Reflux Help & Support Thread

[Farie]

I think sb22 said everything about Losec.

It's def the last step but does work in most cases. Its what's called a H2 inhibator so it actually reduces the amount if stomach acid produced. Ranitadene does the same but the target different acid producers.
Over here its in capsule form, I have to open the capsule, tip out the granules and give them to LO, the most common way is stuck to a little (and I really mean little) pear purée on the end of my finger, works a treat.

We tried Ranitadene and Gaviscon 1st but they didn't really help. I'm also eliminating dairy, choc, tomatoes citrus from my diet as they all make her worse.

To the poster worried about gripe water - it's dine to give

Well yesterday wasn't a great day, she was ok in the morning bit V unsettled on the afternoon/early evening and was spitting up badly again I got her settled about 8.30 (she had her bath at 6.30 and went down fab but woke immediately and didn't want to go back to sleep, wanted more and more grub) I then dream fed at 10.30 (wooohoo it worked and she didn't wake!) but she was awake again at 1am - I've just fed, but she was very sick at the beginning of the feed.

Frequency wise she's feeding lots and had lost her nice longer night pattern, really really hope it's just cos of the growth spurt!

 

[Lizzyxxx]

6 weeks Farie, could be a Growth Spurt.

 

[Worrisome]

Hi :wave: to all newbies.
Farie, defo sounds like a growth spurt, your washing machine will be doing some groaning.
Anna, hows the gaviscon going, I would maybe try and get the ranitadine.

Well we had an awful Friday and Sat, decided to try the breast milk to see if it made a difference (researched and found it can help with reflux, as feeding little and often and easier to digest). She couldnt keep anything down though. But with advice (thanks Farie) and support from everyone I have kept going and today we seem to be doing a lot better.

I am still struggling to get my supply going but she does seem better. She is still sick but doesnt seem in as much pain, but I am still giving the gaviscon and trying the bm to help with constipation.

What I have noticed though, is when I give her breast milk, she isnt rattly at all afterwards, yet when she then has the ff, it comes back, hmmmmmm

 

[Farie]

I'd imagine cos the breast milk is thinner it causes slightly less congestion/leaves less residue in her nasal passages.

Your doing so well hon you should be do proud of yourself, your supply will up slowly.

Please god let this growth spurt end soon so much eating, so much sick So little sleep!
Damn those butter croissants that I ate on Sunday and that mini pizza roll too.... Dairy really does make it so much worse in out case, and her poos have gone mucus filled again.
I really hope she outgrows this 'sensitivity' soon

 

[Worrisome]

I'd imagine cos the breast milk is thinner it causes slightly less congestion/leaves less residue in her nasal passages.

Your doing so well hon you should be do proud of yourself, your supply will up slowly.

Please god let this growth spurt end soon so much eating, so much sick So little sleep!
Damn those butter croissants that I ate on Sunday and that mini pizza roll too.... Dairy really does make it so much worse in out case, and her poos have gone mucus filled again.
I really hope she outgrows this 'sensitivity' soon

Aw Farie, sorry your having a tough time, its hard enough when bf and going through growth spurts but with reflux on top
Thanks hun, your right probably because of it being thinner, but I tried Aptamil 1 and still mucusy

Has Nim been checked then for milk intolerance? Sorry I really have a terrible memory. Do they outgrow an intolerance? The mucus in the poo is more and allergy or intolerance than reflux isn't it?

Oh and in reply to my thread, reflux can stay around I'm afraid but it tends to be hereditary also with my ds, Autistic children tend to have gastric issues. Crap ain't it

 

[stardust599]

Well, last night was good.

Macy's dad put her to bed at 7pm although she'd barely eaten all day. I fed her in her sleep at 8.30pm (2oz) and 11pm (5oz!!!!) and she woke up at 3am for dummy and then a 4oz feed at 4.00am, took a while to settle her - about 5.30am but then slept to 7, took 2 ounces and slept til 10 then took 4ounces. Hasn't really eaten at all after that, has taken an ounce every 3-4hours and been awful grumpy and refused to sleep, hasn't really been screaming though so that's a plus I guess. I'll be putting her to bed at 7pm and doing the dreamfeeds again.

Wish me luck - her Daddy is out so I have to get her to settle all by myself (not an easy job lol) and he always does it better!

I see people are talking about Losec, can you tell me your baby's weights and their dosage?

Macy is on the lowest dose for her weight (9lb a week ago at 10 weeks, she's a slow gainer) so only gets 3mg once a day, it doesn't make a blind bit of difference though, I'm sure it's a ridiculously low dose and needs to be increased to see an effect. Back at consultant paediatrician tomorrow so will ask what they can do.

xx

 

[babyjiva]

has anyone tried the elimination diet? i'm on it and it is helping us so much. https://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t041200.asp

after a week i added avacado, cucumber, carrots and sprouts to my "can eat" list and you'd be surprised how many different recipes i was able to come up with! if you're gonna try it and need ideas on how to make it more interesting pm me.

 

[Farie]

Nims on 1 capsule (im pretty sure they are 10mg) once daily, in the early morning as her reflux is worse during the day. She was just over 9lbs 4oz when she started the dose. My
M/w has said if it doesn't make enough difference she can have a second capsule in the evening but only if really necessary and the reflux starts effecting her sleeping.

Worrisome, I guess reflux makes them all pretty wheezy etc, just varying degrees?
She not been tested for lactose intolerance yet, but I'm going to speak to my/w about it as I think dairy proteins really do effect her - which means the tin of emergency formula o have in the cupboard is useless!
Yup, I think the mucus is related to what I eat. I'm trying SO hard but there is so much that makes it worse the hereditary thing makes sense, both DH and I had reflux and I'm slightly lactose intolerant ... Poor Nim never stood a chance!

 

[babyjiva]

my story is the basic....around 3 weeks realized my baby was very fussy... she never wanted to be put down, cried intensely off and on for hours before her bed time, cried before every nap, no car seat for her etc...was told colic over and over again but when fussy turned into some pretty bad screaming fits i refused to believe in the colic idea...
she spit up a lot but didn't always cry afterwards and even vomited quite often but again no crying... the screaming always seemed random.

i thought about all possibilities, gave her baby tylenol thinking she was teething, gave her colic calm thinking she had gas and a few other things but nothing worked... but she didn't seem to have reflux...then at about 8 weeks it became much more evident that it was reflux. her screaming fits were always accompanied by gurgling, burping and spitting up and were abrupt and so loud so she's been on zantac since and seems a bit better. the most improvement i've seen though has been from the elimination diet i'm on.

she still has a few attacks in the evening. i swear by just giving her a dose of mylanta when it gets really bad and it usually settles her right away. i wouldn't give it to her every time because that's a lot of mylanta but during the evening refluxy period that seems the most painful to her.

previous to her medication, i was pulling my hair out... it's not that her bouts of it were bad, but she was fussy 100% of the time. so difficult.

hugs to you all who have it even worse.

 

[stardust599]

Nims on 1 capsule (im pretty sure they are 10mg) once daily, in the early morning as her reflux is worse during the day. She was just over 9lbs 4oz when she started the dose. My
M/w has said if it doesn't make enough difference she can have a second capsule in the evening but only if really necessary and the reflux starts effecting her sleeping.

Worrisome, I guess reflux makes them all pretty wheezy etc, just varying degrees?
She not been tested for lactose intolerance yet, but I'm going to speak to my/w about it as I think dairy proteins really do effect her - which means the tin of emergency formula o have in the cupboard is useless!
Yup, I think the mucus is related to what I eat. I'm trying SO hard but there is so much that makes it worse the hereditary thing makes sense, both DH and I had reflux and I'm slightly lactose intolerant ... Poor Nim never stood a chance!

That's seems like a better dose. 3mg isn't making a difference at all so I might ask if we can double it to 6mg. I'm finding them a bit useless and may go private (there goes my savings!) They don't seem to care too much as she's gaining weight (although slowly) but I don't find it acceptable that my LO is constantly hungry but can't eat because she's in pain and she's constantly exhausted but can't sleep because she's still hungry and still in pain, it's also not very nice to listen to her screaming all day. My LO isn't bothered as much by her reflux overnight so takes most of her feeds then and I would really like to get it controlled so that she can eat more during the day and sleep more at night!!

Macy is also really raspy/mucousy - I notice it on her worst refluxy days and sometimes her throat sounds so croaky and sore, I've given her a little calpol on the worst days to ease it up a bit xx

 

[Worrisome]

Thanks babyjiva, I will have a look at that once, I can get my milk going again.

It must be really hard Farie, trying to eliminate things from your diet. I'm allergic to oranges and I love them, it amazing how there hidden in foods, so gawd knows how you do it, so don't you feel bad.

I would defo have a word with hv, well actually maybe gp/paed and say it runs in your family and this happens when you have this, etc.

 

[stardust599]

my story is the basic....around 3 weeks realized my baby was very fussy... she never wanted to be put down, cried intensely off and on for hours before her bed time, cried before every nap, no car seat for her etc...was told colic over and over again but when fussy turned into some pretty bad screaming fits i refused to believe in the colic idea...
she spit up a lot but didn't always cry afterwards and even vomited quite often but again no crying... the screaming always seemed random.

i thought about all possibilities, gave her baby tylenol thinking she was teething, gave her colic calm thinking she had gas and a few other things but nothing worked... but she didn't seem to have reflux...then at about 8 weeks it became much more evident that it was reflux. her screaming fits were always accompanied by gurgling, burping and spitting up and were abrupt and so loud so she's been on zantac since and seems a bit better. the most improvement i've seen though has been from the elimination diet i'm on.

she still has a few attacks in the evening. i swear by just giving her a dose of mylanta when it gets really bad and it usually settles her right away. i wouldn't give it to her every time because that's a lot of mylanta but during the evening refluxy period that seems the most painful to her.

previous to her medication, i was pulling my hair out... it's not that her bouts of it were bad, but she was fussy 100% of the time. so difficult.

hugs to you all who have it even worse.

I also give a 1-2ml dose of (adult) gaviscon which I think is practically the same thing as mylanta as I don't think we get that in the UK. Not all GPs/Paediatricians say it's okay though so check with yours first if anyone follows this tip. It does seem to settle my LO though and she'll take her best feeds a couple of hours later. It's different to the baby gaviscon though as it actually has an antacid in it (baby gaviscon is just a thickener which doesn't really help silent reflux in my experience) but again please do your own research or check with your GP/Paediatrician before following this advice.
xx

 

[Worrisome]

Well hubby came in tonight and asked the usual "how's she done" me oh good she's only been sick 3 times, within 1 hour this had doubled and add some :doh:

 

[happyface82]

Hi girls!

Thanks for this thread! My baby girl suffers from silent reflux. She is not really that sick, but its obvious she is in pain as she is crying when feeding and can't sleep at night After 2 months of her constantly waking up (she sleeps on her tummy) and after two visits to the GP who insisted she is just constipated and has bad wind we went private. I talked to the doctor and within minutes he said to me that she is lactose intolerant and has reflux. He never really tested for it but seemed certain about it.

She is now on Nutramigen and 20mg losec per day. Its been a month and a half and she was doing really great, sleeping through the night and feeding. However, the last week she arching her back again and waking up at night. Exact same symptoms and body language as before. I don't think we can go up on losec so any ideas if there's anything else we can do? I feel lost and don't want to see her like that. Also she was on antibiotics for an ear infection, could this be making it worse? I really don't know what else to think!

Thank you for reading this. I am sorry to hear so many of you are going through this. Reflux is just horrible!

 

[Sarah10]

We are having a growth spurt so it's eat, eat, eat ....... Ohh and puke puke puke but the Losec's made her a happy chucker 80% of the time, so while I dispare at the 8 outfit changes a day and my huge washing pile at least there is less screaming. She's very unsettled in her sleep tho, napping for 30 mins and not dropping into real deep sleep.

Going to try a freshest tonight and see how that goes, I'm quite nervous about the lack of burping/uprightness, but we'll have a go!

I dread these growth spurts! When Jayden has one he guzzles around 70oz of HB milk its insane! and pukes half of it up

 

[bathbabe]

Well today was going really good UNTIL I got dressed and ready to go to my meeting at work to talk about what hours to go back on etc and i had to take Harrison with me as everyone that could of had him for half hour was busy as soon as i got there and picked him up out the car he puked all down my top.................!!!!!!!!!!!! It was raining as well, i was not pleased!!!!!!!!! I could of cried

 

[anna matronic]

Hey ladies! Again not a good day. Have had a really miserable baby today! Alot of spit up and some real proper heaving and puking going on

He is on gaviscon, lactulose and I have been trying out colief/infacol/dentinox over the past few weeks to help his wind. Even resorted to calpol this evening too The lactulose is only producing one really minging runny leaking poo every 2 days is this right? (2.5ml twice a day)

Plonked him in the bath, did some baby massage, put him to bed. He's been down since half 9 with only 2 wake ups (one for quick feed and one for dummy)

I have to say I never know how hungry he is cos of the sick. I am really battling with my demons about moving onto formula. I tried hungry baby hipp but he wouldn't have any of it!!

I am going to see how he is tomorrow and if he is still awful I am going back to drs weds to see about ranitidine.

It is horrid when they sleep and cry when they are awake I sometimes wonder if I make my baby unhappy

 

[Farie]

Anna you poor thing

Try stopping the wind stuff, it relaxes the muscle at the top if the stomach (to help the wind out) might help?
Have you tried cutting out all dairy/choc/tomatoes for a few days? If thats making him worse you should see some immediate improvement, even just a little. Are his poos mucusy at all? Like there is clear snot in it?

With Nim its makes her a lot worse if i have any of them, much more pukey, unsettled, doesnt feed as well. I hate it as I feel like its my fault shes in pain, but its also hard going without everything!
I have formula in the cupboad and when shes refusing to latch and suck I look at it, but its regular stuff and im pretty certain would cause more issues cos of the dairy protein

 

[Khloeee]

I'm starting to wonder whether my LO might have silent reflux after reading this thread and looking at the symptoms. He hates lying down, always wants to be upright. If he's not upright, then he's crying. I often see cottage cheese type sick sitting in his mouth and when he brings it up i can see he is in discomfort. He coughs quite a bit. He gets fussy after feeds and arches his back. Occasionaly he winces during a feed. Does any of this sound familiar?

The reason I'm not sure is because he is not always fussy after a feed, and he doesn't always appear to be in pain. Some days he will be fine. Also he sleeps pretty well at night so doesn't seem to have a problem lying down then. Although after his night feed he is very restless and up every hour until morning.

I'm just not sure whether I'm looking for excuses and maybe he is just a grizzly baby with high needs. We have an appointment with the gp today to get something for his eczema so will tell them my concerns about reflux and see what they say. I just want him to be happy in himself like the other babies I know that are his age.

 

[LuvBeinAMummy]

The reason I'm not sure is because he is not always fussy after a feed, and he doesn't always appear to be in pain. Some days he will be fine. Also he sleeps pretty well at night so doesn't seem to have a problem lying down then. Although after his night feed he is very restless and up every hour until morning.

I'm just not sure whether I'm looking for excuses and maybe he is just a grizzly baby with high needs. We have an appointment with the gp today to get something for his eczema so will tell them my concerns about reflux and see what they say. I just want him to be happy in himself like the other babies I know that are his age.

see this is my problem I don't know if it's colic or reflux

he's not fussy at every bottle (although it was just at night we are having a few issues creeping in on daytime bottles), he sleeps through the night and he is pretty settled after bottles it's just during the feed that's the problem

I have a health visitor coming to me tomorrow and I'm going to bombard her with questions as my other 3 boys weren't like this!