underestimated

Alright, so I may have underestimated the ability of the GI doctor to know how to help Z. We have slowed his feeds down so they now take 45 minutes instead of 30, and although he did throw up tonight, it was the first time since Tuesday night. He went almost 2 whole days without throwing up, which we haven't had in a while. I think I was just so frustrated that there wasn't more of an explanation for his vomiting. Maybe his stomach emptying too slowly is the problem. She ordered a test to be done so we can see how quickly (or slowly) his stomach empties and then I think from there we may have more options. I don't know.
Anyway, she also gave us a website called www.gastrokids.org to visit and I checked it out the other night and learned a few things. It has good information about reflux vs. GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease), which I had always assumed were basically the same thing. This is NOT the case. As I was reading, I started to realize that Zachary does not just have REALLY bad reflux, as everyone has told us. He actually has GERD. Here are the symptoms of pediatric GERD: poor feeding (check), vomiting (check), coughing (check), poor growth (check), irritability (check), and breathing problems (no, thank goodness). It said that spitting up crosses the line to GERD when a baby has refusal to feed, poor weight gain, breathing problems, and others. I just really believe that Z is dealing with GERD and not reflux.
Here's the thing about this new bit of knowledge, it doesn't change anything but the way I am thinking about things. The treatment is basically the same as what we are doing now, but now I have a name for what he is going through, other than reflux. It's a small thing, but honestly, I just couldn't accept reflux as the cause. I know SO many people whose babies had reflux and they didn't have to deal with ANY of these issues! I couldn't stand it!!! And people would ask what's wrong and I would say, "He just has really bad reflux" and they would just be shocked that it could lead to a feeding tube and failure to thrive, etc. etc.
I'm annoyed that NO ONE mentioned that he may have GERD! I'm sure to doctors it's all the same or something, but to a mom who wants to get to the bottom of what is happening with my baby, it is NOT the same!
So anyway, it doesn't really change anything, but somehow it's a little easier to swallow and have some peace that there is a reason for his vomiting and not wanting to eat. Now I just hope that what the GI doctor recommended continues to work and we can get this under control finally!
So I guess the GI doctor wasn't all bad :). I think I just have a bad attitude about doctors in general these days-other than Z's pediatricians, who I really like. But it turns out the doctors do know some stuff :), so I shouldn't just write them off from the get go.