Updated on Enzymes/Q&A

I know some of you have been wondering how Lil' Chris has been doing with his enzymes since I posted this...

Friday, May 1, 2009

Refused to take Enzymes for the First Time
Ughhhhh...I had a rough night with Lil' Chris tonight. He refused to take his enzymes twice!!! I tried to feed it to him with applesauce like we used to the first time, but he just kept turning his head saying "No". Then my second attempt, I put them in his Applesauce and Ham baby food jar, he still refused to take them! I had to throw away 6 enzymes, b/c when we put them on top of his food, they get wet and therefore are no longer reusable. I didn't know what to do. I knew he was hungry, but he just would not take his enzymes! This is the first time he has done this.He was crying for his milk, but I was hesitant to give it to him w/o his enzymes. I reluctantly gave in and gave him some. It was only 1/2 a cup, but it did have some cream in it to boost the calories. I really hope he doesn't get a belly ache from drinking it without having his enzymes first. Does anybody have any advice? What should I do when he won't take his enzymes? Will the milk bother him? If so, what will happen?I need you CF moms out there!!! What did you do when your child didn't want to take their enzymes anymore???? Do you have any tips or tricks for me???Please pray that this isn't going to be a daily thing.
Thanks,M

Click here to read all the comments I got from this post.

First off, let me start by saying that Lil' Chris did not seem to get a stomach ache thank God! I asked Katey(an adult CFer) what happens when a person with CF does not take their enzymes and this is what she said...

Yea...i guess all clinics are different. I was always told that I could take them up to 2 hours before or 2 hours after. But yes...i think if you can take them before you eat....then that's better and that's what I always try to do. But it wouldn't hurt if it's a little after...it's better than nothing!
Hey...I don't mind you asking at all! I'm happy to help whenever I can!
Every person is different in how they react to medicines...as I'm sure you already know. Currently, I can sometimes go without my enzymes (not on purpose, but say if i forgot one day), and nothing happens. It's going to depend on what you eat. For example...if you drink milk or eat something heavy like Mexican foods, ice cream, pizza, etc., more than likely that is going to upset your stomach. Basically, the cf patient is going to experience stomach pains/upset stomach. Possibly, get a little constipated or having trouble going to the bathroom...or it may be the opposite...diarrhea or very loose stools, and very shortly after you eat whatever you are eating. But like I said, every person will react differently. There are those who it really doesn't bother them if they miss taking them....and then there are those who have to religiously take them to avoid major stomach issues. But other than that...it's not going to mess anything up; it's not an extremely serious thing if he misses taking them. You are just going to have to see how he reacts to them. You'll find that it is similar once the doctors start adjusting the amount he takes as well. Sometimes it takes a trial and error run to find out what amount best fits lil Chris. It may even be different than what the doctors recommend. If his stools are really hard, then he needs more enzymes. If his stools are extremely soft and/or he is having diarrhea, then he is taking too many enzymes. Make sense? I hope this helps!
~Katey

Thanks Katey for all the GREAT advice!!

As you can see from the comments, some dr.'s say that enzymes are only good for one hour and some say longer. Since I've been blogging, I have heard this before, but I've noticed that I've only heard it from ADULT CFers. So, I don't know if maybe the adult enzymes are different from the child ones, or what. So what I have decided, is to listen to our dr. and try to give the enzymes before he eats, and to keep it within 1 hour. BUT, if he won't cooperate with the enzymes once in a while, then I will try to let him snack on something light(low cal) while I wip some mashed potatoes up or something I can slip the enzymes in and he won't notice. Now I'm sure there will be times when I will get fed up with him and say like Daniel's mom..."No enzymes, No food!" But it is SO hard for me to do that, b/c I know he needs to eat, and he is so stubborn that he won't care! He would rather go without eating for hours! That's not good for him! So where does this lead me...frustrated:-(

His big problem is...if he sees the blue and red enzyme on the spoon before it reaches his mouth, he turns away and says "no". I've tried what Phoenix's mom said and he will play with it in his hand, but won't put it near his mouth!

Yes, I have tried the different flavored applesauce's and that seemed to work...THANK YOU LESLIE!!

As for Ronnie's question(love his blog, btw. Click here to check it out;) about getting the enzymes wet...I had to throw them away, b/c I knew it was going to be a LONG time before he would eat anything. He is very stubborn...must get it from his Daddy;-) JK Honey!! Our dr. told us not to let them sit in applesauce too long. He said to prepare it right before we gave them to him. Now he told us this when we used to sprinkle them on top of the applesauce. He never said if it was different now that we use the whole capsules. Thank you Anonymous person for telling me that 15 min. is ok;)

I'm not really sure what led to this problem with the enzymes, it could be many things...

1. He is getting close to those Terrible Two's!
2. We started doing the whole capsules instead of sprinkling them on top of applesauce.
3. We started putting them in foods other than applesauce.
4. He sees Ayla doesn't have to take any before her bottles.
5. We don't hide them well enough in the spoonful of food. It seems like if they are sitting towards the back of the spoon, then he ALWAYS spits them out. I guess b/c it's the last thing in his mouth and he can feel it more b/c it's not in the middle of the spoonful. We only do one at a time, but it sometimes ends up at the back of the spoon. We just have to be careful, b/c once he finds one and spits it out, then he won't take the others.

I have a feeling it is b/c of #3 and #5. We've been trying different things and it seems like he doesn't mind them as much in the flavored applesauce's and in his vegetable jars of baby food. I thinks the problem started when I started putting them in his applesauce and chicken baby food jars, which is very thin. That's probably why he kept spitting them out, he could feel them more.

I guess we just have to live and learn, am I right CF moms?? Thanks for all the GREAT advice everyone!! I really appreciate it! =)

Hopefully this post will help some parents of an upcoming Terrible Two CFer;-) LOL

M