Eating issues (gagging/barfing) - WWYD?

[chocolatepie]

My young 4 year old has been extremely picky since age 2 but his speech therapist(s) have never been concerned - consensus was that he is simply picky, no oral issues or texture concerns. He has since tested out of speech.

We moved 5 weeks ago to a new state and everything in his life has changed; we are even in furnished temp housing with very few of his things and are currently sharing a room.

Two weeks ago, he badly broke his femur at his new daycare and it was a traumatic ordeal. We are taking turns taking off work, bringing him to the office, etc while he is mostly immobile. Life is really challenging right now.

During the last two weeks, he has started to gag on textures he has eaten many times. Favorite safe foods - aka, ChickFilA nuggets - have made him gag to the point of barfing all over himself. His list of safe foods has dwindled as familiar textures have prompted gagging and he doesn't want them anymore. I'm really struggling to just feed him at this point (he will, thankfully, drink Pediasure/smoothies for extra nutrition).

Do you think there is some kind of connection there between the injury and eating that might be the underlying cause?

Would you roll with it until the cast comes off, mobility increases, he returns to day care, etc before trying to address it and hope it goes away or is addressing it sooner key in eating issues? 

I don't even have a pediatrician here yet to bounce this situation off of  

[waverly]

You may want to go to urgent care to rule out medical issues.

Next on the list finding a pediatrician.

I don’t think it’s related to a broken femur but there could be a mental component or something else physical. I don’t know what’s best in earting issues but if you are struggling to even feed him then it is probably time.

[erbear]

I would get a therapist involved, as well as a pedi. It certainly sounds like those are related and you don’t want it to turn into something f huge by waiting.

[sent]

It could be anxiety. My 5 year old recently has started gagging and puking. He's been puking in the car on long rides. This was never a thing before this, he was my solid baby/toddler. He barely ever threw up. DD was the constant puker from the minute she was born. I googled if this could be anxiety and apparently it could be.

[UMaineTeach]

There it’s been going on longer, it’s probably not it, but I’ll toss it out there.

Once when I was a kid i choked on a sandwich. For the next week I couldn’t swallow anything solid. I was old enough to be convinced it was just anxiety. Eventually, my parents took me to the doctor and I had quite a bad strep infection. I had no pain or swelling that anyone noticed.

Like others have said, probably time to get him checked. You might even be able to get into a pediatrician quickly. Ours seems to always have appointments available, even when we were new.

[joy]

He could be controlling the one thing be can right now. In a sea of changes that included a new home, new room, new daycare and now new immobility, his life has been turned upside down and all he has left is eating.

It could also be something else as others have said. I would find a pediatrician and get him seen. See what they have to say about the behaviors and go from there.

[origami]

My cousin’s kids are in pediatric feeding therapy and that’s what I’d look into in your shoes. In their experience, pediatricians couldn’t provide much support beyond referring them. The gagging may be a temporary issue but it sounded like your kiddo may benefit from it even under normal times.

[Poppy]

I would be concerned there is a physical issue at play.

My son was doing OIT treatment for his allergy and had a complication where swallowing became difficult (EoE). I assume you're not doing OIT, but still, something may be going on with your kiddo's throat or esophagus, including potentially EoE. I would want to get him checked out ASAP.

[jg183]

I would contact my old pediatrician at a minimum but would want it addressed sooner than getting the cast off and getting the stability in life.

[CloudBee]

I would call pediatricians on Monday and explain that you're new to the area and need to be seen ASAP. I know at one point our pediatrician wasn't accepting new patients, but one day when we were there a set of grandparents were able to bring their visiting grandchild in for a fever. It may take a few calls, especially if your area is short on pediatrician's like my own, but I bet you can get in with someone within the next few days. If not, see if any of the local pediatric practices have walk-in or urgent care. Two of our local practices open their walk-in/urgent care hours to the general public, not just their own patients.

You may also consider putting a call into the ortho practice that casted your son's femur, explain the issue, and ask if they can put in a referral to a trusted pediatrician. They may be able to handle getting information to a local pedi for you and expediting the appointment. You said the injury was very traumatic, so I would want a checkup soon to make sure it's just anxiety and not a secondary injury related to the leg break incident.

I'm sorry you are feeling so overwhelmed right now. Hopefully by spring you will feel settled into your new home, and this injury will be a distant memory. You've got this.