VSD feeding issues

speffer-2

Hey all. My son was born with a PFO and a VSD. For the first 7 weeks he was put on Lasix, Digoxin, and we were supplementing my breast milk with formula (I pump and bottle feed). The last two weeks he has had a really hard time eating. He screams and tries to pull away from the bottle most times we try to feed him. It got so bad that last week we were put in the hospital so he could be fed through a ng tube. When we were in the hospital the cardiologist said that because he doesn't seem exhausted or sweat when he eats he doesn't think it has anything to do with his Heart He only seems to take one ounce at a time, and on good days with constant working with him we can only get him to take 15 ounces in a day (doc says 20oz is his goal). I just wanted to know if someone else had this problem with their VSD baby. My husband and I are just frustrated and tired of fighting with him to eat as much as we can, and don't understand what else it could be. We are feeling pretty alone here, and would love some fellow parent input. Thanks.

rklinge0

I am assuming they performed an Echo. If not push for it. My child wasn't showing the normal signs of heart failure before her surgery but after she ate a lot more.
How old is your little one? And when did they speculate surgery? 
Good luck and thinking of you all. 

kmtz89

Late on replying but my daughter was born with a large VSD and smaller ASD. She had her VSD repaired at 6 months old. Around 4.5 months she quit breastfeeding completely because it was too exhausting for her. But even once we switched to a bottle I felt like I was feeding her around the clock and she was constantly falling asleep while eating. After surgery her sucking got so much more efficient and it was obvious her heart/how hard it was working had been a big problem. 

Like mentioned above, are they thinking of doing surgery? Could he also be having gas problems? Did the ng tube help, in the sense was he calmer? Can you see a different cardiologist?