CHERUBS Medical Expert Series: CDH & Feeding Issues (Dec 2-9, 2013)

[Chris and TracyMeats]

Hi Brad! Thank you for answering these questions!

My son is 9 and we still have the gagging episodes on occasion, do you think this is just from his years of struggling to eat or should we take him back to a GI doctor? I have always just put it back on he doesn't like the texture of something and that is his way of dealing with it or eating to fast. He no longer takes reflux meds. Does your son still take reflux meds?

[BradMyers]

Hi Tracy- Your name sounds familiar!

Carter occasionally gags if he eats too much or too fast, but I think that most kids do, also. It hasn't been that long ago that Carter would vomit if he ate too much, especially if he laughed/cried/coughed immediately afterwards. This seems to have improved and he is no longer on reflux meds.

I think that if you can identify certain foods and/or textures that cause him to gag, this may be your answer. If it's always gooey food, stringy meat, lumpy food, etc but he tolerates other textures, I'd be willing to chalk it up to being hypersensitive to food textures. However, I'm always a fan of keeping your medical team in the loop. If you ever have any questions or concerns about swallowing or motility, I would at least bring it up to the family physician. My wife and I are renowned for calling Carter's physicians with questions and concerns. I'm pretty sure we're the sole reason they implemented their 24 hour call line. Haha. Ah, the life of a CDH parent.