Reflux Help & Support Thread

[sparkle05]

Hello ladies

Sorry to gate crash but i could really do with some advice

My little girl is 3 weeks old, she was born 3 weeks early because i had OC.
2 weeks ago she became a little unsettled at night. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but a couple of days later i couldn't put her down at all at night, she would squirm and make choking noises she would also look like she was foaming at the month. Having had a child with reflux 5 years previous i thought i would contact a doctor. DD was diagnosed with silent reflux. I have been given gaviscon for her. I only use the gaviscon at night as she can only have it 6 times a day and she feeds anything from 9/ 12 times a day. Night time was the worst time for her. I have been doing all the right things. I prop her up to feed, make sure that the teat is always full of milk to limit the air intake and i keep her propped up for 20 minutes after her feed. Her mosses basket is also propped up with cot blocks. I have tried her on different bottles, Tommie tippee ctn anti colic, MAM anti colic, tommie tippiee normal ones, Avent and doctor browns. We have settled with the dr browns with the mam teats as this is what we feel works best as she likes the shape of the mam teats. I have also used Infacol but this seems to make her sick.
Over the weekend things have really stepped up a gear. Little one is struggling with most bottles even the ones with the gaviscon in. She seems in so much pain during and after each feed, she is bringing up a lot of frothy sick and she screams when it goes back down. She can do this until her next feed so the whole process starts again I am at a loss as to what to do. I had no support with my last DD i was only ever prescribed gaviscon with her which didn't really do much.I spent months in tears,tearing my hair out and feeling desprate. I am so scared that this will happen again. If anyone has any advice for me i would be so grateful. Thank you ladies for your time.

 

[fluffyblue]

Hi girls just after some advice.

Ollie is 2 weeks old and when born was in NICU for a week for feeding support which they thought was due to a blockage in the bowel. A series of xrays proved there wasno blockage in the bowels but a small reflux sign was seen, this was never further mentioned. Ollie was then tube fed for 5 days before coming back onto the ward and being breast fed through a bottle which has continued since.

He is currently having approx 6 - 3oz bottles per day he isnt sick after them.

His symptoms are:

Turns his head after winding and screws his face up
Odd high pitched scream and squirming
Constant hiccups
Snuffly after a feed

Have spoken to midwife today who said I need to speak to GP for maybe a referral, he sleeps well during day and night but does take some time to settle down.

I do all the normal things, his moses basket is propped up, we wind him regularly although I do tend to let him finish as much of the bottle as he can before I wind him mainly due to him falling asleep halfway through.

He is particularly bad early evening but I dont think its colic as my daughter had severe colic and this is nothing like this. He seems to settle well in the day albeit he constantly gripes and squirms in his sleep.

Im just at a loss, I dont like keep giving Infacol and Colief as its affecting his poo !

I am breastfeeding through a bottle and he has the odd bottle of Cow & Gate comfort.

Can anyone give any advice or should I see my GP??

Thanks Heather x

 

[KellyC75]

bless you & your lo sparkle

my daughter was prescribed ranintidine & touch wood, its helping

 

[HelenFS]

Sparkle & Fluffyblue,
Your lo's symptoms do sound like silent reflux. My little girl has it and is now on omeprazole (losec) and domperidone. It started at 3 weeks and got worse peaking at between 6 - 8 weeks.

Sparkle - I didn't find gaviscon worked in fact it made her worse as it was thickening the feed and then if it came up then it was twice the burn for longer as it was taking longer to go back down. If it is working for you though then keep going.

Fluffy - We initially thought that it was colic as it was just affecting evenings but it soon spread to daytime too. We also tried infacol and colief. I agree that colief causes terrible poos and made my lo get an awful nappy rash. I've read that infacol makes reflux babies worse as part of its job is to relax the valve (lower oesophageal sphincter) I'm order to help the wind come up but this will make the reflux worse.

To both of you - I would see your GP (again) and get a referral as it takes some time to see a paediatrician especially if your lo is gaining weight. We ended up going private! In the meantime have you tried cranial osteopathy? It didn't work for my lo but lots of people say it has really helped ease the symptoms for their lo. Some GPs are happy to prescribe ranitidine whilst others aren't. There are plenty of other meds that can help your los. We are just starting to see an improvement with Freya now. We have to sleep her on her tummy with a breathing monitor in order for her to get any sleep.

Things that we do:
Dr Brown bottles
Propping up basket/cot
Upright during feeding and for up to 30 mins afterwards
Rubbing back when winding rather than patting
Tummy or left hand side sleeping (if they are not sleeping at night). Some reflux babies are so bad that they are actually worse off on their backs as it can come up and causing choking etc. You need to weigh up whether you are happy to tummy sleep though.
Dummy - especially good after feeding as the saliva neutralises the acid coming up and pushes back down.
Cranial osteopathy



Xxx

 

[happyface82]

I think Helen has covered everything in terms of advice. I am sorry oyu are going through this. All I can say go the the doctor asap and demand to be referred!! The quicker the better. We had a sever case and still it took 6 weeks from the day we went to the doctor to the pead appointment which is in 22 days!!! We ended up going private as well . .

I really hope you get some answers soon!
xxx

 

[SilasLove]

Alright, need some advice from you fellow reflux mommas!

My son Joseph is lactose intolerant and has been on soy milk since just a few months old. The hospital changed Madelyn to soy formula before we even left the hospital with her, and she has been on that since. But the doctor wants me to change her formula and so we have decided to change it to Enfamil Gentlease because she is a very gassy baby as well.

What I am asking is do you think that I should consider changing her to Enfamil AR which is a thicker formula for spitting up if he stomach does ok with the Gentlease and she does not get real sick due to a lactose intolerance? Or do you think that AR would be to hard on her stomach with her gas?

Also, does anyone know how likely it is that Madelyn will be lactose intolerant like her brother?

 

[AP]

2016 great list thanks hun xxx

 

[happyface82]

Alright, need some advice from you fellow reflux mommas!

My son Joseph is lactose intolerant and has been on soy milk since just a few months old. The hospital changed Madelyn to soy formula before we even left the hospital with her, and she has been on that since. But the doctor wants me to change her formula and so we have decided to change it to Enfamil Gentlease because she is a very gassy baby as well.

What I am asking is do you think that I should consider changing her to Enfamil AR which is a thicker formula for spitting up if he stomach does ok with the Gentlease and she does not get real sick due to a lactose intolerance? Or do you think that AR would be to hard on her stomach with her gas?

Also, does anyone know how likely it is that Madelyn will be lactose intolerant like her brother?

Hey!

My daughter is lactose intolerant and we are on Nutramigen. I know other doctors suggest thicker milks but this is what our doctor recommended. I would say go with what your doctor says. Did you ask him which one would be better?

I am not sure how likely it is that is is intolerant like her brother but if you are in doubt you can ask for her to be tested? Or just maybe try and give her some other formula for a few days and see if it makes a difference.. . ?

 

[HelenFS]

Arggghhh having a terrible day! So much for me thinking that the losec is starting to work. I don't think she is on a high enough dose and she is on 10mg. How did it suddenly get bad again?
Rant over!
How is everyone else?
Xxx

 

[happyface82]

Arggghhh having a terrible day! So much for me thinking that the losec is starting to work. I don't think she is on a high enough dose and she is on 10mg. How did it suddenly get bad again?
Rant over!
How is everyone else?
Xxx

I'm sorry she is not better Could you maybe ask to get a higher dose? Or maybe something else to go with it?

We are a bit better. She has started sleeping through again. Only wakes up a couple of times so not too bad.

 

[AimeeM]

The best advice i can give is DrBrowns bottles with a thickener called Carobel in the milk and if you have a paediatrician then try your hardest to get Neocate LCP on prescription. It didn't cure the reflux but helped the most out of the combinations we tried.

 

[Farie]

Sorry for not being about

We ended up admitted to hospital on tuesday night as Nim only took 11 oz of her neocate on Monday and Tuesday and was vomiting 3/4 of it back up and by 4pm tuesday was listless and pretty vacant.
I'd already spoken to her paed on monday as shes been taking less and less over the last few days and spilling more and more and I wanted to know if it was normal on neocate.

Her paed is worried about pyloric stenosis and the hospital ran urine and bloods but refused to scan as she gaining weight.
The registrar was patronising and tied to make out I have PND and am just struggling to cope with a spilly fussy baby.
She also poopoo'd the idea of Nim have allergies and said I should be BFing not feeding neocate and the neocate was probably the problem. Oh .... And slated my paediatrician!

Luckily my paed is FAB and ive spoken to him a couple of times yesterday and today and he's advised to keep a very close eye on madam and if she spills any more or takes any less to conatct I'm immediately and he'll arrange a scan ASAP.

Anyway, we were discharged Wednesday lunchtime and she's been better since, still only taking 1-3oz, but not spilling quite as much and is more bright and alert.

 

[KellyC75]

Oh no Fairie...How terrible for you & your LO

So glad to hear that she is feeling better now...Hope she continues that way

 

[stardust599]

Don't have time to read the replies but I can't do this anymore

Macy had a good day a few days ago and things have gone dramatically downhill since. She's hugely constipated, won't stop screaming ALL day and is hardly eating and whatever she does is projectile vomited straight back up. I saw a different paediatrician a few weeks back who suggested she might have a bowel blockage (can't remember the name) and recommended doing a scan to check. I've looked up the symptoms and it does seem to match her exactly. She went 5days without a dirty nappy then had a bit of a dirty nappy yesterday but I could see her straining and see that it wasn't finished but she still hasn't managed to finish. She won't eat and whatever few sips she takes are vomited back up. The consultant paediatrician has said that as she's gained weight there's nothing wrong with her and "if I'm so worried to take her to A&E". He offered a stool softener but she doesn't need it as her pooh is soft/runny/normal but very small and she just can't seem to pass it. I think I'm going to go get a suppository from the chemist today to see if it helps in the meantime until they listen to me.

I think she might be a little dehydrated too as I'm sure her nappys aren't as heavy as they usually are and they are really dark but I'm not sure if I'm just looking into it too much.

I'm so angry, what are they going to do - wait until she is seriously ill to take any action?

Just as I'm posting this my OH has just phoned as I got him to phone the paediatrician back, he wants me to take her to the GP to be examined. I'll let you all know how I get on.

Soooo angry!!!
xx

 

[cw1975]

This sounds a bit like what happened to my friends baby, he ended up in hospital and he had chronic constipation. Although he was having a few dirty nappies here and there every couple of days.. it was only a tiny bit because that was all that could 'get past' so to speak.

Only way they got it seen to was to take him to A&E because, like you they just got completely fed up of being told he was gaining weight so there was nothing wrong xxx

 

[anna matronic]

Hi ladies sorry i hae not been on for a while! Fairie and Stardust so sorry to heaar things haven't been good

I really think Evan has or is outgrowing the reflux He is alot more settled, especially at night, he is going down and is asleep by nine

He is still pretty sick but no-where near as much as he was (still mucusy, thick and a while after feeds) but it is a laundry issue now it seems! He has been fussing at the breast and we still have some screaming fits/arched back moments, but I can handle them.

He's been off the gaviscon for nearly 2 weeks now and I haven't felt the need to put him back on His poo is a problem though, once every 2 days or so and is mucusy and soo much of it

Just to say there is light at the end of the tunnel. Evan was at his worst from 3-9 weeks where I didn't think I could cope, but we battle on don't we

I'll still read to see how you are and let you know how we are doing too.

 

[mrscupcake]

Girls, after a big struggle with reflux my LO is 10 months now and he has been on omeprazole (4ml OD) and domperidone (2mg QDS) since around 4 months old which has been a blessing (gaviscon made him constipated and ranitidine made it worse). But now he is refusing to have any solids and will only have smooth solids, no texture and hardly any finger foods. He as also stopped sleeping thorugh. Its difficult to tell whether it is reflux now, or teething. He had/has silent reflux but projectile vommited last night, and a couple of weeks ago. what are the symptoms of your lo's at 10 months with reflux? or have they out grown it? xxx

 

[LaurenW]

Hi everyone

I posted on here a few days ago (page 31 I think) - thanks everyone for your replies.

Just come back from 3 days in hospital (including a night in Great Ormond Street), basically my son didn't have reflux at all but a bug, probably gastrointeritis (Sorry I don't know how to spell it but hopefully you know what I mean).

If you're not convinced your LO has reflux keep going back to A&E. We went in on saturday then back again on Monday and thankfully my LO had a meltdown in front of a doctor so he could see how he was reacting after a feed).

He's now on antibiotics and is much better.

I hope things get better for all you ladies who are suffering (I now know how hard it is to cope with a screaming baby all day) and like I said, if you're not getting answers keep going back.

xx

 

[bathbabe]

Well hardly any suck for three days now BUT its because hes had f all to drink 25oz of milk in total in 3days. He isnt right

 

[bathbabe]

No solids either