Thrashing/rumbling causing vomitting

[gilz82]

Hi girls :wave:

Noah ended up back on gaviscon for his reflux 6 days after we brought him home from SCBU. It does really seem to be helping during the day as he's not sick as frequently and when he is sick it's not the whole feed that comes up each time.

Night time is a completely different story. He goes to bed in his crib and within half an hour the thrashing starts and his legs come right up to his chest. The HV said this is down to wind so we've tried Infacol, colsynth crystals, colief, normal winding, swaddling and raising the crib so it's on a slant.

He hates being swaddled so we stopped that, I can't say any of the colic things have helped and winding brings up wind but doesn't help with the thrashing. we had tried lying Noah on his tummy and that did help for a few days buy now that's not even helping.

I don't know what to do because he thrashes so much he ends up being sick the whole feed and then he's hungry again

 

[AP]

I would be slightly inclined to think its reflux and the wind just makes it worse. A medication called ranitidine or another called domperidone could be worth a try - it's one of the next steps after Gaviscon.

 

[gilz82]

Hi sb22 :wave:

We ended up at the gp this morning as Noah had brought up all of his feeds in the past 36hrs. He sent us straight to the paediatric unit and they've prescribed ranitidine for Noah as well as the gaviscon.

I'm confused though because they told me to stop feeding Noah as much. She said that 4oz per feed is too much and he doesn't need it, but if I feed him 3oz he is still hungry and looking for more straight away.

The HV previously told us the opposite in that if he doesn't want to take all the feed he wont take it.

I'm so confused

 

[AP]

I had a good think about what you said there. With reflux they keep sucking to feel better, so he could be taking in more wind/overfeeding. Maybe not, but its possible?

 

[gilz82]

I really don't know sb22 it's just such a trial and error thing I suppose. I fed him at 6 and only gave him the 3oz but he still spent half an hour after it rooting about with his hand in his face. Eventually he fell asleep but he's already rumbling making sucking noises and it's only 8pm now

 

[toothfairyx]

Are you giving him a dummy? Sometimes they have a really strong sucking reflex and need / want to be sucking something after they have finished feeding? You might find a dummy is helpful as Jamie wanted to be sucking all the time when his reflux was bothering him.

 

[gilz82]

Thanks toothfairy

I do give Noah a dummy which sometimes help. The problem is he doesn't seem to be hugely co-ordinated with it so I spend more time putting it back in his mouth than he spends sucking it.

HV said today that I've to get anti-colic bottles to minimise his wind and wake him every three hours during the day to feed him in the hope that he'll be more rested at night.

If he's still being as sick etc next week she thinks I should try either Aptamil Comfort or SMA Staydown.

 

[toothfairyx]

Tell me about it lol I also spent loads of time putting the dummy back in!! We were put on EnfamilAR by our consultant which was really quick to sort him out - you can buy it over the counter if you wanted to try it. I found any SMA products didn't agree with him at all - loads of vomit, and constipation so might also be worth a change of formula.

 

[gilz82]

Thanks I hadn't even heard of enfamil so i'll keep it in mind when I discuss things with the HV.

Noah is currently on Aptamil 1 I am slightly scared that if we need to change his milk that could cause a whole new set of problems of it's own.

 

[toothfairyx]

I wish we had tried Aptamil earlier, it's supposed to be very gentle on their tummies. But still would be a problem for refluxy babies I guess. Enfamil have a whole range of products but the AR one has rice in it which keeps it down. You'll find stuff about it online.
It was brilliant - like having a different baby within a couple of days (not that I wanted a different one just mine not crying non-stop!) so similiar to SMA staydown but actually worked! SMA staydown just came right back up with Jamie lol....

 

[alparen]

Samantha is on domperidone, ranitidine and enfamil thickened for her reflux it's that bad... But since having all that she hasn't spit up once and doesn't act all gassy and uncomfortable anymore. she was on neosure for prems and was spitting it up like it was going out of style and always pooping and gassy and forcing to keep her food down..enfamil thickened made a huuuuuuge difference!

 

[gilz82]

Thanks Alparen, I think if we have to try a specialised milk I'll give the Enfamil a try.

That's Noah been on ranitidine for two days now and I think it's helping a little bit. He's still being sick but it's not the whole feed now maybe just about half.

We bought Dr Browns bottles today so will try them to see if they help too.

 

[alparen]

they had her on the meds first and she was still spitting up. as soon as they switched her formula it was like clouds opened up and the sun started to shine lolol . 100% change. good luck and let us know how it goes. xxxx

 

[gilz82]

Well things are getting worse with the reflux. I don't think the ranitidine is helping at all and now everytime you put Noah down he starts screaming. The only way to stop it is to cuddle him, so he ended up sleeping in my bed last night. He's still being sick after every feed. I held him for 90 minutes after one feed last night and one minute after I put him down he was

Think it's time to investigate special formula. Toothfairy where do you get your Enfamil from as I can't find a stockist in the UK on the Internet? Is it something I can get a ordered at a pharmacy?

 

[toothfairyx]

If you go to a boots with a reasonable pharmacy they may well have it in, but you have to ask as it will be behind the counter. If they don't have it in it they will order it and should be in the next day. Good luck x

 

[gilz82]

Thanks hon

I'm going into town today so hopefully will get some either today or at least ordered for tomorrow.

 

[toothfairyx]

You will probably find it today I'm sure. When you mix it, use cold water, and roll it rather than shake. You will also need fast flow teats as it's quite thick.

 

[gilz82]

I did wonder if we'd need different teats as the gaviscon is already thickening the Aptamil so it'll be even thicker again.

 

[toothfairyx]

I stopped the Gaviscon when we went on to Enfamil - our consultant said we didn't need it as the thickener is in the formula already. If you still want to put it in it still works, but I wouldn't bother. I also felt that the Gaviscon was making the reflux worse as it was making him constipated. The other thing to try is just giving him a bit of water between feeds (or baby juice as Jamie wouldn't drink water) as the thickened formula/ gaviscon does make them have thicker stools which block them up and exacerbates the reflux. It does take time getting the balance right with all of this and I remember it well!

 

[alparen]

samantha is on regular flow nipples and she sucks it out and the stuff is like sludge. try elevating his bed while he is sleeping because laying him flat will make him spit up. they keep samantha elevated a bit at the hospital. if you can figure out a way to get him to sleep on an incline and keep him in place it will help loads. domperidone seems to work better then the other reflux meds.