16 Month Old Who Is Always Sick and No One Knows What Is Wrong

This sounds very difficult. If you can afford it, you may want to take her to a Naturpath Dr. and even a Chiroprator could help believe it or not. Here is a link where you could ask questions, many people on this site are very informative and knowledgable:

http://www.earthclinic.com/

Also look for a really good Ped. sounds like you haven't found someone who is willing to really dig in and find out what's wrong.

Sending prayers for you both. Just keep giving her lots of love and gently wrap her in your warmth.

Wow, sounds awful for you and her. Can you take turns with your husband so you each get a full night sleep every now and then? I would also think that at 16 months not eating solids would be a concern for the pediatrician. Have you seen a nutritionist? I would make sure that you have a copy of her full medical record and ask for second opinions. A friend of mine had awful health issues and every doctor found her to be norma. Turns out her stomach was not compressing/squeezing correctly so food was leaving her stomach in large chunks into the small intestine (where usually only liquids go) and she had not only terrible cramps, was all but skin over bones, and after 3 days she would become allergic to anything she ate. She now takes some kind of medicine that helps her stomach contract properly and keeps food inside long enough to break down and all is well!
It took her almost 3 years and intravenous night feedings the last year because she kept losing weight, before SHE made appointments with all her specialists at the same time and had a conference call with them all to work out what could be going on. Sounds like you might need to get all the specialists together as well. Good luck.

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So sorry you are going through this.

Have you kept a food chart? My son used to get ear infections quite often I started a food chart, came up with 3 culprets - pears, peaches, apples. Had him skin tested. He broke out in hives with pears. We removed all pear items from his diet and the infections stopped.

Has anyone ever tested her for strep? My daughter's nose runs like a facet when she has strep.There are some people that are 'carriers'.

Has the ENT looked at her sinus' or tonsils? Its possible that there is a problem with her sinus' that when she lays down it puts pressure on her ears.

Have you considered changing her bedding? Is it possible that the material on her crib sheet is bothering her?

It may be a bunch of different issues. For the ear issue- my son had tubes in for ear infections, and also had his adenoids out because of chronic ear infections that we didn't even know about. then he became really sensitive to noise. Every little noise would bother him. Hands over the ears, sobbing. We battled this for 3 years, took him to audiologist who explained that he could barely hear for 3 years and then once the tubes went in, all of a sudden his hearing was so acute that the sounds startled him and maybe even hurt his ears. Soon it becomes a habit and he anticipates every sound to be uncomfortable. At 6 he is finally getting a little better about it. She may be getting pressure in the ears at night laying down. Even though she tested negative, she could still be irritated by something. My SIL and nephew lived with my in laws for 3 years. For 3 years they were constantly sick with respiratory issues. Once they moved out their problems cleared up. They think that something in the air in that house was causing the problems. Have you tried benadryl at night? My daughter was very very late to accept solids. She still has lots of texture issues and taste issues and is very sensitive. You may want to check in with a developmental OT to check out some sensory issues with her. Better to deal with it now. We waited until DD was 4 and it had already become a habit.

So sorry to hear you all are going through this!
Two things I can suggest: www.betterhealthusa.com can help u find a doctor to get tested for food sensitivities (different than an allergy test).
And www.whole9life.com for information on a Paleo/Grain Free diet. I really think that BOTH of these can help. Follow the Whole9 plan and also any additional foods the sensitivity test shows. It sounds overwhelming at first, but really is not bad at all--just a change. Good luck, and please keep us updated on what you find out!

Are you sure she's not refluxing? Acid reflux can cause ear infections and runny nose. When they lay down to sleep the acid can go into their sinus cavaties which can cause ear infections. Since she has tubes it makes it less likely. My son had severe acid reflux and did not eat at all, only nursed until 16 months old. His acid reflux caused such pain that he refused eating/swallowing other than nursing. He is 2 now and is in feeding therapy. I would talk to your pedi. I think an evaluation with a nutritionist or speech therapist (who does feeding therapy) is a good idea to address the eating. Good luck!

Another thing that made me think possible reflux was the chugging her drink. Children who reflux often drink and drink to soothe their throat. Just an idea. My son ended up seeing a pediatric gastroenterologist who did an endoscopy to diagnose reflux.

who is "they"? Is your daughter being treated at a Children's hospital-don't you have a St Jude's in your city? Maybe she needs to go to a specialty treatment facility? If I am misinformed about her treatment-I apologize..I read an article years ago about a gal that had serious asthma-every known treatment had been prescribed for this poor girl, then one day, a doctor ordered a chest x-ray that revealed that she had inhaled the back of an earring. It's just too hard to say-don't have enough background. Wish you the best!

Sounds like my daughter when she was young: 3 sets of ear tubes (starting at age 15 months), adenoids out, tonsils out at age 7. Took until she was 7 years old and I was sick myself before I finally found her help/what was causing all her problems/issues.

Took my daughter to a naturopathic doctor--alternative medicine--and discovered she had Severe Heavy Metal Toxicity, she had/has various food allergies and intolerances, she had various depleted vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, etc. I would get your daughter tested for food issues by an ALTERNATIVE HEALTHCARE DOCTOR and see what they come up with.

We also changed our eating to an ALL ORGANIC diet; GMOs in the food can harm people who are very susceptible to them. Watch geneticroutlette.com, a 1.5 hr documentary made by Jeffrey Smith on GMOs and what they do to the body and to your health. It was free up until yesterday 9/22/2012; you can watch it for $2.99. It's one of the best movies I have ever seen that talks about the US food supply and how the big corporations/the medical monopoly/pharma companies are using us as guinea pigs. It will totally change your mind on GMO vs organic food.

For myself, if I eat a food that I have allergy/intolerance to, the tips of my ears turn bright red and get very, very hot. It's been that way since I was little. I am going to start doing kinesiology accupuncture to help me with my own food allergies/intolerances. I have been using chiropractic care for the past year, and that has also helped with various issues.

Your little one's body is definitely telling you that she is having issues. It's up to you to do everything you can to figure out 1) what her issues are and 2) help get her the help she needs to get better/healthy. If the allopathic medical community is unable to help you get to the root cause of what is causing her so much discomfort, then you owe it to your daughter to invest in seeing some good quality alternative care doctors; they WILL get to the root cause of her problems. That is what they went to school for.

Updated

Sounds like my daughter when she was young: 3 sets of ear tubes (starting at age 15 months), adenoids out, tonsils out at age 7. Took until she was 7 years old and I was sick myself before I finally found her help/what was causing all her problems/issues.

Took my daughter to a naturopathic doctor--alternative medicine--and discovered she had Severe Heavy Metal Toxicity, she had/has various food allergies and intolerances, she had various depleted vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, etc. I would get your daughter tested for food issues by an ALTERNATIVE HEALTHCARE DOCTOR and see what they come up with.

We also changed our eating to an ALL ORGANIC diet; GMOs in the food can harm people who are very susceptible to them. Watch geneticroutlette.com, a 1.5 hr documentary made by Jeffrey Smith on GMOs and what they do to the body and to your health. It was free up until yesterday 9/22/2012; you can watch it for $2.99. It's one of the best movies I have ever seen that talks about the US food supply and how the big corporations/the medical monopoly/pharma companies are using us as guinea pigs. It will totally change your mind on GMO vs organic food.

For myself, if I eat a food that I have allergy/intolerance to, the tips of my ears turn bright red and get very, very hot. It's been that way since I was little. I am going to start doing kinesiology accupuncture to help me with my own food allergies/intolerances. I have been using chiropractic care for the past year, and that has also helped with various issues.

Your little one's body is definitely telling you that she is having issues. It's up to you to do everything you can to figure out 1) what her issues are and 2) help get her the help she needs to get better/healthy. If the allopathic medical community is unable to help you get to the root cause of what is causing her so much discomfort, then you owe it to your daughter to invest in seeing some good quality alternative care doctors; they WILL get to the root cause of her problems. That is what they went to school for.

I would stop letting her drink all that milk. She might not be allergic to dairy, but sometimes when a child wants milk like this, the milk is actually the source of problems. I can't explain it to you like I wish I could - I read a lot about it years ago, but can't remember what all I read. It reminded me of a kid I knew who only wanted to drink milk and wouldn't eat, which is why I read it. Instead, you need to get other sources of calcium in her.

I wonder if the tubes irritate her ears. What does the ENT say about her pulling on them all the time?

I agree with Megan about the strep. Don't ever believe anyone when they say that you have to have a fever with strep. Strep also doesn't have to present with a sore throat either - it can affect the stomach.

You should also ask for an Occupational Therapist who works with kids with feeding issues. Sometimes the reason a child won't eat solid food is because of oral defensiveness. Usually it has to do with textures and is a form of sensory integration disorder. It is very important to start working on this as early as you can, if this indeed is what is going on.

If your ENT doesn't help you with the issue of her ears, C., get a second opinion.

Do you have a children's hospital nearby? They have a team approach and that might be a place to start. You really need someone to figure out the issue with her ears.

So sorry about all this! Get that OT!

Dawn

This is a tough one. Obvious tests have been done so we are looking at the unusual. My son probably had reflux and by 5 months had tubes. He ate well, talked early but was a bad sleeper and left me exhausted most of the time. You need rest, I can hear the exhaustion in your questions. I feel for you.
I have terrible reflux and I feel it come up the tubes leading to my ears. It's pretty painful.
The low oxygen is bugging me. Combine it with low iron and thats not good. Low o2 makes one cranky. The medicines for asthma makes one cranky. How's her heart? The test for o2 saturation is easy on her. I would try to see if I could run by the doc office and get it checked without paying for an office call.
No allergies showed up but maybe the stuff the tubes are made of might cause irritation. A long shot though. They would probably see it when looking in her ears.
The runny nose could be a vascular thing that has nothing to do with allergies, but is still irritating.
I am afraid that I haven't helped just given you more questions but that's what we need is the right questions. That's why an occupational therapist and a speech therapist is a good place to start especially with her not eating solids. Could be sensory issues that an OT could help with.
I will pray for her health and your peace!

My son was very similar, I could go on and an about the different things we tried with him from his ears to his stomach to breathing tx to switching milks/formulas. I was giving him breathing tx every 2 hours even through the night when he was really bad. When he was 18 months I finally took him to chiropractor who had told me when I was pregnant if I had any problems to come see her and she would help. It was the best thing I ever did for my son. I highly suggest consulting with a naturopathic Dr or a chiropractor. I used NAET with my youngest when he was 8 years and wish I would have done it earlier (www.naet.com).

I didn't have one single grandchild that slept through the night even at 20 months old. Some kids just don't sleep through the night until they get older. Put a gate on the doorway so they can't get out. Make sure the room is completely baby proof with the shelves attached to the wood in the walls with L brackets and the shelves fastened inside the shelving unit with smaller L brackets, no choke hazards at all, nothing small enough to fit in a toilet paper tube, even Hot Wheels cars and puzzle pieces. Then let the child wake up during the night. Listen for them to cry but otherwise they can play then go back to sleep when they get ready.

I even put their twin size bed in front of the closed door and went to sleep on it myself. That way they could not get past me and get out. I would wake up if they cried but most of the time they saw me and felt safe. Therefore they'd play until they were sleepy again and then crawl up and snuggle and go back to sleep.

Bedtime has always been around 9pm so it wasn't that they were getting their rest then awake. They were just hungry or needed something most of the time.

I'm sorry that you're all having to go through this! My two year old doesn't sleep through the night either and often gets ear infections and I wonder if in between the infections if she is still uncomfortable with ear pressure. She eats solids, but prefers milk and drinks several bottles during the night. She just finished a round of antibiotics for an ear infection and in watching her flick her ear right now... Hmmm. I also wonder if sometimes their ears are more sensitive than other little ones. She seems to be more sensitive to all things, especially compared to my son who can run into a wall and not flinch. This one goes through a box of band aids a day for all the "boo boos".

Do you ever give your daughter Tylenol? I'm not
Saying you should, but wondering if you notice a change in temperament after she's taken it? Maybe this would clue you in to an obvious pain/discomfort issue. I would also try another ENT. Specifically one out of large medical center that specializes in ear tubes. There can be secondary issues w ear tubes and various infections, so you'd want to rule that out and maybe get some scans.

Best of luck!

Have they done a CBC, complete blood count, or just checked her blood for individual things? Ask them to, if they haven't. You have to be proactive for her, you're the most important member of her care team.

If the endocronologist doesn't find a problem go back to her primary doc and insist they keep probing, do not let them blow you off.

This is just a guess/suggestion. We had twin grandsons who were sick all the time with fevers, then would have febrile seizures. It was so bad with two of them having this and one would be well and then the other sick. After going to Children's Mercy and being checked for everything under the sun they really had no answer. They did have issues with constipation and sometimes ear infections, etc. Finally they were sent to the allergist and he said some allergy but that they were low for immunity. He gave them a shot that they give now to boost the immunity and they have been well for over a year now and no more seizures, etc. Noses not running, all the the other symptoms gone. You might see about this and ask if it might be something to check for. Just a thought.

I'm with Dawn on cutting back on the milk and even grains, as well as conferring with an OT. We've a family friend whose child has textural issues with food and they waited too long to do therapy with an OT and the child still has issues with most foods at 12 and has nutritional deficiencies. I would also confer with a nutritionist and other docs at a children's hospital. You definitely want to look into diabetes to rule it out as this is very dangerous for young children and needs to be stabilized if that is the case.

I know this is very frustrating but don't give up! I'm sending positive thoughts and prayers your way for your little girl and your family.

Not much medical advice here - other than to try another Dr. My main advice is to trust your gut... if you feel something is wrong, keep trying to figure it out. I happen to agree with the milk as well - milk can cause LOTs of extra mucus/runny nose... cut back or change to rice milk for a while. Also, you can still try an allergy med (check w/ Dr first) as you can't always test for allergies esp. with kids... Zyrtec? Oh - last thought. Did the ENT mention adenoids? They can cause some congestion and breathing issues - does she snore at night? Removing them helped my daughter sleep through the night :) Best of luck and trust your instincts. Glad to hear she is growing and developing well otherwise!!!