Fellow LacNetters, I'm asking for ideas/help/advice on this one.  I found a
post from this woman on Misc.kids.health -- about her son's poor weight gain
at 18 months.  I sent her a private e-mail with some ideas to check into
(undiagnosed cystic fibrosis, zinc deficiency, growth hormone deficiency,
too much apple juice, etc.).  She sent this back to me, and I asked if I
could post it to you guys, since I've run out of ideas.  I am hoping maybe
some of you with allergy expertise or gut disease expertise might have some
idea.  Does anyone know if Maryelle Vonlanthen is still reading LactNet?  If
not, could you let me know her private e-mail?  I suspect maybe something
rare/obscure is going on here, and would appreciate your comments.  You can
post them to LactNet, but please also copy them to my private e-mail
([log in to unmask]) so I can forward them easily to the mother.  She is in
England, by the way......



Dear Professor Dettwyler,

Thank you very much for your considered, and evidently authoritative,
response to my posting of last week re. my son s lack of appetite and poor
weight gain.
Thomas is currently being monitored by a paediatrician at the local
hospital, but no tests have been carried out.  This is partly because he
seemed full of energy and healthy to the doctor, although on the light side,
and partly because I didn t want him to be exposed to any invasive tests if
it was going to be simply a  phase  he was going through.  The consultant
was  not unhappy  about leaving investigations for a while and Thomas has a
further appointment lined up.  His intellectual and physical development in
other respects is above average. I wish I d asked more, at the hospital,
about possible physical causes of the Thomas s poor weight gain, but I
didn t feel that there was time or that the doctor would be very forthcoming
at this point in order to avoid worrying me.  I should have asked really - I
prefer to be informed about the various possibilities.  The list of ideas
that you sent me was helpful: it explained some of the questions that the
consultant asked (re. intake of fruit juices, and so on).  I was interested
in the mention of zinc deficiency.  Thomas certainly behaves as though all
food is  blah  (could be my cooking, of course!).  We have recently
re-introduced formula milk into his diet to try to ensure that he is getting
all the vitamins and minerals necessary, but it sounds worth bearing in
mind. Thomas has been breastfed from birth, and still is (despite social
pressures to wean him).  He sleeps in the bed with my husband and I, and
feeds 2 or 3 times during the night.  During the day, he has cow s milk and
now the formula as well.  I have not dared to place too much emphasis on
weaning him from the breast, because I dread to think how his weight may
fall, if I did.  (I don t feel there s any hurry, although he is getting
some good teeth now!)  Helpful friends have suggested weaning him, on the
basis that he might eat  proper food  then.
His weight gain was fine, by the way, until solids were introduced.

[Note from Kathy D. -- does this statement sound like maybe it's a problem
with wheat allergies, or other allergies??]

  We were advised by the consultant to cut down on fruit juices because of
the lack of nutritional value, etc. and this we did - though he was only
having the odd drink.  After talking to doctor and health visitor on several
occasions about my worries that he wasn t eating enough (and being
 reassured  that mothers often felt this was the case, usually unjustifiably
it would appear) they eventually realised that something unusual was
happening with regard to his weight. Now, I feel that, at last it is being
taken seriously.  It could be that Thomas is  wrapping us all round his
little finger  in refusing to eat, but my instinct tells me that sometimes
he s just not interested and
other times that he s hungry, miserable and for some reason just won t do
the obvious thing and eat!

Things haven t been right since solids were introduced - he seemed miserable
and suffered from constipation (and seemingly some sort of pain) for a
while, despite having wholefoods and the orange juice our doctor
*recommended* at the time.  It was because of this original problem which
seems to have resolved itself, combined with the lack of adequate weight
gain that he was referred to a specialist.  I suppose, if it goes on much
longer, then Thomas *will* have to be investigated, but I hope it isn t
necessary.  I m not sure how long I could cope with this borderline, just
managing to scrape along a sort of bottom curve.  I feel like we re
teetering on the edge of a precipice sometimes.  When he s ill, as all
children are from time to time, he eats even less and has little in the way
of fat reserves to fall back on.  It *is* a worry, and I appreciate you
giving your time to think about it.

If you ve come across any specialists in children s eating disorders on
email, I would be pleased to hear of them.

If you re interested, I shall keep you posted.

Thank you again,

Best wishes,



Note from Kathy D. -- please give me some ideas on this!!!


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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email: [log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352