Vitamins and Salt

This post is all about supplements prescribed for Crosby.

Starting the post out right with this cutie's pic.

In addition to all the enzymes we give Crosby daily, he also takes vitamins and salt.

Here is our monthly supply of all of Crosby's meds from our local, friendly pharmacist.

My bedside table. Two nights worth of empty enzymes caps. [Oh, and that book. Praying Circles Around Your Children. A sweet friend gave me that and I highly recommend it!]

First up: Vitamins.

Because patients with CF can suffer from pancreatic insufficiency (which Crosby does), they have trouble absorbing fat-soluble vitamins and nutrients. This is because if you're body is having trouble breaking down fat and the fats quickly pass through you, certain vitamins that are found it fats (as opposed to water), aren't absorbed either.

AquADEKs is a multivitamin and mineral supplement designed to help increase absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A,D,E,K and other micronutrients.

Interesting fact about AquADEK - it was developed especially for CF patients and was funded by therapeutic development grants for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Proof positive that if you donate to the Foundation, your dollars go towards treatment developments!

AquaADEK is bright orange and smells very, well, it smells vitaminy. Maybe like liquid Flintstones without the sweet, fruity taste. The smell is SO strong. Surprisingly, Crosby takes the vitamins well. I wouldn't say he loves them, but he doesn't seem to mind them.

The awful thing about AquaDEK is the color. Any spit up or drool after a dose results in the ruining of an outfit. We have A LOT of stained clothes. As the smell indicates, the vitamins are pretty powerful and must be taken with a feeding, so that they don't upset his stomach. On a lot of CF forums, parents have reported that their children smell like the vitamins when they sweat. I haven't noticed that yet, but after he take the vitamins, his sweet little baby breath smells like them!

Now for the salt.

Yep, good old table salt. We give Crosby salt daily. Or, well, we're suppose to. CF causes the salt balance in the body to be out of whack. People with CF lose a lot of salt in their sweat and unlike you and I, it can't be reabsorbed. The more they sweat, the more salt they lose. Crosby's skin even tastes really salty. 

We've been told over and over that most CF patients, including babies, crave salt. Crosby's sweet nutritionist has told me stories of CF kiddos who open salt packs and pour them into their mouths. Well, not Crosby. We have struggled from day one to get this baby to take his salt. He is suppose to have 1/8 teaspoon daily. Doesn't sound like much, does it? Tell that to this guy:

Crosby hates salt. We've tried every which way to administer the salt.

I've divided up the dose and sprinkled it into his bottles, he refuses the bottle and then I've wasted all that breastmilk.

We've tried dissolving it in water and using a dropper to put it in his mouth and then washed it down with breastmilk. No dice!

I've tried dilluting it in apple juice. Eck says my Little Dude.

Lance once just wiped in on his tongue. Worst. Idea. Ever.

I've put it in baby apple sauce. Nope. And because he must take his enzymes in apple sauce, I was a little nervous he would start hating apple sauce so I gave that up pretty fast.

I've even sprinkled it on my boob in hopes that he would just lick it off during nursing. Hates it.

Most recently, I've sprinkled a little bit on baby pears. That is going okay.

No matter what, he's got to take it. I'm super nervous because at 6 months old, and especially going into the summer months, we have to increase the dosage to 1/4 teaspoon daily! What's a Momma and her salt-hating boy to do? This guy is not his Daddy's son when it comes to salt. Lance salts food without tasting it! If you have suggestions on how I can give Crosby salt, I would love for you to leave them in the comments section below.

Oh, and it was a good week for the Hogs. My Dad would be happy. Lance is very pleased. Go Hogs Go from the cutest little Razorback:

Love,

Carmen