Anyone here a doctor? Feel like i have been given duff advice by our GP

[Vee_Bee]

Hi,

Our LO is 14 weeks old and has had diarrhea for about 4 days. He hasn't vomited at all, has no blood in his stools and is generally his normal little self.

He tends to just get an attack either while he's feeding (purely FF - Aptamil) or just afterwards. At that point it seems to give him cramps and then he poos quite loudly. After that he is ok again. (Occasionally the poo happens without him making any fuss at all.)

He usually only poos every two days and it is always a healthy poo, but for the last few days it is nearly every time he feeds. His fontanelle isn't too sunken (it's always been a tiny bit dipped), but he does seem thirsty sometimes at the moment. His appetite was pretty much non-existent for the last few days but today he has taken loads of formula, which is really good. His poo is still neon yellow with mucus in it though, and happening frequently.

The doc today told us to give him Dioralyte, but to also dilute his formula down by quite a big amount. His reasoning for this is that the lactose could be making the diarrhea worse and so we need to reduce the amount he is getting, whilst still feeding him.

However, everything I have ever read and have ever been told is that you should never dilute formula. When I said this to the doc he rolled his eyes and did that little "huh" laugh that smug people do when they think you're being stupid. He asked if I was breastfeeding and when I said no, he basically said that if I breastfed then this wouldn't be happening. Wanted to deck him...

Help! I just want to do what is right for my baby! A stool sample has been sent off but we won't get the results till about Tues next week, and I don't know what to do in the meantime.

Any responses from any medical professionals would really be appreciated and I would love you for ever.

xx

 

[MumToOllie]

Sorry, I'm no help but wanted to send hugs and didn't want to read and run xxx

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

Hi hun I am a student pediatric nurse I will help as much as I can

I personally have never heard of watering formula down, I think I would get a second opinion on this. It sounds like he is thinking your LO may be lactose intolerant but then I'm not sure why he wouldn't order more tests. Is he sick at all?

Also are you still getting wet nappies? With the Dioralyte in hospital we dilute it with sterile water or cooled boiled water. I'm only a student nurse though hun and it is doctors advice BUT I would ring NHS direct they may be able to shed some more light

 

[Vee_Bee]

Hi hun I am a student pediatric nurse I will help as much as I can

I personally have never heard of watering formula down, I think I would get a second opinion on this. It sounds like he is thinking your LO may be lactose intolerant but then I'm not sure why he wouldn't order more tests. Is he sick at all?

Also are you still getting wet nappies? With the Dioralyte in hospital we dilute it with sterile water or cooled boiled water. I'm only a student nurse though hun and it is doctors advice BUT I would ring NHS direct they may be able to shed some more light

Hi Aidan's Mummy,

No, LO hasn't been sick at all and has his usual amount of wet nappies (plus a couple of "wet mummy/changing mat/wall" incidents when the nappy came off!!). We actually called NHS Direct before we went to the doc - it was them who recommended we took a nappy to the doc so they could take a sample. NHS Direct didn't mention Dioralyte (after asking about 100 questions) and the doctor grumbled about this.

I'm more inclined to give LO his normal formula at the usual times and give him his Dioralyte (diluted with 200ml cooled boiled water) to sip between feeds.

Thanks so much for answering!

Any other opinions very gladly received xxxx

 

[MamaBelle]

[Removed]

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

That sounds a good idea hun, just monitor the wet nappies. Also it may be worth giving your health visitor a ring they are more in touch with current guidlines to do with babies and they can also make refferals. They are also trained nurses x

 

[sophie0909uk]

So many drs tell you to dilute the formula, and i can see your drs logic. He is not saying your lo is lactose intollerent, but when my son went to the dr with pretty much what u described they told me that because he has been poorly he would have temporary lactose intollerance. So dilute the milk to help this but still feed him. (i didnt dilute it) I gave him the dioralyte when ever he wasnt due a bottle though. So just perservere, if he is no better by Monday id take him back. Maybe try him on Wysoy or Cow & Gate Infasoy to see if this helps whilst he is poorly. it will help settle his tummy xx

 

[Maccysmum]

Hi Hun, my little one had a tummy bug at 11 weeks she had a runny tummy cramps and was quite sick for the first 24hrs. I took her to the doc after a week of the runs who told me to just give her water for 24hrs then 1/4 strength feeds and slowly build it back up but each time she would start getting ill again. after 2 weeks i took her to HV for a weigh as doc said to keep an eye on her weight and she told me to put her on full strength feeds straight away and just keep with it. After 3 days she was back to normal and in 2 weeks she had caught back up with the weight gain. Personally I would give him his feeds but offer him water in between, but I am not a doctor just a mum a few times over with a similar story.

 

[Vee_Bee]

So many drs tell you to dilute the formula, and i can see your drs logic. He is not saying your lo is lactose intollerent, but when my son went to the dr with pretty much what u described they told me that because he has been poorly he would have temporary lactose intollerance. So dilute the milk to help this but still feed him. (i didnt dilute it) I gave him the dioralyte when ever he wasnt due a bottle though. So just perservere, if he is no better by Monday id take him back. Maybe try him on Wysoy or Cow & Gate Infasoy to see if this helps whilst he is poorly. it will help settle his tummy xx

Did your LO's tummy bug get better even though you didn't dilute the formula? xx

 

[sophie0909uk]

So many drs tell you to dilute the formula, and i can see your drs logic. He is not saying your lo is lactose intollerent, but when my son went to the dr with pretty much what u described they told me that because he has been poorly he would have temporary lactose intollerance. So dilute the milk to help this but still feed him. (i didnt dilute it) I gave him the dioralyte when ever he wasnt due a bottle though. So just perservere, if he is no better by Monday id take him back. Maybe try him on Wysoy or Cow & Gate Infasoy to see if this helps whilst he is poorly. it will help settle his tummy xx

Did your LO's tummy bug get better even though you didn't dilute the formula? xx

Yeah. I cant remember how long it took. maybe 10 days, give or take a few days. I was forever back & forth to the dr, but there was no more they could do. But he has been diagnosed since then with lactose intollerance (which is a pain) and is now on SMA Wysoy. So the things he was eating wasnt helping him.

Which formula is he on? xx

 

[Vee_Bee]

He's on Aptamil, which our doc recommended a while back as being the one which is closest to breastmilk (dunno whether that's true or not but he deffo has less colic (well, no colic!)) since changing to Aptamil from C&G.

 

[stardust599]

He may have a tummy bug which is known to cause temporary lactose intolerance. True lactose intolerance is incredibly rare in the UK and would be present from birth.

I would switch to SMA Lactose Free (get it in Boots) for two weeks and then go onto half and half with his normal milk x

 

[summer rain]

soya formula isn't recommended for babies under six months without a pressing medical reason xx

 

[MrsPOP]

Hi, I'm a GP (Registrar) and disagree with your GPs advice. Is he an older Doc? It used to be advised to starve those with diarrhoea but this is no longer recommended. The important thing with diarrhoea is as you know to ensure to avoid dehydration. So the current advice is to carry on with feeds as normal if he will take it. You may even find he wants more feeds! And persist with the dioralyte.

The website patient.co.uk is excellent if you want to second check advice you've been given.

Hope your LO feels better soon!

 

[stardust599]

Hi, I'm a GP (Registrar) and disagree with your GPs advice. Is he an older Doc? It used to be advised to starve those with diarrhoea but this is no longer recommended. The important thing with diarrhoea is as you know to ensure to avoid dehydration. So the current advice is to carry on with feeds as normal if he will take it. You may even find he wants more feeds! And persist with the dioralyte.

The website patient.co.uk is excellent if you want to second check advice you've been given.

Hope your LO feels better soon!

Good advice thank you!! My GP also told me not to feed for 24hours and only to give Diarlyte (spelling??).

I gave feeds as normal and a couple of spoonfuls of dioralyte in between feeds

 

[Vee_Bee]

Hi, I'm a GP (Registrar) and disagree with your GPs advice. Is he an older Doc? It used to be advised to starve those with diarrhoea but this is no longer recommended. The important thing with diarrhoea is as you know to ensure to avoid dehydration. So the current advice is to carry on with feeds as normal if he will take it. You may even find he wants more feeds! And persist with the dioralyte.

The website patient.co.uk is excellent if you want to second check advice you've been given.

Hope your LO feels better soon!

Hi MrsPOP!

I don't think he's particularly old but he was quite insistent that we dilute the formula. Every mummy instinct I have is telling me not to do this, but I just want to make Ethan feel better. He is weeing lots and seems absolutely fine otherwise (his appetite has returned today with a vengeance although still got neon yellow mucusy poo).

Yesterday he did a proper poo (consistency, colour, volume etc) but today has returned to a little bit of the rubbish stuff at each feed. He generally only poos every two days so it'll be interesting to see if the normal poo returns at the normal intervals even if the rubbish stuff continues at each feed...

Thanks so much for your advice xxx

 

[stardust599]

Bump for wanababa x

 

[WanaBaba]

Hi my LO is 7 months and has also been having diarrhea for a few days now, i took her to the docs today and she advised me to give LO dioralyte instead of her milk feeds. But reading this thread it seems a lot of you dont agree with this? It's all so confusing when the doc tells you 1 thing, the dioralyte leaflet tells you another and searching the internet tells you something completely different lol

 

[MrsPOP]

WanaBaba, what does the dioryte leaflet say?

 

[ke29]

Hi my LO is 7 months and has also been having diarrhea for a few days now, i took her to the docs today and she advised me to give LO dioralyte instead of her milk feeds. But reading this thread it seems a lot of you dont agree with this? It's all so confusing when the doc tells you 1 thing, the dioralyte leaflet tells you another and searching the internet tells you something completely different lol

Please ignore your GP and listen to the GP who has already commented on this thread. Im a nurse, not paediatrics though but we would never starve somebody who had diarrhoea, thats very old school practice. My best suggestion is to feed LO on demand, LO may ask for more feeds due to losing so much fluid through diarrhoea but feed as much as LO wants to prevent dehydration. Dont dilute the formula. Give the medications as prescribed. Hope that helps somewhat. If anything changes over the weekend I would contact NHS direct.