I recently got a bit curious about a certain possible side effect of either Propanolol or Digoxin in children. Miss K is such a very tiny little girl, she has only gained 2 pounds in 10 months and is a bit on the short side. I haven't been too bothered by this until recently since she was 15 months and weighed roughly 18 pounds and now, 3 months later, she is still sitting around 18 pounds I realized she was around that same weight at 12 months as well. Seems a bit off to me. Neither of her doctors have mentioned any concern about weight though. So I tried looking up any possibilities of stunted growth while on either or both Propanolol and Digoxin. I came up with nothing so far. But I have asked other SVT momma's if they've noticed lack of growth in their children who are on these same medications, I'm waiting on answers and it may take a while. But while researching tonight I came across something interesting that I have not found before. I was on www.kidshealth.org reading about Propanolol when I came across this note:
Limit your child's use of caffeine and chocolate. Use with this drug (Propanolol) may cause nervousness, shakiness, and a fast heartbeat. **click here**
Well! No wonder Miss K has episodes of SVT when she eats chocolate! We have always just attributed it to the PJRT itself but never thought about it being because of one of her medications! So mixing chocolate (or caffeine) with Propanolol can cause a fast heart rate. That's just great, as if chocolate and caffeine naturally causing fast heart rate on it's own isn't enough we now have to worry about the medication aiding in this fast heart rate from chocolate lol.
So for those of you who read this and have a child using Propanolol be aware! And for those of you who read this who are family or friends of ours please remember this and don't give Miss K chocolate or caffeine without asking us first!
I found this post searching SVT and stunted growth, so yes, I've been wondering about a connection. My 9 month old son has SVT and has been on Sotolol since he was about 6 wks old (Propanolol and Digoxin were tried first). He hasn't had an episode that we know of for about 5-6 months (or he's been able to convert himself). But he is between the 10-25%ile for weight and height, even though his 3 year old (non-SVT) brother has always been over 95% for height and weight. Since he doesn't seem to be catching up, I'm starting to wonder.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story!
Gayla
I found this blog about 9 months ago as I found myself in the PCMC PICU with my own 2 week old PJRT/SVT baby. We had nearly the exact same story of difficulty breaking the SVT episodes as you. It also took us about 3 weeks before we got things under control enough after trying dozen medications. We have had another set back the last few months with our baby girl not being able to come off the ammiodarone without some scary SVT episodes. So we now have things under control, but I am feeling quite overwhelmed with everything the future may hold (not growing out of it, ablasion, hospital admission, etc.) Anyway, I finally decided that maybe I could make a connection with you and it could help me find some peace of mind. You don't just run into people who have been through this. It's such a rare diagnosis. I don't know what you're comfortable with, if we could maybe connect through facebook or if you'd rather email. Let me know what you think and we can work it out. I'm just looking for someone who maybe understands the rollercoaster of it all.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story,
Shantelle
Shantelle I am so happy you found our page :o). I am always eager to meet and keep up with other parents going through the same trials I am! I have only made contact with one other Utah mom with a child with SVT. Is it sad to say I am excited to hear you are a Utah mom with a PJRT child? lol I am very sorry your baby is dealing with this CHD :o(. I would love to make more personal contact with you. We can definitely be facebook friends, maybe we even live near enough to get together occasionally :o). Talking to another mom with the same battles is something I would love to get to experience. Since this is a very public blog let's exchange our facebook info. via e-mail :o). Please e-mail me at lacee.storiesfromyourpast@gmail.com I'll be watching for it!
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