Blood in poop, need adivce XP
miniray
member
XP- april 2012/0-3months
Some back story:
At about 2 week old my LO developed what I thought was colic. He would pump his legs, scream, cry, make fists, go stiff, arch back. He was still gaining weight and poop was normal. I suspected foremilk/hindmilk imbalance so I started block feeding, no improvement.
Then he started having random green poop along with the colic type symptoms so I suspected dairy intolerance. I cut out dairy with little improvement.
I had a gluten/dairy free cake for my birthday (i`m gluten intolerant). I ate like 3 pieces/day for 3 days. LO`s poop turned almost florescent green and very mucusy and he developed ezcema on his face. So I`m thinking MSPI. I cut out all dairy/soy and his poop went back to normal but still had random dark green parsley poop and random light green mucusy poop.
Colic symptoms almost gone. Haven`t had to use gas drops in a couple weeks.
DH gave LO a bottle this weekend of Alimentum. We give LO a bottle about twice a week to get him used to it, usually I use frozen breastmilk but we were out of town and I didn`t have any. About 24 hours after he had bloody streaks in his poop, in 2 diapers.
Now poop is back to normal and he doesn`t seem to have any cramps. We took him to the doctor yesterday and she was useless.
Me: "should I be concerned about the blood?"
Doctor: "well it's hard to say if it's blood or not... I wouldn't worry unless he had a rash or swelling"
Me: "um well he does have ezcema and he had a rash 2 weeks ago and a swollen eye".
Doctor: "oh... well I wouldn't worry unless he looks like he has cramps and in pain"
Me: "um he's been having cramps since 2 weeks old!"
Doctor: "oh... well I wouldn't worry, he's gaining weight just fine and his stool is back to normal now, just call me if it happens again"
WTF.
So bascially it was a useless appointment. I'm already gluten intolerant so I don't want to stop eating dairy/soy if I don't have to. But to me it seems pretty obvious that LO is MSPI. For some reason I just need a doctor to tell me it is to reassure me you know?
I'm in Canada so it's very hard to find a doctor let alone a pediatrician. I was lucky enough to have my uncle call his and beg her to accept my LO. She was going to see him in 2 weeks so I called today and explained that he had bloody stool and she will fit him in tomorrow morning.
I'm not really sure what i'm looking for... If I eat dairy/soy he has symptoms if I don't he's fine... Do I really need a doctor to confirm? I asked my doctor to test his stool for blood but she didn't want too, and I asked her about allergy testing but she said he was too young. She basically just said to put cream on his face and call her back if he has blood again. Urgh. I'm scared every time I open his diaper cause I never know what i'll find!
WWYD?
Re: Blood in poop, need adivce XP
From what I understand, the blood comes from their intestinal lining being irritated. So, while you've cut everything out, some could have been there all along and it could last because they're still healing. I would definitely stay dairy/soy free. Maybe keep a food journal to see if you can track it down to anything else. But, I would say that if his disposition has improved that he is just still healing.
Unfortunately, there isn't a really good test for determining a protein intolerance. DS1 saw an allergist for an unrelated allergy and we were told that many people in the population will test positive for protein intolerances and have no symptoms. We had the test run on DS (he has a dairy protein intolerance) and it was positive. Didn't really tell us much we didn't already know and we only did it b/c we already had to draw blood for peanut allergies. I would never draw blood on a small child unless I really had to, though. It is not fun and elminating items from your/their diet is much easier.
This is what I found this morning b/c my little one has had a few red-streaked stools.
Red streaked stools
This usually comes from bleeding in the lower intestine or rectum. Most often it is caused by rectal fissures which are tiny ?cuts? around the circumference of the anus. This can be a reaction to dairy in mom?s diet. Elimination of all dairy is the first line of defense in this situation. I have seen countless babies who had blood in their poop which resolved when mom stopped all dairy products and returned with even a small amount of milk or cheese. Other dietary changes may be needed for breastfeeding moms. Formula fed babies lose blood from the lower intestine when they drink cow milk formula and some have the same losses on soy formula. Occasionally, this ?micro-hemorrhaging? can become visible as blood streaking on the surface of the stool. Persistent or increasing blood in the stool or blood mixed with mucus (described as ?currant jelly? stool in the texts) requires an immediate call to your doctor.