My 2 year old son has a "small" VSD which was diagnosed at 6 weeks. He went for an appt at 2 months, at 6 months and was told to come back at one year. We have three older children without VSD and none of them are fussy like he is. He cries on and off all night long almost every night. He is a big boy and putting on weight okay, but he is ALWAYS hungry. I offer him three meals and two snacks, plus several bottles of formula (he can't have cows milk - it gives him the runs), plus I still breastfeed. Even with all this milk he has white spots on his fingernails (which I think is due to lack of calcium?) He is always trying to go in the kitchen to get more food, even when we just ate. It's like he burns up his food super fast or something.
He seems to have a really difficult time at night. When he wakes up he is writhing and screaming like he is being tortured. It is so awful. I have taken him to the allerginist thinking maybe he was allergic to something, but that all came back negative. He also had ezcema, but that seems to have improved. I don't think it is normal to be so fussy, but the cardiologist said he seemed like he was doing good. That was a year ago. But he is two now and still doesn't sleep thru the night and seems in a lot of discomfort. None of our other children were ever like this. Has anyone had a similar experience with a VSD child? Could he be so fussy from having a VSD? Could he be having some kind of discomfort or pain from his heart? I see the cardiologist in a few weeks and I would love to know if others have experienced having a child who is really fussy from their VSD.
Hi S.-
My daughter had a Ventricular Septal Defect (hole in heart) as well as myriad other congenital heart issues...
I would check with the cardiologist...but truly...it 'sounds' to me to be a 'gastro' issue...
I am NOT a doc...but would check with cardiologist...and seek a gastroenterologist as well...
Best Luck!
michele/cat
Maybe he has a belly ache from eating/drinking too much throughout the day? You can try doing smaller meals more frequently and offer more water instead of formula and see if it helps some. Also, when was his last bowel movement? Are they soft, or hard, round pellets? Constipation can cause him to be fussy too. Good Luck!
I had a VSD and while I don't remember life before having a scar on my chest so couldn't tell you if it hurt (but do remember my 2nd surgery around 3 y/o, and getting the stitches taken out of my chest -- kind cool [I got a balloon afterward! ;-)]), my mom says I was always such a happy child, and rarely fussed, even post-op or during medical procedures. So, fwiw, this VSD child didn't seem to hurt.
I do have lactose intolerance -- I can tolerate *some* quantity of milk/cheese, etc., but too much and I get a **horrible** stomachache, and often get diarrhea. Usually, once it's out of my system, I'm fine, but sometimes even though there are no apparent "outside" symptoms, my stomach **hurts**, and I'm not good. I'd be more willing to blame some food allergy/intolerance than the VSD.
He's 2 y/o -- can he tell you where it hurts? That may help you pinpoint the problem. If he feels the pain in his chest, then I'd be more likely to blame the VSD, but if the pain is in his belly, I'd blame food.
These symptoms don't seem to be related to the VSD, but like was mentioned, and based on what you have noticed, seem to be more gastrointestinal or behavioral. VSD's that are small are pretty much asymptomatic, never painful, and if they are bigger, they tend to have cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms. The eczema, which you say is improving, can be very uncomfortable, and if he is having a flare, cause a lot of discomfort, which is usually worse at night, and if he's cut himself from scratching or gotten a secondary skin infection, make it even worse. Maybe he has reflux, especially if he eats a lot before going to sleep, it may not be bad enough to make him throw up, but enough for it to burn, and that can also be worse at night. It also sounded surprising that the allergist didn't diagnose any allergies (he seems to be clearly lactose intolerant - is he on lactose free formula?) since kids with eczema almost always are allergic to something, which is what makes their eczema worse. I would discuss it with his pediatrician, maybe have a GI specialist take a look at him, and maybe get a second opinion with another allergist.
Is he on a soy based formula? If the cows milk gives him problems, the formula will too. My son used to wake up at night a lot too. We also thought he was hungry and would give him milk in the middle of the night.He got really constipated so we took milk out of his diet and he slept through the night. (He was around 22 months when we took away the milk).We switched to soy and he's slept through the night ever since. Milk doesn't seem to bother him during the day, but at night when he lays down it does. A couple of months ago we let him have ice cream for dessert and he was up all night if I tried to lay him down, but if I held him upright he slept.
