Reflux Help & Support Thread

[fluffyblue]

I tried a bottle of normal sma and whilst he slept for longer the griping seemed worse so I'm doing the 80/20 putting 3 scoops of lf and one normal which is still less lactose than comfort milk.

On homeopathy, the nat phos does nothing at all - the colocynthis does help when colic is really bad. The chamomile is best tho. Am going to get some of that discorea thing u mentioned but he is 8 weeks now so he should shortly lose the colicky symptoms I hope.

Ollie has about 25 ounces on a good day maybe 20 on a bad day.

The reflux has settled down on lf or well seems to have but he e now gets a weird cough and his mouth seems dry and he smacks his lips together like a dry mouth.

 

[stardust599]

Yup, get dioscorea 30c and give it twice a day for 3 days. It's meant to help with back arching type pains, gurgling tummy etc. Hope it works for you! It didn't seem to make a difference when I was giving it (in fact I thought she was getting worse) but the day I stopped she started improving and hasn't shown any symptoms since xx

 

[aliss]

We recently got rid of soy milk and went back to regular powder. It has made a huge difference. I think soy was a mistake (it was on doctor recommendation)!

 

[stardust599]

We recently got rid of soy milk and went back to regular powder. It has made a huge difference. I think soy was a mistake (it was on doctor recommendation)!

Us too, except we were on a hypoallergenic milk - Neocate. The paediatricians put us on it and we were desperate for something to work so stuck with it. But looking back she's never had any real allergy symptoms - I think just reflux, wind and constipation.

Been back on SMA 1 since Thursday and have gone from less than 15ounces a day to over 20 most days now. Took her tummy a couple of days to adjust but seems much better today! We normally give lactulose as well but she's drinking little bits of juice now so think I'm just going to put some prune juice in for a more natural approach!!! Just the omeprazole 10mg now which I'd like to reduce starting from when she's 6 months, want to get her off everything and on the mend.

 

[fluffyblue]

Im at my wits end with sleep, he is doing 4 ounces every 2 hours and no matter how much we give him he is still awake every two hours. He only goes longer during the day but I think thats because we do things with him !

I dont know whether to quit the lactose and stick him back on the normal SMA milk but the arching etc.


Im certain its not the reflux

 

[stardust599]

It might be more of a sleep habit if he doesn't seem uncomfortable from the reflux, try feeding more often during the day as it seems he's filling up more at night and taking less throughout the day!

Don't let him fall asleep on the bottle as every time he stirs he'll expect the bottle to get back to sleep! xx

 

[Farie]

Well we are still here! Sorry for the lack of updates, its been manic at my house recently.

Nims still really refluxy and I've found a new problem, she vomits so much I cannot reduce her losec dose I keep trying but after about 24h she starts the screaming and arching etc. She just vomits so so much, right after a feed, wile shes awake after her feed, when she wakes up after sleeping after a feed.

If she takes more than 3oz it only takes the slightest movement to cause it - literally just kicking her legs bring milk up. She takes4oz ish over night which is great, but during the day she often takes as little as 1.5oz - and still vomits.

I have been advised to try rice to thicken it, but if I do that and reduce the losec its thick so sticks in her throat and burns

I'm going to call the paed today and try to get an appt. I'm damned whatever I do, eitehrb shes on the right dose and screams or I get constantly told her dose is FAR to high and I need to halve it immediately. Arghhhh I miss my m/w!

My GP put her on Metoclopramide (rather than Domperidone which I'd inquired about) which after 48h made her so unhappy that I stopped it - also doing some reading it doesn't seem all that suitable for bubs her age. It was sweet of him as he was trying really hard to be helpful, and he was nice about keeping her losec at 20mg daily for the time being.

 

[stardust599]

Well we are still here! Sorry for the lack of updates, its been manic at my house recently.

Nims still really refluxy and I've found a new problem, she vomits so much I cannot reduce her losec dose I keep trying but after about 24h she starts the screaming and arching etc. She just vomits so so much, right after a feed, wile shes awake after her feed, when she wakes up after sleeping after a feed.

If she takes more than 3oz it only takes the slightest movement to cause it - literally just kicking her legs bring milk up. She takes4oz ish over night which is great, but during the day she often takes as little as 1.5oz - and still vomits.

I have been advised to try rice to thicken it, but if I do that and reduce the losec its thick so sticks in her throat and burns

I'm going to call the paed today and try to get an appt. I'm damned whatever I do, eitehrb shes on the right dose and screams or I get constantly told her dose is FAR to high and I need to halve it immediately. Arghhhh I miss my m/w!

My GP put her on Metoclopramide (rather than Domperidone which I'd inquired about) which after 48h made her so unhappy that I stopped it - also doing some reading it doesn't seem all that suitable for bubs her age. It was sweet of him as he was trying really hard to be helpful, and he was nice about keeping her losec at 20mg daily for the time being.

Aww hun. If you do struggle to get them to keep the prescription for LOSEC the same and you run out you can buy 10mg Omeprazole over the counter (look for Zanprol in the chemists online).

She doesn't sound very well at all, I hope things get better soon and you can get the domperidone - it might help her appetite too as it empties the stomach quickly.

Macy doesn't have a milk allergy! I took her off Neocate on Thursday after only 2ounces in 24 hours. In desperation I tried SMA Gold 1 and she's gone right up to over 20ounces a day and slept through on the second night (hasn't done it since though!). And no projectile vomiting or spitting up which happened at every feed on Neocate. Reduced the Omeprazole to 10mg which is keeping the pain away nicely for now. I know we'll still have good days and bad days but this weekend has just been fantastic, I'm hoping that we gradually start to have more good days and less horrendous days.

When I think about it she's never really shown any milk allergy symptoms though, I think it was just a mixture of colic, reflux, wind and constipation and as she's getting older all are improving.

Plus we're now onto 1.5oz porridge in the morning, a small lunch with pudding and a small dinner with pudding too. Please please please let this carry on! I have some milk free (well made with Neocate) recipes for custard and chocolate which really helps to disguise the taste of Neocate in solids if you want me to send them through. Plus a recipe for a white (Neocate) sauce to mix with veg.

I wouldn't thicken the Neocate, the only thing I can suggest is sticking it out and PM'ing me if you need some tips or support, I'm always lurking about and I've been through the same with Macy. Hope it's better soon. Keep her bowels moving regularly with some Lactulose or something as I always find Macy is so much better after filling her nappy.

xxx

 

[aliss]

Im at my wits end with sleep, he is doing 4 ounces every 2 hours and no matter how much we give him he is still awake every two hours. He only goes longer during the day but I think thats because we do things with him !

I dont know whether to quit the lactose and stick him back on the normal SMA milk but the arching etc.


Im certain its not the reflux

Unfortunately totally normal (reflux or not) for many babies at that age, mine stopped at around 4 months (went 3-4 hours then) and is now at 3-6 hours between feeds at .... 9 months Sometimes wakes more often with gas pains. If he isn't having reflux pains then don't quit the milk - keep at it, and he will start to go longer.

 

[aliss]

We recently got rid of soy milk and went back to regular powder. It has made a huge difference. I think soy was a mistake (it was on doctor recommendation)!

Us too, except we were on a hypoallergenic milk - Neocate. The paediatricians put us on it and we were desperate for something to work so stuck with it. But looking back she's never had any real allergy symptoms - I think just reflux, wind and constipation.

Been back on SMA 1 since Thursday and have gone from less than 15ounces a day to over 20 most days now. Took her tummy a couple of days to adjust but seems much better today! We normally give lactulose as well but she's drinking little bits of juice now so think I'm just going to put some prune juice in for a more natural approach!!! Just the omeprazole 10mg now which I'd like to reduce starting from when she's 6 months, want to get her off everything and on the mend.

I did notice a big difference at 6 months and then at 9 months with the milk switch the reflux has improved dramatically (although he still requires far more burping than a normal 9 month old baby).

One thing that I did was introduce, very slowly, some milk products at the weaning stage (I did BLW so a little cheese square here and there). Since he was fine with that, I then decided to switch back to a normal formula!!!!

 

[sapphire1]

Hi everyone :wave: My 12 wk LO has reflux, but nowhere near as bad as some of your poor LOs. She is on ranitidine and aptamil pepti (lactose free formula) for it. I just have some questions that I'm hoping some of you could help me with, as I'm not sure if it's the reflux or something else...
Holly has terrible wind, it's really hard to bring up and if she trumps it smells REALLY bad. She only poos every 3 days at the most, it's been up to a week before. When she does go, it's soft so my gp says she's not constipated. She always seems really uncomfortable though, and her tummy is rock hard during/after feeding. It also gurgles really bad while she's drinking. Are these symptoms from the reflux? I think they're because of the milk, but my gp wants us to stick with the pepti. What I find strange is that she seems to get relief from being laid flat, I thought reflux babies hated being flat? Her ranitidine dose has just been put up as her screaming was getting bad again, and it's helped reduce the screaming but she's spitting up more (the reflux was mostly silent before) . Sorry for all the questions, can anyone help?

 

[happyface82]

Hi there!

I'm sorry your LO suffers! Katerina had the exact same issues as you describe and the doctor also insisted its the reflux. I used to tell him again and again about her tummy issues and I used to ask him can it be something else?? And he would say to me: what else? Well I'm not a doctor!! hehe

When we saw someone else he indicated that its probably her gut that is troubling her, hence the bad wind, and pain etc. It turned out she has some kind of allergy/intolerance to the protein of milk. We are still trying to sort her gut out as it take time to settle but we've halved her reflux medication and given her smt for the gut and she seems better.

Maybe worth getting a second opinion?

 

[AP]

Girls, is anyones LO on 20mg of omeprazole?? I know its a huge dose, and doc says she can only be on this for 12wks so im worried theres never gonna be an end

 

[Farie]

I've got a paed appt on Thursday

This is random but I think you guys will understand.
One of my best friends has just had her LO and I'm totally delighted for them but I'm also terrified she's going to be easy like their first and I'm going to look like this awful mum who can't get anything right and has this unsettled difficult baby

I love my girl to bits, she's such an amazing little person, but sometimes I reallyfwel like I'm making a hash of this parenting thing.

 

[happyface82]

sb22 - Katerina was on 20mg omeprazole. I was never told it can only be for 12 weeks. She was on it for more than that!! I hope your LO is better soon!

Farie - I totally know what you mean. I am tired of trying to explain to friends and other people why we never go out at night with Katerina. We used to take her everywhere with us and we used to go to friends' houses at night and let her sleep on their bed and then bring her back but with all her problems and her bad sleep due to her pain we never do it any more. Also, I find that I tend to lie a bit and pretend everything is great just because I don't want them thinking that I'm not a good mum or not coping when in all truthness problems like that make things so much more difficult.

 

[stardust599]

sapphire - i would ask to try a hypoallergenic milk like nutramigen or neocate, it sounds like her little tummy is having trouble digesting the milk

sb22 - macy is on 15mg daily (the maximum "acceptable" dose for her weight), however she had been doing really well so i reduced it to 10mg but reflux flared badly last night and today so have increased to 20mg and will go back to 15mg once it's settled in a week or two. it is a high dose but i don't think there are really any side effects (someone correct me if i'm wrong)

farie - glad you've got the paed appointment!! hope you can get domperidone or something that helps. i completely understand too, two of my close friends have babys a similar age to macy and they can't understand why i don't want to go out anywhere with them and to all the mother and baby groups, the truth is i don't like to feed macy in public because of all the fuss it causes and also when she has a random attack of reflux it's stressful enough and i can barely cope at home, never mind out! and also they don't understand what it's like to be up every hour at nite trying to soothe her little pains and i find people quite judgemental about me letting her side-sleep, i would like to see them come and look after my LO overnight and get up every 20mins because she is uncomfortable on her back and see how long it would be before they give in and put her on her side! and because macy often has poor naps due to the reflux she's constantly overtired and we have to fight to get her to sleep or completely entertain her to avoid a huge screaming session. things are getting better now though and i'm managing to get out and about.

xx

 

[AP]

It just bothers me a lil but i know docs hands can be tied with what and how much they give out. she just coughs and throws up easy. I wish someone would just say "right, lets get her really checked out" rather than saying "reflux...." at 17 months corrected its not on!

20mg does bother me, my DHs mate is only on 10mg and hes 27 but then again we've exhausted every other med and giving a tablet or two is minmum to the situation we could have been in!

(but how domperidone stops babies from being sick but MAKES Alex sick i will never know.....)

I understand the going out thing. When alex was younger i simpily never went out anywhere. Horrible. Or i'd time it perfectly. But my mates moaned how they never seen me for lunch. But i hated life like that. It feels like im goinh right back to that and with a new baby here in a few weeks i hope to god we can resolve this.

 

[Farie]

I know what you mean, I got flamed in plunket today for letting her side sleep, I just cant be arsed explaining about the gagging, chocking pain etc from back sleeping.
She actually ended up on her back last night and woke this morning in a pool of sick .. yeah, sure plunket lady .. thats a safe way to sleep

Arghhhhh

 

[happyface82]

Why did I say she is better? haha Last night she projectile vomited her milk and I was wasn't expecting it!!!

 

[AP]

Thats sods law, the minute u say you're winning, they puke