GI/Stomach Issues

Has your adopted child recently had surgery? It is true that adhesions symptoms are not common with most surgeries. In fact, most go undiagnosed because they do not cause symptoms and are not life threatening. However, they are common after abdominal surgeries and many children do have their appendix removed. Occasionally, children are born with adhesions, but they usually result from the inflammation that accompanies surgery. Adhesions are scar tissues that bind together two surfaces within the body that were not meant to be connected. Painful symptoms can accompany adhesions because they pull on the nerves within the scar tissue or by pull on an internal organ. Pain occurs during stretching, exercising, or deep breathing usually. Doctors can operate using lysis, laparoscopy, or laparotomy if the… [more]

While listening to the radio this morning, I heard a sad story that brought tears to my eyes. A little girl was surprisingly celebrating her third birthday. Specialists had told her parents that she wouldn’t live to see her first birthday. Her father went on to explain that she had severe brain degeneration caused by mitochondrial disease. He did not know how much longer she would be with their family. She had not achieved any of the familiar childhood milestones. Her family had been providing for her complete and total care for all of her three years. He was not complaining or asking for help, he was praising God for the three years they had together. Our local Christian radio station offers day sponsor spots… [more]

Is your adopted child suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? IBS sufferers have chronic abdominal discomfort with cramping, bloating or gas, diarrhea, or constipation. The cause is unclear and there isn’t a test doctors can perform to diagnose it. Therefore, according to the Mayo clinic doctors use the Rome criteria to diagnose IBS. There are test to rule out more severe conditions that also have these symptoms, however with IBS the bowel appears normal. New research has found a connection between people with allergies and sufferers with irritable bowel syndrome. Adoptive parents of older children should be aware of this disorder. For example, if your adopted child suffers from encopresis, could the cause be IBS? Your child may have been living with this discomfort for so long that it… [more]

What did they find in LuLu’s GI scope on Friday?H pylori is a bacterial infection of the stomach lining. These nasty little bugs can neutralize the stomach acid enough to make their way to the lining and burrow their way into the lining. H pylori is believed to be responsible for most peptic ulcers, and it’s estimated that 20-50% of Americans carry it in their GI system. We’re grateful to have an “answer” to LuLu’s chronic stomach pain. While the doctor doesn’t believe that h pylori is responsible for the bloody stools she’s been experiencing, it most certainly needs to be treated. We are currently treating it with something called “triple therapy”, which is large doses of two antibiotics… [more]