable for several
days afterwards.   I remember one day that she seemed extremely
uncomfortable; I had eaten an egg salad sandwich on wheat bread.

Around the first of March, Savannah had small slivers of blood in her stood
accompanying her tummy cramping.  She had diaper rash and for the first time
her face had broke out too.  I quickly started associating her blood with
corn and then wheat.  So by nine weeks I had totally eliminated all diary,
wheat and corn.  I also thought that the diaper rash came on around citrus
and eggs.  I also eliminated citrus and most things with eggs.  On March 8h
the small slivers where still there, and so was the tummy trouble.  That day
I had eaten peanuts, grapes, mushrooms, carrots, coconut milk, rice and soy.
I then eliminated peanuts and soy*.

Savannah had her 6th and final cast removed on March 17th.  She was then put
into what they call the Dennis Brown Bar.  She had no tolerance for this.
She would kick her feet and cry the entire time that she was in the shoes
and would only sleep while we were holding her.  I knew the correction on
her foot had brought severe trauma to Savannah's life.  Wanting my daughter
to be happy and able to walk I searched for a better way.  I discovered that
the French Method to correct clubfoot was physical therapy and taping.
Unfortunately, the only place in the US that the method is preformed in at
the Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas TX.  By March 27 our family was packed
and moved to Dallas.  We stayed in a hotel for 2 weeks.  During this time
Savannah had no blood in her stool. Savannah seemed to show tummy discomfort
very frequently though (I was not eating diary, wheat, corn, eggs, citrus,
pork and peanuts).  We were eating out often but I tried to be very careful
of what I was eating.

On April 18th we moved into an apartment in Fort Worth, TX.  They had
obviously used strong chemicals to clean the apartment.  Savannah was
uncomfortable for a few days but then she seemed to improve greatly.
Savannah did great with only small spells of discomfort very infrequently
(unable to figure out the cause).  I knew that when I consumed oat brownies
without eggs that she seemed a little uncomfortable.

I began to think that it was gluten intolerance for the following reasons:
I am very thin; I have always had trouble gaining weight.  I was a very
picky eater growing up and am an extremely gassy person.  It was painful to
have bowel movements (sometimes to the point of tears) but I thought that it
was normal.  Now that I was eating Savannah's diet I feel better.    Oats
make me really gassy.  I then eliminated oats, but I was still eating quite
a bit of all rye crackers and she did not seem to have a problem?  On May
5th we ate out at a Mexican restaurant.  She had been doing so well for
several weeks that I wasn't very careful.  I ate rice, beans, guacamole,
chicken, potatoes and peppers.  All seasoned and I didn't ask for every
ingredient (like I always had previously).  She had blood in her stool
within twenty minutes of nursing and showed extreme discomfort.  The blood
lasted for several days (over 6) with her discomfort lingering on.

She slowly seemed to get better but on May 19th I ate a salmon burger with
one of the last ingredients being soy sauce (which has wheat in it).  The
next morning the blood was back.  Since then the blood has never been really
gone for more than a couple days.  I ate some rice brownies and it seemed to
increase the problem (I now think that cocoa is also an allergen).  I was
tired of eliminating blindly so I made a pediatric appointment for May 27th.
The pediatrician just referred me to an allergist; our appointment is on
June 13th.

 On the 28th it was obvious to me that Savannah was in extreme discomfort.
I began being very careful to eat only what I considered the safe foods but
unfortunately was too preoccupied trying to take care of a baby in
discomfort I did not write anything down.  I called the doctor on Friday and
expressed my concern.  She recommended that we get a stool sample for the
lab to make sure that it was not an infection.

By Saturday May 31st Savannah had the worst blood in her stool that she had
ever had, (almost half blood) and Sunday was the same.  On Saturday I went
down to eating the following things:  bananas, potatoes, squash, rice,
apples, quinoa, chicken, grapes, raisins, apricots and asparagus.  Sunday
night I went out and bought the book Is This Your Child by Doris Rapp.

This book has given me better ideas on what Savannah's allergies could be.
Not knowing all of the medical terminology; I believe that Savannah has
Colitis.  Her allergies very closely match the things that I had discovered.
Things that I was still eating on the allergen list included chicken,
almonds, beef (minimally) and sugar (only unrefined but in cereal and lots
of fruit).  I then eliminated chicken and almonds and started eating only
the following things:  apples, apricots, asparagus, beets, carrots, mango,
pears, safflower oil, squash, turkey, okra, sweet potatoes and quinoa.

On Wednesday Savannah's comfort had not improved much and I was afraid that
I might be permanently scaring her colon.  The doctor recommended that we
have her admitted into the hospital.  I knew that this was not in the best
interest of our family, for I would have nothing to eat there.  The lab gave
us incorrect test tubes and then expired tubes so not until Wednesday did
they start running an accurate test.  As of Friday some of the results where
back but the lab would not give them to us and the Dr just left a message to
call her on Monday.  I am assuming that they are fine, but do not know.
Thankfully on Thursday her attitude improved greatly, although there was
still small slivers of blood.  Friday-small amount of blood in the early
poop but none with the later poop, with a relatively good attitude, some
grunting and discomfort.  That evening I put two tablespoons of flaxseed oil
in my carrot juice and took a natures path hypoallergenic multi-vitamin (did
contain rice) on an empty stomach.  Immediately my face started feeling numb
but she remained feeling pretty good.    Saturday-NO BLOOD, good attitude,
small amount of kicking and discomfort to go to bed.  Today, Sunday, June
08, 2003, she seems to be doing quite well.  Two poops today with NO BLOOD.
She still seems to kick a little bit with tummy trouble when she gets tired
but is it that her stomach is still healing or am I eating something that is
bothering her???  I took a different allergenic multivitamin without rice
today and have added nothing to my diet.

I don't want to go back there!  I think that every food that I put into my
mouth is causing my daughters extreme pain.  I feel guilty to eat and hungry
all the time.  It is obvious that I can't keep eating like this but don't
know what to add or try next.  If anyone has some information to help me
make a more educated choice on where to go next I would really appreciate
it!  Thank you for taking the time to read my story!

Ginny Chadwick
Mother of Aubrielle, 3yrs and Savannah, 5months

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