November 2008
When we were told how to make the Elixir mixture the dietitian mentioned that the MCT oil breaks down plastic so we would need to dispose of the plastic syringes after a while of using them to squirt the MCT oil into the Elixir mixture. I asked about what type of container we needed to store the mixture in during the 24 hours it is allowed to sit in the refrigerator. She said for that amount of time a plastic container would be fine. So for about three months we were storing the prepared elixir in plastic containers in the fridge and then using plastic bottles to feed Sarah. From our understanding, according to the dietitian all of this was allowable.
At a certain point people on the FOD online support group were discussing thermoses and what kinds of liquid with MCT oil could be stored in for their child to take to school. I commented about what our dietitian had told us. Someone politely pointed out that because the MCT oil can break down plastic that they didn't think it was safe to store it in plastic at all. This got me questioning whether the dietitian had instructed us correctly.
I decided to contact Nestle (the maker of our MCT oil) directly and ask them what was acceptable. This was their response:
"Lisa, Thank you for your e-mail. The MCT® Oil and formula mixture needs to be stored in glass and fed with non plastic utensils such as a glass bottle. In regards to storing the product in a thermos check with the manufacturer of the thermos as some are stainless steel on the outside but have a different material on the inside. The MCT® Oil and formula mixture needs to be held under refrigeration in accordance with the time limit (24 hrs) as specified by your dietitian. Best wishes from your friends at Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition."
My reaction that I posted on the support group on November 10th, 2008: "Now I'm off to the store to buy glass bottles and containers. I wish I would have clarified this 3 months ago. I'm not even going dwell on the possible damage done to my daughter. And I forgive the dietitian for telling me the wrong information but I think I will call and nicely inform her that, according to the manufacturer, she is telling patients the wrong information."
We ended up needing to stop using all the plastic bottles we had purchased (which were the same Medela [read as "not cheap"] bottles used with the breast pump). Luckily the only glass bottle I could find without plastic parts inside the bottle were Evenflo Classic and you could get a 3 pack for just over $5. If only we had known . . . ah, the money we could have saved [sigh].
Because of our insurance switch, we no longer had the same dietitian. This experience helped to remind me that medical professionals are just people and they don't have all the answers. It's important to check information with the manufacturers. If I have any questions now about things I am giving to Sarah, I call the manufacturers.
Showing posts with label dietitian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dietitian. Show all posts
Monday, May 25, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
LipiStart
February 2009
When Sarah was 6-months-old, the dietitian wanted us to try weaning Sarah off the elixir and on to Lipistart. This change was not due to Sarah's age but because Lipistart was a newer product and would be easier to use. The dietitian said that other dietitians that collaborate over the Internet were saying that Lipistart was working really well.
Here are my messages to the dietitian because she wanted to know how things were going:
2-6-2009
"Well, I tried just straight up Lipistart and Sarah ate 3 ozs. and then stopped and started fussing. I tried again with the same results. Then I tried a third time (each time was a different feeding) and she only ate 1 oz. then I mixed it with elixir so it was half and half and she drank most of it. So I am now feeding it to her 1/2 and 1/2 and will slowly increase the Lipistart in the mixture over the next few days and see how she reacts. :~)"
2-11-09
"Today, Sarah "chugged" her first full Lipistart bottle. Yeah! :~) My mom said she seemed gassy afterwards but I am thinking that could be because we just switched her over to the fast flow nipples because it seemed like the Lipistart might not be flowing out of the nipples as easily as the elixir did.
"As to her usual volume question she was drinking the same volume on 1/2 Lipistart and 1/2 elixir. I have noticed that her "usual" is changing some because of the solid food. She is drinking slightly less but not enough of a difference that I got concerned. Her usual now is anywhere between 4-8 ounces at one bottle feeding time. I've found it tricky, at times, to schedule the bottle feedings and solid feedings so that she eats a good amount at each. She seems to really like solid food and on one specific occasion refused her bottle but ate solid food and then drank a small amount to wash it down. I figure we can discuss that more at our appointment on the 24th."
It took us about a week to switch Sarah over to all Lipistart. In regards to the bottle nipples, we switched her back to slow or medium flow. While the Lipistart is thicker in consistency than the elixir, Sarah seems much more gassy on the fast nipples.
Lipistart is much easier than the elixir because Lipistart is just one powder. It's like normal formula just with only medium-chain fats instead of long-chain fats. It contains MCT in powder form and this makes it so we can use plastic bottles, if we want to. We can make the amount of bottles we use in a day (3) and store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When it is time to feed Sarah we just take out a bottle and warm it up.
When Sarah was 6-months-old, the dietitian wanted us to try weaning Sarah off the elixir and on to Lipistart. This change was not due to Sarah's age but because Lipistart was a newer product and would be easier to use. The dietitian said that other dietitians that collaborate over the Internet were saying that Lipistart was working really well.
Here are my messages to the dietitian because she wanted to know how things were going:
2-6-2009
"Well, I tried just straight up Lipistart and Sarah ate 3 ozs. and then stopped and started fussing. I tried again with the same results. Then I tried a third time (each time was a different feeding) and she only ate 1 oz. then I mixed it with elixir so it was half and half and she drank most of it. So I am now feeding it to her 1/2 and 1/2 and will slowly increase the Lipistart in the mixture over the next few days and see how she reacts. :~)"
2-11-09
"Today, Sarah "chugged" her first full Lipistart bottle. Yeah! :~) My mom said she seemed gassy afterwards but I am thinking that could be because we just switched her over to the fast flow nipples because it seemed like the Lipistart might not be flowing out of the nipples as easily as the elixir did.
"As to her usual volume question she was drinking the same volume on 1/2 Lipistart and 1/2 elixir. I have noticed that her "usual" is changing some because of the solid food. She is drinking slightly less but not enough of a difference that I got concerned. Her usual now is anywhere between 4-8 ounces at one bottle feeding time. I've found it tricky, at times, to schedule the bottle feedings and solid feedings so that she eats a good amount at each. She seems to really like solid food and on one specific occasion refused her bottle but ate solid food and then drank a small amount to wash it down. I figure we can discuss that more at our appointment on the 24th."
It took us about a week to switch Sarah over to all Lipistart. In regards to the bottle nipples, we switched her back to slow or medium flow. While the Lipistart is thicker in consistency than the elixir, Sarah seems much more gassy on the fast nipples.
Lipistart is much easier than the elixir because Lipistart is just one powder. It's like normal formula just with only medium-chain fats instead of long-chain fats. It contains MCT in powder form and this makes it so we can use plastic bottles, if we want to. We can make the amount of bottles we use in a day (3) and store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When it is time to feed Sarah we just take out a bottle and warm it up.
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