Extreme sensory issues, throw up medicine

greyt00 · May 2014

Anyone's kid have oral sensory issues to the extreme that even one-half teaspoon of flavored medicine makes them gag and throw up? It is RIDICULOUS that I cannot give my kid oral meds of any kind. I guess I should just thank God that he doesn't really need any... Honestly I think he needs allergy meds. When he has fever or pain, he gets a suppository. If he needs antibiotics, he gets a shot. Has anyone's kid been like this and ever gotten better? He's been in a feeding program for 7 weeks and I hoped that he had been a little de-sensitized by now. Will this ever get better? I want to cry. It appears that he can only handle 1 mL at a time. We used to force feed a vitamin drop to him and that was the dose. It tasted very bad and he managed that OK. UGH!!!!!! They do medicine programs at his ABA center but they wanted to get feeding a lot further along before starting it. Maybe we should ask about it, I don't know. What I do know is that this royally sucks and there seems to be no way out.

funchicken · May 2014

This might not be any help, but diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and Allegra both come in "meltaway" tablet form. Have you ever tried those? DD1 has a really sensitive gag reflex, and she used to throw up regular Benadryl, but since she has food allergies I really need her to take it sometimes. I found the tablets at Target, and she actually likes the taste of them. The Allegra tablets say age 6 and up, but they are the same dose as the liquid.

DD's gag reflex has gotten better. She used to throw up her dinner if she ate something and the taste or texture bothered her. She still gags sometimes, but it's been a long time since she's thrown up a meal.

CCinLove · May 2014

I don't have any experience with my son, but I have issues with taking medicine myself. To this day, I can't take a pill with water or I will gag. But I'm fine if I take it with juice. I agree with the meltaway tab suggestion. Easiest way to take medicine ever created. Also, have you tried mixing the medicine with juice to help it go down easier?

I don't have any sensory issues, so I apologize if my suggestions are off base. I think in my case, the gagging is just a learned response after having a few bad experiences. Unfortunately, it hasn't gotten better. I've just learned to work around it.

greyt00 · May 2014

He won't drink anything except milk. I can't risk anything even slightly altering the taste of it or he might stop drinking it, and that is his main source of calories (probably 75%+) and only source of protein. It is very, very bad. We tried mixing in small amounts of the supposedly flavorless Duocal and he could tell.

How fast do they melt? He would probably try to pull it out of his mouth or spit it out.

There is nothing he will eat that I can mix things in. He will sometimes eat a jar of one particular kind of puree, but not reliably enough for medicine he needs to take daily or even most days. And certainly not something he needs to take twice per day.

It's horrible. Even talking to therapists who deal with this sort of thing all the time, DS1 seems to be on the pretty extreme end. YAY!

I wish I could give him a shot for EVERYTHING he needs. Here, have a giant calorie injection! Here, have some damn protein!

We introduced a chewable vitamin to his program this week. He took the first bite after 12 minutes of screaming. If he ever gets to the point of liking the vitamin, that might be our way to taking chewable tablets, but they won't LOOK just like the vitamin, so he won't want to take it.

I am going to make applesauce his next food for therapy. I bet he will eventually like it and then we can mix crap in it, perhaps. We haven't yet done a food that can't be eaten by hand though (we do pea sized bites). So that would be the first one where they put a little bit on a spoon. Even if he starts eating applesauce and yogurt, we can't really use that for antibiotics, though. What if he DOESN'T eat it/finish it? Then we've lost a dose of medicine. Ugh. Maybe need a reward system for short-term meds.

funchicken · May 2014

I'm sorry, that sounds so stressful. The diphenhydramine is grape-flavored, and they kind of taste like chewable vitamins. I think the Allegra is orange-flavored. I think some of the other allergy meds come in chewable tablets, too, but I'm not sure which ones (DD1 had a bad reaction to Claritin, so we stick with Allegra).

My younger DD doesn't have feeding issues, but when she was a baby she wouldn't take medicine either no matter what I tried. After no success with amoxicillin, the pedi gave us Zithromax because it was a much smaller dose (as a baby, DD2's dose was 1ml, once a day, for 5 days). Also it's stored at room temperature, and she seemed to prefer that. Maybe, when your DS gets to where he can take oral meds, that one might work better for you. Now she'll take amoxicillin but only if I mix it with Hershey syrup. And I always have to bribe both of my girls to take antibiotics, so if you think a reward would help with short-term meds, I would do it.

Hang in there, mama!

greyt00 · May 2014

I just figured out what I need. Placebo meds for training. Anyone heard of such a thing???

ToastieSimons · May 2014

greyt00 said:

I just figured out what I need. Placebo meds for training. Anyone heard of such a thing???

We give both boys their meds via syringe. They can't take it off the measured spoon thing. Have you tried using a syringe and putting it on the bottom left of his cheek?

I had to give Versed to DS1 in the hospital for his Botox injections. The dr warned me that it tasted awful and DS1 wouldn't take it. So I laid him down on the bed and straddled him, using my legs and knees to hold him and his arms down. I sang songs and slowly put it in his left cheek down between his bottom teeth and cheek so the medicine slid down his throat without really hitting his tongue. He calmly took most of it. He spit out about 2 drops. I think being held down with some deep pressure was somewhat calming. Music is his soothing thing. The dr warned me to take his shirt off because the red of the meds was very staining. There wasn't a drop on his shirt.

You could use a syringe and start filling it with strawberry milk or chocolate milk so that it's a very rewarding thing. If he needs to take meds you could either mix with the milk or give the meds and follow up with the milk as a reward.

Is it the anxiety of the meds that are getting to him?

greyt00 · May 2014

We use a syringe. He doesn't want anything that doesn't fit into his TEENY TINY definition of edible into his mouth. The ONLY THING he will drink is plain white milk. Chocolate, strawberry, etc. would all be offensive to him. As soon as he knows something is coming he will freak the he** out.

I absolutely cannot mix meds with the milk. He has been known to stop drinking milk (for over a day) because he noticed something was off about it (when we tried to mix something).

Like I said, it's ridiculous. He doesn't like anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If we ever try again, we will try bottom left cheek (so if I'm facing him, my right?) Is something magical about the left? Just asking because I have no idea, not meaning to be snarky.

He throws up after he is up off the floor (pinned down, of course, because he is upset). Not even while we're doing it.

greyt00 · May 2014

mrszee2b said:

My younger DD doesn't have feeding issues, but when she was a baby she wouldn't take medicine either no matter what I tried. After no success with amoxicillin, the pedi gave us Zithromax because it was a much smaller dose (as a baby, DD2's dose was 1ml, once a day, for 5 days). Also it's stored at room temperature, and she seemed to prefer that. Maybe, when your DS gets to where he can take oral meds, that one might work better for you. Now she'll take amoxicillin but only if I mix it with Hershey syrup. And I always have to bribe both of my girls to take antibiotics, so if you think a reward would help with short-term meds, I would do it.

Hang in there, mama!

Thank you. If we ever try prescription oral meds again, I will make sure to ask the dr. to use whatever would have the smallest dose and/or is once per day.

What's really sad is I don't even know how to reward him. What he likes one day he doesn't the next. And he gets in moods where he wants nothing.

I think I figured out my "quoting" issue of being stuck in the box (not able to get a cursor on the white, non-quoted area. It works right if you just click the link, but messed up if you click "open in new window", which I do a lot.

ToastieSimons · May 2014

greyt00 said:

We use a syringe. He doesn't want anything that doesn't fit into his TEENY TINY definition of edible into his mouth. The ONLY THING he will drink is plain white milk. Chocolate, strawberry, etc. would all be offensive to him. As soon as he knows something is coming he will freak the he** out.

I absolutely cannot mix meds with the milk. He has been known to stop drinking milk (for over a day) because he noticed something was off about it (when we tried to mix something).

Like I said, it's ridiculous. He doesn't like anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If we ever try again, we will try bottom left cheek (so if I'm facing him, my right?) Is something magical about the left? Just asking because I have no idea, not meaning to be snarky.

He throws up after he is up off the floor (pinned down, of course, because he is upset). Not even while we're doing it.

There is something magical about the left. No idea what it is, but every thing I read recommended the left and it never worked on the right. It's your DS's left cheek, not your left.

Sorry, I really wish we would have a suggestion for you.

greyt00 · May 2014

LOL, that is so funny that left is better for some magical reason. I need magic....

My idea is to select some sort of flavorful liquid (maybe strawberry milk is the best) and start a program where the ABA therapists present to him on a spoon. Start with a couple drops and work up to a whole spoonful. This will get him adjusted to a "dose" of a liquid completely outside of his feeding therapy and outside of his concept of drinking milk from a cup (that is an area to be avoided with giant orange cones).

SantoriniSteph · May 2014

I also use a syringe and insert small amounts to his right cheek, it doesn't work as well on his left. He will still sometimes throw it back up, but if I do it slow enough and only a little at a time, he can keep it down.

He is like this with other things too, when he is done eating or drinking, he takes the last sip and spits it back out. Or if he is eating one thing and sees another he would like better, he spits out the bite in his mouth. He doesn't do this all the time, just enough to be annoying.

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