Silent Reflux

[stardust599]

This is long but I hope someone can read and offer some advice. I breastfed LO until she was almost 2 weeks then switched to formula (I'm sick of explaining the reasons so never mind lol).

Started her straight away on Aptamil 1 and she seemed to be fine. Then from about 3-4weeks we thought she had colic as she was always crying and unsettled but then I realised it was only during and after feeds so I thought it was maybe just wind related or something. Tried Infacol which did nothing, Gripe Water which seemed to help her pain but giving her it by syringe caused projectile vomiting and she doesn't like it in her bottles. Tried Detinox which seemed to help for a bit but then things got much worse so I stopped everything and it didn't really make a difference.

Feeds became a nightmare and I didn't want to take her out as she was so difficult and so upset afterwards. Mum suggested she might be lactose intolerant (there are a few in our family) but I didn't think so cos I drink lots and lots of milk and she was fine on breastfeeding. We tried comfort milk which I think maybe helped but it made her wind 10 times worse and she cried in pain every time she needed to let some wind out, it didn't sort the constipation either! I did some research and came up with silent reflux. This is what she does (sorry it sounds like a textbook lol)

Gulps her feeds then fusses, shakes her head and refuses the bottle then screams for it back as still hungry
Screams when trying to wind her and arches her back in protest - won't usually go back on the bottle once winded
Choking while feeding
Little bits of sicking up although not too excessive
Projectile vomiting but not often (2-3 times a week?)
Crying and unsettled after feeds - just wants to be cuddled/rocked
Chesty/raspy wheezing after feeds
Violent hiccups all the time
Won't sleep through the day - has to be being held, rocked or with hoover or something on even though she's shattered
Grumbling, fussing and wriggling in sleep
Sneezing and snotty all the time

She also has constipation and painful bottom end wind!

The first ounce of a feed is fine but then the fussing and crying starts and we feel like we're having to force feed her. We can only get her to take 2oz every 3hours during the day but on some of her night feeds she will take 3-4oz when she is calm and sleepy.

She was between the 2nd and 9th centile at birth but has dropped to between the 2nd and 0.4th centile.

I gave the doctor the list of stuff I had written and asked about silent reflux and he didn't have a clue what I was going on about but prescribed gaviscon cos I asked for it. It seemed to help after a couple of days and although it makes her constipation worse I give her as much water as possible (by syringe as it's hard enough to get her to take a bottle of milk never mind water) and when she's gone 3days without going I give her a little pure orange mixed with water and she clears out and is much more settled afterwards - I can't do this forever though!

She still has painful bottom end wind too and quite often she spends all day crying and passing wind. I'm not sure if the crying is just pain from the reflux though? She wakes up in her sleep all the time crying but I know she's still tired cos if I pick her up I can rock her back to sleep, as soon as I put her down she's up within 10mins and the cycle goes on all day.

She's getting worse at her feedings again so I'm not sure if the Gaviscon is still working, I'm getting SMA Staydown tomorrow to try.

I talked to the health visitor who was useless - I tried to tell her about all the fussing at feeds and all she said was "babies that young don't fuss over their feeds, they just take them" I got her to come and see LO feeding and she fed her herself and managed to get her to finish 3oz :-S there was a lot of fussing but she didn't cry or anything and the health visitor agreed she did fuss a little but now she thinks it's fine and just me as she finished the feed okay, she blamed the way I was holding her and said the fussing is just cos she's impatient and the arching her back isn't in pain it's "showing me how strong she is". She then mentioned a "floppy larynx" or something.

I asked about the weight gain and all she said was not to worry, that it was her job to keep an eye on it, not mine! I pushed her and she told me that if it's continues to drop she'll refer me to GP who might agree to refer me to paediatricians.

I went to see 2 GPs who said there was nothing wrong with her and just to persevere. Apparently she's just an unsettled, unhappy baby and will grow out of it. The second doctor told me she "might not like the taste of her milk". I feel like there is something bothering her and I just don't know how to help her

What can I do? I feel like I'm at breaking point, I already have PND and I just can't face force feeding her any longer, she screams like she hates me every time I'm trying to feed her and I feel so cruel but I know she needs to eat to gain more weight. I'm so scared that she'll associate feeding with pain and just refuse altogether too.

Hope someone can offer some advice xxx

 

[NovMom]

My baby boy will be one month old tomorrow. He also does many of the things you mentioned during feeds (gulping, spit up, raspy, snotty, always wanting to be held or rocked, etc.). Our doctor said these are all typical signs that come along with formula feeding and that his fusiness is just normal baby fussiness. I've been using gripe water and ovol drops after feeds, and you can even add a few drops right into the bottle and that gets rid of all the bubbles. He seems much more comfortable since I started doing this and he sleeps about 5 hours at night. He is on the Nestle/Gerber Good Start formula, which our doctor said is easy to digest. I also find if I burp him about 4 times during a bottle, that helps, and if he protests, I just keep trying for a few minutes, and then go back to feeding, with or without a burp.

Hope this helps somewhat!

 

[charlotte-xo]

this couldve been me a week back posting this

i know how you feel its hard enough being a mummy without the added bonus of silent reflux...keep perserviering (sp) with your GP mine was frigin useless...i pushed and pushed untill he gave me infant gaviscon in my situation its done wonders but it took a week to kick in....before that though alfie would do all the things you described and it was so awful and disheartening i thought he hated me he still has his moments but is much better..it doesnt sound to me like just fussiness you know your baby nd you know whether there in pain or not....dont let the HV or GP's tell you other wise push to see a peaditrician at the hospital as i dont think GP's or HV's have much knowledge about silent reflux..have you tried Colief?? i found this helped alot it breaks down the lactose thats in formula.

i hope it gets better for you and you find something that works it does get better honestly just keep on pushing it.

 

[bathbabe]

Hey im not sure if i will be much help but hey ho. My LO has reflux, If you switch to SMA staydown you cant use the gaviscon as well, as the staydown already has a thickner in it. Also watch out the milk may make her even more constipated. Which SMA is known for.

If you willing to help your LO with Meds go back and ask for Ranitidine, tastes disgusting but is ment to stop the acid being produced therefore not making your LO feel the effects of the reflux.

Keeping your LO upright after feeds will help

Raising the head end of the cot/moses basket/crib by about the thickness of an argos book will help.

Gripe water helps to bring up those all important burps!

We also tummy sleep as my LO doesnt turn his head when he is sick on his back and then chokes on it (if you do tummy sleeping read all the risks before you do)

Basically try and keep LO propped up if possible as lying flat can make Reflux worse.

Try not to jiggle LO about etc as this is guarenteed a puke!!


If you want to know anything else or ask anything feel free to PM me xx

 

[stardust599]

Thanks guys. I'm just going to keep trying and pushing the GP. Im going to ask for Ranitidine or Omeprazole (sorry no idea how that's spelt) as the acid is still causing her pain. I won't use the Gaviscon with SMA Staydown as the milk is already very thick! She was still a bit sicky on the SMA Staydown but it was a thicker, milkier sick rather than the watery, acidy sick she normally and doesn't seem to cause her half as much discomfort so I'm hoping it's a good sign.

Gripe water or anything for colic such as infacol or detinox makes her projectile vomit

I let her sleep on her tummy during the day and she's so much more comfortable - it's the only time she sleeps for a couple of hours, I also prop her up on a cushion so she's no lying flat. I have her swaddled and on a sleep positioner on her side and she's been sleeping since 9.15 - her longest sleep in 3days!! I also let her sleep in the bouncer chair but the vibration of it only last 10mins so I have to keep pressing it to keep her sleeping.

We've sorted the constipation with prune juice and water (just a few sips twice a day) so no more blood-curling screaming while trying to pass a hard poo.

xxx

 

[jkbmah]

hiya, we had the same issues with silent reflux, GP was reluctant to precrbe gaviscon, but did eventually - and it has definately helped us, though I have resigned myself to the fact the will never be a great feeder.

She was only 5lb1oz at birth (full-term) and so she is little but is gaining weight. She feeds only 60ml (about 2oz) every 2-3 hours and i cant see this chainging. Id love for her to go longer between feeds and have larger feeds but its just not possible, she starts crying after 60ml.

My brothers little boy has silent reflux also and he said it got better when they started him on solids (only another few months to go then...!!!( )

I hope it improves for your little one but id say gaviscon did take a week or so to kick in and she still had bad refluxy days from time to time (ususally when she is tired). We had the same constiptaion problems but have been giving her lectulose - to be honest shes getting used to the hard poos now and they dont really bother her - plus they are a lot less messy!!

 

[Frufru]

Joni suffered with colic, constipation and reflux up until about 3.5-4months.

On the reflux front making sure she was fed lying at an angle halfway between sitting up and laying down and keeping her at this angle for at least 15-20mins after the feed did reduce the frequency and amount of spitting up. Propping the mattress in the cot and her pram up also helped.

We were prescibed gaviscon but it resulted in her becoming so constipated that she could no longer eat and her breath smelt like poop It was at this point my doctor finally started listening to me and referred us to the paediatrician. However the referral took so long, Joni was so poorly and I was so happy and desperate I stopped exclusively breastfeeding and switched to Aptimal comfort which was actually the turning point for us. Joni began pooping regularly and her reflux was a lot less pronounced and no longer bothered her when sleeping provided we fed her at an angle and propped up her mattress. She seemed to grow out of the reflux completely around 4-4.5months.

The comfort milk did make Joni really windy in the bum dept and I would do some baby yoga moves with her which seemed to provide some relief. Moves like marching her legs up to her belly and back to straight and massaging her tummy in a clockwise direction with my hand - my HV showed me these.

I really wish I had more advice to give, it was the comfort milk that really helped us and it sounds like you may have tried that. I just wanted to let you know you are not alone and I hope that your LO and you are able to find a way to make feeding time less stressful for both of you

 

[stardust599]

Thanks everyone.

I just wanted to update and say I have changed her to SMA Staydown and she's like a different baby.

She doesn't fuss during feeds and the crying has gone afterwards too. Now just got to work on all the sleep problems we set up when she had the reflux! Her weight gain is still poor though and she's used to only taking little amounts so some feeds she still only takes less than an ounce! It still flares up on odd days but I just soothe her until it's gone again.

Constipation is still bothering her but I give her a little bit of prune juice in water when it's bad. Like your LO jkbma she is getting used to the hard poos and they don't seem to bother her anymore. Sometimes her little bum is so red and sore afterwards though from all the straining but it goes away until the next poo.
xxx

 

[Frufru]

I am so pleased that things seem to be improving for you stardust599

Possibly TMI, but on the sore bum front I used to put a blob of camillosan on my little finger and massage Joni's bumhole a little bit a couple of times a day when her constipation was really bad which seemed to help a bit.